How Can You Utilise Technology to Find Cell and Gene Therapy Candidates?

In the first half of 2021, the cell and gene therapy field had its best-ever funding yield, with €12.2bn netted globally.

However, there are a limited number of individuals with the skills to help the exponential growth of the cell and gene therapy industry, which is still a relatively young industry. 

There are increasing concerns within the industry about the potential for skills gaps in cell and gene therapy causing a bottleneck in the rollout of advanced or personalised medicines.

So, how can you utilise technology to find cell and gene therapy candidates and overcome talent and skills shortages?

 

1. Upskill current employees

There is a range of ways in which technology can be used to upskill current cell and gene therapy employees.

This is advantageous for CGTs because training current employees can be less arduous than recruiting new employees (who may potentially have to be trained during onboarding anyway). 

Another advantage is that you can train and upskill in areas that have shortages and pinpoint the gaps within your organisation.

Here are a few of the ways in which technology can be used to upskill current cell and gene therapy employees:

• Online training platforms: One of the most cost-effective forms of training, online platforms can help employees to keep up to date with relevant industry skills through a range of formats (e.g., webinars, video lectures, interactive modules and tests), and employees will benefit from the ability to learn at their own pace.

• Virtual Reality: VR simulations can be extremely useful in offering an immersive training experience, particularly for areas experiencing high shortages such as manufacturing. Safety procedures and risk processes can be practiced in VR to give employees practical experience.

• Gamification: Biopharmaceutical giant Pfizer has used gamification to train employees in clinical trial management, providing employees with challenges and rewards as they make their way through the training program. This can be a highly engaging and motivating upskilling/training method. Pfizer has also used gamification to assist with Alzheimer’s drug development, showing the multi-faceted nature of gamification in the broader life sciences industry.

2. Provide greater flexibility

In a candidate-driven market, targeting what candidates want is an essential factor in the success of your recruitment strategy.

One of the things that candidates are valuing most when it comes to employee benefits is a good work-life balance, which is reliant on greater flexibility in terms of working hours and location.

Technology can be used to provide greater flexibility for candidates and attract them to work at your organisation.

Here’s how:

• Cloud computing: Cloud-based applications can be accessed from anywhere with a stable internet connection, meaning that employees can work remotely, in-office, or on the go. This means that hiring can be done on a global scale, rather than narrowed down to a specific region where competition might be fierce.

• Project management software: Employees managing hybrid teams will undoubtedly benefit from project management tools (e.g., Asana) to keep their team informed and up to date with projects and to be assigned tasks and collaborate flexibly.

• Online training: As mentioned above, online training offers a flexible opportunity for candidates to expand their skillsets, meaning that the candidate can benefit from having a more extensive and competitive skillset, and the organisation benefits from attracting the candidate and training them in areas with potential gaps.

3. Improve efficiency with AI

The recruitment industry is no stranger to using AI as a means to streamline the recruitment process.

For example, life sciences organisations can use AI to screen CVs and resumes, which can quickly screen them using algorithms to identify the most qualified candidates. 

However, we’d suggest using AI as a tool to enhance your recruitment processes – rather than relying solely on AI to screen resumes, for example, you should work alongside the AI to ensure that candidates who may, if requirements are made more flexible, have the right qualifications or background are still shortlisted.

Predictive analytics is another emerging area in AI being used in recruitment, being used to analyse recruitment data to predict which candidates are most likely to succeed in particular roles.

AI can best be utilised as a means to make recruitment more efficient, rather than being used to manage the entire process.

With increasing competitiveness for cell and gene therapy talent, it’s important to evaluate your current recruitment process to see where it is inefficient or negatively impacting candidate experience, which AI can assist with.

 

4. Work with a recruiter who utilises technology

Investing heavily in technology might not be for every organisation, which makes partnering with a life sciences recruitment agency that does use technology the best of both worlds.

Here at Panda, we understand the power of technology when leveraged effectively!

From LinkedIn and its add-ons to AI for sourcing, there is a multitude of ways that we use technology to make the recruitment process as seamless, efficient, and effective as possible.

Rather than having to weigh up which technology solution is most viable or relevant for your business, you can rely on us to provide the most in-demand candidates using the most up-to-date methods.

You can find out more about how we use technology in recruitment by reading our interview with Co-Founder and CEO of Panda, Daisy Tazelaar, here. 

 

Harnessing the power of technology for success

Technology is one tool at your disposal when it comes to recruiting in the cell and gene therapy industry.

For the industry to reach its true potential, CGT talent is key, which requires a shift in how organisations are hiring to keep up with such high demand and short supply.

The organisations that get ahead now will be ahead of the curve, which is a significant advantage that will only increase over time.

You can find out more about how to secure cell and gene therapy candidates by reading our guide here. (Insert link to CGT asset).

 

Get in touch

Panda helps organisations across the globe to find top cell and gene therapy talent with a tech-focused, people first approach. If you need help with tapping into technology to source your team, speak to Panda.