Five Strategies for Recruiting Life Sciences Talent

The pharmaceutical and biotech industries have been in a state of fluidity for years. With a new presidential administration and healthcare being a favorite platform for politicians, more change is likely as the industry comes under closer scrutiny.

Industry analysts are optimistic about the growth of the life sciences market and expect modest growth over the next five years. As a result, pharmaceutical companies are under constant pressure to increase shareholder value, reduce costs, improve efficiencies and quickly bring new drugs to the market. In an effort to overcome these operational challenges, pharmaceutical companies are looking to contract research organizations (CROs) to drive cost efficiencies and productivity in development.

Both pharmaceutical companies and CROs need to effectively hire, deploy, engage and retain human capital assets to drive growth, profitability and innovation. As a result, employers are not only competing against other pharmaceutical companies for talent, but also with the CROs and it is becoming difficult to find and recruit qualified talent with the desired skills, experience and personal attributes.

Pharmaceutical and biotech companies are feeling the pressure. Randstad’s 2016 Workplace Trends study of pharmaceutical decision makers uncovered that talent acquisition and retention are among the three top issues that keep leaders up at night.

Competition coming from all sides

Due to the talent deficit, we are experiencing an increase in the number of CROs that are turning to staffing agencies to help recruit talent.

Roles such as clinical scientists, clinical research associates, chemists and lab techs are highly sought after, as are regulatory affairs specialists who know how to navigate the regulatory landscape.In an already tight recruiting market, finding specific expertise in certain therapeutic areas like oncology and infectious disease is a major challenge.

Staying on top of recruiting and retention

The prescription for finding and recruiting top talent in an efficient manner is complex, but it is solvable.Some strategies that can help:

1. Expand your horizons. Don’t limit recruiting efforts to job boards. Use a wide range of recruitment channels. The key is to find out where the candidates are and conduct marketing campaigns that target them.
2. Join the culture club. Competitive salaries will never go out of style, but today, company culture is more important than ever. With millennials comprising the majority of the workforce, today’s candidates want something different. Offer stand-out perks like flexible work arrangements, training opportunities or simply a high value placed on employee empowerment and satisfaction.
3. Use the 80/20 rule. No one candidate is going to have every skill and trait you want. If a candidate has 80 percent of what you’re looking for, consider training for that additional 20percentas an investment for tomorrow. Continual learning keeps employees engaged, challenged and motivated – and much less likely to look elsewhere.
4. Hold on to what you have. Speaking of looking elsewhere, if your company is experiencing a high level of turnover, get to the root cause. Thirty-seven percent of pharma decision makers surveyed report that their companies experienced an increase in turnover in 2015. In a candidates’ market, employees might be tempted by higher compensation, better work/life balance or the opportunity for advancement. Delve into the reasons why employees are leaving, then adjust accordingly.
5. Consider new options. On average, it takes pharmaceutical and biotech companies 105 days to replace a resource. But business simply can’t wait. In the interim, leverage an integrated workforce: outsourcing, contractors and flexible employees. Contingent talent can be used for the short term while waiting for permanent positions to be filled. It can also be a successful long-term strategy.

The strategy has proven highly effective, according to 70 percent of pharmaceutical and biotech hiring managers studied, who named staffing and recruiting companies as the best way of finding qualified talent. Look for a staffing partner that specializes in the desired niche skills, a true understanding of the industry, a full pipeline of resources and strong connections in the networks where the talent is located.

A holistic approach to talent

To compete in a talent-driven marketplace takes an open mind. It’s a new age, requiring companies to think broadly, act boldly and become more flexible with recruiting and retention strategies.