How this marketing writer tackled a major project in her first year
Despite having only joined Labcorp a year ago, Allie Strickler has already proved herself a creative force to be reckoned with. Hired as a marketing writer whose focus would be on provider-based content, it wasn’t long before Strickler became an integral part of the team. Her highly collaborative work style and strong writing abilities made her a key partner in several important projects; so when Labcorp’s 2022 Corporate Responsibility Report (CRR) needed to be penned, senior leadership knew they could rely on her for the monumental task.
The CRR is a comprehensive annual report that encompasses Labcorp’s worldwide initiatives and achievements in sustainability; environmental impact; diversity, equity and inclusion; and charitable contributions. Due to the extensive amount of details included in a CRR, the reports require weeks of intensive research, fact-checking and cross-department collaboration to compile and organize the data into a compelling narrative flow. When published, the reports—often 50 pages or more in length—are shared throughout the company to boost recruiting, sales, investor relations and more, and relied on by clients, investors, consumers and employees to better understand the company’s priorities and commitments. Although the weight and significance of the project might have intimidated some new hires, Strickler approached it with enthusiasm and a can-do attitude.
“Since I’d never worked on a corporate social responsibility report before, I made sure to get a good sense of how the process went for Labcorp’s 2021 report, and how others in our industry approach their CRR,” Strickler said.
She then worked closely with Kim Arculeo, the head of communications and CRR project lead, to devise clearer processes to keep timelines on track and collaborated with an external consultant to align the CRR with current trends in environmental, social and corporate governance along with corporate responsibility. Throughout the process, Strickler saw her own leadership capabilities grow and develop further.
“I’m not afraid to take the lead on line edits, outlining, whatever the project/piece of content calls for, but I also really value collaboration and the idea of gut-checking things with my team/stakeholders and keeping everyone looped in throughout,” Strickler said. “The biggest challenge was balancing feedback and different working styles from so many different stakeholders with varying priorities and opinions. It taught me to be patient and to trust myself to make certain calls when I have conflicting feedback about a piece of content.”
After several drafts and rounds of revisions, the final CRR was published at the end of March. During the following month’s global town hall, CEO Adam Schechter shared that he was so thrilled with the CRR that he’d shared it with everyone in his network. While Strickler was pleased with how well the report was received by executives of the company, she was most grateful for the opportunity to continue developing her own creative skills.
“Writing the CRR was a new opportunity for me personally and professionally, so I loved that I was able to develop skills in a new type of writing/editing for a new audience,” she said.
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