Emma Mills is communications manager for SRG
(Science Recruitment Group), a UK-based scientific recruitment
consultancy emma.mills@srg.co.uk
Outsourcing recruitment activities allows biotechnology start-ups
to focus on growing their businesses.
How do fast-growing biotechnology companies begin the task of
large-scale recruitment to meet their expansion goals, especially as they
rarely have the luxury of an established human resources department? Enter the
concept of virtual recruitment, which allows companies to outsource the search
and selection of suitable high-caliber candidates with specialist skills.
The concept of a "virtual organization," to which one of a
company's non-core activities is completely outsourced, is not a new one. Over
the past few years, the concept of outsourcing has repeatedly fallen in and out
of favor with the business world. The information technology (IT) industry in
particular has embraced the idea, with many companies cutting their noncore
activities in favor of outsourcing them to specialist organizations. Functions
typically outsourced in this sector tend to be focused on internal support
services, for example, management of servers and desktop computer support.
The pharmaceutical industry has been using contract research
organizations (CROs) for many years to carry out large-scale clinical trials on
products without having to maintain a complete department that would inevitably
be out of use for some of the time. In fact, some CROs now have the
capabilities to take a drug candidate from early trials right up to the point
of market. Similarly, in the sales environment, pharmaceutical and other
industries are becoming increasingly reliant on the concept. In extreme cases,
some companies recruit an entire sales force en masse to support a new
product launch or sell a seasonal product.
Such virtual organizations are now coming into their own by acting as
mentoring services for emerging or expanding businesses that have a marketable
idea but cannot yet support all the necessary specialist functions—and
nowhere more so than in the United Kingdom's burgeoning biotechnology
sector.
Degrees of outsourcing can vary from a simple contractor−employer
relationship to business partnership agreements with shared goals. Either way,
this concept can offer a commercially viable alternative to setting up or
maintaining departments that may not be in constant use, an option which is of
particular relevance to young, fast-growing biotechnology companies. A
company's recruitment function provides just one example of how outsourcing can
be successfully used. Recruitment has a tendency to come in waves. Once a
recruitment drive brings a company close to its headcount number, a period of
inactivity or a freeze often follows, during which the current employment
situation is assessed against the strategic plan and business objectives. This
lull may then be followed by a subsequent burst of recruitment activity, and so
the pattern may continue.
In all industries, the recruitment environment is a roller coaster of
reactivity. As promotions occur, new projects unfold, and employees move on,
there is a need to remain responsive in a competitive employment market. This
presents a challenge to the drug giants, but can seem an insurmountable hurdle
to a young biotech company, which may need to recruit entire departments.
Certainly the last thing investors want to see is any holdup in a company's
development. In these times of frequent change, it is of paramount importance
that the recruitment process is not seen as a rate-limiting process or a
business inhibitor. Without a fully staffed, dedicated HR function, going it
alone in a mass recruitment drive is nearly impossible for such biotech
companies.
Biotech biting the bullet Coupled with the widespread rationalization of R&D facilities and a
growing spirit of entrepreneurialism among the academic community, a healthy
growth environment for start-up biotech companies has been cultivated in the
UK. Once they have had their cash injection from investors, the main priority
for these businesses is to hit the ground running. Even with the best ideas in
the world, it is an impossible task to run a whole recruitment function
single-handedly while simultaneously developing the core activities of a
business. This is where virtual recruitment can be crucial.
As recruitment is only one, albeit critical, function of a human
resources department, a decision to continue to outsource the recruitment
function after the initial start-up phase could well be absolutely necessary,
as the urgency of and volume of work generated by the size of a recruitment
drive presents a continuing challenge for a growing company. It is essential to
work closely in partnership with the consultancy selected. Such an organization
will be able to identify and understand the company's needs in order to seek
out and select the most eligible candidates, helping to off-load the
administrative burden that large-scale recruitment can place on a small or new
department.
From candidate sourcing, advertisement placement, and database searching
to full psychometric analysis, prescreening, and progress reports, the extent
to which a recruitment consultancy becomes involved in the selection process is
entirely determined by the client. A good example is outsourcing the primary
candidate selection and the first round of screening interviews to the
consultancy, which would then compile a report and pass details of the most
suitable candidates to the company for the second round of interviews.
There are benefits to opting for the virtual recruitment route. Neil
Methold, managing director of Science Recruitment Group (SRG), states: "A
suitable recruitment consultancy will have access to a database of skilled
candidates and will be able to present a suitable shortlist in an agreed time
frame. It should be considered as an extension of a company's own management
resources and should be able to provide a tailored but flexible solution to a
client's precise needs. Recruitment organizations are available to help
companies through periods of transition and to allow them more time to
concentrate on the core business activities that will enable them to grow their
businesses."
Conclusions The virtual recruitment option is becoming an increasingly preferred way
of working, particularly in the biotechnology environment where companies
constantly change and grow. The advice is clear: select an organization that is
well versed in your industry sector and establish a close working relationship
with a mutually beneficial contract. Whether for a young start-up company in
the throes of expansion, or an established company with a well-staffed human
resources department, a specialist recruitment consultancy is a good way to
alleviate the administrative burden of sourcing and screening candidates with
the right skills.
