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Are you ready to commit to your recruiter?

Are You Ready To Commit Your Recruit?

At this time of year, commitment and relationships might be at the forefront of our minds, but have you thought about how commitment (or a lack of it) affects your relationship with your recruiter? Search Consultant Nathan Falconer is here to explain:

Are there really any similarities between romantic relationships and recruitment?

[Laughs] Possibly. There seems to be a parallel with the early stages of dating, when you might have a short-term mindset and date several people simultaneously, as it’s common for clients to engage more than one recruiter on a search campaign. But as happens with this kind of dating, there comes a point where you might decide that this isn’t working in the long term, and that’s when we would recommend talking to your recruiter about other options.

What options do those looking to hire have?

Here at Delve we work with clients on both a retained and a contingent basis, dependant on the circumstances. Contingency recruitment works on a no-win-no-fee basis, in which the recruiter is only paid if they succeed in finding a suitable candidate who the employer is willing to hire. This is the most common arrangement in recruitment, so clients aren’t always aware that there is an alternative. Retained search, on the other hand, involves paying a non-refundable fee for the undertaking of agreed search services. This fee represents a percentage of the overall cost, usually around a third.

What is the impact of these two different models?

In contingency work, the recruiter has no guarantee that they will be paid for the work they carry out on any given project. Recruiting firms which work on this basis therefore often take on more projects than they can expect to successfully complete, which in turn means that their recruiters have less time to work on any given assignment. A recruiter working on a contingent basis will therefore choose to work on roles which will be easier to fill or where they think they can beat the competition, which means they won’t necessarily be prioritising your assignment.

But aren’t two (or more) recruiters better than one?

It will always depend on the situation, but the short answer is not necessarily. Firstly, if recruiters know that they are competing to fill a role, then working quickly will become more important than doing good work, as they are in direct competition with other recruiters to find the first suitable candidate. Secondly, multiple recruiters will discuss the same role with the same candidates, and as a result may even put forward the same candidates for the role. This can lead to candidates having a less than optimal impression of the hiring company

What about the alternative: exclusivity?

It may not be right for every role, but deciding to pay a retainer and work exclusively with a recruiter comes with a number of benefits. Working on a retained basis means that the recruiter can take the time to prioritise your hiring assignment and to focus on the role in question. They will also improve the way in which they present the role to prospective candidates because they are able to work in a more focused manner, and as a result they are more likely to find better candidates.

Retained search results in a more engaged process from both sides: it allows the recruiter to really get to know the employer and their business culture, which means they are more likely to find a candidate who is a good fit, and it means that you, the employer, are more engaged in the process. Working on an agreed basis means that you are kept informed of developments in the search process.

 But isn’t there additional risk in paying a retainer?

Although the upfront cost of retained search is an obvious concern, it’s worth noting that the overall cost remains the same as working on a contingent basis – the only difference is that a percentage of the recruiter’s fee is paid prior to the introduction of the new employee to the employer’s company. Some might also worry about whether the recruiter will take the retained fee without following through on finding a suitable candidate, ‘will they take my money and run?’ The reality is that this would ultimately do more harm to the recruiter in the long run, and that not completing the agreed search would do serious damage to the recruiter’s reputation and their relationship with you, the employer.

If you’re now questioning whether your hiring strategy is really working for you, feel free to get in touch.

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Three steps to ensure a successful hiring strategy for growth

Three Steps To Ensure A Successful Hiring Strategy For Growth

Growth can be exciting, but it can also present a number of challenges. Over the past two years, some businesses in the life science sector have had to scale up rapidly due to increased demand relating to the coronavirus pandemic. However, no matter how urgent your hiring needs, we suggest that taking the time to develop a well-thought-out hiring strategy is crucial to successfully bringing onboard additional team members, whether they number in the tens or in the hundreds.

Here are three points to consider when planning hiring strategy in the context of a growing team.

