The recruitment and selection process for many jobs follow the same general practices including identification of a position, identification of the requirements for that position, the posting of the job, the review of resumes and the subsequent interviewing and selection of candidates. However for some industries, the recruitment and selection of positions that require specialized experience presents even more challenges.
In my company, HR staff is challenged with finding Clinical Research Associates (CRAs) with specialized Oncology experience. The pool of experienced Oncology CRAs who meet requirements is small and is not expected to grow at a pace to meet demand. There is also significant turnover due to workload, travel, growth opportunities and career change.
Rather than spending extended amounts of time searching for experienced Oncology CRAs, the organization is considering recruiting internal, as well as external, experienced CRAs through the normal recruitment and selection process and then providing specialized training to augment their skills. This approach allows the organization to take control of the candidate pipeline and to train well experienced, knowledgeable CRAs with other therapeutic area experience who are motivated and willing to learn Oncology.
The benefits include having CRAs fully functional immediately vs. the 3 month ramp up period that occurs even with experienced hires that must learn the organization and its processes. The approach creates long-term competitive advantage, creates career growth and educational opportunities and potentially strong job satisfaction for these employees. It potentially decreases costs while at the same time increases the quality of the organization’s Oncology studies, increases profits and strengthens the organization’s image as a leader in Oncology studies.
Colleen,
ReplyDeleteI feel that recruiting internally offers companies a lot of benefits- most notably a sense of familiarity and a smoother transition.
Internal recruits may also accept a lower salary and make reasonable and fair demands which could translate to a quicker transition.
Collen, as the small pool of Clinical Research Associates become overwhelmed, employers such as yours should as focus on developing special relationships with the area local colleges to create course relative to the hiring criteria needed to fill such jobs. Which may lead to a greater applicant pool.
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