Life at Veeva: Toronto​

This video serves as an internal recruitment and branding piece highlighting the corporate culture and strategic importance of Veeva Systems’ Toronto product hub. The primary goal is to showcase the employee experience, emphasizing the collaborative environment, the high caliber of colleagues, and the direct impact of their work on the life sciences industry. The Toronto office is positioned as Veeva’s fastest-growing product center, driving innovation by building end-to-end applications and leading the company's expansion into new, non-pharmaceutical sectors.

The core themes articulated by the employees revolve around professional autonomy, speed, and purpose. Employees value the control they have over their work and the fast pace ("the speed that Veeva gives its employees... it keeps you on your toes"). A strong emphasis is placed on collaboration, defining the working environment as one where individuals function as partners and a unified team to find the best solutions for customers and product development. This collaborative, high-velocity culture is presented as essential for maintaining market leadership and driving continuous product evolution.

Crucially for the life sciences sector, the video connects the technical work of software development directly to patient outcomes. Employees express motivation derived from "making a difference actually helping patients around the world." They explicitly state that Veeva’s software and services "speed up the process of getting the drugs to the market." This highlights Veeva's foundational mission—accelerating the delivery of life-saving treatments—which permeates the internal culture and serves as a powerful driver for talent acquisition and retention.

The organizational structure is characterized by high-functioning, small teams operating within the framework of a large company. This structure allows for close collaboration and personal recognition while maintaining the resources and reach of a global enterprise. Furthermore, the company promotes continuous skill enhancement through specific initiatives, such as the "Two-Percent Development Program," which provides employees with opportunities to learn new skills and work on "new and upcoming" technologies. This commitment to professional growth ensures that the Toronto hub remains at the forefront of technological innovation, supporting both current product suites and the strategic expansion into new industries mentioned in the video's description.

Key Takeaways: • Strategic Importance of the Toronto Hub: The Toronto office is explicitly identified as Veeva’s fastest-growing product hub, responsible for driving innovation in end-to-end applications and leading the company’s strategic expansion into new industries beyond its traditional life sciences focus. • High-Velocity Development Environment: Veeva maintains a culture defined by speed and pace, which keeps employees engaged and focused on rapid delivery. This pace is a critical factor for consulting partners like IntuitionLabs.ai to consider when planning integration and customization projects, as Veeva’s core platform updates and feature releases are likely frequent. • Autonomy and Control in Product Development: Employees emphasize the high degree of autonomy and control they possess over their work, suggesting a decentralized decision-making process that empowers developers to innovate quickly and respond directly to customer needs. • Direct Link to Patient Impact: The company culture strongly reinforces the connection between software development and real-world results, specifically "speed[ing] up the process of getting the drugs to the market" and "helping patients around the world." This mission alignment is a key driver for talent and reinforces Veeva’s value proposition to pharmaceutical clients. • Collaborative Customer-Centric Approach: The development environment is highly collaborative, with employees working as "partners" and a "team" to find the "best solution for our customers and our product," indicating a strong focus on user experience and practical utility in their software design. • Small Team Structure for Agility: Despite being a large company, Veeva operates using "really small teams," which fosters close working relationships, encourages individual contribution, and likely contributes to the high speed and agility of their product development cycles. • Commitment to Continuous Skill Development: The existence of the "Two-Percent Development Program" highlights Veeva’s investment in ensuring its technical staff are constantly acquiring new skills and working on emerging technologies, which is vital for maintaining the competitive edge of the Veeva platform ecosystem. • Focus on Innovation and Upcoming Technologies: The development program specifically focuses on working on things that are "new and upcoming," signaling that Veeva is actively investing in future-proofing its platform, potentially incorporating advanced technologies like AI/LLMs, which aligns directly with IntuitionLabs.ai’s core service offerings.

Tools/Resources Mentioned:

• Veeva CRM: Implied as a core product suite, given the company's focus on accelerating drug market access.
• Two-Percent Development Program: An internal resource dedicated to employee skill development and exposure to new technologies.

Key Concepts:

• End-to-End Applications: Refers to software solutions that manage an entire process or workflow within the life sciences value chain, from clinical trials to commercial operations.
• Product Hub: A strategic location dedicated to the research, design, and development of a company's software products, indicating a major investment in regional growth and talent acquisition.
• Accelerating Drug Time-to-Market: The core business value proposition of Veeva, achieved by providing efficient, compliant, and integrated software solutions for pharmaceutical operations.