百靈佳殷格翰多元的內部學習行動，企業創新與成長的動力 Upskilling to keep ahead
百靈佳殷格翰的使命是改善患者和動物的生活，致力於將患者的觀點融入公司一切行動。
要實現上述目標，不僅需要科學、醫療、數據分析和專案執行等硬技能，也需要溝通和領導等軟技能，所有這些技能都必須在公司超過 53,000 名員工中，得到鼓勵和更新，才能在高度競爭的市場中保持競爭力。
因此，公司必須將自己轉為學習型組織，開發和升級新的專業知識，以識別未被滿足的醫藥需求，同時擴展多元化的員工隊伍，幫助他們推進職涯，或重新掌握新技能以適應新角色。
2023 年 百靈佳殷格翰大學成立
經過多年的努力將所有的系統調整後，公司於 2023 年底推出了百靈佳殷格翰大學及虛擬校園網路平台，以個人化和專長取向為特色，按業務需求安排課程，滿足員工的個人學習意願與職涯發展需求。
美國市場調查和營運部副總裁 Sierra Towers 表示：「組織的成敗與好壞，取決於所僱用的人。」
Towers 補充說：「我們之所以存在，是因為我們擁有來自各領域的專業人才；成功的關鍵是持續投資在我們的員工身上，幫助他們培養新技能就是最好的方法。」
所有的問題都是好問題——百靈佳殷格翰大學
虛擬校園：個人化的學習環境
過去公司也使用過多種線上學習系統。而「百靈佳殷格翰大學」為員工們提供一種更新、更容易取得和彈性的學習方式，從豐富的線上課程、專業圖書館和商業培訓資料中學習。它將公司所有內部和外部的教育和培訓資源匯整在員工的電腦桌面上。
新的虛擬校園和舊式的學習管理系統呈現鮮明的對比。在虛擬校園中，每一個人都可以根據自己的技能和經驗建立個人的學習歷程，設定發展目標 — 即所謂的焦點技能。協助系統運作的 AI 就會推薦網絡平台中可用的相關內容（可能是外部資料，也可能是百靈佳殷格翰內部資料庫中的精選資料），員工可以按照自己的步調學習，也有機會和同事分享有價值的內容。
除了大量的個人化課程安排，虛擬校園也為百靈佳殷格翰位於世界各地的子公司、駐點機構提供在地化的學習內容，彙整各種現場和線上課程、虛擬學習路徑以及各種來自內部或外部的新聞。有助於員工學習在當前角色中所需的知識，同時鼓勵他們往新方向發展。
我們也與外部平台，像是「領英學習」（LinkedIn Learning）等培訓平台合作；「領英學習」提供有關商業知識和技能發展等短期課程，像是：《高效工作者的 6 個早晨習慣》、《Excel 可以這樣用》...等。此外，我們還與 GetAbstract 合作，提供商業書籍和文章摘要。該平台也鼓勵使用者了解商業新聞時事，或深入學習管理技能培訓課程。
員工至上的策略
來看看使用者如何評價百靈佳殷格翰大學
 銷售代表，菲律賓馬卡蒂市 （Sales Representative for the Philippines based in Makati City）
Frederic Catacutan 是菲律賓馬卡蒂市的銷售代表，他從 San Carlos 大學畢業後加入百靈佳殷格翰的銷售團隊。 如今，虛擬校園提供來自 13 個內部學習空間或學院的學習內容，並為特定的職能或業務部門量身打造適合的課程。例如，新人學院陪伴新加入的同事平穩度過剛入職的生活，領導學院培養公司未來的領導者，數據科學學院為技術專家員工提供相應的課程， One Medicine 學院為醫療專業人士提供專業知識…等等。 |
 商業營運經理，厄瓜多和秘魯區域 基多辦公室 （Commercial Operations Manager for Ecuador and Peru, based in Quito）
Rosa Rueda Rojas 是委內瑞拉人，已在百靈佳殷格翰任職二十多年，在拉丁美洲各地任職。她現在是厄瓜多和秘魯區域的商業營運經理，工作地點在基多辦公室。她建議新使用者觀看《成長思維：大腦的真相（Growth Mindset: The Truth About Your Brain）》，這個影片有助於人們建立正確的心態，真正思考如何有效的學習。 百靈佳殷格翰大學的入口網站包含社群媒體的功能，會顯示目前最熱門的課程，以及哪些人參加了這些課程。其中有非常深入和技術性的課程，上課的時候需要認真的做筆記，也有一兩分鐘的微學習模式（bite-sized training）。 |
 博士罕見肺部疾病產品專家，米蘭(a product specialist in rare diseases involving the lungs, based in Milan)
Tiziana Testa 博士是罕見肺部疾病的產品專家，在百靈佳殷格翰多個產品類別領域服務了 21 年。她在 2020 年時轉而專攻特發性肺纖維化（ IPF）— 這是一種神秘的罕見疾病，目前沒有絕對的治癒方案，只能藉由治療減緩病徵發展、改善肺部功能，提升患者的生活品質。 當員工在百靈佳殷格翰大學建立個人檔案之後，可以選擇自己的優勢以及希望發展的領域。網站會鼓勵、提醒員工定期回來學習，根據他們感興趣的內容和職涯發展目標，提供個人化的推薦。Testa 說：「我推薦『每日建議』，跟著個人化課程的安排學習。」 |
 百靈佳殷格翰文化科學素養部門經理 （Culture and Scientific Engagement Manager at Boehringer Ingelheim）
Verena Ehrhart 15 年前以實習生的身份開始在百靈佳殷格翰的職業生涯，多年來曾擔任各種管理助理的職務。在工作之餘取得商業心理學學士學位後，她目前擔任文化科學素養部門經理，同時也在攻讀碩士學位。她目前的工作主要是在德國南部的比伯拉赫（Biberach）推動百靈佳殷格翰的科學和學術成就發表。 Verena 讚賞百靈佳殷格翰大學多種形式的培訓課程，很適合忙碌的行程：「它提供了廣泛的培訓機會，就算每天只有幾分鐘的空閑時間，也可以獲得啟發。」 百靈佳殷格翰大學有許多不同主題的短文章與影片，讓員工可以在工作的零碎時間中微學習，不需要特別安排學習時間。這與舊版學習網站剛好相反，那裏有大量長達一小時的正式課程。 |
 法規專員，菲律賓馬卡蒂市（Regulatory Affairs Specialist, based in Makati City, Philippines）
駐點菲律賓馬尼拉的法規專員 Alexa Fensantos（她同時也是執業藥劑師）說：「我們可以輕鬆的參與課程，用各種形式學習；不僅有助於在組織內的成長和發展，也有助於日常生活。」 Fensantos 三年前加入百靈佳殷格翰，專於法規批准審核，心血管、呼吸道等各種藥劑產品的生命週期管理，並支援臨床試驗需求。她最喜歡百靈佳殷格翰大學作為公司所有內外部學習培訓資源集中平台的功能。 它不僅提供需要做筆記的正式課程，也是一個適合在通勤或出差途中閱讀短文主題或聆聽 Podcast 的地方。 除此之外，可以關注公司其他同事的狀態，了解他們擁有哪些技能幫助他們成功。這是讓自己可以參考學習，幫助自己思考如何成功的方式。
