Standard Hiring Practices in Regulatory Affairs Recruiting are Changing
As a leader in Regulatory Affairs Recruiting, we’ve seen a shift in hiring practices over the last several years.
The shift has taken place on both sides of the hiring equation, with hiring companies and candidates. We’ve adapted to this shift with solutions to help our clients source the top RA talent pools and recruit exceptional candidates.
But what does this shift in hiring practices mean to hiring teams and HR professionals in the regulatory affairs space?
This post will discuss several key topics affecting hiring clients and job seekers.
Here’s what you can expect to learn:
- What are the current and future hiring trends for regulatory affairs professionals?
- How can hiring teams leverage contract staffing as a strategic recruiting tool?
- What does a contract staffing arrangement look like for the employer and the candidate?
- What do hiring managers need to know about contract staffing?
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Can your team use some laser-focused assistance filling your open regulatory affairs positions? Professional recruiting is a personal business, and we take every hiring client’s job search personally. We want to hear your story. Call one of our regulatory affairs recruiting professionals at (772) 212-2753, or get in touch online today!
What are the current and future hiring trends for regulatory affairs professionals?
Contract staffing and outsourcing research contracts to regulatory affairs knowledge workers will definitely play a role. The leading online information aggregators at Staffing Industry Analysts shared some prescient statistics on the Life Sciences U.S. temporary staffing market in a recent article:
The life sciences segment includes specialized roles in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medtech industries, as well as in chemical, environmental and food & beverage manufacturing. Following robust growth of 25% last year, we project a 12% increase this year [2022] to reach $4.1 billion. We forecast 5% growth next year [$4.3B] as some projects wind down and due to macroeconomic slowing.
Several areas of demand are driving growth. Projects related to COVID-19 vaccines and diagnostic tests. Fresh funding rounds that have launched numerous biotech startup companies. And lastly, several large pharmaceutical companies have announced investments in development and manufacturing infrastructure.
Knowledge workers are highly selective about their work-lifestyle preferences, especially flexible work locations (remote work) and schedules. Forbes recently reported that over 25% of all professional jobs in the U.S. will be remote by the end of 2022. And many professional workers are finding flexible work-lifestyle options in contract work opportunities.
Hiring trends can tend to come and go, like all trends. What we’re seeing is a long-term shift in hiring practices, and the statistics concur.
So how can hiring teams leverage contract staffing as a strategic recruiting tool?
In a nutshell, temporary staffing arrangements can be extremely effective for filling temporary skills gaps and evaluating potential full-time employees.
The recruiting and hiring process is all about locating and screening qualified active and passive candidates quickly and effectively. This is true when searching for both contractors and full-time employees.
What’s the bottom line? RA is a highly specialized field, and every search is unique.
Here’s what hiring professionals and HR teams should expect when they engage with an experienced team of RA recruiting and staffing professionals:
- Immediate access to qualified active and passive RA contractors and job candidates
- Immediate access to RA-specific talent pools
- Optimum time to fill to keep time-sensitive projects moving
- A strategy to consistently evaluate talent and grow their network of RA contractors
- Flexible options based on client requirements—temp, temp to hire, contract, hybrid
The important thing to remember is to think strategically about the use of contractors and temporary employment arrangements. Employers in the regulatory affairs space in 2022 and beyond need to be thinking about creating dispatchable pools of specialized regulatory talent. Contract staffing can be a linchpin in that strategy.
What does a contract staffing arrangement look like for the employer and the candidate?
Above all, flexible solutions are at the core of a temporary staffing arrangement. Here are some of the employment logistics that employers will need to consider:
- Candidate Vetting Process
- Onboarding Coordination
- Time Management and Electronic Timesheets
- Payroll and Overall Compensation
- Travel
- Housing
- Background Checks
- Professional Liability Insurance
- Compliance
- Reference Verification
- Global Placement
Some or all of these considerations can be offloaded to a professional staffing agency to shift the burden of 1099 logistics and risk management away from HR teams.
Managing a workforce of temporary employees and contractors can be challenging for HR teams and hiring professionals, and there are potential pitfalls to consider.
What do human resources teams need to watch out for?
Human resources professionals need to be aware of the boundaries between temporary contractors and full-time employees. Forbes offers some guidance:
What Exactly Is An Employee?
The IRS considers three categories when determining whether someone is an independent contractor or an employee: behavioral control, financial control and relationship. However, it generally boils down to whether an employer can control what will be done and how it will be done, not just the end result.
This is important. If the IRS determines that someone who was considered an independent contractor is an employee, the business is then liable for back taxes and could be fined. However, it is still possible to give independent contractors substantial benefits without the IRS classifying them as employees.
The Forbes quote keys in on two crucial aspects of contract staff vs. full-time employees. Contractors must be given broad flexibility in performing their work, but employers can still create an inclusive culture to make contractors feel welcome and at home.
Contractors are typically engaged to fill temporary staffing and skills gaps to accelerate projects with adjunct, specialized RA skill sets. So the high-level goal is to keep 1099 contractor engagements as short and sweet as possible.
Temp-to-hire roles meet an entirely different objective. We’ve seen many temporary engagements get extended significantly or become permanent due to the contractor’s value in the workforce. So we always encourage employers to offer corporate cultural incentives to contractors to make them feel welcome and engaged.
A professional staffing agency can help employers bridge the gap across the sometimes blurry lines between contractors and full-time employees.
As a hiring manager, where do you go from here?
That’s the easy part.
If your answer to any of these questions is yes, we can help:
- Do you have hiring budget constraints with open positions for temporary, specialized skill sets?
- Do you have critical projects on hold due to a lack of RA expertise or headcount?
- Are you looking for a full-time employee, but you need someone to temporarily fill the gap?
- Are you looking for a full-time employee, but you’d prefer to evaluate them first?
Shepherd Regulatory Search specializes in sourcing qualified, fully vetted regulatory affairs professionals to meet your unique staffing requirements. Whatever RA hiring and staffing challenge you’re facing, we’ve probably solved it before.
Contact Our Regulatory Affairs Recruiters Today!
Recruiting and staffing in the regulatory affairs space require market knowledge and experience. It takes dedication. It takes a team of seasoned professionals who understand the employer’s business operations and sense of urgency, with access to the right pool of vetted RA candidates.
That’s what you can expect when you engage with the dedicated RA team at Shepherd Regulatory Search.
Want to hear more about our specialized Regulatory Affairs recruiting and staffing process? Call one of our experts at (772) 212-2753 or get in touch online and start the conversation today!