In the two years that Geri Reilly has been with Karyopharm Therapeutics, she has been instrumental in implementing several new HR-focused technologies to help prime the company for future growth. Phil Strazzulla recently had an opportunity to talk with her about the various HR Tech platforms Karyopharm Therapeutics is using, and what she sees as the biggest challenges and benefits to adding HR Tech to a growing company.
Currently Karyopharm’s senior director for talent acquisition, Reilly noted she ran into technological challenges while applying for the role. Part of the application site was down, which immediately got her thinking about how to fix the functionality and improve the user experience. Karyopharm currently employs around 380 people, with plans to grow to about 425 in 2020. Karyopharm is in the niche of developing therapeutic treatments for cancer patients, and the roles Reilly needs to fill range from R&D and clinical positions to CNC technicians, sales, marketing, and beyond.
HR Technology at Karyopharm
Reilly went through the array of HR Tech she has helped implement over the last two years and shared her insights into how they have helped shaped today’s business processes.
Applicant Tracking: iCIMS
Reilly chose iCIMS to handle applicant tracking because of their great reputation in the industry and because they stood out as a platform that will be able to grow with them. Currently, Karyopharm’s focus is on company branding, and they are pleased with iCIMS’s robust functionality.
Job Advertising: Appcast and LinkedIn
Attracting applicants is a core component of the overall hiring process, and Reilly likes that Appcast can integrate with iCIMS to create a seamless process.
Reilly noted she is also using LinkedIn’s Job Slots functionality as well. She touched on the platform’s Pipeline Builder as well, and though they have yet to see big success from it yet, she likes the changes LinkedIn has made to that Pipeline Builder tool to remove some of the upfront expense.
TA Development: Social Talent
Reilly and her team at AthenaHealth completed a 12-module training program the Social Talent platform and noted the format of the course helped her better understand the options available. The team became certified open web sourcers through the course.
Company Review Sites: Glassdoor and Comparably
Company image is driven in large part by what others are saying, and Glassdoor has become the go-to for employees to critique their (usually former) employees. Reilly noted the necessity of utilizing Glassdoor but said she has also started researching a potential relationship with Comparably; the latter puts a heavier emphasis on gathering company feedback from current employees.
Challenges in Integrating Technology
For Karyopharm, growth over the last two years has been big, and Reilly said one of the challenges has been getting all these platforms integrated and team members using them effectively. Though there are likely more integrations coming, right now Reilly’s focus is on getting everyone comfortable with what they have implemented so far. Reilly noted that the company has a long way to go, but that they “need to fully understand and absorb the technologies we already invested in before we bring more into the fold.”
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