Company Profile

Novartis is one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, with products available in approximately 130 countries and regions. In 2023, over 284 million patients worldwide benefited from Novartis medicines. Novartis focuses on innovative medicines and addresses urgent patient needs in four core therapeutic areas (Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolic; Oncology; Immunology; Neuroscience) and across five technology platforms (Chemistry, Biotherapeutics, xRNA, Radioligand Therapy, Gene & Cell Therapy), continuously developing breakthrough treatments.

Industry: Pharmaceuticals

Employees: 110,000

Challenge

The Novartis China recruitment team, along with their international counterparts, had been using the group’s unified Workday global recruitment management system. However, following the enactment of China’s new regulatory policies on cross-border transfer of personal data introduced by the National Cyberspace Administration last year, Novartis recognized the urgent need to establish an independent ATS system within China that would meet the following requirements:

• Local server hosting within China, fully compliant with strict PIPL (Personal Information Protection Law) and CBDT (Cross-Border Data Transfer) regulations on personal data;
• Alignment with the local talent market landscape, enabling integration with various external recruitment platforms;
• High-level integration with Novartis’ global HCM platform to ensure smooth data and information flow.

Solution

1. 160+ Days of Complex Project Implementation, Cooperation Among 10+ Departments, Building an End-to-End Recruitment System Rooted in China

Centering on its self-developed ATS recruitment platform, MoSeeker worked together with Novartis to build a one-stop recruitment management system deeply rooted in China. This system, seamlessly integrated with the overseas HCM platform, enables local teams to conduct recruitment more effectively. Spanning over 160 days, the project saw clearly defined roles and responsibilities, close communication, and highly efficient collaboration. Both teams leveraged their expertise to solve numerous complex implementation challenges, and delivered key milestones—ranging from requirements gathering and product design/planning, to development, testing (including internal/user/stress testing), and final go-live—on time and with high quality.

Globally, Novartis uses Workday as its HR system. As Workday’s first Innovation Partner in China, MoSeeker collaborated to launch the standardized recruitment system integration solution, Apply Sync, which received official Workday certification. Not only does this mature solution enhance the compliant management of domestic candidate data, but it also adapts to local market characteristics and dynamics. The solution has been widely adopted across various industries and has once again proven its value in this Novartis project.

2. Ensuring Recruitment Data Compliance, While Enabling Efficient Information Sharing Between Domestic and International Systems

Personal information and data generated and collected within China must undergo security assessment filing or a standard contract record when being transferred overseas. The new Novartis recruitment system, with standardized process design and dynamic risk monitoring, ensures compliance with China’s PIPL and CBDT regulations. Through localized deployment, employees’ personal information collected during recruitment is stored on domestic servers, with only necessary data transmitted abroad. This approach enhances regulatory compliance and strengthens data security.

While the overseas and China recruitment systems operate independently, they are closely integrated and collaborate seamlessly, enabling information sharing, data exchange, and configuration interoperability. Recruiters can create new positions in the global recruitment system and synchronize them with the China ATS, or generate postings directly within the China ATS. After talent screening in China, onboarding employee information can be synchronized back to the global system, completing the remaining processes.

3. Covering the Entire Recruitment Process, Enabling Multi-Channel Integration, and Delivering a Unified User Experience

Within China, the newly launched Novartis ATS empowers every stage of the recruitment process end-to-end. Leveraging its robust system compatibility, the platform seamlessly connects with a wide range of external recruitment channels—not only mainstream options like WeChat and major job boards but also platforms specializing in pharmaceutical talent. This system serves as a highly efficient information hub, maximizing channel synergy to enable one-stop, cross-platform deployment. From initial job posting to final onboarding, the entire recruitment journey is fully streamlined.

Recruiters can easily publish positions synced from overseas to major platforms nationwide with just one click, and candidate resumes are automatically collected by the system. Subsequent stages of the digital recruitment workflow—including talent matching, resume screening, interviews, and offer issuance—can all be configured and managed with simple, user-friendly operations.

Impact

The Novartis China ATS recruitment system, jointly developed by both teams, delivers end-to-end empowerment for Novartis’ recruitment process in China. It not only establishes a secure data pipeline to minimize compliance risks but also incorporates localized enhancements to boost recruitment efficiency. The result is effective data management, robust information security, and an outstanding candidate experience, enabling Novartis to confidently identify and attract top talent in China and inject new momentum into its future growth.

The new system offers a wealth of features and exceptional stability, supporting seamless teamwork and accommodating the large-scale, full-cycle recruitment needs of Novartis China. It accelerates the entire recruitment value chain, enables agile responses to changes, and—by safeguarding candidates’ and employees’ rights on the data level—ensures that every aspiring health professional enjoys an excellent job-seeking journey.

Mars Continues to Advance Digital Recruitment Upgrades

Mars has partnered with MoSeeker for many years, working together to address challenges such as large-scale, diverse recruitment needs and efficient candidate screening. Through ongoing collaboration, we have explored different innovative solutions.