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百靈佳殷格翰大學全球資深經理（Global Global Senior Manager of Boehringer Ingelheim University） Owen Lewis 重申，在面對市場的快速變化、人才流動的競爭狀態，持續學習是非常重要的關鍵。
「周遭環境一直在變化，其中又以醫療保健和技術領域為最。為了保持競爭力，我們必須要一直強化自己的技能，才能跟上世界改變的速度。」
百靈佳殷格翰大學不只打造了公司的學習文化，同時也在塑造我們的未來。
Upskilling to keep ahead
Boehringer Ingelheim's mission is to improve lives of patients and animals, while striving to embed the patient's perspective into everything the company does.
All this requires hard scientific, medical, data analysis and project execution skills, as well as softer capabilities like communications and leadership, all attributes which must be encouraged and renewed throughout the organization of more than 53,500, just to keep pace in highly competitive markets.
Therefore, the company needs to organize itself as a continuous learning organization, developing and upgrading specialist knowledge to identify unmet pharmacological needs, while also expanding a diverse workforce to help them advance their careers or reskill into newly emerging roles.
2023 Launch of the Boehringer Ingelheim University
Which is why, after years of hard graft aligning all the systems, in late 2023 the company launched Boehringer Ingelheim University and its platform, the Virtual Campus featuring personalized and skill-based development to address individual employee learning and career development demands based on business needs.
“Every organization is no better than the people it employs,” says Sierra Towers, Vice President of Go To Market & Operations in the United States.
“We only exist because we have people who are experts in their fields, in the work that they do,” Towers adds. “It's critically important that we continue to invest in our people. The best way to do that is to help them build new skills.”
No Silly Questions – Boehringer Ingelheim University
The virtual campus: A personalized learning environment
Online learning management systems come and go but the University offers Boehringer's workforce a new, more accessible and flexible way of learning from a wealth of online classes, specialist libraries and business training materials. It brings together all the company’s internal and external education and training resources in one place on employees' desktops.
The new Virtual Campus contrasts with older, classic learning management systems. Here, every employee has the possibility to create their own profile, based on their skills and experience and they can set up individual development goals, so called focus skills. The AI behind the system will then recommend relevant content available on the platform, externally or curated content from inside of Boehringer, for employees to learn at their own pace, but with the opportunity to share valuable content with colleagues or peers.
