![\"Moderna](\"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/c_limit,dpr_auto,q_70,h_1024,w_1024\/v1713510277\/23-0190377.jpg\")
<\/p>\nPrior to the pandemic, Moderna was a Massachusetts-based company of fewer than 800 people. After being called upon to fight the global scourge, nearly two years later they\u2019re home to approximately 3,900 employees with operations in 17 countries. Steelcase Vice President of Workplace Insights Tracy Brower sat down with Moderna Human Resources Director Amy Virgilio to talk about the unique challenges and opportunities inherent in managing such explosive growth \u2013 and how it\u2019s all grounded in the employee experience.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Tracy Brower: Given the last two years, how have your perspectives about the work experience changed?<\/strong><\/p>\n Amy Virgilio:<\/strong> I believe work expectations and experiences are still evolving after going through radical shifts over the past two (plus) years. I don\u2019t think anyone really knew before the pandemic that we could accomplish so much being remote. There were so many great learnings, but there were also a lot of things we were missing, and we\u2019re still taking the time to figure it all out. We shifted from 100% in office to remote for teams that didn\u2019t need to be on-site for their roles. Now it\u2019s about finding flexibility and adaptability and it is not a one-size-fits-all approach. For us here at Moderna, it comes down to continuing to focus on our culture, collaboration, flexibility and speed to innovation. Our focus is on relationship building, well-being and really giving people the right options to do their best work. We used to talk about work-life balance, but now we think of it as work-life integration.<\/p>\n TB: How have employees\u2019 expectations changed over time?<\/strong><\/p>\n AV:<\/strong> First and foremost, we\u2019ve been listening and learning. What we\u2019ve seen is expectations vary from person to person. Some people have really enjoyed working from home. Some people have really missed the office and in-person collaboration. And other teams never left our campuses. In addition, we\u2019ve done a tremendous amount of hiring over the past few years, so not only are we adapting with the return to office, but we\u2019re adapting to how that translates to our space and how we can find the right spaces and work environment to support everyone on-site. As part of the process, we\u2019re asking our employees to adapt and evolve with us and we\u2019re making sure we listen.<\/p>\n We want people to come back together, and we want to give them flexibility that works for them, while giving them the tools to make their day productive and make the easy things easy.<\/p>Amy VirgilioModerna Human Resources Director<\/span><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n TB: Can you give us an example of some of the ways you\u2019re seeking to make their day easier?<\/strong><\/p>\n AV:<\/strong> Our Total Rewards team has done an incredible job over the past two years, listening and making amazing additions to our benefit offerings. We support the different ways people commute to the office, with paid or subsidized parking and commuter expenses. We have different lunch and catering options to make it easy when you\u2019re in the office. Again \u2013 it’s about understanding what works for you as an individual.<\/p>\n TB: How do you see the role of HR in the future?<\/strong><\/p>\n AV:<\/strong> I think the focus must be on helping grow and sustain our culture. We want to make sure that we don\u2019t lose what made Moderna successful pre-pandemic when it was a smaller, pre-commercial company, and as we grow ensuring we are still fostering the mindsets to make us a high-performing, ambitious team. We don\u2019t want to lose those characteristics and that culture. HR and leadership continue to focus on keeping talent engaged and holding our talent bar high. Also, and I don’t think it’s a new thing for HR to be worried about, but I think more than ever in this market, we want people who are aligned to our mission but also make sure we’re hiring people who are invested in coming in and building teams that focus on transforming medicine with our mRNA platform.<\/p>\n TB: Is there anything else that you’re paying attention to as an important business driver?<\/strong><\/p>\n AV:<\/strong> I want to double click on well-being because I do think that\u2019s such an important one. We do expect a lot of our employees here at Moderna \u2013 we’re focused on changing the future of medicine. Our priority needs to be how we make sure our people are taken care of while they’re doing this amazing work. Whether it\u2019s two years in your career or 10 years into your career, we really want to continue to build a company that supports employees while they are focused on making a tremendous impact for patients and giving our employees amazing growth and learning opportunities.<\/p>\n TB: Tell me about how you see HR issues connected to place?<\/strong><\/p>\n AV:<\/strong> I see them as opportunities. I’ve been very excited to be part of the project team looking to enhance our Cambridge facilities. I hear this a lot, but I do think it\u2019s about earning the commute. We need to anticipate employee needs before they arise. Many people got settled into working from home in various environments, and we needed to help ensure we had the right digital tools for great work to continue. As we are now back in our offices, the focus is now on giving people collaborative spaces but also with a mix of heads-down, private spaces. We\u2019ve also invested a lot in making sure our spaces meet people\u2019s digital needs and that we have the global\u00a0tools to help people work in a hybrid way<\/a>. Again, it goes back to listening to our team members and wanting to give them options. Beyond that, as we look to the future office space, I can\u2019t wait for the team to be excited and feel like they’ve got a space that works for them. I\u2019m excited to continue listening though the pilot work we are doing and continuing to evolve as we grow.<\/p>\n![\"Moderna](\"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/c_limit,dpr_auto,q_70,h_1024,w_1024\/v1713510286\/23-0190378.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
![\"Moderna](\"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/c_limit,dpr_auto,q_70,h_300,w_300\/v1713510266\/23-0190376.jpg\")
<\/p>\n