  1. Use organisation charts to visualise growth

The first step is to create an organisation chart that represents your business as it currently stands: it could include just you and a partner, or you and a handful of employees. Present your chart in such a way that it includes details like names, positions, and the reporting structure.

The second step is to develop a second chart which reflects how you would like your business to look in the future. You could use a colour system or dashed boxes to show who and where you would like to hire, and don’t forget to use and expand the existing structure to show where each new position would fit in the organisation. This gives you a high level overview of where you want your organisation to be.  

  1. Think about seniority levels

Has creating an organisation chart identified new senior positions which need to be filled? In a previous blog on senior hires in the life science sector, I acknowledged in the difficulties that start-ups and less established companies can face when looking to hire talented senior staff. However, I also noted that smaller players can be in a position to offer incentives to potential future employees: think in advance about what you might have to offer if you’re planning on attracting more senior candidates.

  1. Don’t skimp on the detail in your hiring plan

It can be difficult to estimate hiring needs, especially when accounting for rapid growth. But putting a plan together should encourage business leaders to pause and reflect on their long-term goals. When developing your hiring plan, you want to cover the four points below: 

  • The general knowledge area of those you are looking to hire
  • Areas of expertise within this which you would ideally like to cover
  • The educational and professional background you are looking for
  • The desired timeline of hiring (particularly important for HR)

Once these details have been put on paper, you can then refer back to this document during the hiring process should things get off track. The process of putting together a hiring plan should also bring together both HR and hiring managers, instigating a smooth collaboration between the two parties throughout the hiring process.

If you’d like to hear more about what we offer when we partner with life science companies looking to grow, please feel free to contact a member of our team.

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What is the lasting impact of the pandemic on the life science industry?

What Is The Lasting Impact Of The Pandemic On The Life Science Industry?

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has impacted on all business operations, but the effects have been particularly profound for the life science sector. Pharmaceutical, healthcare and biotechnology businesses have led the response to COVID-19, from drug trials and vaccine development to the production of personal protective equipment (PPE) and ventilators. Facing what appeared as an insurmountable crisis, the life science industry acted as quickly as possible to provide vaccines and treatments to the novel coronavirus. As we approach the second anniversary of the pandemic, we wanted to pause to ask what the lasting impact on the life science sector will be.

Vaccine Development

Under normal circumstances, developing and testing a vaccine can take up to 10-15 years due to the complexity of the process. The need to secure funding and await approvals can slow the process down further. However, due to the urgency created by the crisis, the developmental window was dramatically reduced: two of the COVID-19 vaccines were developed, tested, and authorised in less than a year. The speed of these developments has led many to question where inefficiencies previously existed and whether future treatments can match the pace of these vaccines.

Digital Healthcare

Another consequence of the pandemic has been the rapid acceleration in digital healthcare. We saw a spike in the number of virtual doctor’s and other appointments as healthcare providers attempted to mitigate the risks of COVID-19 whilst still maintaining frontline services: in March and April 2020, the NHS reported that 70% of routine appointments were conducted remotely, compared to only 5% of similar appointments for the same period in 2019. Home delivery for prescriptions has also become much more prevalent. Looking ahead, it is predicted that healthcare providers will continue to make investments in digital and virtual healthcare. A hybrid model of virtual and in-person visits is now expected to become the norm.

Wearable Devices

In tandem, there has been an increase in the adoption of wearable devices to monitor certain conditions. These devices make patient self-monitoring in the home possible, which in turn allows patients and providers to promote social distancing and to free up resources for COVID-19 care. Wearable devices come with a number of additional benefits: patients are empowered to play an active role in their own care; there is a reduced need to visit clinical settings in person; cases can be triaged and resources can be directed to where the need is greatest.

Remote Participation in Clinical Trials

Enabling participants to take part remotely in decentralised clinical trials has allowed research to continue whilst respecting social distancing guidelines. It’s expected that remote participation in these decentralised clinical trials will continue to grow in 2022 and 2023, which will facilitate the gathering of crucial data and allow research leaders to retain participants.

