The Right Formula: How UCB Transformed Hiring with Phenom + SAP SuccessFactors

Hiring is high stakes in the healthcare and pharmaceutical landscape where attracting and retaining top talent isn't just about filling positions — it's about finding the right scientists, researchers, and professionals who can impact millions of lives. In today's hyper-competitive hiring market, a clunky candidate experience can be the difference between snagging a star or losing them to the competition. 

Endless application forms, generic job searches, and "black hole" syndrome frustrate job seekers and hobble hiring teams. This was the challenge faced by global biopharmaceutical company UCB as they sought to transform their candidate experience and recruitment process.

We sat down with Jonathan Berlan, Head of Talent Acquisition at UCB, and Donald Ross, Head of Talent Intelligence, Engagement and Learning at SAP to discuss how companies can turn these common challenges into opportunities with the right partnerships and well-integrated technology. 

Watch the entire discussion on demand or read on for the highlights!

The Challenge of Engaging and Converting Specialized Talent 

UCB is a multinational biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Belgium, focused on discovering and developing innovative medicines in fields such as neurology and immunology. With 9,600+ employees across 40 countries and over 1,500 annual hires, UCB operates in a highly specialized market where finding niche scientific talent is critical to success.

As Jonathan Berlan, Head of Talent Acquisition at UCB, puts it: "Missing that one person could be the difference between hiring the right scientist to find a molecule that will fix somebody's condition and help improve the lives of millions of people."

The company faced several significant challenges in their recruitment process:

• A lengthy 20-minute application process causing a 50% candidate drop-off rate

• Limited visibility into passive candidates visiting their career site

• No way to effectively capture and engage with potential leads

• Complex compliance requirements across different geographies

"The average time for any individual to complete an application was 20 minutes," recalled Berlan. "Now in 20 minutes, you've lost at least half your audience. Many of them found themselves uploading their CV and then having to copy/paste their entire work history before being able to click apply. It made for a horrible experience."

A Dual Technology Approach

UCB chose to implement Phenom on top of its existing investment in SAP SuccessFactors to address these challenges. While SAP SuccessFactors served as their system of record for requisitions and employee data, Phenom would provide the experience layer needed to transform their candidate journey. Key elements included an AI-powered Career Site with talent community functionality and a robust Talent CRM that could perform critical automations with a simple user experience.

"It was absolutely essential for us that we were able to work with SAP," noted Berlan. "We use SuccessFactors as our system of record for everything to do with requisitions, and that wasn't going to change. That compatibility was a fundamental selection criteria."

The integration between these two systems created a powerful recruitment ecosystem that enabled:

1. A streamlined application process

2. Enhanced candidate relationship management

3. Advanced marketing and branding capabilities

4. Deeper insights into candidate sources and behavior

5. Improved compliance management

"What we wanted to bring to our candidates was an experience. This is where Phenom comes into its own because Phenom does a reverse journey. It's much more focused on the experience first, the system of record after. So the two technologies, if you set them up right, become very, very complementary,” explained Berlan.

Ross elaborated on the value of the Phenom partnership for SAP customers: "The free flow of information between the two solutions makes a seamless experience, giving UCB the best of both worlds. While the application tracking system is still critical, in the talent acquisition space CRM is now just as important, especially when recruiting for highly skilled, niche roles.

"The reality is that there's such an amount of innovation coming from the market through organizations like Phenom. SAP has taken a bit of a bet on that and really brought these organizations into the fold. Phenom is a superb example of being able to solve these problems," he said.

Measuring the Transformative Impact

By being able to seamlessly leverage both systems and roll out the intelligent features they were looking for, UCB witnessed impressive results:

• 80% reduction in application time (from 20 minutes to under 4 minutes)

• 93% of new candidate profiles originated from Phenom-generated sources

• 78% conversion rate from leads to applicants

Beyond the numbers, UCB gained something invaluable: control. "The first thing these tools allow you to do is take control of your pipeline of talent," shared Berlan. "But the second stage is actually allowing you to get much better control of your source mix. As a head of TA, being able to control both is an absolute luxury. It starts to make your job a lot more fun." This newfound control translated into three key strategic advantages:

Enhanced Data Intelligence. "It's no longer just a tool that you have. It's a real decision-making powerhouse," noted Berlan. The platform enables UCB to predict candidate sources and build more strategic talent conversations with other departments. Recruiters gained clear insight into which channels drove candidates, equipping them to adjust strategies and investments with confidence.

Better Source Mix Control. With deeper insights into candidate sources, UCB optimized their recruitment channels and significantly reduced agency dependency. "Overnight, thanks to Phenom, we almost doubled the visibility we had on our pipeline of talent," Berlan explained.

Improved Candidate and Recruiter Experience. The streamlined process ensures valuable candidates aren't lost due to cumbersome application procedures—crucial for specialized scientific roles. Passive lead detection and automations work in concert with Talent Community and Campaigns functionality, enabling prompt, personalized outreach and nurturing. This transformed reactive recruiting into proactive talent engagement.

Get the full story: Check out UCB’s case study here

Key Lessons for Implementation

For other talent leaders looking to embark on a similar transformation, Berlan offered two key pieces of advice:

1. Deeply understand the talent problems you're trying to solve. Pinpoint what factors are impacting your specific pipeline and candidate journey, then find a tool built to address those issues. A generic approach won't cut it.

2. Don't underestimate the importance of change management. "Success is down to the investment TA leaders make in ensuring the tool works. It requires a huge amount of resilience, drive and leadership. A tool doesn't work on its own — it works because you've made it work," counseled Berlan.

Ross emphasized the importance of maximizing existing investments. Ask yourself: "Am I utilizing what I have that I'm licensed for today to the max?" He encouraged organizations to engage with their account teams to explore partnership applications that can solve specific challenges.

Looking Forward

The future of recruitment in specialized industries like pharmaceuticals requires both robust systems of record and engaging candidate experiences. UCB's success demonstrates how the right combination of technologies, properly implemented and maintained, can transform talent acquisition from a procedural function into a strategic advantage.

For organizations facing similar challenges, UCB's journey offers a clear roadmap: focus on the talent experience, invest in the right technology stack, and maintain a commitment to continuous improvement. In an industry where every hire can potentially impact millions of lives, getting recruitment right isn't just about efficiency — it's about enabling life-changing innovations.

To learn more about UCB's success, check out the full case study.

Interested in how our CRM works with SAP SuccessFactors? Get a demo here.