The Barrier Breakers movement was established in 2022 in response to some challenging results from that year’s People Experience Survey. Co-sponsored by Catherine Abi-Habib and Regis, it has been a game-changer for Ipsen, empowering cross-functional teams to streamline processes, enhance systems, and foster cultural traits of collaboration, prioritization, and smart risk-taking. As the HR team, we have a unique opportunity to embrace this transformative initiative and drive improvements that directly impact our ability to attract, retain, and nurture all our talents.
One of the key achievements of the Barrier Breakers program has been the revamping of the hiring process. The Talent acquisition leads, Serena Dempsey, and HRBPs, under the sponsorship of Clémence Elie, have worked tirelessly to simplify and optimize the recruitment journey, ensuring a seamless and efficient experience for both candidates and hiring managers. By addressing bottlenecks, automating tasks, and enhancing system integration, we can now attract and onboard the best talent more effectively, supporting Ipsen’s growth and success. The hiring process will continue to evolve to always enhance the candidate experience and streamline internal processes and governance. More HERE.
Another area where the Barrier Breakers have made significant strides is in the realm of documentation and knowledge management. Louise Morrissey and her team have focused on structuring and unlocking the accessibility of our procedures, processes, and training materials. Through system optimization and governance improvements, this initiative not only empowers our HR professionals and the teams they support with the knowledge they need to excel but also ensures a consistent and user-friendly experience for ALL employees across the organization. More HERE.
The Barrier Breakers movement has also tackled the critical aspects of mandatory training and iLearn governance. Sophie Maillard, with the help of Siv-Sane Kin and Maréva Armenti have worked diligently to streamline the training governance and process, making it more transparent and efficient, as well as improving the quality and format used. Siv-Sane’s new role is the sign of our commitment to find sustainable solutions. There is still much to do but, by breaking down barriers in this area, we can ensure that our workforce remains compliant and equipped with the necessary skills to thrive in their roles.
As a result of the work done by the Barrier Breaker group, the score related to the statement around removing barriers to execution jumped from 54 in 2022 to 59 in 2023 as we learnt as a team to better work collaboratively, innovate, introduce system enhancements, new features, and feedback loops, design and fix with the end user in mind, and create How To guides to enable self service. In 2024 the score is remaining stubbornly steady at 59, but we know the pain points that remain and the focus will now shift to ensuring single point of accountability, driving an end-to-end approach, improving data quality and consistency, removing unnecessary steps in workflows, and task automation leveraging AI.
As members of the HR team, we play a pivotal role in supporting the Barrier Breakers movement. By embracing a user-centric mindset, collaborating across functions, and actively contributing our insights and ideas, we can continue to drive improvements that enhance the employee experience and foster a culture of collaboration and excellence at Ipsen.
If you’re interested in learning more about the >30 projects delivered to date by the Barrier Breakers movement, please click HERE.