Why can't Spain's pharmaceutical companies find the right talent?

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

The pharmaceutical industry, despite being one of the business sectors with better success in Spain and one of the most relevant in R&D investment, isn't free of the symptoms of mismatch between supply and labor demand suffered by other sectors of activity - although with its own peculiarities.

Yes, according to the Hays Labor Market Guide, this mismatch between the supply of professionals and available vacancies is the main cause of concern for companies in general (47%), followed by the lack of qualified professionals (38%), for pharmaceutical companies, on the other hand, it is the little organization between university and company (46%), a relevant fact if one takes into account that one of the characteristics of this industry is the high formation of its staff, with more than 90% of university graduates.

Pharmaceutical companies fail to avoid the problems when hiring certain profiles, although this difficulty is nine points lower (78%) than the general data of the labor market (87%).

The reasons for which it is difficult to find qualified employees also differ, since the main impediment with which HR managers of pharmaceutical companies find themselves is the level of languages (57%), followed by the lack of professionals with adequate potential (48%) and that these are highly demanded profiles in the market (43%). 

Despite the high level of training of candidates, when asked by HR managers whether they value more studies or experience when selecting a professional, 89% have taken the experience. This generates a particularly endogamous labor market, in which the salary offered by the competition is the main reason for the change, for which the pharmaceutical companies fear a flight of talent (59%) higher than the rest of the sectors (56%).

The main reason is that some of the most demanded profiles such as Market Accessor Institutional Relations have more entry barriers, since they are senior positions, with experience in the sector and highly trained.

Sergio Hinchado, Business Manager of Life Science of Hays Spain, points out, "These positions are very strategic for the pharmaceutical companies, since they are closely linked to the new launches and directly affect the business and the fulfillment of the company's objectives... They are profiles that do not have entry from below, but are accessed from other functions within the company or from the competition."

This link with the business strategy and the scarce offer of profiles of Institutional Relations and Market Access makes the retention of this talent also one of the main focuses of the HR departments of pharmaceutical companies.

Capture and retain talent

Among the main strategies to attract and retain talent is the commitment to conciliation (94%), flexible hours (83%) and career development (78%). Not in vain, according to Inflated: "The pharmaceutical sector is exemplary in parity and equality of conditions. There has been a dramatic change in recent years in this regard, all companies have incorporated into their plans initiatives to close the gap. Nowadays they all have many directives, and a large part of the general managers and CEOs in Spain are from pharmaceutical or scientific companies."

Apart from the positions indicated, other of the most demanded profiles of the pharmaceutical sector are the digital ones , posts of new creation that, since five years ago, are being opened to help digitize the industry.

"As in this case there are no positions in the competition that 'steal', this type of candidates does come from other industries, such as consumer goods, food or retail," says Inflated.

Pharmacy visitor

Finally, from Hays it is emphasized that the figure of the pharmacy salesman, another of the most demanded positions, is also undergoing some changes.

Although it is a position that can be accessed from below, even as university practices, it is becoming increasingly specialized and requires more technical and scientific profiles, over the traditional gift of people that was previously required

Although there has been a considerable cut in the templates of the number of visitors, this greater specialization makes them positions demanded that it costs to cover.

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

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