How leaders in Life Sciences can pipeline talent for the future

Following on from our previous blog, at Apsida we are passionate about sharing useful information that can help our candidates and clients navigate through Covid-19, and something we wanted to discuss is pipelining talent for the future. 

We have noticed that a lot of industries are understandably going into panic mode, with staff in the UK being furloughed and the rest of Europe forcibly making cutbacks. This has meant that more than 80% of the global workforce have had their workplace completely, or partially closed due to the virus. 

This means as a leader – whether you are a Founder, C-Suite or a hiring manager, you will be faced with some frustrations. Headcount may have already been signed off for the year, and exciting projects have most likely got underway leaving you wondering how to hire in the here and now as well as keeping your talent pipeline rich for when Covid-19 is over.

Having strong relationships enables you to access better talent

We all know how difficult it can be to find the ideal person for your team or organisation, so completely shutting yourself off from high-quality talent in our opinion is counter-productive during this time. 

Home working and technology has allowed for (hopefully) a reduction in ever-consuming meetings or chats with colleagues. This means hiring managers and job seekers are given the luxury of time, allowing them to have conversations with discretion, and without rushing. 

The working world is incredibly relationship-driven, and this also applies when you are looking to hire. We would argue that pipelining during a pandemic and building relationships in a tough time like this is beneficial in many ways:

• No more hasty decisions: If you’ve been in a position before where you are under pressure to make a hire, sometimes that can skew your judgement on the best person for the role. Taking time to speak to the right talent can allow you to pipeline for the future without any pressure.
• Access to more talent than you would have had previously: With a lot of individuals being made redundant, it has opened up the candidate pool significantly. Now there are more available candidates than ever before, so pipelining whilst having access to multiple skill sets is invaluable.

This means that having conversations earlier on allows you to a) secure talent for when you can hire or b) if they are no longer available, you have a better idea in your mind of the skills and personality traits that you would need for that particular role.

Partner with the right people

If you are a business that focuses on outsourcing your recruitment, now is the time to partner with the best Recruitment Consultants to provide you with high-quality talent. Having the right agency to represent your brand and communicate how you are handling Covid-19 is crucial. 

A lot of agencies (inclusive of Apsida) offer strategic advice where you can seek help on how to re-evaluate and realign your talent pipeline, and often having an external partner to share thoughts and concerns with can be a huge help if you are at a crossroads on how to handle hiring for the short, medium and long term. 

If you have never used an external partner before, there is a lot of value to be taken from partnering with the right agency. Not only can they provide you with insights on changes in the market – keeping you in tune real-time with what is going on, but they are also able to continue headhunting and pipelining talent for you in the background, whilst you focus on more pressing matters during Covid-19.

Engage with contractors and freelancers 

Contractors are often seen as a ‘here and now’ solution, and in a lot of cases they are. Pipelining future talent isn’t just with permanent employees, it’s with contractors, too. In your organisation, there will still be critical projects that need to continue – in which case you should definitely look at a contractor to solve that problem immediately, especially if you are hesitant in taking on a permanent employee. 

On the other hand, you may anticipate that you will need help in two, three or four months down the line, and with Covid-19 timelines constantly changing, having access and relationships with contractors will solve those problems later down the line. IR35 has also been postponed, leaving companies and contractors the flexibility they need in the current climate. 

So, in summary:

• Focus on building relationships with contract and permanent candidates either for immediate projects, or future roles.
• Partner with a recruitment consultant who can help you with accessing such talent, and offer strategic advice if your talent pipeline and timeline has changed drastically.
• Use the time you have to your advantage and take a step back to look at your hiring in the short, medium and long term.
• Remember that now is probably one of the only times that you will have this much access to a) time and b) high-quality talent.