What You Need to Know When Working With a Staffing Agency
If you think looking for a job is stressful, just try looking for a new employee.
The old saying that it’s hard to find good help these days, while cliche, still rings true for many life sciences companies. A majority of businesses are reporting that they have trouble finding suitable candidates to fill positions.
But there is something that could help make the candidate hunt a lot more productive and less stressful on your end. The right staffing agency can help you find the right person for the right job at the right time.
What To Know About Using A Staffing Agency
Bringing on a new hire can be risky, especially if they end up not working out. Your business stands to lose a lot of money if you bring on a new employee only to discover he/she is a poor fit.
A simple resume review is not enough. The process of qualifying candidates can be resource intensive and lengthy.
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could be handed a stack of resumes that were already whittled down to a set of perfect potential hires? Imagine being able to take the guesswork and stress out of the candidate hunt by having someone else do the tough stuff.
Well, working with a staffing agency can do just that. Instead of having to go through a long qualification process, you can turn work of determining whether a candidate is a technical fit over to the staffing agency. You gain assurance that you’re interviewing someone who has already been vetted and qualified, so you can focus on whether or not they are a cultural fit for your team.
Sound good? It gets better. When you’re looking for talent and are considering using a pharmaceutical staffing agency, keep these things in mind.
They Have Numbers On Their Side
How many resumes does your HR staff have on file for potential new hires? Even the most robust internal HR departments can’t compete with the talent pool a staffing agency would have access to. You may know of a few hundred good employees, but an agency could have tens of thousands.
Sometimes all it takes to bring on a great new hire is a large enough talent pool to source from. And a staffing agency’s pool will already be vetted, at least in part.
They’ve spent time analyzing resumes and interviewing people to properly place them. Whoever they submit to you should meet your technical requirements.
It’s Quality Over Quantity
When some businesses work with staffing agencies, they may expect to be interviewing candidate after candidate for weeks. But if you have a good agency on your side, the opposite should be true.
The best pharma staffing agencies are designed to sort through a lot of potential candidates to ensure that only a select few make it to your desk. That saves you time and allows you to be focused on the things most important to your team.
They Can Bulk Up A Hiring Backlog
When you are looking to fill a position, you’re probably focused on getting the right candidate for that position. But what happens after this search is over and a new one begins? Typically, you start the process over.
But if you have a system that’s continually looking for new talent, you could have a good backlog of potential candidates, and shortcut the process next time there is a need. This is an excellent hiring strategy, yet resource-intensive to pull off.
A staffing agency, however, is always in search of both “passive” and “active” candidates that would make good future hires. These could include people that would be an excellent fit for a position but aren’t currently looking for work.
You can take advantage of your staffing agency’s backlog which allows you to be more responsive to filling future openings.
Consider What You Bring To The Table
Any job opening in pharma, biotech, or other life sciences field is going to be competitive, but some businesses forget that this competitiveness can go both ways.
You’re looking for talented and experienced new hires, but a lot of other companies are looking for the same thing. You need to do your part to differentiate yourself from the competition.
A dedicated pharma staffing agency can spend some time with you and help identify specific benefits that will be attractive to the best candidates. It’s great to get insight on industry trends in vacation time, tuition reimbursement or bonuses so you can be in a position to keep your new employees engaged.
When you work with your recruiter, make sure to bring up things that go beyond typical benefits that could attract a new hire. Distinctiveness in your company culture, learning environment or career advancement plans – these are all excellent things to discuss and can make a big difference to a candidate.
Honesty Is Key
In order for your staffing agency to find the right employee, they need to know as much information about you, the employer, as possible. This can include some information you may not initially be keen on sharing.
Have you had a recent C-level shake up where executives have left? Were there layoffs or a merger in the past few months? These may not be pleasant issues, but they are crucial to be upfront about so your staffing rep can present them in their best light.
Just as you expect your staffing agency to be doing its research on talent, your ideal candidate is out there doing their own research about the companies they’re applying to.
As long as you make your staffing agency aware of any issues your company has been facing, they’ll know how to promote you properly. And they can handle any curve balls potential new hires may throw.
Next Steps
Now that you know what to expect from and how to work with a pharma staffing agency, it’s time to find one that can best assist your business. Download our 8 question guide to help you ensure that you’re working with the right partner.
And remember, if you have any questions about our staffing services, contact us at any time so we can get you the information you need!