Deborah Hankin
Chief People Officer
W2O Group
Seeing the Whole Person
Having lived and worked in Japan, Deborah Hankin has engaged the concept of “Sei-Katsu-Sha,” or “seeing the whole person” to transform W2O’s approach to talent acquisition and management. This Japanese tenet stresses the import of focusing on a person’s aspirations and dreams to understand how they are a valued stakeholder in society. As the Chief People Officer at W2O, Deborah does not just view employees and candidates through the traditionally narrower framework of the employee-employer relationship. Instead, she demonstrates the power of innovation by taking a well-honed concept, certainly one far removed from healthcare marketing, and applying it to the healthcare space.
Since joining W2O group in 2018, Deborah’s deep commitment to providing an excellent end-to-end experience for candidates and new hires has produced amazing results. W2O Group hired 270 employees in 2018, while bringing the average cost per hire down by 48%. Deborah understands that W2O’s current employees are the firm’s best network and 30% of new hires in 2018 came from internal referrals. She also increased diversity hires by 23%, principally through a bottoms-up strategy.
Deborah ensures People Experience and HR Operations programs provide unique, best-in-class leadership development, culture, and total rewards programs for employees and that they are trained to ensure a seamless experience for new hires, including an innovative onboarding program, access to internal networks and programs for leadership development, and a full suite of benefits and perks. The “white glove” experience does not stop after a candidate is hired—Deborah has made it possible for all employees at W2O to take advantage of knowledge-sharing events, personal executive coaching, a flexible time off policy, and opportunities to bond with their peers in W2O’s dynamic, entrepreneurial culture. Deborah helps W2O bring in the most sought-after talent through her “Sei Katsu-Sha” approach and retain that talent through innovative programming. That innovation is passed on to clients and to the healthcare industry as a whole thanks to her people-centric leadership.
