Home Industries Health Services Revitalizing of a social platform pays off for Amgen

Revitalizing of a social platform pays off for Amgen

By

Susan Shalhoub

-

06/23/2017

COLLABORATION: Amgen Rhode Island employees decided to transform some extra space into a coffee shop and game room where staff can meet and relax. From left, Patty Sprague, facilities and engineering; Tara Urban, senior manager corporate affairs; Ryan Meyers, supply chain; Bruno Tapia, facilities director. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Enterprise, 1, Amgen Rhode Island Employees in R.I.: 647 Tia Bush, vice president of site operations West-Greenwich biotech manufacturer Amgen Rhode Island not only searches for therapies for those with serious illnesses, it searches for ways to improve employee culture. Yammer, a social-networking vehicle for use within organizations, has been part of Amgen for a

Already a Subscriber? Log in

To Continue Reading This Article

Become a Providence Business News subscriber and get immediate access to all of our premier content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

Critical RI business news and analysis updated daily.
1 year of print (26 issues).
Unlimited access to all subscriber only content on our website, on any device.
Free email alerts.
Annual Book of Lists Print Edition.
All special issues produced during subscription term.

Click Here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article

PBN Branded Content

When Your Period Is Disrupting Your Life, It’s Time to Talk About It

For many women, heavy or irregular menstrual cycles are often brushed off as “normal”—something to…

Learn More

No posts to display

LEAVE A REPLY Cancel reply

Enterprise, 1, Amgen Rhode Island Employees in R.I.: 647 Tia Bush, vice president of site operations West-Greenwich biotech manufacturer Amgen Rhode Island not only searches for therapies for those with serious illnesses, it searches for ways to improve employee culture. Yammer, a social-networking vehicle for use within organizations, has been part of Amgen for a while, but was recently the subject of a revitalization effort by Tara Urban, senior manager of corporate affairs. “It’s a tool to hear about someone’s work with Big Brother Big Sister, or a speech they heard at Amgen, all providing a sense of community,” she said. Now other Amgen sites are using the Rhode Island location as a model of how to use the platform to its full capacity, she said. Part of what makes Yammer such a great fit for Amgen, said Urban, is the layout of the company. Not everyone is behind a desk. “We have staff in so many different functions. Some are gowned up, working in labs. But Yammer is an app. It’s mobile.” Ryan Meyers, senior manager of Amgen’s Rhode Island supply chain, a 15-year employee, says Yammer was recently used to get employees involved in the branding of a new coffee shop and game room on site. There was vacant space in the building, he said, and team members began putting Post-It notes on the space with suggestions of what it should be. Then the conversation moved to Yammer. “It’s a collaboration space,” he said of the platform. “I can post quick construction updates … instead of jamming up everyone’s email.” Also new this year is the Raise your Hand campaign, to involve employees in speaking up if they witness something that may pose a risk. And Amgen is not above using chocolate as a motivator, said Urban. “We have candy bars we give out,” she said, to team members who raise awareness – anything from an electrical outlet that isn’t securely fastened or a ladder where it doesn’t belong. With a great safety record and low turnover, said Urban, there is the less tangible. The company’s community service, for example. A new employee herself, she’s noticed the unique dynamic of Amgen. “It’s nice to see the collaboration and friendships.”