Oliver Healthcare Packaging, a global leader in sterile barrier packaging solutions for medical devices and pharmaceuticals, plays a critical role in healthcare worldwide. Their mission is simple yet vital: ensuring life-saving products reach patients safely. But behind this mission lies a workforce that spans manufacturing employees on the shop floor and administrative staff managing customer relationships. Supporting such a diverse, global workforce with outdated, manual systems was no longer sustainable.
From Spreadsheets to a Unified Platform
Before Cornerstone, Oliver’s HR and training processes relied heavily on paper and Excel spreadsheets. Tracking compliance training, performance reviews, and compensation was time-consuming and prone to errors. “We had no way to track our employees’ training records and no formalized applicant tracking system,” said Erin Johnson, Global Organizational Development Manager at Oliver Healthcare Packaging. “Cornerstone gave us a single system where we could recruit, train, and monitor performance, all in one place.”
Oliver adopted the full Cornerstone suite, Learning, Performance, Compensation, Succession, and Recruiting, to manage the entire employee lifecycle. The result was immediate simplification: one platform for hiring, onboarding, training, and career development. “It is nice to have one system because so many people I know have multiple systems. Cornerstone was fabulous because it allowed us to bring everything together,” Johnson added.
The Role of a Strategic Partner
While Cornerstone provided the technology, Oliver needed an expert partner to bring their vision to life. Enter Educe Group, who began working with Oliver to implement the platform in 2024. “What Educe does really well is listen to the customer’s vision,” explained Josh Silva, Principal at Educe Group. “Erin is a visionary in her role; she has the next three to five years planned out for talent at Oliver. Our role has been to help translate that vision into strategy and execute.”
Together, Oliver and Educe streamlined curricula, built assessments and observations into training, and introduced competency validation for employees. “We could have tried to do it on our own,” Johnson admitted. “But with the knowledge that Educe had, they were able to take my vision and move it to that next step.”
Silva emphasized the importance of getting the foundations right: “These audits drive business or prevent business. We had to make sure the audits were successful, training was consistent, and performance reviews were standardized. Only once the foundation was solid could we move forward with bigger initiatives like AI and skills.”
Compliance as a Business Driver
In the highly regulated life sciences industry, compliance isn’t just a checkbox—it’s a business imperative. With the Cornerstone platform and Educe’s guidance, Oliver now validates employee competencies, tracks required training and quickly produces documentation during audits.
The results have been significant:
- 80% of Oliver’s U.S. manufacturing workforce now completes compliance training in Cornerstone.
- Two Oliver sites recently passed audits with zero findings thanks to accurate and easily retrievable training records.
- Customers themselves have praised Oliver’s growth and professionalism since the Cornerstone rollout.
“Our customers have noticed the difference,” Johnson said. “We went last year to two of our sites, with no findings because we could show all employees had completed their competencies. That’s a win for Oliver and a win for Cornerstone.”
Employee Engagement and Internal Growth
Beyond compliance, Oliver has seen a cultural shift. Employees now have visibility into their own training and career paths, fueling engagement and internal mobility. “Now they can see what is needed to move into a new role, and they’re excited about it,” Johnson shared. “They’re asking questions, applying internally, and having coaching conversations with their supervisors.”
This evolution has also shifted how Oliver approaches recruiting. With Educe’s help, Oliver is beginning to connect recruiting data to internal mobility efforts. “Recruiting is changing. With Galaxy, employees will be able to create their own career paths, search for roles, and find learning opportunities themselves. It’s going to change the way manufacturing employees see their careers at Oliver,” Silva noted.
Looking Ahead: Skills, AI, and Career Journeys
With compliance and performance management stabilized, Oliver is now preparing for the future. Their focus is on skill development, AI-driven compliance tracking, and career pathing through Cornerstone Galaxy. “If we don’t do this, we’ll be left behind,” Johnson emphasized. “Galaxy will help us build job structures, define clear learning journeys, and create careers for our employees, not just jobs.”
Silva echoed this forward-looking strategy: “For the first time, HR technology is advanced enough to automate job architectures and skill mapping. That frees Oliver’s HR team to focus on delivering meaningful development opportunities rather than spending years building frameworks manually.”
Johnson sees this as essential for employee retention and morale. “From a manufacturing standpoint, many employees feel there is no place for them beyond the floor. But with Cornerstone, we can show them that if they complete certain training and build new skills, they can move into higher-level roles. It creates opportunity—and that’s what drives engagement.”
A Strong Foundation for the Future
The partnership between Oliver, Cornerstone, and Educe has already reshaped the organization. What began as a need for compliance tracking has evolved into a company-wide transformation touching audits, employee engagement, and internal career growth.
“Oliver has solidified their foundation,” Silva concluded. “Now they’re ready to deliver on the next chapter, transforming the employee experience while continuing to meet the highest standards of compliance.”
For Oliver, compliance and employee growth are no longer separate priorities. With help from Cornerstone and Educe, they’ve become two sides of the same coin: ensuring life-saving products are delivered safely, while also ensuring the people behind them have the training, skills, and opportunities to thrive.
