Rapid changes to the recruitment sector mean organisations that don’t keep up risk being left behind in the quest for talent.

Looking at how pharmaceutical organisations attract and retain talent, we already see a disconnect between those who adopt more progressive methods and those who are reluctant to step out of their recruiting comfort zone.

The pandemic accelerated changes that would have happened naturally over a period of years and condensed them into a few months. Now organisations are recruiting in a different landscape, what must pharmaceutical companies be aware of as they look to attract new talent?

These are the new ways to recruit for your pharma company.

1. Prioritising Quality Over Time to Hire

Moving forward, we are seeing an increased focus on the quality of candidates over time to hire.

Time to hire will, of course, still be a critical deliverable for your pharma business, but there is now a laser-sharp focus on candidate excellence which should steer your recruitment process.

Attracting quality pharma experts starts with your talent pipeline – so how does this need an overhaul?

A recent industry report found that recruitment budgets are now being spent on social media promotion, with 70% of hiring managers stating that they have hired through social media.

This renewed focus on the quality of candidates might seem counterintuitive, especially if you have struggled in the past to find talent in the timeframe you need. But improving the quality of candidates in your talent pipeline will eventually reduce your time to hire, too.

When you consistently attract high-value candidates due to an increased focus on building your talent pipeline, your recruitment process naturally becomes shorter, and you don’t have to compromise on quality.

2. A Focus on Marketing to Attract Candidates

Marketing to attract candidates is still a relatively new concept for some organisations, but it is a strategy that works for companies of all size.

All pharmaceutical organisations want to get the best ROI on their H.R. and marketing spending. As you know, the cost to replace a ‘wrong’ hire can be in the thousands, especially for senior pharma roles such as a Field Application Specialist or a Technical Manager.

Ensuring that your recruitment collateral speaks to the candidates you want is a necessity, and marketing your brand and your roles to these individuals is critical.

Larger, well-established businesses with prominent reputations can become complacent when hiring, believing that they don’t need to single out highly qualified candidates as they have been successful in attracting talent in the past. But not using smart marketing in the recruitment process can lead to too many unsuitable applicants or difficulty attracting high-quality talent from across the globe.

Smaller firms that have a reduced budget to spend on marketing can also make the mistake of failing to market to the ‘right’ candidates due to a lack of adequate recruitment collateral and marketing of their brand and roles.

Create a marketing plan with the resources you have aimed at the candidates you want to attract. Think about:

• The type of candidates you tend to attract
• Your current talent pipeline
• Your ‘ideal’ candidates – their location, experience, abilities, culture fit.

Once you have collateral such as revised job descriptions, social media and email campaigns all aimed at your new, ideal candidates, press ‘go’, and you will see different, better results in your hiring process.

3. Improving the Candidate Experience

‘Candidate experience’ is more than just a buzzword. It is an essential part of any pharmaceutical recruitment process and contributes to your talent acquisition strategy’s overall results.

A ‘bad’ candidate experience has been proven to be damaging to your overall business – Virgin Media have revealed that a poor candidate experience cost them $5M annually. They turned things around by focusing on providing a ‘gold standard’ interview program and inspiring and incentivising their team to improve candidate attraction results.

When was the last time you reviewed your candidate experience? Think about previous unsuccessful candidates – are you still in contact with them? What are you doing to nurture your talent pipeline? Are you only reaching out when you have a current vacancy?

An excellent candidate experience needs to be a company-wide priority. Attracting and retaining world-class talent will strengthen every aspect of your pharma business.

4. Finding an Expert Recruitment Partner

When you want to improve all of your recruitment metrics to find the most talented candidates who will stay and grow with your organisation, all in a timeframe of your choosing, working with an expert recruiting partner will help you achieve this.

In this new recruitment landscape where quality pharmaceutical candidates are increasingly hard to locate, an expert recruiter will help you do things differently to improve your hiring results.

Kinetic help pharmaceutical companies locate the talent they have been unable to on their own, which is particularly vital right now as the world continues to change.

If you need one or more pharma specialists, from executive hires to entire new teams – we can help.

Get in contact with our team today to discover how we can help you hire differently. Call our team on +971 (0)4 442 0921 or click here to contact us via email.

Thanks,

Chris

How Kinetic Can Help   

Kinetic sources professionals locally and internationally for leading multinational, regional and local Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices companies, including Consumer Healthcare organisations.

If you need help sourcing the best candidates for your pharmaceutical or medical device organisation who will help drive your business forward this year, get in contact with us today.