Q: Hi Fran and Geetha, thanks for being here today. To start – could you please tell us what your job involves?

Geetha: I am the HR Recruitment Coordinator. I take charge of onboarding new starters into the company, and I assist Fran with admin work and any kind of support she needs for day-to-day activities.

Fran: As the HR Operations Manager I oversee all the HR, that is, people-related activities. Fundamentally Geetha and I work to make sure we’ve got the right people in place with the right skills, the right remuneration, the right benefits, in the right environment with the right support and the right line managers. We try our best to ensure that people are happy in their role, they know what they’re doing and have opportunities to develop.

Q: What does a typical day look like for you?

Fran: We have some catch-up meetings to make sure we are aligned on our objectives and actions for the week. We check for any issues that may pop up down the track or on different projects, that we’ll discuss during various project meetings in the week.

Geetha: Like any role though, there are always urgent tasks to keep us on our toes! That’s why it’s so important to be flexible.

Fran: Yes, and at that point it becomes about organisation and staying on top of numerous things at the same time. There’s a lot of variety and no day is the same.

Q: What do you enjoy most about working here?

Geetha: For me it’s the people. The teams here are so friendly and welcoming and it’s so easy to approach anyone in the organisation. People are open to new objectives, ideas, initiatives and processes. It’s a great place to be working with people - it’s all about the people here!

Fran: I agree, it really is a unique culture and feels like something special. I talk about the collaborative, friendly culture in HR inductions, and while it sounds super cliché it really is true! The way people want to ask questions, want to be involved in initiatives and want to be the best they can be to help other people is amazing.

Geetha: Yes, people are so open to receiving feedback and everyone feels comfortable pitching ideas or suggesting things.

Fran: Sometimes HR can be at arm’s length but here I feel much more embedded within the company culture and departments. Our open-door policy really does mean having an open door, we want to foster an environment where people feel empowered to ask questions.

Q: What is the impact of your work?

Geetha: In terms of onboarding, we make the process as smooth as possible for new starters by ensuring that they have all the information they need for their first week. This also helps line managers by removing some of the admin burden associated with onboarding, allowing them to focus on the technical elements of a new starter’s role and giving them a warm welcome to their new team.

Fran: I agree, Geetha takes a huge chunk of the workload from line managers during onboarding and it’s so impactful. More generally, in our day-to-day operations, we are here to support our colleagues with any people-related queries and any situations that might be new to them, which can be so important for confidence and development. We try to make sure that our colleagues know that they can approach us for any queries, questions or issues. We’re here to help!

Q: What is it like for a new starter at OXGENE?

Geetha: The onboarding page we have set up online makes it very easy for new starters to review the details relevant to their new position. It’s important that they don’t feel overwhelmed on their first day and know things like who they have to report to, where to park, and what their day will look like.

Fran: We want to make sure that we release the right information to new starters at the right time. We have to be careful not to overload someone with too much information and give them a chance to absorb different aspects of the business and company protocol at their own pace. Also, we’ve increased the scope of our induction to cover essential topics such as intellectual property, timesheets, quality systems, etc. This way people get to know the organisation sooner and it helps them hit the ground running. We recently collaborated with IT to create a centralised source of onboarding information. The goal - to have new starters feel happy and confident, because we know that the first week in any new role can be hectic!

Q: How did you get into this career?

Geetha: I was a recruiter in India before working in HR and always enjoyed working with people. This interactive element is what appealed to me about working in HR – in this role you get to know everybody in the company. I really enjoy being a part of the recruitment process and building and mapping effective training sessions is so much fun.

Fran: I initially wanted to go into general management and was given the opportunity to earn a qualification in HR. I noticed I really enjoyed the personal, more people-oriented side of the business so I took it as an opportunity to change track. I like to know what’s happening at a company, address any challenges and make work a place that people truly enjoy.

Day in the Life provides a snapshot of real life at OXGENE and WuXi Advanced Therapies, demonstrating how we invest in our innovative science and company culture to drive success for our customers and our employees. Read these insightful interviews with scientists, project managers, human resources representatives and others to learn how everyone contributes to helping pioneering companies get novel treatments to patients faster.