The situation
Intra-Cellular Therapies was at an inflection point. A biopharmaceutical company with products moving from pipeline to commercial reality, they were facing a challenge common to fast-growing organizations: their internal infrastructure — HR systems, employee portals, and onboarding processes — had not kept pace with the business. With leadership expecting headcount to grow from 80 to over 300 employees within the year, and the bulk of that growth concentrated in the sales organization, the window to put the right systems in place was narrow. The CHRO and Chief HR Technology Officer knew they needed outside expertise to assess what they had, identify what they needed, and build a credible path forward.
Solving the problem
As lead consultant, I wanted to build a strategy that fits the organization's unique need, and not run it from de facto frameworks. My team worked with the top 2 HR Executives — the CHRO and Chief HR Technology Officer — to identify their goals. We then interviewed select staff, those positioned to be leaders during this phase of growth.
- We identified 7 leaders across sales, research, and clinical operations. Most of the growth was through the sales team.
- We surveyed 20% of the population on what they need out of employee portals and HR systems experiences. This narrowed our search to 6 employee portal solutions that can also integrate with their choice of a Human Capital Management System.
- The consulting team removed confusion by helping the executive team decide with confidence on solutions that fit their current budget, while being able to grow the organization for 2–3 more years.
Special note: Johnson & Johnson announced in 2025 that it has completed its acquisition of Intra-Cellular Therapies, Inc.
Why it fits the thesis
Narrative to be added.