For global pharmaceutical leaders like Boehringer Ingelheim, leveraging effective data reporting tools has become essential in overcoming common workforce challenges and shaping a future-ready, engaged and high-performing workforce.
Jake Castro, Principal Systems Analyst at Boehringer Ingelheim, shared how their organisation is modernising their approach to workforce management challenges while delivering improved employee experience.
“Being such a large company operating in many different countries, it was very hard to find a time system that was flexible enough to support the complexity in multiple different countries.”
Jake Castro | Principal Systems Analyst, Boehringer Ingelheim
Boehringer Ingelheim’s Global Operations at a Glance
Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) is a leading biopharmaceutical company, active in both human and animal health. Since its foundation in 1885, BI has maintained its independence and a long-term perspective, embedding sustainability throughout its value chain. With over 53,500 employees serving more than 130 markets, BI is dedicated to building a healthier, more sustainable and equitable tomorrow.
BI’s commitment to innovation is reflected in its robust financial performance. In 2024, the company reported €26.4 billion in net sales, a 9.4% year-over-year increase. Notably, BI reinvested €5.8 billion (22% of net sales) into research and development, underscoring its focus on addressing areas of high unmet medical need.
Choosing Progressive Workforce Management Practices
Boehringer Ingelheim’s commitment to its people has been recognised globally. In January 2024, the company was certified by the Top Employers Institute for the fourth consecutive year in Australia and New Zealand. This recognition highlights BI’s achievements in progressive HR practices, employee engagement, learning and development, diversity and inclusion and wellbeing initiatives, including 16 weeks of paid parental leave for all employees, regardless of gender or caregiver status.
BI’s digital transformation journey includes the modernisation of internal platforms to support collaboration, agility and employee empowerment. But this was not a simple undertaking given the scale of BI’s operations. Jake shared that, “being such a large company operating in many different countries, it was very hard to find a time system that was flexible enough to support the complexity in multiple different countries. ADP WorkForce Suite makes it possible to support those complex countries as well as also integrate with our other strategic HRIS systems.”
Boehringer Ingelheim demonstrated their interest in modernising the way they interact with deskless workers by investing in solutions like the ADP WorkForce Suite to:
- Reduce complexity across departments
- Simplify payroll and time tracking across global operations
- Enable agile collaboration and faster decision-making
- Create a connected technology landscape that empowers cross-functional teams
- Improve data accessibility and user experience for employees
The Power of Effective Data Reporting
At the heart of these advancements lies BI’s commitment to effective data reporting. By harnessing the power of workforce data, BI can identify trends, optimise resource allocation and proactively address emerging challenges. Enhanced reporting tools enable HR and business leaders to make informed decisions that drive engagement, productivity and innovation.
Robust time and attendance systems help leaders determine how much time is required for certain tasks, helping identify more optimised shift planning and strategies for reducing employee fatigue in production environments. This all happens while accurately capturing employee time through a business rules engine that is configured for even the most complex labour laws.
As global organisations navigate the challenges and complex requirements of workforce environments, reliable workforce management solutions can provide key functionalities that simplify employee time capture and workforce data reporting. Boehringer Ingelheim’s approach of combining strong financial performance, a progressive people strategy and advanced reporting tools demonstrates how other global businesses can find improved outcomes by prioritising the needs of their people. Companies can take similar steps and use effective data reporting to solve common workforce management challenges and build a future-ready organisation.
Watch the full interview to see Jason’s view on how workforce management technology simplified complex global payroll and time capture requirements.
