24 Feb Acquisition brings ‘biggest single hiring day in Cerner history’
Cerner Corp.’s purchase of Siemens Health Services brings new revenue, new products, new customers and entry to new markets around the world. It also brings one other vital component for the health care IT giant: people.
“We will see a lot of talent come to Cerner as a result of the transaction,” said Chief People Officer Julie Wilson.
The completion of the $1.3 billion acquisition takes the North Kansas City-based company’s employee count from a little less than 16,000 to about 22,000. Wilson called it “the biggest single hiring day in Cerner history.”
Cerner officials have been planning for the addition of Siemens Health Services employees since the deal was announced in August. Employing what she called a “high-tech, high-touch approach,” Wilson and colleagues have visited Siemens Health Systems offices and groups from that company have visited Cerner offices.
Cerner officials have had a good reception, with 97 percent of Siemens Health Services employees offered jobs with Cerner accepting, Wilson said.
Bringing on masses of new employees isn’t a totally new concept for Cerner (Nasdaq: CERN). The company’s employment has increased by 20 percent a year for the past three years after dropping to a mere 9 percent increase in 2010, Wilson told the Kansas City Business Journal in July. The pace for what is now the No. 1 company on the Business Journal‘s Top Private-Sector Employers list shows little sign of slowing down.
The Cerner Trails campus being built in south Kansas City will house 16,000 employees after a decade of construction.
Story by Brian Kaberline, KC Business Journal
