Archives for May 2022

How to overcome talent shortages in the Medical Device Industry

How to overcome talent shortages in the Medical Device Industry

Content Team

The rapidly evolving Medical Device Industry, spurred by developments in technology and the global pandemic, is facing an all-familiar challenge: a talent shortage. The pool of highly specialized talent to fill positions in the Medical Device industry has always been slim, but hiring managers are now finding themselves competing for talent from other industries too.

Plan development and succession to utilize niche medical expertise

Take for example the shortage of regulatory affairs specialists. Since the introduction of the EU MDR – a set of regulations for companies that want to sell their devices on the European market – US companies have had to rethink their approval and compliance procedures, causing a surge in the need for regulatory affairs and quality assurance experts.

Traditionally, many regulatory affairs specialists were recruited via competitors and persuaded with competitive salary packages. But now that more senior specialists approach retirement, the group of available graduates interested in a regulatory affairs career seems increasingly small. This presents a problem that stretches far beyond the medical device industry, as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation have linked the regulatory affairs shortage directly to obstructions in timely access of medical supplies to the market.

Only a handful of universities offer programs that train students directly for entry into regulatory affairs. Students in other relevant degree programs often progress into academic careers. Additionally, many advertised opportunities in regulatory affairs in the medical device industry are advertised as mid- to senior level, and in doing so miss the few skilled graduates that are available.

Learning and development programs are a worthy investment to attract and retain talent for the long haul. A graduate, through learning, development, and succession planning, could fill senior talent gaps later. With the help of an RPO partner, organizations can choose to partner strategically with universities to make graduate recruitment and succession planning a success

Rethink your benefits to compete for talent in the medical device industry

A common challenge in the race for talent in the medical device industry is location. Located in large metropolitan or ‘medical alley,’ recruiters often have to offer relocation packages that reflect the location. Other financial incentives like sign-on bonuses and stock options are common ways to entice talent to accept an offer.

Although competitive salary packages are a great way to win a candidate’s attention, it might not be what brings them in anymore. Across all industries, organizations have had to rethink their wellbeing offerings, work-from-anywhere policies, and other benefits.

Job fulfilment is a key differentiator between the medical device industry and other, non-medical industries. The medical industry can offer candidates benefits that include working on innovative technologies, cooperation with renowned scientists, and driving positive change in health care and health care outcomes.

Benefits like these are best communicated in a strong EVP (Employer Value Proposition). A compelling EVP alongside the expert recruitment strategies an RPO can offer, positions your organization as an employer of choice in the market. Hudson RPO has partnered with industry leaders in medical device, health care and life science industries. Together, we have reduced time to fill by more than 40%, and saved millions of dollars in agency spend. Find more information on our expertise in medical devices here or get in touch for a chat with a talent expert.

Sources:

Medtechintelligence, Growth in Medical Devices Spurs Recruitment Challenges, accessed May 2022

Eastridge, 5 Ways to Overcome the MedTech Talent Shortage, accessed May 2022

Research Features, Talent shortage in regulatory affairs is cause for concern, accessed May 2022

Michael Page, The Growing Need for Regulatory Talent in the Medical Device Industry, accessed May 2022

Hudson RPO

Content Team

The Hudson RPO Content Team is made up of experts within the Talent Acquisition industry across the Americas, EMEA and APAC regions. They provide educational and critical business insights in the form of research reports, articles, news, videos, podcasts, and more. The team ensures high-quality content that helps all readers make talent decisions with confidence.

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Everything you need to know about hiring in the Medical Device industry

Everything you need to know about hiring in the Medical Device industry

Content Team

While the medical device industry traditionally focused on preventative and urgent care and diagnostics, the pandemic has accelerated its adaptation of other categories like wearable devices and remote monitoring and diagnostics. Functions that monitor temperature and other vitals, fitness, activity and irregularities that could precede health risks are evolving rapidly, bringing about changes in the hiring needs within the industry. We spoke to our talent experts about the market and the trends they are seeing in the hiring landscape.

What are the trends in the medical device industry and how do they impact hiring?

  • Wearable and point-of-care devices

    With connected medical devices becoming the increasing norm, we are seeing the need for technology and IT experts grow. The adaptation of microelectronics, wearable devices, display capabilities and long-distance and remote communication between devices and users, introduces risks and challenges in the areas of security, privacy, malware, and hacking.

    However, the acceleration of these products is not only asking for technology experts. The pandemic has put enormous pressure on manufacturers to increase production, but also to accelerate the entire product development process, especially for point-of-care testing devices. Medical device manufacturers will need product experts who can accelerate the entire product development and market processes to position themselves to handle the ongoing global health crisis, and the next.

  • Minimally Invasive Surgery

    Particularly in the Asian market, minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is on the rise. Continual innovations in this area make MIS useful for an expanding list of procedures, while allowing surgeons more precision and patients a faster recovery time. Despite its growth potential, MIS is restricted in its development by a lack of skilled healthcare professionals in this area, which will see key players in the industry compete for a small pool of available talent.

  • Chipocalypse

    The global chip shortage is affecting nearly every industry, with experts believing that catching up with the current backlog will last through 2022 and into 2023. For the medical device supply chain, the shortage also includes raw materials and part shortages, that will see proactive supply chain solutions become a top priority for medical device manufacturers.

    This makes room for a range of experts that healthcare and life science managers will have to make decisions about. Who have the skills to predict and analyze the next shortages, who is able to redesign our products to leverage the materials we can access, and who can act as a reliable global supply chain partner?

  • AI, AR and Robotics

    The market size for AI in health care is expected to grow from $10.4 billion to $120.2 billion by 2028. Medical technologies like robotic-assisted surgery are a significant driver in the projected growth, as well as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).

