Author: Dan Carlick

Let’s face it, regardless of the industry or sectors you operate in, recruiting senior executives is a complex task that requires a big investment of time, money and energy equal to the stakes at play. Every sector faces its own challenges: if you speak to anyone working within the turbulent sphere of recruitment they will stress “it’s as hard as it’s ever been”, that there’s a “war for the talent” and I am inclined to agree with them.

However, there are several factors which make this hiring process particularly difficult for organisations operating in the life science and biotechnology industries. Applying my trade as a senior search professional in the aforementioned sectors, I have observed a number of these factors but two seem especially prevalent… hear me out.

1. Knowhow and experience come at a price (and it’s not cheap)

Start-ups or smaller organisations looking to grow and take the next step to biotech domination will pursue top executive-level candidates with experience of operating at a level they aspire to, who are typically employed by large, successful multi-nationals. This means that, frustratingly, matching compensation requirements quickly poses an issue.

Start-ups combat this by offering more intangible benefits as well as offering executives’ compensation paid as stock options, meaning that joining a successful start-up at just the right time can prove extremely lucrative and generate bonuses above and beyond those offered by well-established organisations. But inevitably with higher reward comes higher risk, and since the base salary is usually much lower, many candidates prefer to take the safe option and decline an offer that does not meet their salary expectations.

2. Expert executives required – Apply within

The activities of companies operating in the biotech or life science industries are often extremely niche, as are the skills and experience needed to work within them, meaning that new executives cannot simply be cherry picked from other industries or sectors. Potential candidates must already possess an in-depth knowledge of the recruiting company’s specific field of specialism or service offering.

This problem will become more prevalent as the global biotechnology market alone is expected to be valued at $727.1 billion by 2025, supporting in excess of 4.7 million jobs. As the life sciences and biotech industries continue to grow, so does the need for specialised executives, increasing pressure on an already limited pool of individuals.

So, you are a small growing biotech or life science business looking to attract great senior talent to support you on your continued path to success. How can you overcome these challenges?

Think outside of the biotech box

Although many of the challenges faced by companies recruiting in this competitive space are out of their control, biotech companies do have several tricks up their sleeve to attract and retain talented executives. Whilst competing with sizeable pharmaceutical giants to offer the best salaries may not be an option for smaller start-ups, other benefits can be added to the overall package making these appear more lucrative. Ingenuity is the key in these instances: this is a chance for smaller organisations to think outside of the purely financially motivated box and offer appealing alternatives. These could be generous PTO allowances or more intangible benefits, like the ability to build something they are passionate about without experiencing the bloated hierarchy and red tape of a large multinational.

Cultivation culture – build it and they will come

Whilst North America may not be able to compete with Asia on the financing front, their workplaces can boast thriving corporate cultures where flexibility, connection, engagement and personalised recognition are king. Elevating the power of employer branding and marketing can do wonders in terms of helping to resolve attraction issues. Several executives who make the decision to leave well-established firms to join “riskier” business ventures do so because they feel aligned with and motivated by the company’s mission and vision and share its morals. Making these aspects known to potential candidates is crucial to attract like-minded individuals who will significantly contribute to the company’s future.

Engage a great recruitment partner

Last but by no means least, working with a recruitment partner who has built an extensive network in the sector is key to sourcing and engaging those specialised executives who are not on the active market. Working with a trusted and experienced partner guarantees access to the best talent whilst sifting out the others. Good recruitment partners will have a structured interview and assessment process and they will take the time to build relationships with passive candidates, thus gaining an understanding of what is important to them when considering their next career change. Having a similar understanding of the type of culture and organisation dynamic a start-up is trying to cultivate means that making the connection between both parties is much more likely to be successful.

The future for the global biotech and life science sectors looks enormously promising. As more opportunities are created and more companies join the already competitive search for talent, it’s the organisations that can adapt to the ever-changing candidate landscape and ultimately attract the right experience that will more than likely succeed.

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.

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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.  

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2. 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.

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3. 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.

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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.

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.

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.

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.