The Background
Our client is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the central nervous system/migraine space. They needed to commercialize their first product while hiring one of the biggest teams built in years. It was big, it was exciting, and it would present growing pains that we were able to turn into opportunities.
The Partnership
Our client was looking to build out a 60-person management team with 600 sales representatives in anticipation of the launch of their new migraine medication. In addition to the field force to market the product, they were in need of a team of 12 Medical Science Liaisons – one director and 11 MSLs.
The Partnership
A build of this magnitude required an all-hands-on-deck approach by our partner. Their C-suite was heavily involved in executing the strategy to ensure the rapid growth went according to plan while we stepped in to assist in bringing their commercialization plans to fruition.
The Process
To deliver at the scale required by our client, we incorporated several of our solutions to execute a comprehensive build. We conducted sales and management hiring while utilizing our Talent & Leadership Consulting team—a group of Industrial/Organization psychologists who measure talent to competencies and assess to ensure alignment between our client and candidates. As a trusted advisor, our Project Lead went onsite twice a week, working closely with the client and acting as a true partner and extension of their HR team.
We hired Regional Business Directors, District Business Managers, Sales Representatives, and MSLs for our client, helping them to build both a sales team and an MSL team. To achieve this robust sales program, we engaged a project team of 40+ recruiters, 5+ researchers, our Talent & Leadership Consulting team, our Employment Branding team, and coordinators for onboarding. TSP’s Brand team consulted with the client to develop the branding and recruitment marketing strategy, while our Operations team formulated plans for technology, reporting, hiring event management, and onboarding support.
We commenced the project externally by marketing to potential talent who fit the unique profiles. Our team worked with our partner to create branded campaigns with call-to-action messaging and appealing infographics that we drove into the candidate market on social media. We tapped into several tools with an emphasis on diversity since veteran status was of high interest to our client. Some include job boards, training, associations, and academic resources.
Upon sourcing and building our candidate pipeline, we began the screening process. This consisted of phone interviews and manager reviews. The hiring managers then created a hot list of qualified candidates who would move forward to one of two large, three-week-long interview events managed by our team. We hosted events in three different locations: Dallas, Philadelphia, and Atlanta. Our Project Lead helped guide our client on best practices for the interview process for high-volume hiring and data reporting to ensure visibility to the pipeline of candidates.
Our Talent & Leadership Consulting team worked closely with client stakeholders to understand the specific needs of the unique roles they were hiring for and built a robust assessment process to support the interviewing process. MSL candidates completed an online personality questionnaire and delivered a clinical presentation. Based on their personality profile, we provided supplemental interview questions to target the interview discussion. District Business Manager and Sales Representative candidates completed a custom tspFOCUS questionnaire consisting of real-life scenarios designed to better understand decision-making and problem-solving approaches. Hiring leaders received candidate-specific interview guides based on responses to the tspFOCUS questionnaire. We provided in-depth training on the assessment tools for all interviewers to ensure alignment and consistency throughout the process and across candidates. We completed more than 1600 tspFOCUS questionnaires.
The Project Lead supported our client in rolling out and managing an onboarding process once finalists were identified. Having no Applicant Tracking System of their own, our client utilized our system, enabling them to leverage all of our job tools and sites. They were able to track the candidate pipeline, the process of candidates, and other important data reporting points. We brought on two coordinators to help facilitate the onboarding process, create and send out offer letters, and manage a new hire roster. These processes and thoughtful collaboration were beneficial to our client and contributed to our great partnership.
The Outcome
Our client was impressed by the details we considered and integrated into our process that met their goals while prioritizing efficiency, profile needs, and candidate experience. Our full-cycle recruiting efforts consisted of a recruitment marketing strategy, sourcing capabilities, assessment tools, event management, and ATS support. Of the new workforce, 19% self-identified as diverse, inclusive of veteran status. Additionally, this new team boasted a minimal turnover rate in the first six months. As the largest commercial build in 2019, our client was very pleased, earning us an ongoing partnership.