Perception and Collaboration

Some have noted that the public’s perception of the life science industry has improved due to its instrumental role in tackling the crisis created by the novel coronavirus. Furthermore, COVID-19 created the impetus for collaborative partnerships where there previously were none, for example between public and private sectors, government, academic research and contract research organisations. These collaborations are set to continue as the sector navigates the beginning of a new, post-COVID-19 era.

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What does 2022 hold in store for the life science sector?

What Does 2022 Hold In Store For The Life Science Sector?

The life science sector may have faced numerous challenges over the past two years, but as we look towards the rest of 2022 it would seem that there are also plenty of opportunities for growth. Here are our predictions for how the sector will develop over the year to come.

Futureproofing

The recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to be a priority for the industry, but we predict that there will also be a focus on how to best ensure future collaborations with governments and public health organisations in order to provide the best possible response to future pandemics.

Digitisation of Healthcare

As digital healthcare solutions are rolled out, there will be chances for medtech innovators to offer creative solutions outside of traditional hospital settings, into broader care environments including home care. As evidenced by a recent decision by the UK’s NHS, digitised healthcare is set to become a central element of care: the previously standalone divisions NHS Digital is to become part of the centre of NHS England, a move which proves the maturity of digital operations in the NHS.

Big Data and AI

Data will soon become a critical element to the life science industry’s success. Without the large-scale sharing of data, it will become increasingly challenging to develop new drugs and to progress new treatments. However, it is crucial that data is stored and shared in an ethical manner in order to shore up public trust in the industry, with all patient data being de-identified and anonymised.

2022 will also see the establishment of AI as central within the mainstream of the industry, with its absence from areas like treatment discovery or data analysis as the exception to the rule. As reported by the WHO, specialised software can now now be used to identify tuberculosis from X-rays. It seems likely that more developments in this arena will follow later in the year.

Business and Workforce

The pandemic had the unexpected knock-on effect of leading many to reconsider their working lives and careers, resulting in a phenomenon which has been termed ‘the great resignation’. This represents both a challenge and an opportunity for virtually every employer, including those in life sciences. The resulting candidate-led market is making it difficult both to make new hires and to retain qualified staff, both of which will prove important elements to the success of life science companies in 2022.

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How to attract, retain and develop employees in life science

How To Attract, Retain And Develop Employees In Life Science

As a result of the rapid accelerations prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, 2022 seems to be a year where the competition for talented candidates is particularly fierce. Most of the conversations we are having with our customers in life science revolve around their struggle to identify and attract the right people to support their growth. So the challenge is finding the right people, but also developing and retaining your team. Here are our best practices for attracting, retaining and developing employees in life science:

  1. It may sound counterintuitive, but my first piece of advice is to hire on cultural fit and not just on skills and ability. In some instances, this will mean literally ripping up the hiring rule book and looking for the unpolished diamonds – the people that your competition won’t consider, even though they could be the best. In my experience, most of the instances of employees being let go will normally come down to ‘cultural fit’, and yet managers will gear their recruiting strategy towards skills and technical assessments. My advice would be to hire people who have the willingness and attitude to do the job. They may not prove a perfect fit, but if you find someone from a transferrable industry and give them a chance, you could be amazed at the results.
  2. Be a truly progressive employer. It seems simple, but creating glass ceilings or blocking development routes is a big factor behind people moving on, even in huge blue-chip establishments. Therefore, you can stand out as an employer by giving people opportunities they wouldn’t get elsewhere. This is particularly appropriate in start-up companies where people are often expected to cover multiple roles: this is an opportunity to create engagement that people may not receive elsewhere. 
  3. Offer employees clear communication and regular career discussions. In a world where your competition would hire your best people in a heartbeat, you need to keep talking to your employees about their goals and what they want to achieve. How often have we all seen the best salesperson being promoted because of their sales figures, but managing people isn’t what that person wants to do. Promotions are important, but they should ideally match the motivations of each individual.
  4. Be as competitive as possible with your salaries and benefits. This does not mean healthcare, dental and 50 holidays per year. This means giving your team what they need to be comfortable, refreshed and supported. During the pandemic we have been forced to re-evaluate our work-life balance and businesses have shown that working from home can be done to a great standard and in a way that works around childcare, for example. If you want to develop and retain the people you have, think outside of the box and listen to what is important to your staff. You never know, the best idea might just be something that doesn’t cost anything to implement but is critical to your retention strategy.
  5. Invest in training. Investing in your people is crucial to any development. This doesn’t have to mean spending thousands on career coaches or industry trainers, it may instead be a case of investing in the time for them to develop their skills. Perhaps you have a salesperson who wants to deep dive in to your technology and would benefit from spending time with the development team to understand the product, or maybe you have a HR partner who could benefit from a day with a Service Engineer to understand what happens out in the field. People who feel that they are invested in are more likely to have a sense of loyalty to you and your business.

