The V.I.E program eases recruitment in competitive hubs
World-renowned cities such as New York and San Francisco are often targeted by young workers, but many other cities in the US offer wonderful working environments. Today, Stéphanie Potel takes us to Minneapolis (MN), where she has been based for about 5 years.
A real cultural exchange
LISI Medical has been recruiting volunteers through the V.I.E program since 2019. The assignment type and numbers of volunteers needed are defined by the US team and the recruitment is handled by the HR team in France. The 3 volunteers recruited so far have been contributing a lot to the team’s effort. Stéphanie describes candidates who seemed to fit in very quickly: “they were curious, eager to learn and very professional.”
The experience has been a great cultural bridge and enriching experience for LISI Medical. American employees take pride in working with V.I.E candidates: they love sharing cultural tips as much as their knowledge and passion about work.
V.I.E recruits: valuable talents to challenge and improve the status quo
Stéphanie appreciates that V.I.Es come with fresh eyes and are open to learning about the job. Questions asked by these young professionals are typically well-received by more experienced employees, even when these queries challenge the status quo. Instead of perceiving them as judgmental, they find the questions motivated by genuine curiosity and initiative. They are therefore more open to feedback. It is especially valuable for LEAN project management, which requires an agile methodology removing unnecessary phases of a project to increase customer value.
In exchange, the company also helps V.I.E candidates to grow and learn about the U.S. working environment. Mentoring V.I.E candidates can be challenging, requiring time to track their performance and to discuss it with them. Sometimes in order to work on areas of improvement, one needs to search and provide the right resources for the V.I.Es to keep learning and growing. Yet, contributing to launch new careers is a great motivator for Stéphanie, who believes that building diverse teams contributes to better social awareness.
The V.I.E program: a turnkey HR solution in competitive hubs like Minneapolis
Minnesota is the 2nd biggest MedTech hub in the US after California. Home to two of the world’s references in Healthcare: The Mayo Clinic and giant Medtronic, it brings together a very large and competitive network of suppliers.
LISI Medical usually recruits highly skilled profiles (statisticians, quality and technologies inspectors, engineers). The twin cities (Minneapolis and St Paul) are very competitive areas to find such profiles. The V.I.E program enables LISI to reach a larger pool of qualified talents. In fact, French colleges and universities offer quality high-level education and most V.I.E candidates already have a previous work experience when joining the US team (internships and first experience in a junior position).
Additionally, the VIE is a long-term assignment (between 12 and 18 months in the U.S). It is a good amount of time to train and assess the recruit, and possibly hire the person afterwards in another subsidiary.
“The fact that the cost of hiring a V.I.E is very competitive, and that Business France provides very strong support to its client companies, creates the best conditions to hire a V.I.E. Our company really loves having them!”
LISI Medical is currently waiting for 2 new young professionals to join and support its team through its many upcoming challenges such as the increase of production activities to supply the current and future demands.
