Pictured: A Balance That Balances Money and Workers’ Needs/Nicole Bean for BioSpace
BioSpace is proud to be a media partner of LEAP HR Life Sciences: West, which will take place May 13-15 in San Diego. Registration for the event is here.
In BioSpace’s Job Outlook 2024 report, we observed a greater festival in the biopharmaceutical task market and expect more modest hires in the first part of 2024 compared to previous years. In fact, many are still feeling the effects of layoffs, though many corporations are maintaining hiring activity and other positive signs of an improving economic climate.
Given the fluctuations in the market, HR leaders have their work cut out for them as biopharmaceutical organizations navigate the economic and political landscape. Ahead of the upcoming LEAP HR Life Sciences: West, BioSpace spoke with several HR leaders who will be presenting at the convention. to find out what they’ve focused their attention and efforts on to balance the company’s desires with those of their workforce.
In an industry facing a lot of volatility and a series of layoffs, transparency has its benefits but also its challenges. “The biggest challenge we’ve faced is communication,” said Stacy Solorio, Karius’ Chief Human Resources Officer. If you tell the organization you’re fundraising, they need updates. “
The challenge is to balance communication within the organization with transparency from leaders. Even after a successful raise, it’s still vital to manage expectations, especially when it comes to adding resources or hiring, Soliroio noted. “We have a plan and we’re going to stick to it. “
Kate Aiken, Chief Human Resources Officer at Arcellx, explained that it’s vital to share the smart news as well as the demanding situations and keep other people in the loop on what’s going on in the business. “Even if there’s no big news for percentage, you still need percentages of updates and ask leaders what percentages are what they’re thinking and where their attention is focused.
YulyMae DiNapoli, vice president of human resources at Cytokinetics, said that after the disruption caused by the pandemic, the company is refocusing on skills and leadership development. One of the two main reasons other people leave their organizations is because they don’t feel like they can grow and grow, he said. This led Cytokinetics to mentorship programs, which its employees expressed interest in. After piloting a program last year, the company will launch its first mentoring cohort next month.
Sometimes a give-and-take is necessary. While he continues to advertise promotions and pay merit bonuses, Solorio said career progression is an area where Karius wants to make some adjustments. The company focuses on professional conversations and allows employees to participate in discussions that will determine their progression.
“A lot of times it’s just about reporting on career ladders,” Soliroio said. “What do you need for the next position? How does the organization make promotion decisions?What are our promotion criteria?
“Do more math. ” That’s the recommendation of Robert Buckley, Chief Human Resources Officer at Enveda Biosciences. Buckley is a proponent of quantifying success, and that starts with numbers. When it comes to candidate experience, onboarding, and worker experience, it’s vital to use surveys and collect data. Metrics vary across the organization.
Once RR If HR has outlined its framework and importantly, it can begin to outline good luck through metrics. It’s more productive to do this early on, but for organizations just starting to look at data, the guideline is clear: “Just start counting,” Buckley said. “
The pandemic turns out to be a thing of the past, but its impact on art culture persists. Hybrid art culture is an ongoing negotiation as companies continue to move toward more on-site and less remote art.
Bryan Gillespie, Vice President of Human Resources at Dermavant Sciences, described how his company built a virtual organization, after being decentralized from its parent company. Still, it takes effort to make it work, he said. There are a whole series of things that other people have when they are hired that have to do with long-distance relationships: boosting the business even if you are not face-to-face. “
Some organizations that didn’t have a precedent in their position still face the challenge of bringing other people back more often.
“There’s an ongoing debate about remote paintings as opposed to on-site paintings that each and every company has to deal with. . . It’s still a fight,” Gillespie said. I think we would have triumphed over that, but there are a lot of other people who need that flexibility in their professional lives. “
DiNapoli explained that the most demanding cases are the other people who abandoned doleading and moved forward during the pandemic and brought certain applications that were presented with much more flexibility. Cytokinetics uses a hybrid approach, hiring other people with the goal of getting them on-site. 3 days a week, adding up to two fundamental days and 3 days in total in the office.
In fact, the knowledge reflects the growing preference for hiring local candidates. In a BioSpace survey, more than a quarter said they were focused solely on hiring local candidates, up 15% from last year. Additionally, 57% indicated that they prefer to hire local candidates, however, remote hiring for some positions would be a 38% increase from last year. What about those who will recruit and hire workers remotely, regardless of their location?Only 16%, down 48% from last year.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been a key point of discussion at times in the industry during the year and with HR professionals.
“We just don’t know what to do with it right now,” Gillespie said.
HR leaders are waiting to see what effect the use of AI will have on drug discovery, and in turn, what effect it will have on the workforce, demand for certain skills, and hiring.
“There are probably more questions than answers,” Aiken said. What effect does this have or will this have on my business?And then, as an HR leader, how can I think about how to leverage this amazing tool?”Perhaps to create highly customized reports for our team members or to help increase their productivity or learning?I think it’s a huge topic that we’re very interested in. People become very obsessed with it.
DiNapoli also wonders how to leverage AI: assessing how generation and AI can empower (e. g. , in interview scheduling) and the overall employee experience, allowing HR professionals to spend more time partnering with the company.
Another key issue that will dominate how leaders approach the year 2024 is the upcoming U. S. presidential election.
“All of our businesses are going through a tough time because it’s an election year,” Gillespie said. “It’s a challenge for the economy. “
Solorio agreed: “It’s going to be an attractive moment. “I’m not advocating talking about politics in the workplace, but I think it’s a touchy topic that HR leaders want to pay attention to, and how the stress of an election year can have an effect on employees. “
Given the ongoing discussions about the effect other jurisdictions may have on the industry, it’s no surprise that elections are a priority, as HR is a priority. It balances business desires and workforce engagement.
When asked what they were most eager to discuss at LEAP, they agreed: it’s an opportunity to receive information from those who have gone through the same developmental pains.
Solorio will look for tactics to continue through 2024, noting, “We’re not doing more, we’re doing better. “
Aiken said, “I’m looking for what I can add to the playbook. Similarly, DiNapoli seeks to better understand the most productive practices and inventions that other people have tried. “I think LEAP is one of the most productive meetings because it’s going down within our industry,” he said.
Gillespie said the occasion provides an opportunity for reflection.
“We’re very busy taking care of everybody, so it’s an opportunity to get away from the business. . . And bring back everything that’s helping me grow, that’s helping my team grow, and then it’s helping the company grow.
BioSpace is proud to be a media partner of LEAP HR Life Sciences: West. The 2024 edition of this event will take place in San Diego, California, May 13-15, and will feature more than 25 case studies on how dynamic life sciences organizations are transforming worker engagement and leveraging agile skills control methods to attract and retain key skills. Registration for the occasion is here.
Chantal Dresner is Vice President of Marketing at BioSpace. She analyzes and reports on industry trends, aggregating employment and hiring, diversity, equity and inclusion, and pay benchmarking. You can contact her at chantal. dresner@biospace. com. Follow her on LinkedIn.
Back to news