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Rapid Response for Ventec Life Systems

CLIENT

Ventec Life Systems

INDUSTRY

Biotech and Life Sciences

LOCATION

Bothell, WA

SIZE

50+

PRIORITIES

Recruiting, Policy and
Process Development 

About Ventec Life Systems

vocsnVentec Life Systems is dedicated to saving lives through state-of-the-art respiratory care technology for home caregivers and hospitals. The company’s VOCSN life-support system combines ventilation, oxygen, cough assistance, suction, and nebulization into one convenient, portable device, which is easier for patients to use and lowers the risk of infections and other complications. And amidst the COVID-19 pandemic Ventec’s products are, in a word, critical.

The Need

Resourceful had been consulting with Ventec since 2018, helping with job descriptions, recruiting, compensation, onboarding, and other foundational HR policies and processes as needed. Then COVID-19 hit.

Ventec quickly joined forces with GM to deliver more critical care ventilators to frontline medical professionals than they ever had before—many more. They went from producing  hundreds of units per month to thousands, with the ultimate goal of 30,000 by August in conjunction with GM. Ventec needed to scale their output and their staff exponentially and quickly.

As word got out about the GM partnership, Ventec was flooded with hundreds of inquiries per week from agencies and individuals looking for work or volunteering to help. Recruiting kicked into high gear as several recruiting consultants and agencies pitched in, and Ventec needed a partner who shared their dedication to the urgent, time-sensitive mission to spearhead the effort. The Ventec team also wanted to make sure they weren’t sacrificing quality for speed. They wanted strong hires who shared the company’s values and would be in it for the long term.

Ventec was committed to getting healthcare facilities across the country the ventilators they desperately needed, and Resourceful was committed to helping them do it.

Resourceful Response

As Ventec’s HR partner, Resourceful stepped up to coordinate the overall recruiting response, which was “all hands on deck” as the entire Resourceful team and a number of other agencies pitched in to quickly prioritize and recruit for dozens of roles, from engineering to production, in two locations. 

Resourceful helped structure the approval process for new positions and produced a recruiting dashboard to track progress. They figured out how the overall flow would work and trained the hiring managers and recruiting partners in the process to help accelerate screening and onboarding.

“The process was our anchor point. We needed to all be in this together.”

Phoebe Ingraham, HR Consultant, Resourceful

Resourceful’s Stephanie Beck-Tauscher attended daily meetings and even worked on-site once a week to provide a reassuring visual presence for the Ventec team at a critical time. In an extremely dynamic environment with no shortage of moving parts, Stephanie kept everyone on the same page. The key was to divide and conquer, stay organized, and execute effectively.

 

“With everything changing so quickly, we had to act and adapt on the fly.”

Stephanie Beck-Tauscher, Director HR Services, Resourceful

Over the next two months, Ventec and Resourceful’s HR services partnership escalated from a few hours a week to 200+ hours a month. Resourceful helped the company put new travel policies in place for its factory partnership with GM, create leave policies for employees impacted by COVID, document new onboarding processes, and ultimately make the transition to a new full-time HR person. There was no time for anything other than 100% teamwork. Lives were on the line.

“I’m proud that we were able to be immediately responsive. Saying yep, we got this, we can help!”

Phoebe

Meaningful Results

Ventec was able to get the new GE production facility in Kokomo, Indiana, staffed and running in record time, and the company scaled quickly to deliver thousands of critical care ventilators to medical professionals on the front lines.

“We were there when they needed us, and I was always comfortable having direct and forthright conversations with the team.”

Stephanie

From managing day-to-day HR needs to whatever-it-takes support in crisis mode, Resourceful was able to adapt to Ventec’s needs and help them navigate rapid change through unwavering commitment, flexible collaboration, and leadership. The whole team was honored to be a part of this massive, life-saving effort and to help support the people at the heart of it.

“We never forgot about the humanity. We saw the impact this had on leadership, and production line people, from the top to the bottom of the organization. We knew it was important to keep their mission and values top of mind. In the end, we contributed to something that will save lives. It was an incredible experience. Ventec are the real heroes, but we were honored to help.”

Phoebe