The competitive landscape of the life sciences industry is transforming executive recruiting. Growing pressure to rapidly advance scientific discovery and expand market share is making the competition to attract top talent as fierce as ever.
Raising the stakes even more for pharma and biotech companies is the current misalignment in the talent market, where demand for the most qualified professionals is outpacing the availability of candidates to fill key roles. Compounding matters further is the reality that the best senior executive talent is probably being courted by multiple companies. When a top candidate hits the market – whether they are passive or active – they are more than likely going to receive multiple offers.
These dynamics heighten the need for companies to improve the courting and closing process for attracting and hiring top professionals. Through our deep engagement in the life sciences industry and experience in supporting hundreds of executive hires annually, my partners and I believe there are a few key strategies that underlie a successful courting and closing process:
Set Expectations Early
Setting expectations is one of the biggest considerations in securing your ideal candidate. It needs to start early too, during the first conversation, to establish a tempo of openness and mutual respect. Be transparent on the hiring process and communicate your company’s policies regarding interviewing multiple candidates, including existing professionals in the organization. Let the candidate know the anticipated timeframe to complete the hiring process and the touch points they can expect along the way. As executive recruiters, one of our roles is to keep both the client and candidates focused on the expectations that have been set, which helps ensure a more efficient hiring process.
Engage and Educate
If you identify a strong candidate early-on, it’s important to start selling them early and often on the company as they are moving through the steps of the hiring process. This involves not-only explaining why your organization is a good fit; but also communicating information on real time events and company news, such as product announcements, financial results and acquisitions and how they impact the organization moving forward. We are extra sensitive in working with our clients to stay out in front of the messaging that will impact the courting and closing of candidates.
Don’t Change the Rules in the Middle of the Game
With tight competition to attract and close top talent, it’s a must to avoid the surprises that can derail the hiring process. If expectations are set on position level and compensation early in the process, candidates should not be led down a path only to be offered a lesser title and salary at the very end. Keeping candidates engaged in a lengthy hiring process is challenging. Surprises and course reversals in the final stages can set the process back to the beginning.
Go for the Close
After finding an ideal candidate, some of our clients ask, “what if the next candidate is better?” While every hiring situation is unique, we often advise our clients not to hesitate in making an offer to the candidate that best fits their needs. Too frequently we hear horror stories from our partners who tried to “slow-play” one candidate while they make an offer to another candidate with a lower probability of accepting. When their first offer is declined, and they come back to the back-up person, that candidate is either turned-off by the process or has accepted a different offer elsewhere.
Final Thoughts
How your company courts and closes executive candidates leaves an impression – not only with the candidate community, but the broader marketplace as well. By using the strategies described here, you can positively impact your company’s brand as an employer, putting you in better stead to achieve the outcomes you desire in your ongoing talent acquisition efforts.
About the Author:
Dan Strauss is a Client Partner and Head of the Pharmacovigilance and Risk Management (PVRM) practice at Klein Hersh. In the 7+ years he has been with Klein Hersh, Dan and his team have helped their partners to hire more than 200 PVRM executives including more than 15 Global Heads of Drug Safety.
