Case Study

The Client

We worked with a global pharmaceutical business whose operations span North America, Japan, Australia, Europe and the UK.

The Vacancy

Senior Clinical Supply Manager

The Challenges

The position this client needed to fill was extremely candidate-driven, meaning there was a shortage of suitable candidates thus a high demand for their skills. They also had a number of other challenges for this hire:

• The client’s location was in an area with a limited supply of fresh candidates who had the right range of skills and industry experience.
• Their salaries are typically lower when compared to other companies outside of the local area.
• Major multi-national companies were also recruiting for similar positions, further increasing the competition.
• The recruitment was for a new service from a new department headed by a new VP at the company, so it appeared high risk.
• The client cannot display salary ranges on recruitment adverts, making the candidate attraction more difficult.
• The new department was small, making the “fit” with the business even more critical.
• The client needed multiple candidates with the same skills.
• The suggested interview process was complicated and intimidating for candidates, which could have resulted in withdrawals.

The Solution

Sigma was retained for support in search and candidate selection, including a custom Sigma Elite service package to increase the client’s access to the best candidates.

• We executed a nationwide candidate sourcing search, and later a targeted global search, using Sigma’s Premium LinkedIn.
• We created a range of adverts for several major job boards and duplicated them across several key locations throughout the UK to target locations with high pharmaceutical talent concentrations.
• The team also targeted suitable industry-specific job boards, sponsored content on the Indeed job board and ran a custom Facebook campaign directed toward the pharmaceutical sector.
• After mapping the talent pool, the client changed direction and agreed that candidates could work from home, thus increasing the potential pool of candidates.
• We held a vacancy qualification conference call to set a list of essential and desirable criteria, job-specific screening questions, and interview questions enhanced by psychometric profiling.
• Our extensive global search led to a list of viable candidates, and the team targeted them with digital marketing to pique interest.
• We undertook detailed pre-screening interviews to get to know each candidate.
• Sigma sent a job information pack to all candidates who expressed interest in the role and matched the client’s criteria. We also provided the client with detailed notes from our screening interviews to highlight candidate qualifications.
• Nine out of 11 candidates were selected for the first interview, with six selected for another round. Several candidates dropped out through the process (due to lengthy timelines and the competitive nature of the market).
• Sigma provided advice on streamlining the client interview process to reduce the risk of candidate withdrawals.

The Results

After a lengthy search, we helped to add two talented members to the client’s team.

• Two job offers were made and accepted. Neither candidate was based in the mainland UK, proving the value of our global recruitment campaign.
• Both candidates are due to start with the business and expected to add significant value.
• The client was impressed with the volume and quality of the candidates provided.

Other assignments with this client have included recruitment for roles such as clinical project managers, clinical trials project managers, planning managers, pharmaceutical science graduates, graduates project managers, QA technicians, quality officers and QA analysts.

About Sigma Recruitment

Since Sigma Recruitment opened for business back in 2005, we’ve developed an enviable reputation as one of the leading independent pharmaceutical recruitment agencies. We’ve recruited for a wide variety of companies, from Fortune 500 firms with sales in the hundreds of billions to niche high-tech start-ups and everything in between, across the United Kingdom including locations such as Cardiff, Swansea, Newport, Bristol, Birmingham, Cambridge, Gloucester, Leeds, Manchester, Oxford, Reading and Swindon.

If you’re looking to recruit candidates in the pharmaceutical sector then, Sigma Recruitment is ideally placed to help you find the elusive high calibre talent you’re business needs. If you’re looking for a pharmaceutical recruiter in the UK, then please book a call with our founding director today! And we will show you why we are one of the leading pharmaceutical recruitment agencies in the UK.