Besides surfacing loads of personalized content, the Virtual Campus features a variety of local learning offerings for Boehringer locations around the world. It integrates and consolidates live and online courses, virtual learning pathways and news from a wide variety of both external and internal sources. It helps people learn both what they need to know to grow in their current roles while allowing them to branch out in new directions.
Externally, we have, besides others, partnered with industry standard platforms such as LinkedIn Learning, which provides short courses in business and technical skills with titles like “The Six Morning Habits of High Performers” or “Excel: You Can Do This”, as well as GetAbstract, with its business book and article summaries. The site also encourages users to catch up on breaking business news or take a deeper dive into management skills training.
What works for the employees
Hear how the University users are responding to the new learning tools.
Sales Representative for the Philippines based in Makati City
“In a generation where going digital is the norm, these platforms can help us develop our skills and capabilities, “ says Frederic Catacutan, a Sales Representative for the Philippines based in Boehringer's office in Makati City, the business district of Manila. He's a recent joiner after graduating from the University of San Carlos. Today, the Virtual Campus features learning content from 13 internal learning spaces or academies tailored to specific organizational functions or business units. The Onboarding Academy ensures a smooth transition for new hires, for example, while the Leadership Academy nurtures the company's future leaders; the Data Science Academy caters to tech-savvy employees, One Medicine provides specialized knowledge for healthcare professionals, and so on. |
Commercial Operations Manager for Ecuador and Peru, based in Quito
Rosa Rueda Rojas, a native of Venezuela, has spent two decades-plus at Boehringer Ingelheim in postings all across Latin America. Now the Commercial Operations Manager for Ecuador and Peru based in the Quito office, she recommends new users start out watching a quick video called “Growth Mindset: The Truth About Your Brain,” which helps people get in the right frame of mind to really think about how to think approach learning. The portal includes social media features, such as surfacing the most popular courses of the moment and who you may know that has taken them. There are very involved and technical courses where you probably would want to take notes and bite-sized training tips you can click and read for a minute or two. |
a product specialist in rare diseases involving the lungs, based in Milan
Dr. Tiziana Testa, a product specialist in rare diseases involving the lungs has worked across a range of product categories for 21 years at Boehringer Ingelheim. She switched in 2020 to specialize in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) a rare disease shrouded in mystery for which there are no absolute cures, only treatments to slow its progress, to help lungs function better and to improve patient life. As employees set up their profiles, they can select their strengths and areas they wish to develop. The site encourages employees to return regularly and graze, using personalized recommendations, based on their expressed interests and career goals. “I recommend the daily suggestions for a personalized journey,” Testa says. |
Culture and Scientific Engagement Manager at Boehringer Ingelheim
Verena Ehrhart started her career at Boehringer 15 years ago with an apprenticeship and has held various management assistant positions over the years. After earning a bachelor's degree in business psychology alongside her job, she now works as Culture and Scientific Engagement Manager – while still pursuing her master's degree. In her role she fosters Boehringer's scientific excellence and academic outreach within the development organization in Biberach, Southern Germany.
Boehringer University surfaces lots of short articles and videos on relevant topics and career skills that allow employees to “snack” throughout their work day rather than needing to schedule time for full-course meals. It's the opposite of the rigid old learning portal with lots and lots of meaty, hour-long formal courses. |
Regulatory Affairs Specialist, based in Makati City, Philippines
“It allows us to have easy access to taking courses and various forms of learning content –that can help us in our growth and development, not just within the organization but also in our everyday life,” says Alexa Fensantos, who is Regulatory Affairs Specialist for Boehringer Ingelheim in Manila, Philippines and a licensed pharmacist. Having joined Boehringer three years ago, Fensantos specializes in regulatory site transfer approvals, the lifecycle management of cardiovascular, respiratory, speciality and other established products, and providing support for clinical trial requirements. She likes how the portal acts as a hub for all the company's internal and external learning and training resources. It's not just for formal courses that require note-taking, but also the place to read up on short-form topics or listen to podcasts while commuting or travelling for work. In addition, employees can follow other people in the company to understand what kinds of skills they have that may also help them to succeed. It's a way to let individuals decide how they might model their own success. |
Owen Lewis, Global Senior Manager of Boehringer Ingelheim University, reiterates how important continuous learning has become in the face of rapid changes in the job market and the endless race to attract and keep talent.
"The landscape around us is constantly changing, particularly in healthcare and in technology. To remain competitive, we need to continuously upskill and develop ourselves, to be able to stay on top of that rate of change that’s happening outside.”
Boehringer Ingelheim University is not just shaping the culture of learning at Boehringer Ingelheim; it is shaping the future of the organization itself.