Life sciences companies are increasingly shifting to new patient-centered, digitally enabled business models that have the potential to improve earnings by 42 percent.1 This shift has significant implications for patients, as well as companies' future talent needs. As connected devices, sensors, services and digital solutions are brought to bear to deliver greater patient value, many life sciences companies are in dire need of digitally savvy talent equipped to address changing business models.
The sustained success of life sciences companies will now greatly depend on talent with the qualifications and skills to achieve patient-centric outcomes. These skills include data analysis, artificial intelligence, robotics, automation and a greater understanding of patient health journeys.
Uncertainty has always surrounded the life sciences sector, stemming from long-standing issues around cost and pricing, clinical innovation, operational transformation to customer engagement and regulatory compliance. Now, severe talent shortages are adding to the changing and challenging environment that will likely continue for years. In fact, PwC’s 20th Global CEO Survey showed that while technology is a key catalyst for innovation, 70 percent of pharma CEOs are worried about key skills shortages, and two thirds find it difficult to recruit people with skills they consider most important to their organization. Meanwhile, 46 percent of CEOs plan to raise headcount – the highest figure since they first asked the question.2
This increase in demand heightens the competition for highly skilled talent and creates additional considerations regarding workforce planning for life sciences employers. In fact, PwC’s survey showed that 43 percent of CEOs in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry have started taking steps to revamp their talent strategies.3
The complex and changing life sciences industry calls for new workforce management strategies that take into account the benefits and challenges of an open talent economy and the need to source, recruit and retain workers with a range of clinical, business and digital skill sets.
It’s important to recognize that sourcing and recruiting are not the same. While sourcing is locating talent, which may or may not be in your immediate reach, recruiting is more complex. It involves knowing and articulating the requirements of the role, as well as your company's culture and management style. Proficiency in both sourcing and recruiting leads to effective hiring.
Employers can often gain a competitive edge through partnerships. Engaging a staffing firm with expertise in the life sciences sector, as well as insight into job market conditions and connections to thousands of qualified candidates, both active and passive, can be the difference between an overburdened, understaffed team and a productive operation.
When you partner with Randstad Life Sciences, we will ensure you have the right talent today and tomorrow. Over the last 55 years, Randstad has helped our clients adapt to the changes in the talent landscape. We've watched industries transform and new job categories develop. We've also formed relationships with some of the brightest talent available and invested in innovative solutions to engage them. This experience has prepared us to be at the forefront of current and future trends, allowing our clients to employ an inspired, successful workforce.
Randstad Life Sciences consultants understand your business and its needs. Our subject matter experts utilize innovative technology to quickly identify talented candidates and deliver personalized solutions that are unique to your business. Whether you’re looking for talent for clinical development, scientific professionals or outsourcing and FSP solutions, we make it our business to develop staffing solutions that move your business forward.
Contact us today to learn more about how Randstad can assist in all of your life sciences staffing and business needs.
1 Accenture, Outlook: The Journal of High Performance Business, “A new talent formula for life sciences companies,” 2016
2 PwC: 20th CEO Survey, "Insights from the global pharmaceuticals & life sciences industry." March, 2017.
3 Ibid.