Hiring, Fostering and Engaging Black Talent at Veeva

This video provides an in-depth exploration of Veeva's strategies for hiring, fostering, and engaging Black talent, framed within the context of its operations as a leading software provider for the life sciences industry. The webinar, hosted by WayUp, features a panel of Veeva employees: Eric Soriano (Chief Diversity Officer), Dana Felks (Practice Manager, MedTech Services), and Tyler Binion (Associate Consultant). The discussion begins with an overview of Veeva's business, vision, and values, before delving into the panelists' personal career journeys and experiences with diversity and inclusion at the company.

The core of the discussion revolves around Veeva's commitment to creating an inclusive work environment, particularly for new graduates. The panelists share insights into the challenges faced by Black new graduates entering the workforce and how Veeva's culture and programs address these. Tyler Binion, a recent graduate, highlights the importance of development programs that don't require prior industry-specific knowledge, emphasizing Veeva's investment in employee growth. Dana Felks, a manager, underscores the value of diverse teams for comprehensive viewpoints in addressing complex customer needs within the life sciences sector.

Eric Soriano details Veeva's formal and informal initiatives to promote diversity and inclusion, which gained significant momentum following the Black Lives Matter movement. These efforts include the establishment of employee-led diversity communities, a shift in talent attraction strategies to broaden the talent pool, and fostering open dialogues about race and gender in the workplace. The company's status as a Public Benefit Corporation is also highlighted, signifying a legal obligation to balance shareholder interests with those of customers, employees, and communities, including the creation of high-quality employment opportunities. The video concludes with practical advice for new graduates seeking to start and grow their careers, emphasizing the importance of company culture, continuous learning, and embracing challenges.

Key Takeaways:

• Veeva's Industry Focus: Veeva is a software company building innovative solutions for the life sciences industry, serving pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, and clinical trial organizations. This aligns directly with IntuitionLabs.ai's target market.
• Comprehensive Service Offering: Veeva provides integrated software products, data insights, implementation services, and business consulting for commercial strategy and operations within life sciences, mirroring many of IntuitionLabs.ai's service areas.
• Commitment to Employee Development: Veeva offers "Generation Veeva" programs for new graduates, including Engineering, Consultant, Business Consulting, and Analytics Development Programs, designed to integrate and develop talent from day one, often without requiring prior industry-specific experience.
• Inclusion as a Core Value: Veeva actively fosters an inclusive culture, demonstrated by employee-led diversity communities, transparent conversations about race and gender, and a focus on amplifying diverse voices.
• Talent Attraction Strategy: The company broadens its talent pool by looking beyond traditional recruitment areas and emphasizing development programs that value potential and willingness to learn over extensive prior experience or specific majors (e.g., CDP is open to all majors).
• Mentorship and Autonomy: Veeva supports employee growth through mentorship, providing autonomy to take on new challenges, make decisions, and lead teams, even if it means "throwing them to the fire" with necessary support.
• Embracing Challenges for Growth: Panelists consistently advise new graduates to seek out and embrace challenging opportunities, as these are crucial for personal and professional development, even if initially daunting.
• Importance of Company Culture: Candidates are encouraged to research and understand a company's culture beyond buzzwords, seeking environments where they feel comfortable, supported, and can genuinely grow.
• Resilience and Learning from Failure: The advice includes being resilient, understanding that failure is a learning opportunity, and not being afraid to try new things or apply for roles even if one feels underqualified.
• Employee Well-being Initiatives: Veeva supports employee morale and well-being through social events (virtual and in-person), an annual "GV Connects" gathering for new grads, formal mental wellness programs, flexible PTO, and a fitness reimbursement program.
• Global D&I Expansion: Veeva plans to expand its diversity and inclusion efforts globally, recognizing that D&I looks different in various regions and requires tailored approaches beyond a U.S.-centric lens.
• "Infinite Mindset" for D&I: Diversity and inclusion are viewed as an ongoing journey without a finish line, requiring continuous iteration, listening, and adaptation rather than a one-time initiative.
• Impact of Employee-Driven Initiatives: Veeva encourages employees to propose and lead new initiatives, such as the "Young Black Professional Series," demonstrating a culture where new ideas are valued and supported.

Key Concepts:

• Public Benefit Corporation (PBC): A legal designation for a for-profit corporation that is committed to operating in a responsible and sustainable manner, balancing the interests of shareholders with those of customers, employees, and communities. Veeva was the first public company to convert to a PBC.
• Generation Veeva: Veeva's collective term for its new graduate development programs, including Engineering, Consultant, Business Consulting, and Analytics Development Programs.
• Diversity Communities: Employee-led groups within Veeva that aim to grow a diverse workforce, raise awareness about social issues, and celebrate different cultures and backgrounds.
• Infinite Mindset: A concept applied to diversity and inclusion efforts, suggesting that it's a continuous journey of growth and evolution rather than a finite project with a completion point.