Reed Global: Economic Recovery in Gear

    LONDON, ENGLAND, June 16, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Employers in the scientific, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology sectors appear to be planning for expansion now that economic recovery is underway. Throughout the country, many organisations - from entrepreneurial start-ups to major blue chips - are starting to register vacancies at pre-recession levels. This is creating skill shortages in areas where, only a year ago, there were more candidates than jobs.

Back to volume recruitment

"Many of our clients are putting their long-term headcount strategies in place," says Ben Knott, area manager at Reed Science recruitment. "Some are gearing up for increased business levels, while others are laying plans to bring on board their next generation of scientific talent."

Wade Jordan, HR officer at DxS, which operates in the molecular and companion diagnostics industry, says up to 75% of his time since January has been focused on recruiting. "Because our sector is relatively small, there aren't many similar employers around," he explains. "That makes it essential to identify the right skill set and recruiting criteria, as we're fishing from a smaller talent pool. It also means we have to focus on what makes our opportunities and our environment uniquely appealing when those people come along."

The rate at which opportunities are being generated is giving many individuals the motivation to look around for the first time since the onset of the credit crunch. "We've had calls from some of the most senior people in product development and research roles, saying that it's finally time they updated their CVs and explored the market," says Knott. "So many people have kept their heads down for longer than they would have otherwise; now they're moving, not because of job security fears but because they want to advance their careers. There's far more optimism."

Skills in demand

Some of those most in demand by Reed Scientific's clients include organic and synthetic chemists, manufacturing and production managers, product development people and specialist laboratory technicians. "There are candidates with those skills on the market," says Knott. "The challenge for employers is finding them in volumes. It's not unusual to get requests for eight or ten people with similar skill sets to bolster a team that's become much busier. Clients who relied more on milking their personal networks over the last 12-18 months are finding they can no longer rely solely on those sources. We've been mining our own networks, as well as reed.co.uk, to satisfy urgent multiple vacancies."

Jordan says his main recruitment focus has been on product development - and the combined skill set he seeks is highly specialist. "We need people who have the technical know-how to develop products and take them to marketable status," he says. "Over the coming year, our main focus will be on scientists, technicians, project managers and programme managers - people with a hands-on approach but who can also step back and coordinate the whole activity."

Attracting the right skills

Knott says switched-on employers are shrewdly examining their candidate attraction policies, recognising that money alone is rarely enough to tempt people away from present employers: "Many candidates we meet want to progress to the next level, but they also seek better training and development opportunities. Scientists and other people who work in the industries we work with regard work environments as appealing only if they encourage continual learning."

At DxS, Jordan has been talking to larger employers that have been implementing redundancy programmes. "This isn't a sector where people headhunt," he says. "But where it's public knowledge that other organisations are reducing their workforces, it would be foolish not to tap into that. I've been in touch with redeployment offices at a number of companies to see who's available, bearing in mind the highly specific skill set we need."

Looking ahead, Jordan sees maintaining an appealing employer brand as part of an overall retention strategy as his main challenge over the coming months. "It's important for all employers not to lose sight of the fact that people will naturally look around as the economy recovers," he says. "You need to be satisfied that, even during recessionary times, you took measures - even small ones - to help maintain a motivated, productive atmosphere. That means more than just salary reviews and bonuses; people place a high value on small touches, such as social events or free lunches on pay day."

And Knott adds, "Even knowing that their ideas are being listened to can make the difference between an employee staying put where they know they're valued, and that person walking out - leaving the employer with all that experience, cultural knowledge and unique skill set to replace."

Interested in recruiting? For more information on recruitment and jobs offered by Reed Specialist Recruitment, please visit their website reedglobal.com.

Website: http://www.reedglobal.com/

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