5 Pharma Recruitment Trends you CANNOT Miss

The pandemic shook up how we all work, Pharma as much as anything else. In response, recruitment trends have changed accordingly. To stay ahead of the curve, you should check out these top 5 Pharma Recruitment Trends!?

1. Candidates have the power?

As the talent crunch gets worse, the scales of power are quickly favouring candidates rather than the businesses. Especially in Pharma, it’s common for a candidate to have several job offers at the same time.??

With more demand on people than on jobs, companies have to prove why their offer should be accepted.??

“People have got a lot more choice and are saying ‘why should I work for you?’”?

?This increased demand for talent means hiring managers must refresh their processes. For example, if you’ve got 2-3 weeks of lead time between interview stages, expect your ideal candidate to be snapped up by a competitor.??

Consider what you can offer a potential candidate and how you can tempt them to join your team.??

2. Create a high-performance culture?

It’s a no-brainer — corporate culture drives financial performance . Positive, high-performance cultures create collaborative spaces where people want to help each other succeed, and so the business profits.?

“Your culture is shaped by the worst behaviour you are willing to accept.”?

?As workforces shift to hybrid or remote working, maintaining workplace culture will become more difficult. After all, how do you promote culture when your people aren’t in it??

As Tracy Brower writes, “culture has always been a challenge to strengthen and sustain”. So stop worrying about if you’ll be able to maintain it, and instead focus on continuing the things that make you unique.?

If you’re struggling for ideas, here are some that are easy to implement:?

• Trust, don’t micromanage?
• Focus on employee wellbeing?
• Develop team bonds?
• Recognise and reward hard work?

3. Increasing recruitment agency usage?

The peak of the Talent Crunch is coming. We can’t avoid it, and sources predict that by 2030 we’ll have a worldwide deficit of 85.2 million workers. As we reach that peak, reliance on recruitment agencies will only rise.??

“Clients are now using more of a blended model, a mix of in-house and specialised recruiters.”?

?In fact, we’re already starting to see this happening. Since Senior and Executive positions are harder to fill, more and more companies are getting agencies to fill these roles. This way, they can benefit from the agency’s experience, while focussing their efforts on bringing in lower-level employees.??

Of course, you can choose to do all your hiring in-house. Just bear in mind, this creates additional work for Talent Acquisition — and the team picking up the empty roles’ workload.??

What would you prefer? To outsource your recruitment and keep growing steadily, or overload your TA teams???

4. Developing a tailored work experience?

After the Covid pandemic, the working world has changed considerably. The vast majority of the workforce was forced to work from home. Now everyone is being recalled, people have realised they don’t want to go back to an office.??

“People want to work in a way that works for them. They want something more tailored that suits their lifestyle.”?

?In response, we’re starting to see the effects of ‘The Great Resignation’. The workers returning to jobs with strict (and unnecessary) rules are choosing to leave. A significant portion of them are becoming self-employed instead, which is further damaging the amount of available talent in the workforce.??

But how bad is this ‘Great Resignation’??

Well, according to the World Economic Forum, 20% of workers plan to quit in 2022 . That’s a significant portion of the workforce, and something that’ll only worsen the Talent Crunch. Unless business owners and managers change their methods, it’s not unreasonable to see this number continue to grow.??

So how can you keep your team??

By offering them a tailored work life. Whether it’s flexible, remote, or hybrid working, each employee is a different person. As such, having them on a one-size-fits-all plan isn’t going to cut it anymore.??

Instead, make them feel valued by providing schedules unique to each employee. This should lead to a work-life balance that suits each individual, and as word spreads, you’ll see more talent choosing you.??

5. Pre-Boarding?

The next big thing in talent acquisition is pre-boarding. If you haven’t heard, pre-boarding is what happens between a candidate accepting your offer, and actually joining your company.??

“Whatever the notice period, don’t let them forget the reasons why they wanted to join your company.”?

?Traditionally, companies wouldn’t put too much effort into changing an employee’s mind, and simply let them leave. As talent is becoming more exclusive though, businesses are fighting harder to keep their current team.??

This typically involves listening to an employee’s main issues, and using their notice period to fix their problems. You’re left with a candidate who feels respected by their current employer, and chooses to stay rather than join your business.??

In response, you have to stay on top of your pre-boarding. Make sure your prospective employee already feels like a part of the team before they even start.??

This can involve:?

• Inviting them to company social events?
• Staying in touch up until they’ve started their first day?
• Setting up (and sending) their equipment before they start?

Did you know that a great onboarding experience can make nearly 70% of employees stay for up to 3 years? Even from a purely financial viewpoint, it just makes sense to give your future team the best experience possible from the moment they sign the contract.??

Ready to shake up your recruitment??

As part of a talent consultancy, I know first-hand how challenging (and crucial) gaining the right employee can be. If that’s not something already in your skillset, feel free to send me a message on LinkedIn, and we can sort something out.???

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