Building a Culture of Passion and Commitment

I joined Alnylam in May 2019, which makes me a newcomer relative to three quarters of our organization. However, having developed my career in the healthcare space over the last 20 years, I’ve watched Alnylam grow, and create a unique culture that appeals to very talented, high-performing, mission-driven people.  Our culture, which was founded on passion for excellence, innovation and discovery in science, commitment to people, openness, and sense of urgency, has served us incredibly well for over 17 years. It’s truly remarkable to me that Alnylam has maintained this level of commitment to our people and focus on our culture which landed us on the Boston Globe’s Top Places to Work list for the fifth year in a row – all while driving rapid, global growth which is often when many cultures lose their way.

In the past five years, as we’ve worked to bring our first medicines to market and further develop our deep pipeline, we’ve added over 1,000 employees and expanded globally with operations in 16 countries. We now have Alnylam employees working out of more than 25 offices – and many who work remotely or are field based  – all who come from diverse backgrounds.

So, what makes a company a “best place to work?” To me, it’s when employees are deeply inspired by their company’s mission, knowing that they play a key role in the organization’s purpose and feel valued for their impact. Our employees have always taken very personally the opportunity – and responsibility – to help patients with devastating diseases. Taking on this shared mission is serious and often hard work, but we also laugh a lot and have fun, even in the toughest of times. I think that’s possible because, deep down, we know that our colleagues around the table are committed to our mission to impact patients lives and are committed to each other as people. Alnylam is also a place where we are expected to bring our whole selves to work and are appreciated for our differences. Our commitment to building a diverse and inclusive workplace is not lip-service – it’s ingrained in the very fabric of our company and our culture. Even during my initial interviews, it was clear that Alnylam embraced this spirit of honesty and authenticity.

Our open culture is important now more than ever as Alnylam continues to grow as an organization not only in number but in the types of people we attract. Within the past two years alone, the composition of Alnylam’s employees has shifted dramatically as we’ve added patient services, commercial and manufacturing functions alongside our R&D teams. Not many biotech companies make it to this stage, so for me, it’s this confluence of people and distinctive perspectives that makes it a very exciting time to be here, building the future of Alnylam.  

It’s also critically important as we grow and our employee population changes, that we stay in tune with what employees need and want so we make it a priority to listen. Like many other high-performing organizations, we conduct an annual culture survey to evaluate our successes and challenges. Translating those insights into tangible actions to benefit our employees and the company overall is the greatest challenge. Of course, ranking well on these type of lists is not the ultimate goal, but surveys like these provide us another opportunity to learn from our people and ensure we stay ahead what’s important to them.

This year, similar to most years, our employees rated us highest on the  attributes that have shaped Alnylam since day one: our mission, our vision, and our commitment to patients and each other Many companies can say they’ve been named a “Top Places to Work” once or even a few times, and it’s always an achievement to celebrate and be proud of. The fact that we have been named consistently for five years tells me that we're doing well by our people, that our hearts are in the right place, and that our mission and values continue to resonate with our colleagues who agree with me, that Alnylam is a truly special place to be.