Employee Retention and Training Programs
Our recruitment, retention and training programs outpace our competitors
- The prime minister of Japan has recognized SNBL as providing an exemplary working environment for women.
- In June 2019, Randstad rated PPD-SNBL a top-five growth business and desirable employer in Japan.
- As of September 2020, Openwork ranked PPD-SNBL, among more than 250 companies, a leader in multiple categories:
In a country known for exceptionally strong competition for talent, we employ specific strategies to recruit staff and cultivate a strong local culture and environment for our employees in Japan. This effort has reaped tangible rewards. Our team has grown from 350 employees in 2015 to more than 720 employees in 2020. We expect to reach 1,000 team members by 2022, growing at a rate of approximately 100 full-time employees per year while maintaining industry-defying low turnover.
Our strategies
- A focus on hiring new graduates instead of mid-career hiring where recruitment is extremely limited. New graduates have demonstrated more loyalty to PPD-SNBL and a higher potential for English speaking capability.
- An intense investment in training. Our program includes a six-month training program taught by five dedicated trainers that incorporates:
- General training in topics ranging from business etiquette, business writing, presentation skills, physiology, pharmacology, pharmaceutical affairs act, drug development processes, ICH-GCP, J-GCP, SOP, clinical trial flow, monitoring skills via role play, etc.
- Clinical foundation program training (specific for CRAs). Topics include introduction to clinical research and GCP, protocol, monitoring roles and tools, ALCOA, EMR, RBM, informed consent, IP Accountability, safety reporting & oversight, EDC & SDV, etc.
- Two months of on-the-job training
- A rigorous certification test that includes a written test and role-playing test
- Intensive ongoing care, coaching and mentoring by managers
- Two-year English training program
- Shadowing programs at PPD’s offices outside of Japan
“Our success results from three factors: holding employee turnover to 4-7 percent since the joint venture’s formation; continuing to grow our workforce every year; and placing strong emphasis on the Japanese philosophy that treating employees as a family is the core of bonding a workforce.”