The rise in talent demand will be for specialist functions like R&D, trials and approvals
Manu Saigal, Director, General Staffing, Adecco India informs that Indian operations of Randstad, The Adecco Group, Manpower Group, and Gi Group have formed an alliance to ‘Help India Get Back to Work Safely’ and shortlisted pharma as one of its key focus sectors. She also speaks about opportunities created by the COVID-19 crisis to hire talented people, hottest job roles in the life sciences, trends in human resource management, and more
The COVID-19 pandemic is obviously transforming the life sciences and healthcare sectors. But, will these transformations manifest as trends and practices, especially in human resource management?
The COVID-19 pandemic has put the life sciences and healthcare sectors at the epicentre, having generated a disruption for societies, patients, clinicians and practitioners across the ecosystem. The vital role these sectors will play in diagnostics, treatments and vaccines could pave a path to whatever normalcy we can expect on the other side. However, both sectors have experienced a lot of interruption in both, clinical and product distribution as well as consumer healthcare – as many workers have to now adjust to remote work environments. Access to clinical and laboratory facilities are now being reduced which is restricting patient care and therapies and is facing major discontinuities.
Besides, with digital technology and behavioural science converging, the talent pool in healthcare and life sciences need to remain relevant in an ever-evolving business landscape. Several leading players are beginning to focus on new and emerging opportunities. The pace of innovation in India has been unprecedented; as a result, the potential from India players has increased and aspirations have become bolder. Newer talent models are developing for the future of work based on purpose, relevance and growth drivers. Promoting human capital — for analytical data, information gathering—and workforce capabilities built around emerging technologies like AI, automation, analytics, real-time analysis and reporting is already baked into systems and processes, fundamentally changing the talent ecosystem. According to a Deloitte study as of November 2019, 34 pharma companies worldwide are using AI for drug discovery, including, by partnering with AI start-ups.
Leading local players have made several investments in talent acquisition for market expansion and increasing momentum of new product launches. In addition, they will need to build their talent capabilities around marketing, sales force excellence, and commercial operations. The requirements for leadership roles have gone up manifold.
The coronavirus crisis has also shown the importance of re-skilling and the ability of companies to upgrade the skills of their employees. Like in other sectors, the companies that are already adept at reskilling workers will be the ones that can pivot most easily by enhancing workers’ capabilities and skills.
What are the shifts in talent acq