 To find out more about how we have implemented these strategies in start-ups through to global leaders, just reach out to one of our team.

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Employer branding: what is it and why does it matter?

What Does GAN Technology Have To Offer?

Candidates have long been aware that potential new employers will look at their social media profiles and examine their online lives prior to a job interview, but employers should be aware that the reverse is also true. Before the advent of the internet and social media it wasn’t always straightforward to scope out a new employer, but now the opportunities abound, and candidates are making the most of them.

Job applicants expect to get a feeling for a company’s true culture (not just what is projected in corporate values and mission statements), chances for career progression and collegial atmosphere. Websites like Glassdoor also give candidates an opportunity to hear the honest truth about working for your company from current and former employees. Awareness of this phenomenon has led many companies to adopt an employer branding strategy in order to compete better in the employment market and to increase employee retention and engagement.

But what is your employer brand? Essentially, your employer brand is the perception of your company held by past, current and potential future employees. So whether you consciously work on it or not, all companies have an employer brand. When thinking about the brand you want to present to job applicants, you’ll obviously want to portray your company in the best possible light. Just as you will have spent time creating a compelling brand story about your products or services, the idea here is to develop a strong employer brand to attract and retain talented employees.

So hopefully we’ve convinced you as to why you should implement an employer branding strategy. Now we’d like to share some helpful advice as to how to go about that. Before we begin, you should be aware that whilst there are actions you can take to enhance your employer brand, there will always be certain aspects which are out of your control, as they concern employees’ and potential future employees’ perceptions of your company. The good news is that these perceptions will ultimately be impacted by the work you do to cultivate your employer brand.

  1. Audit your current brand

The first logical step in implementing an employer branding strategy is to take the time to understand your existing employer brand through research. This can involve interviewing employees to understand their attitudes and behaviour – you could use a staff attitude survey or conduct focus groups. You should also conduct research externally by looking at your social media profiles and internet presence, and you could consider working with firms that conduct reputation monitoring.

 

  1. Define your employer value proposition (EVP)

Your EVP describes what you stand for, require, and offer as an employer. This should clearly convey to potential candidates why they would want to become a member of your team. Your EVP should be present at every step during the hiring process, but it needs to be especially well communicated on your website, as this is where candidates come to research your brand. 

 

  1. Determine your company’s unique offering

Establishing what makes your company stand out from the competition should form an important part of your brand story. Here you’ll want to reference your organisation’s mission statement, values, social responsibilities and culture. Determining your company’s unique offering feeds into your employer branding strategy by outlining why a team member would choose to join or stay with your company over a competitor.

 

  1. Work on your diversity strategy and inclusivity in your hiring

This is a long-term goal rather than a short-term fix, but your company culture will always influence your employer brand. You should therefore make sure your hiring strategy fosters a diverse and inclusive company culture. However, it doesn’t stop there, as new hires need to feel welcomed and that their viewpoints are respected, so your diversity and inclusivity strategy needs to be an ongoing process, rather than simply a tick box exercise.

