Global Pharma
From Roles to Skills: Global Pharma Enterprise Transformation
How a global pharmaceutical enterprise redeployed 1,200 employees, reduced external hiring by 35%, and saved $7.8M—all without layoffs.
Timeframe
Role Coverage
Employees Mapped
Hiring Reduction
Time To Redeploy
Five Year Savings
Employees Redeployed
The Challenge
R&D and commercial operations faced overlapping automation pressure and pipeline volatility. Traditional job-based planning could not reveal who could move where, or when roles would be at risk. The organization needed visibility into automation exposure, internal talent capabilities, and a way to redeploy employees before disruption hit.
The Solution
JobRoute.ai provided a comprehensive skills-based workforce transformation platform with four key capabilities:
Executive AI Dashboard - A single dashboard to monitor automation exposure, internal talent bench, and 5-year ROI, ready for board reporting.
Automation Risk Forecasting - Forecasting at 1, 3, and 5-year horizons to time transitions before disruption.
Talent Redeployment - Identified employee-to-role matches based on real skills, with upskilling timelines.
Enterprise Security - Enterprise-grade security with BYO-LLM, role-based access, audit trails, and zero training on client data.
Implementation Steps
Connected Systems - Integrated Workday & SuccessFactors (HRIS/ATS), Microsoft Teams/SharePoint, Office 365, Jira/Git for skills signals; configured BYO-LLM in the client cloud.
Role Mapping - Mapped roles to tasks to skills and scored automation exposure; prioritized moves that preserved trial timelines and quality operations.
Activated Redeployment - For each open role, surfaced internal matches with skills fit scores, required learning, and time-to-ready.
Launched Upskilling Plans - Exported LMS-ready paths with milestones and progress tracking.
Quantified Value - Used ROI projections and board-ready reports to align CHRO and CFO on savings and payback.
The Results
Key Outcomes
• 35% fewer external hires - 410 people redeployed to clinical data, pharmacovigilance analytics, and tech-transfer roles
• $7.8M in 5-year savings - From reduced recruiting/severance and faster time-to-fill
• 92% coverage - Of critical roles after redeployment
• Less than 90 days - Average time-to-redeploy
• Decision clarity - A live risk-to-action view that executives used in quarterly business reviews
What Changed
Leaders shifted from job requisitions to skills supply and demand. Employees saw transparent paths, reducing attrition and eliminating a planned layoff tranche. The organization transformed from reactive hiring to proactive talent optimization.
"JobRoute.ai gave us the clarity and confidence to make strategic workforce decisions without disrupting operations. We eliminated planned layoffs, kept critical projects on track, and our leadership team now has real-time visibility into our talent pipeline."
Chief Human Resources Officer
Global Pharmaceutical Company, Global Pharma