5 Questions With Jennifer Chiang, Head of People Strategy Execution at MilliporeSigma

“5 Questions With…” is a recurring BioBuzz series where we reach out to interesting people in the BioHealth Capital Region and Greater Philadelphia to share a little about themselves, their work, and maybe something completely unrelated. This week we welcome Jennifer Chiang, Head of People Strategy Execution, US at MilliporeSigma.

1) Please introduce yourself to our audience by looking back at your education, training, and career.

I graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with an Elementary Education degree. While I fully intended on becoming an elementary school teacher, I was recruited by the IRS to use this degree to train adult employees instead. At this time, e-learning was just beginning and I had a great time learning how to design, deliver, and evaluate different modes of training online. One of my first projects was to manage an online “university,” where our team curated just-in-time content for administrative professionals and leaders, and then eventually all employees. After serving over a decade there, I worked in various departments like employee engagement, digitalization & automation, and communications, in a variety of roles – starting as an intern, to becoming a HR specialist, analyst, executive assistant, and communications director.

During the pandemic, I think many people went through a lot of self-reflection—including myself! Through personal health experiences, and also participating in a COVID-19 vaccine trial, I realized how important to me it was to serve a mission related to healthcare and science. It’s a field that ultimately saves lives – and with that I landed here at MilliporeSigma, a biotechnology company at Rockville, MD. I am currently the Head of People Strategy Execution for our Rockville site, which in short, I like to describe as “people harmony.” My work includes recruiting, community partnerships, employee engagement, DE&I, and leadership development.

Personally, I’m currently back at school right now to gain a Master’s in HR Management, as I want to set a good example for my young daughters that it is never too late to learn!

2) Looking at your career path, you’ve worked in the White House, The IRS and now MilliporeSigma. What are some habits you learned early across your government roles that you continue to hone and implement?

One great professional habit that I learned is how to manage upwards. Sure, you can be a great manager to your direct reports, but it’s really important to manage upwards as well. Managing up requires having an internal barometer for your boss and your company’s goals, challenges, and needs. Take some time to learn about the business and what their overall company or organization’s goals are and try to understand how it connects to your work. It not only inspires you more in your work, but helps you perform better. Also, I learned how to communicate concisely (e.g., Plain English) and across different audiences (e.g., leadership, 508 compliance, internally vs. externally). Communicating well will always be essential. Most workplace issues always come down to a misunderstanding or poor communication – so it’s great to develop good speaking, writing, and presentation habits!

One more habit that was difficult to learn at first was to practice self-care and be okay with doing so. It is okay to take a day off without any explanation or reason other than to just have a ‘you’ day.  

3) You are coming up on a year at MilliporeSigma in December. What are some of the qualities that they have as an employer that persuaded you to work there?

Time flies when you are having fun! I think referrals can be a great source of insight about a company. A friend told me about the great work/life balance, engagement activities, and culture at our Rockville site and encouraged me to apply. Since I have two younger children, it is important to have a flexible schedule where I can accommodate school activities and pickups. I could sense that there was trust and flexibility from my future/now boss at MilliporeSigma, which made me trust to take the leap there.

Also, it was important for me to feel community in the workplace, to see myself or other people of color reflected in the workplace. There are also many global and national employee resource groups to join, such as Women in Leadership. Locally in Rockville, there are employee-led DE&I workstreams to make an impact with minority recruiting, community involvement, and learning (shoutout to our amazing DE&I team!).

We also have an employee activities group that plans year-round programming, such as the recent multi-cultural fair. At this year’s event, I participated in our Taiwan table and served authentic snacks like popcorn chicken. I encourage job seekers to make sure that the prospective employer has groups or activities where they can participate and be their most authentic self!

4) Being the Head of People Strategy Execution for the US is no small title. What are some existing differentiators and/or upcoming initiatives that you’re excited to see coming down the pipeline at MilliporeSigma?

Community building is my favorite part of the job. For example, we volunteered with a local Montgomery County group called Weed Warriors, where employees pulled out invasive plants from local parks. We’re excited to find other unique volunteer experiences for our employees next year so that they can give back.

Another unique initiative is our ability to make magical, immersive experiences for local students visiting our site. Biotechnology is a fantastic industry to be a part of, but often times you do not get to get a sense of what a biotech career is like until you start the job, so we hope to give an early preview for students so they can get excited about it early on. I’m excited for our team to continue to design creative ways for the public to connect with us!

5) It’s clear that you are very immersed in education in the region. If you were given more funding, what is one change you would put in motion in the education system in Maryland?

With more funding, I would find a way for all local biotechnology companies to come together to deliver a shared biotechnology conference or project competition. In addition, I would allot funding for free, paid internships for life sciences students in the county school system.

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