You don’t have to look far to find a contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) boasting about their equipment and facilities, and usually for good reason. State-of-the-art equipment and robust facilities are essential components of successful pharmaceuticals outsourcing. Nonetheless, they are not the only attributes that determine CDMO success.
The Key to Pharma Outsourcing
In the article, “The overlooked factor in outsourcing,” Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing’s Senior Human Resources Manager Jill Quillen discusses the limitations of facilities and equipment as indicators of CDMO success.
Instead, as CDMOs continue to grow and become a prominent part of today’s pharmaceutical industry, they must keep a keen focus on their employees.
She explains:
“In the same way that organizations want to invest in highly adaptable systems and processes, pharmaceutical leaders should look to partner with agile, flexible people and insist on an environment of continuous learning across all levels and years of experience. Whether recent graduates or industry veterans, CDMOs should be committed to developing employees’ skills such as project management, critical thinking and leadership — enduring traits that translate into growth beyond the workplace.”
The Importance of Talent
Tapemark’s leadership deeply understands talent is more important to a company than its facilities and equipment. You can acquire all the state-of-the-art, new technology money can buy, but if you don’t have the talent who can use the technology in innovative ways, you won’t have success.
Tapemark’s Strategic Plan balances the need for keeping the facility and technology fresh with ways to attract, retain, and develop talent. Tapemark invests in capital while developing talent to build an employment experience that attracts the next generation of employees.
Evolving Employee Skillsets Alongside Automation
“As equipment and technology in the pharmaceutical industry moves towards automation, it is important to remember that critical thinking and integrity are human traits that are not easily replicated by advanced machinery. These traits are irreplaceable components of high-quality customer service and critically important components to the partnerships that exist within the pharmaceutical supply chain.”
Tapemark partners with equipment vendors to ensure new equipment comes with training for our staff. We take a “train the trainer” approach where we pass along the information learned to each stakeholder in the process. An example is an Tapemark Engineer attending training for a new piece of equipment with the OEM or original equipment manufacturer. Tapemark's standard procedure is to document what is learned by Engineering so it can be taught to Operations staff who will be running the equipment. We also establish programs where staff learns “hands-on” new technology.
In addition, Tapemark's culture encourages innovation, creativity, and a continuous learning mindset in its employees. Managers listen to employees when they say they need additional training or have a new idea about how to improve something. This helps ensure the whole organization is "moved forward" with new equipment and technology advancements.
“CDMOs that let knowledge and human experience guide their decision-making should be prioritized by pharmaceutical companies looking for a contract services partner.”
At Tapemark, we 100% agree.
As our owner, Bob Klas Jr. says, "A strong community, internal and external, leads to a strong organization. People succeed at Tapemark when they have strong ethics and do things right, even when no one is watching." This is no small part thanks to the investment in Tapemark's most valuable asset: the people.
