The Ultimate Talent Development Opportunity—Any Way You Look at It!

I know firsthand how a high-impact, developmental program can attract people to a company and make them want to shape a future there. The Merck Fellowship for Global Health does just that. As a former Fellow, a Fellow’s manager and a mentor to Fellows, I have a unique perspective into how this program helps participants and non-participants alike.  

The Fellowship supports Merck’s mission and is one example of the company’s commitment to corporate responsibility. It utilizes employees’ expertise in a wide range of areas to benefit non-profit organizations that are working to improve the health of the people they serve. This expertise comes in a variety of forms, including project management, supply chain, epidemiology, marketing and change management, just to name a few.

Fellows experience new cultures and explore how healthcare is practiced in developing countries. They have three months to learn about their assigned organization; develop a cohesive working relationship with other Fellows; assess the current situation of the assigned project; and listen, learn and put into place the deliverables. That may sound like a lot to do in a short period of time, but the rewards are many. I know when I returned from my Fellowship assignment in Kenya, I had a renewed sense of commitment to my role within the company.

The Fellowship’s positive reach goes well beyond its participants. As managers face losing a team member for three months, they are challenged with developing a plan to cover the Fellow’s workload. This allows many opportunities for others to take on special assignments. On my team, for example, there was an individual who had previously expressed interest in taking on new responsibilities. With the Fellow leaving on assignment, it offered her the opportunity to “try on” that role in a temporary capacity. We had ample time to prepare and properly onboard the individual who would be filling in before the Fellowship assignment began. At the same time, I worked with the Fellow on my team to outline goals for the Fellowship, specifically as they related to his development. This Fellow returned with a specific plan on how he wanted to apply his strategic thinking and planning to his current role. I could not have created a better developmental plan for either of these employees!

In this ever-changing world we live in, it is incumbent on all of us to keep stretching ourselves. Through technology and new capabilities, we all have to keep pushing ourselves to improve our skills and mindsets to be relevant to our company and our society at large. The Fellowship program is not only improving the lives of patients, but stretching employees in new ways.