 

  1. Empower employees to become ambassadors

Research has shown that people consistently value peer recommendations over direct communications from businesses. You can use this to your advantage by encouraging current employees to become ambassadors for your company, both offline and online. If you can incite employees to share their own experiences of working for your company in writing, photographs or videos, it can have a significantly positive impact on your employer brand.

 

Are you wondering about the role of employer branding in your hiring strategy? Please feel free to reach out to me directly to talk about how this could assist with your recruitment needs.

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What does gan technology have to offer?

What Does GAN Technology Have To Offer?

As silicon technology is pushed to the limits of what it can achieve, semiconductor manufacturers are now looking to other materials in order to provide maximum performance whilst ensuring maximum efficiency and sustainability. One such material is Gallium Nitride (GaN), an emerging technology which is facilitating important advances in power electronics.

Combining gallium and nitrogen, gallium nitride (GaN) is a wide bandgap semiconductor material with a hard, hexagonal crystal structure. Bandgap is the energy needed to free an electron from its orbit around the nucleus, and thus the larger the bandgap, the greater the material’s ability to withstand electric fields. Wide-bandgap semiconductors allow electronic devices to function at much higher voltages, frequencies, and temperatures than conventional semiconductor materials such as silicon.

So how is GaN technology changing the production of semiconductors? GaN outperforms silicon as concerns power density, resistance to high temperatures, and operation at high switching frequencies, meaning that GaN can be used to provide unrivalled efficiency, density, and system cost advantages. By replacing silicon with GaN transistors, engineers can design systems that are smaller, lighter, more energy efficient, and less expensive.

 

Which applications might benefit most from the introduction of GaN technology? The commercial use of GaN-based devices is increasing rapidly, fuelled by demand for rising efficiency in applications including telecommunications, cloud systems, voltage converters and electric vehicles. In the motor control field, the high switching frequency (the switching speed of a GaN power transistor can reach 100 V/ns) allows engineers to use inductors and capacitors of lower value and, therefore, of smaller size. The low dynamic ON state resistance lowers the amount of heat produced, creating greater energy efficiency and permitting a more compact size.

 

With all these benefits in mind, you might now be tempted to ask why isn’t GaN technology more widely used? Price and reliability were previously sticking points, as GaN is more expensive to produce compared to silicon, but production costs are now decreasing as GaN is used to produce 6- and 8-inch (200-mm) wafers, rather than smaller 2- to 4-inch wafers. The future looks bright as the application of GaN technology becomes more extensive, and as performance continues to increase year on year.

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What new technology will change the semiconductor industry in 2022 and 2023

Four Important Considerations When Hiring And Applying For Technical Sales Roles

Semiconductors are foundational to modern technology: without semiconductors, integrated circuits, transistors, solar cells, and many other aspects of computing simply would not function. Semiconductors impact on so many aspects of modern life, from data centres and smart homes to high-speed networks and the automotive sector. Although we cannot discuss the future of the industry with absolute certainty, here are our predictions for technology which will change the semiconductor industry in the year to come.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The global AI market is expected to increase to $390.9 billion by 2025, and it seems certain that developments in AI will affect semiconductor design and production. We have already witnessed a new wave of innovation in the semiconductor industry fuelled by developments in AI, in relation to the Internet of Things (IoT) in particular. Improvements in semiconductor architecture are required to tackle data use in AI-integrated circuits. Advances in design for AI will not concern overall performance so much as increase the speed of data moving in and out of memory resulting in higher power and memory systems with minimised inefficiencies.

Arm architecture

The x86 architecture has been used as standard throughout the microprocessor industry for the last half century. However, Arm architecture has been steadily growing in popularity. Whereas the impetus behind Arm was providing a solution for low-power microchips to be used with vertical applications, they are now emerging from this limited arena to compete with high-performance architectures and the established x86 players. As Arm keeps gaining new customers, they are expected to reach the tipping point that x86 experienced in the past. History demonstrates that the sector turns to where the volume is, and IT businesses are already starting to work on a range of apps and solutions specifically for the Arm architecture.  

