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    Case Study2014

    Early Career Experience: How BD Develops Global, Customer-Focused Leaders

    By Edward Franzone

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    Developing talent early in their careers is a critical function for sustainable organizational growth. A well-structured early career program can acclimate new employees to a company's culture and accelerate their development as future leaders. The following case study outlines the approach taken by the company BD to build a global, customer-focused leadership pipeline through its Early Career Experience (ECE) program.

    Program Objectives

    The ECE program was designed to accelerate the career development and professional networking of its members. The primary goals for participants were to:

    • Gain a comprehensive understanding of BD's various businesses.
    • Build a personal, cross-functional network that spans the company's global businesses and geographies.
    • Accelerate their professional development and performance in their current role.
    • Identify areas of interest for their next career move within the organization.

    Program Components

    BD's ECE is a two-year immersion experience that provides a holistic development framework. Key components include:

    • Business Acumen: Education on business fundamentals and custom case studies.
    • Leadership Exposure: Opportunities to interact with and learn from senior leadership.
    • Networking and Mentorship: Structured networking events and formal mentoring relationships.
    • External Perspectives: Engagement with BD customers and external thought leaders.
    • Applied Learning: Participation in business improvement projects and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
    • Career Management: Dedicated support for career planning and identifying future roles.

    Program Results

    After a five-year period, the ECE program demonstrated significant success in talent retention and development. The organization observed two primary outcomes:

    • Relatively low turnover among program participants.
    • High internal mobility, with nearly 90% of ECE members earning a promotion or moving to a new role in a different business unit or region.

    These results suggest that a comprehensive, multi-faceted immersion program can effectively develop and retain early-career talent, creating a strong pipeline of future leaders.

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    Topics

    Leadership DevelopmentEarly-CareerAction LearningCorporate Social ResponsibilityMentoringCareer DevelopmentSkillrater

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