    The combination of technologies like AR and VR have benefits for the training of much needed health care professionals, whereas robotics can alleviate human staff with automated tasks, surgical assistance, and general monitoring of patience statistics.

How to find talent in the medical device industry?

Back in 2017, we already found the demand for talent outstripped the supply in the industry. The pool of candidates with highly specialized skills that meet the industry’s demands have always been slim. Now, hiring managers are faced with the challenge of bringing in expertise from outside their industry like engineers, quality assurance, IT experts and product developers, to keep up with everchanging trends and developments in a competitive market.

A common challenge in the process of attracting new candidates is the issue of location. Medical device companies tend to be concentrated in large metropolitan areas. For example, the US medical device market is primarily based in San Francisco, Boston, Minneapolis and St Paul – also known as Medical Alley. The small candidate pool often means having to convince talent to relocate. Relocation packages and other financial incentives like sign on bonuses and stock option arrangements are common ways to compete for talent.

More unique to the medical device industry are dual technical and managerial career paths, and job fulfilment. The highly skilled medical device industry can offer candidates benefits like working on innovative technologies alongside renowned scientists and engineers. Being part of a change for good, patient wellbeing and improving healthcare outcomes are usually common drivers for those working in healthcare and medical device industries, presenting a competitive opportunity for employers to compete with industries that focus on commercial and monetary outcomes.

More and more companies in the medical device industry have started to recruit talent from other industries that demand relating skillsets, and as such spending more on training, developing, and onboarding these newcomers, rather than recruitment and unfilled vacancies.

How can an RPO partner help?

Hudson RPO has partnered with industry leaders in medical device, health care and life science industries. Together, we have reduced time to fill by more than 40%, and saved millions of dollars in agency spend.

An RPO partner can help you predict needs and focus your efforts on the right pool of talent at the right time via predictive analysis and market expertise. The partnership will help you focus your hiring efforts on the right pool of talent, at the right time. As your hiring needs scale up and down, your RPO partner scales with you. Find more information on our expertise in medical device here, or get in touch for a chat with a talent expert.

Sources

Plexus, Roundtable: Medical Device Industry Trends 2022, accessed May 2022

DKSH Group, Top Three Emerging Medical Device Trends in Asia in 2022, accessed May 2022

Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry Online, Successful Recruiting in the Medical Device Industry, accessed May 2022

Hudson RPO

Content Team

The Hudson RPO Content Team is made up of experts within the Talent Acquisition industry across the Americas, EMEA and APAC regions. They provide educational and critical business insights in the form of research reports, articles, news, videos, podcasts, and more. The team ensures high-quality content that helps all readers make talent decisions with confidence.

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Our Top 3 questions to assess if your contingent workforce is operating efficiently

Our Top 3 questions to assess if your contingent workforce is operating efficiently

Content Team

When uncertainty looms, a robust contingent workforce empowering your business means you have the ability to pursue steady and sustainable growth. To be sure your business can scale up and down as needed for this uncertain economy, you can choose to rely in part or whole on a managed service provider (MSP) to hire and/or manage your contingent workforce. When managed well with a quality provider, an MSP can deliver on average, cost savings between 10-20% in the first year.

In our experience, the most successful contingent workforce programs are led by procurement teams, in conjunction with strongly aligned partners from both HR and the business. In addition, we’ve seen that robust processes and complementary technology underpin effective and efficient programs.

So how do you know if you need help with your contingent workforce program? Here are our top 3 critical questions to help you assess whether your contingent workforce is operating efficiently:

1. What is the true cost of your contingent workforce?

Understanding the true cost of your contingent workforce is critical to understanding whether there are opportunities to save costs. First, you need to assess how many contingent workers are working for your organization today and the cost, including what they are earning and the other costs you are being charged, such as supplier markups and statutory on-costs. Don’t forget to compare their salaries to equivalent permanent roles and the external market.

2. How are you managing your contingent workforce?

The benefit of a contingent workforce is the ability to scale up and down as your organizational needs change. However, the key is to have robust processes for hiring, on-boarding, managing and off-boarding your contingent workers. Contractors need to be correctly classified as PAYG, Independent and SOW, while the right checks must be in place to ensure compliance with all legislations which can vary per region. Having the right technology can be an advantage in streamlining these processes.

3. How is your contingent workforce performing?

Performance metrics vary per organization and industry, and it’s essential to keep track of the indicators and targets you have set for your organization. For example, understanding how often contract periods and reutilization dates run over and why, are valuable insights into helping you optimize your contingent workforce. Additionally, having the necessary processes in place to offer high performers permanent positions is another.

Have these questions highlighted any challenges or areas for improvement? Now is the time to revisit your contingent workforce program strategy by getting in touch with an expert.

The right MSP provider can offer:

  • Flexible talent vendor and budget oversight to help you control costs and mitigate contingent talent risks;
  • Contingent workforce recruitment, onboarding, off-boarding, tracking, and engagement and process improvements when you urgently require them; and
  • Flexible talent compliance expertise to ensure legal compliance at all levels.

Hudson RPO‘s Managed Service Provider (MSP) Solution helps companies make the smartest, most effective use of their contingent workforce spend. Click here to read how we helped our clients, or get in touch for a confidential discussion with one of our Talent Experts.

Hudson RPO

Content Team

The Hudson RPO Content Team is made up of experts within the Talent Acquisition industry across the Americas, EMEA and APAC regions. They provide educational and critical business insights in the form of research reports, articles, news, videos, podcasts, and more. The team ensures high-quality content that helps all readers make talent decisions with confidence.

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