Material innovation

As the second-most abundant element on Earth, silicon has been widely used in the production of semiconductors, but other elements such as cobalt and gallium were also previously recognised for their chemical and physical properties. These elements are now being reinvestigated in an attempt to develop more sustainable and efficient alternatives to silicon-based technology. The compound semiconductor gallium nitride (GaN) offers increased electron mobility and performance in comparison to silicon semiconductors, especially in high-power applications.

Want to find out more about GaN? Read our blog on the potential of GaN technology here.

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Four important considerations when hiring and applying for technical sales roles

Four Important Considerations When Hiring And Applying For Technical Sales Roles

For jobseekers, it may be reassuring to hear that there is high demand for hybrid applicants with both a technical background and commercial acumen, particularly amongst SMEs in the semiconductor industry. However, making the leap from a technically focused role to one that is more commercial in nature can be intimidating from the candidate’s perspective. Here are four things to think about if you’re considering switching from a technical to a sales or business development role.

Use your strengths and transferable skills

People with a strong technical background are inherent problems solvers, a quality which will also serve you well in commercial roles. Those same problem-solving skills are needed but remember that the problems you face will be different to those encountered in a technical context.

Be prepared to let go of looking for one right answer

Whereas technical problems may have one unique or optimum solution, in the business world a variety of solutions are usually appropriate for any given problem. Waiting for the ‘right’ answer may mean that you hold off on taking action, but in most situations it would be better to make a wrong decision than to make no decision at all.

 

Demonstrate calculated risk taking

Your ability to manage risk gives an insight into how you would approach a business-focused role. Use any opportunities which come your way to tackle a tough challenge or problem, even if you feel outside of your comfort zone, in order to gain visibility.

 

Be aware of a bias for technical solutions

As someone with a technical background, it may be the case that when a problem arises, your first instinct is to look for a technical solution. This might not always be the best approach to take, however, so being aware of your bias is important.

 

Are you an employer looking for commercially focused team members with a technical background? Download our summary of candidate profiles here to see the candidates we have in our database who we can reach out to should an opportunity arise.

 

Are you a candidate looking to apply your technical knowledge within a commercial role? Upload your CV here and receive a call back from a search professional.

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Three tips on how to best position yourself when applying for senior roles in the semiconductor industry​

Three Tips On To Best Position Yourself When Applying For Senior Roles In Semiconductor Industry

​Every job application can be daunting, but the process can appear especially difficult to navigate when you want to position yourself as a qualified candidate for senior management positions. However, this shouldn’t put you off making the leap to senior management. Here are three steps to follow if you’re planning on putting yourself forward for senior roles.

  1. Review your CV

The first step is to thoroughly review and update your CV, making sure that there is a focus on achievements, rather than simply roles and responsibilities. Keep in mind that senior management candidates are expected to be leaders, so you will want to showcase your leadership skills in your CV. Make sure that you give details of industry or career accomplishments and projects and activities that you managed or participated in, and don’t forget to include tangible results of your efforts.

 

  1. Contact a specialist recruiter or executive search professional

 Not all senior management roles are advertised, so contacting a specialist recruiter or executive search firm will give you visibility of the roles that are currently available. Search professionals differ from traditional recruiters in that they work closely alongside their clients and actively search for talented candidates for executive and senior management positions or those requiring a niche technical skillset. These professionals will be able to advise you on the type of roles which would be suitable for your experience and skillset, provide you with techniques to showcase your skills, experience and qualities at interview, and discuss salary expectations for different roles in different industries.

  1. Learn how to lead other people

Although managing other people simply requires advancement to a role that involves managing others, there is a whole skillset to be acquired if you want to lead other people. Leading involves motivating others, pushing them to excel, developing their best qualities, encouraging them to work as a team to achieve common goals, and helping them discover their own leadership skills. If you see your future with the company you are currently working for, make your career goals known to HR to and your line manager, as there might be mentoring or training opportunities to help you progress.

If you’re currently considering your career options, you can find current opportunities here, or reach out to a member of our team directly.