Talent R&D: Understanding the Biopharma Industry’s Workforce Challenges

It’s both an exciting and challenging time to be in talent acquisition (TA) in the biopharma industry because the current state of recruiting and hiring is characterized by rapid growth, high demand for skilled professionals, intense competition to not only hire but retain the best talent, and evolving skill sets. 

This industry faces a lot of the same hiring challenges faced by companies in other industries, such as needing candidates with specific and nuanced skills coupled with strong competition for those candidates, but there are some unique nuances faced by the bioprocessing and broader life sciences industries.   

• Biopharma companies must comply with strict regulatory guidelines, which can add complexity to the hiring process and limit the pool of eligible candidates.   
• And the extensive training and security clearance required for many biopharma roles can result in lengthy hiring timelines, making it challenging to fill positions quickly.  
• Biopharma companies are often located in specialized hubs, limiting the available talent pool and making it difficult to attract candidates from other regions.  
• Finally, this industry is rapidly evolving, requiring companies to constantly adapt and find employees with the latest skills and knowledge.   
• And innovation and rapidly evolving technology, particularly AI and machine learning, is contributing to the growing skills gap. There is concern about talent being able to keep up with the pace of change.    

So what trends are we at Advanced RPO seeing to address the hiring challenges in biopharma?   

1. Employer branding. Back when the economy was much different and candidates had their pick of jobs, there was a term that was commonly used in RPO and recruiting which was “the war for talent.” In other words, companies were fighting to attract candidates. It wasn’t uncommon for someone to receive multiple job offers, and just because someone accepted a job with your company didn’t mean they’d show up on day one.   

Things have changed but for those candidates who have the niche skill sets, who are those “purple squirrels”, you are going into battle against your competition to not only find them but also to keep them. And that’s where employer branding comes into play.  

We see companies have much more success both retaining and attracting talent when they prioritize their employer brand and make it a point to highlight all the great perks and benefits of working for their company. For example:  

• 75% of job seekers consider a company’s brand before applying for a job  
• 94% of candidates are more likely to apply if the company actively manages its brand  
• Employer branding increases employee engagement by up to 20%  
• Organizations with a strong employer brand see a 28% reduction in turnover rates 
• The candidate attraction and employee retention benefits prove the importance of investing in your employer brand.   

2. (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) DE&I. Efforts to improve diversity and inclusion aim to create more equitable and representative workforces, drawing from a wider pool of talent and fostering innovation through diverse perspectives.  

In a LinkedIn study, companies with a DEI team were 22% more likely to be seen as “an industry-leading company with high-caliber talent” and 12% more likely to be seen as an “inclusive workplace for people of diverse backgrounds.” 

Here are a few more interesting stats: 

• Diverse companies earn 2.5x higher cash flow per employee. 
• Inclusive teams are over 35% more productive. 
• Diverse teams make better decisions 87% of the time. 
• If you haven’t been intentional about your DE&I efforts, now is the time to put focus on it. 

3. Artificial Intelligence (AI). Everywhere you go, there’s another article about AI. But most of the TA leaders I talk with have shared they have not implemented AI as part of their TA strategy.   

In fact, a recent Mercer study found that only 14% of companies are using AI tech as part of their TA technology stack. 42% percent of companies report that they do not currently and do not plan to use AI as part of their TA practice, primarily due to a lack of systems integration, a lack of understanding about efficacy of tools, and a lack of knowledge of recruiting tools.   

So, what does AI in the TA process look like? It could be AI-powered applicant screening, automated scheduling and interview coordination, or predictive analytics for talent forecasting which means leveraging data-driven insights to identify and actively engage with passive candidates who possess the specific skills and qualifications needed for your open roles.   

There are risks, of course, and I’m not here to tell you to run out tomorrow and start using AI throughout your recruiting process. What I am saying is that you should consider it, do your homework, talk to others both inside your organization and maybe some external consultants or partners, then create a plan to adopt it as part of your process.   

Because AI adoption in TA is so low, companies that DO use it to create efficiencies in the process and for talent forecasting will be able to address those hiring challenges outlined earlier AND create a competitive advantage.     

While there are other trends happening in recruiting in the biopharma industry, the 3 mentioned above are the top ones we predict will strongly impact an organization’s success going forward.