The War of the Worlds

Therapeutics is notoriously a high-demand, low-supply candidate market, so what can you do to make your opportunity stand out?

Candidates are often driven by what is ‘hot’ right now in respect to the product portfolios they are motivated to work with. Currently, there is lots of noise in the market around technologies like surgical robots and surgical visualisation devices.

If you’re in the therapeutics market you may not manufacture or distribute these kinds of products… but you are still competing with them in the candidate market. So how can you make sure you attract and secure the best talent?

First things first… Build a compelling proposition!

This comes both in the form of what approach you take to recruitment but also the agency you decide to partner with. Do you really know how the opportunity to join your team is being delivered to the candidate market?

Let’s face it, therapeutics products aren’t always seen as the sexiest in the market (wrong as this is!). How are you going to attract top sales people into roles selling stoma products and wound care versus the latest surgical robot?

You’ve got loads to work with…

Products that sit under the banner of ‘therapeutics’ are so diverse, but the common theme is that these products treat or manage chronic medical conditions.

The market has an extremely close link to the patient compared to the higher-value medical devices market where the sales channel is direct to healthcare user and procurement. For example, the key manufacturers of ostomy, wound care and continence products have an intrinsic link to the patient. This includes working closely with community healthcare groups to develop a strong patient network and providing home delivery services through third parties.

This market spans such a wide spectrum of medical conditions and these products are entrenched in our healthcare system whether this is community, primary or secondary care channels. The products are crucial to patient outcomes and therefore have a significant impact on our NHS.

Part of something bigger

Everyone wants to feel they are contributing to a bigger objective, and therapeutics roles do just that. A genuinely passionate medical sales or clinical specialist professional will want to understand how much of an impact their products will have on the healthcare system and patient outcomes.

These candidates are more focused on outcomes for patients with chronic conditions versus the consultants/user experience in treating a problem.

Yes selling a surgical robot to the leading spinal surgeon is exciting, but how rewarding is it when you can see the positive impact your products have on a patient dealing with a chronic condition that can’t be fixed with an operation?

That’s what we need to make the candidate market understand. Not every candidate will understand, but those that do are those that have that passion you are looking for.

What do we do and how can I help?

• FMC Meditech are a partnership led recruitment agency – we aim to develop a truly collaborative approach and act as an extension of your business.
• We build a proposition – not just sell a job! We help to make sure your opportunities are positioned well in what is a very competitive market space
• We can access candidates that already have a passion for patient outcomes rather than high-tech devices – ones that genuinely care about the difference your products make

What now?

If you are growing your leadership, sales, commercial and clinical functions during 2019 – then I would love to speak to you to further expand on how we are positioned to support you.

Get in touch with me on [email protected]  or call me on +44 (0) 1522 812 247.