Need a replacement? Consider the options
pharmafile | October 24, 2003 | Feature | Business Services |Â Â interim management, recruitmentÂ
When looking to replace someone in a key, high-value role, the recruitment process can often be put in place without sufficient thought given to the skills that will be required, both now and in the future. Simply making a straight replacement and seeking an individual with the same skills base as the previous holder of the post may not be the most effective solution to the problem.
It's worth standing back and taking a strategic look at the role and its place within your organisation how that looks both now and for the future and maybe considering other options to go forward.
So what are the different options available?
In broad terms, there are three: interim management to provide short to medium-term solutions; consultancy to analyse the role and how it relates to organisational objectives before deciding on the replacement; and permanent recruitment, maybe after looking again at the position and considering internal development rather than external recruitment.
Interim management
Interim management is increasingly being used as a timely and cost-effective solution. Recent research reveals that more and more companies in the life sciences sector are benefiting from using interim managers to help with skill shortages, experimental organisational changes or highly specialised projects. The market for these people is growing rapidly as senior executives see the advantages of using specialist high value skills at key stages in their business development.
With the industry's continuing process of transition, encompassing among other things consolidation, increased regulatory pressures, escalating R&D costs and innovative risk management of pipelines, there are skill shortages that cannot be fixed overnight. Using interim managers is the ideal short to medium-term solution.
Other reasons for the growth in this market are the delays found when recruiting replacement permanent staff and ever tighter internal financial pressures resulting in stringent control of staff-related overheads including benefits and office space.
Bring in the consultants
Another solution, after considering a direct replacement, is to look in greater depth at the role and spend time redefining it within the context of the organisation as a whole. Hiring external consultancy support for this is the best way to achieve objectivity and produce an analysis within tight timescales.
Experienced consultants to the pharmaceutical industry will be trained in approaching an organisation from the outside, looking at the strategic objectives and how those are being met from the current skills base. These specialists will also be experienced in the likely challenges and scenarios facing the industry today and able to anticipate where skills are likely to be required to reach the next stage of development.
A likely scenario is in the interface between medical information and medical affairs. If the director left just before a product launch, it would create an opportunity to bring in a consultant to redefine the role and to inject more commercial experience. Alternatively, an interim could be brought in until a more commercially focused individual could be found.
A permanent solution
If the most viable option is to recruit someone on a permanent basis, before going out to recruitment agencies with the brief, is it worth considering an internal candidate?
In growing companies, with career structures in place, encouraging the development of an individual is an important element of the career culture. The vacant post may offer an opportunity for an existing employee, perhaps on the next step of a career plan for high potential individuals. If an internal appointment is the solution, it could be that mentoring support will be useful to provide assistance for the person in their new role. Specialist mentoring is widely available through coaching companies. If internal promotion is considered the solution, interim management can also play a role in filling the gap created by this move.
Internal or external recruitment?
There are some advantages to recruiting without using external expertise, particularly if it is for a number of roles and a well-placed advertisement may help identify a large group of people very quickly. Set against this is the time and effort needed to go into sifting through the applicants' details. However, if you find someone, you can avoid paying an additional fee for that person.
Using an external specialist brings a number of advantages. The external consultancy can manage the process by screening individuals and their CVs, saving you and your interview team time. This is also helpful when managing the PR issue of candidate rejection following the interview as consultancies can approach candidates more directly without having to reveal the client at the qualifying interview stage. This can be crucial at senior level when competitive advantage can be lost if a particular vacancy at board level is revealed.
Finally, but very importantly, when using an external consultancy you can set an exact timeframe for the interview stage and gain important market information from the shortlist report such as what the candidates think of the company and the role.
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