Corporate learning at Merck: strategy, performance goals, and measuring success

Interviewer: Today I'm interviewing Theresa Zeller. Global Head of Learning Creation, Global learning and Development at the global biopharmaceutical company, Merck, known as MSD outside the US and Canada. Ms. Zeller, welcome to the business and management collection interviews, and thank you for sparing the time. I'm keen to learn all that the title of your position seeks to convey. May I start with four big questions? One, what is the company and what are you personally and your team seeking to achieve? Two, who sets the strategy and how? Three, what is the balance and interaction between learning and training? Four, how do you measure success? Ms. Zeller. Prof. Zeller: It's so wonderful to be here with you today Neil, so thank you for the opportunity and I'm looking forward to our time together. Interviewer: Taking the questions in turn, what is the company and what are you personally and your team seeking to achieve? Prof. Zeller: Neil, Merck is a premier biopharmaceutical research-intensive company. We're headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey, but we operate in over 120 companies with over 75,000 employees around the world. Our vision as a company is to really leverage and use the power of leading science to save and improve lives around the world. With that, the goal of learning and development is to strengthen Merck's human capital with innovative learning solutions so that