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Top 5 Trends Pharma Recruiters Need To Know in 2023

Pharma scientist looks through microscope

It’s no surprise that the pharmaceutical industry has experienced major, unprecedented growth since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

With short-staffed, overworked teams, enormous numbers of unfilled positions, increased demand for niche roles and shifting priorities, talent acquisition (TA) challenges in the industry are soaring, pharma recruiters need to stay ahead of the curve if they want to attract quality candidates.

In a constantly evolving and dynamic industry, it’s difficult to keep up with the latest methods of sourcing the right candidates for niche roles. Let’s consider the top 5 talent acquisition trends in the pharmaceutical sector this year that will help you refine your hiring strategy:

#1 Candidates have the power

Gone are the days of candidates becoming jumpy and nervous before an interview, particularly in the pharma industry. The power shift has empowered competent job seekers to ask potential employers ‘Why should I work for you?’ Their niche qualifications give them the luxury of choice in a saturated healthcare industry. 

With specialized requirements and a shortage of qualified candidates, talent acquisition specialists need to up their game and their business branding if they want to attract quality candidates and position their job opening as the best option for candidates over several other offers. 

Lab duo gives high-fives after making a breakthrough

Talent recruiters are required to not only improve their candidates’ experiences and provide timeous responses to queries but to also ensure a quicker, user-friendly process and sell their company’s benefits to prospective candidates before they receive another more impressive, lucrative offer.

In 2023, companies are adjusting to this trend by offering pre-boarding strategies to make new recruits feel part of the team before they’ve completed their notice period at their previous employer. This helps desirable employees avoid the tempting counter offer that the old employer may place on the table and follow through with what has been offered to them at the new workplace.

#2 Thriving corporate cultures drive success

A flourishing corporate culture drives financial performance.

Corporate culture in 2023 has been greatly impacted as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, where many businesses created a hybrid or remote working environment, making employees’ impressions of their employers trickier to manage.

The pandemic also forced workers to reassess their priorities, with many (who are now in-demand) seeking a tailored work experience that suits their lifestyle. 

Whether it be working remotely or having a more flexible schedule, strategic talent acquisition requires insight into the candidates’ needs. 

Talent acquisition in the pharma recruitment sector is challenging post Covid-19

According to a McKinsey report published in July 2022, despite large changes in the economy since the Great Resignation of 2021, 40% of workers in a global sample still plan to leave their jobs (that’s 2 out of 5 people who intend to quit their jobs in the next 3-6 months).

What can recruiters and managers do to keep workers happy? According to the report, employees must be seen, made to feel appreciated, be rewarded (financially and in position) and recognised as a whole person (not just a worker bee with no life outside the office)

In the remote working context, this could mean:

  • Trusting that workers will get their jobs done without unnecessary micromanagement
  • Giving employees access to a mental health professional to talk to as and when required 
  • The development of team bonds in a faced-paced, otherwise isolating, hybrid, environment.

#3 Recruiting an experienced talent acquisition partner

A Korn Ferry study called ‘The Global Talent Crunch’ suggests that the current talent shortage could create 85 million unfilled jobs and close to $8.5 trillion in unrealised revenue if unaddressed by 2030.

With market demands exceeding supply in the pharmaceutical industry and a limited number of people with a niche skills set/certification to fill the roles, talent scarcity abounds. 

Keeping talent acquisition in-house creates a limited, sometimes even uniform, team of people; limiting the recruiter’s field of vision and potential to find a larger, more diverse talent pool.

Young scientist looks through a microscope

What sets Starcircle’s talent acquisition strategy apart from recruitment agencies is our ability to beam in profiles of candidates outside recruiters’ traditional field of vision. Using talent sourcing expertise, proprietary hiring technology and an expert talent advisory, we help clients identify suitable long-tail candidates who are otherwise time-consuming and difficult to find. This eliminates potential hiring friction.

#4 Using AI to make candidate sourcing more efficient

Our world is constantly evolving and AI is changing the landscape of talent acquisition.

Hiring efforts that are informed by data can streamline the TA pipeline and help to get the right talent through the door quicker. 

AI technology, together with human-led insights, drives more efficient and effective sourcing through the ranking of applicants based on a variety of factors and algorithms that are essential in your particular pharmaceutical industry.

Pharmacist searches for hidden talent in the industry

Improved efficiency and a decreased hiring period can be a big win for talent acquisition teams. 

AI can also:

  • Increase the pool of candidates to choose from
  • Enhance the quality of hires due to a more effective screening and selection process
  • Improve the utilization of existing talent pools.

#5 Uncovering passive talent

In situations of candidate scarcity, where rapid scaling is often required, organizations must discover candidates who are not actively looking for work.

Considering the highly specialized skill sets of many job specs, only targeting active job seekers can radically reduce your candidate reach.

At Starcircle, we believe that good decisions come from good data. Armed with insights from robust reporting and data analytics related to market intelligence, candidate availability, user activity and preferences, talent acquisition specialists can be guided to make the best hiring decisions and source quality hidden talent.

Scientist makes observations in the lab

Thinking differently will pivot healthcare recruiters from being reactive transactional recruiters (who wait for a vacancy to arise before beginning to search for candidates) to strategic resourcing change agents (with quality candidates in their back pocket) through long-term talent acquisition partnerships.

Starcircle gives companies access to a growing passive talent pool as well as an active cohort of readily accessible (otherwise hidden) talent in anticipation of future long-term prospects. 

By integrating seamlessly with your businesses’ ATS, Starcircle helps provide timely responses and send correct branding messages to potential candidates.

Don’t delay your search for undiscovered talent. Request a call back or an obligation-free demo with Starcircle today!

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