Why is the life sciences candidate experience vital for MSPs?

During periods of growth, the needs of life sciences businesses change as they look to scale up.

This generally results in a market that is high demand and low supply, putting the candidate experience at the forefront.

Primarily, MSPs have to contend with the fact that they are in a critical position – MSPs communicate between both candidates and clients along each stage of the process, putting them at the forefront of bridging the candidate supply gap.

But how does this relate to the candidate experience?

When life sciences talent is in short supply, MSPs have to focus on the full attraction lifecycle and their approach to it on behalf of their clients.

When working with a talent supplier, the best course of action for MSPs to overcome this barrier is to focus on bridging communication by:

• Providing clarity during the hiring process (e.g. clearly outlining the client’s expectations to the candidate).

• Ensuring consistent communication throughout (e.g. candidates are regularly updated on the status of the hiring process, with guidance from recruitment partners).

• Collaborating to tackle hard-to-fill roles (e.g. finding a recruitment partner that has established relationships with compliant, contingent professionals that are ready to work).

A positive candidate experience not only contributes to a positive employer brand on behalf of your client, but also boosts retention efforts.

Keep in mind that the candidate has three touchpoints – the talent supplier, the MSP, and the hiring organisation.

This means that a great experience at each touchpoint is a critical competitive advantage.

If a candidate feels as though their time isn’t valued or as though the process is unclear, they have options elsewhere due to the high demand for life sciences talent.

To make the most of each touchpoint and gain a competitive advantage, MSPs should:

• Regularly communicate critical information (e.g. inform the talent supplier of any new initiatives/requirements from the client to keep them up to date).

• Maintain consistency with the talent supplier when it comes to how the employer brand is represented.

• Work with the talent supplier to establish the touchpoints of the candidate journey and how they should be addressed, from initial contact (call or email) to onboarding.

A common issue that can befall MSPs is the necessity for efficiency in the life sciences hiring market.

Consequently, many MSPs can fall into the trap of opting for speed over quality when engaging with their talent suppliers.

Candidates need to know that they are understood and working with people who are specialists in their field, otherwise they are likely to become frustrated with the hiring process.

For example, your recruitment partner should consider how a role is advertised and approached based on the talent that you’re hoping to secure.

This requires a specialist recruitment partner, as understanding the breadth of the role criteria requires industry knowledge and a proven track record.

When MSPs find the right talent supplier, the process has more clarity, and the candidate experience becomes cohesive.

Placing contingent talent is somewhat of a race to secure the best workers as quickly as possible.

Finding the best talent for your client quickly can positively contribute to the candidate experience, because there isn’t as much back-and-forth and laborious gathering of information or pre-screening.

MSPs that partner with specialist recruiters can therefore benefit from shorter fill time because specialist recruiters can:

• Provide valuable insights on market trends (e.g. salary/rate expectations).

• Access talent for roles that are hard to fill due to their established network of compliant, contingent professionals that are ready to work.

• Keep your client’s goals, values, and culture in mind to align with their strategy.

A shorter time to fill is beneficial for candidates, clients, and MSPs because each party has clearly defined expectations to meet, and the heavy lifting is shared between both the MSP and talent supplier to provide a better candidate experience.

A positive candidate experience is reliant on strong relationships between MSPs and talent suppliers.

As mentioned above, specialist recruiters are the best option for MSPs that are looking to benefit from established networks of skilled professionals and industry insights that are vital in understanding both the needs of the client and the candidate.

For MSPs, the current hiring market in life sciences means that the most important thing is finding contingent talent at the right time – for organisations looking to scale up, their hiring needs will undoubtedly require strong collaboration and good timing.

Candidates are more aligned than ever before with what they want and the multitude of options available to them, which makes collaboration with specialist recruiters all the more vital.

Panda is trusted by leading life sciences companies worldwide to provide the very best contingent talent and deliver seamless candidate experiences.

For more information on how we work and what we can do for you and your clients, contact us today.