Recruiting in the Pharmaceutical Industry

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Cerexa makes antibiotics to combat Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, and other bacteria. Cerexa became a subsidiary of Forest in 2007. Cerexa has 70 full-time regular employees and ____ contractors whose duties range from administrative assistant to ______ . *Note: I will mostly be talking about the recruiting, selection and placement process for employees, not contractors.

Candidates first go through a telephone pre-screen, then an on-site interview and then they are assessed on their skill level for job-related tasks.

The main job function of a medical writer is to write clinical documents, data summaries and drug submissions which means that they need strong written communication skills. The main job function of a medical editor is to edit the written documents correcting grammar and spelling without changing the meaning of the message. For medical writers and medical editors, Cerexa’s Director of Medical Writing developed a medical writing test and a medical editing test. He passed it around to his peers to check for validity and reliability.

The Director of Clinical Operations and the Senior Manager of Biostatisticians have to make lots of presentations to scientists and the people that will be funding the projects so these positions are assessed by doing a presentation in front of the stakeholders of the job.

The main job functions of an administrative assistant are to Schedule and coordinate candidate interviews, Coordinate ordering of company office and kitchen supplies, Track and stock office and kitchen supply inventory, Maintain and organize copy/mail and storage rooms and Assist in coordination and planning of company events which requires knowledge of MS Office. To test this, Cerexa assesses potential administrative assistants on their skill level in MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook

Truck drivers have to go through levels of drug tests to ensure safety. This is because you have to be lucid to drive and the drivers are transferring drugs. Financial employees have to go through credit checks. We check the FDA debarment list for all employees. People on this list have committed a crime related to the FDA’s regulation of drugs and can no longer participate in the drug industry. All contractors go through a basic SSN and criminal background check.

Before they even start working their hiring manager sends them a welcome note and a welcome pack is prepared with gifts with the Cerexa logo on them and sitting at their desk when they arrive. Then the following activities happen within their first week on the job. We have an orientation schedule for them so that everything is in order. On day one, they get a walk-about which is tour of office. During the tour they meet the support staff – legal, HR, accounting, etc. Then they have a meet and greet with executives. Eventually they meet with their manager to discuss expectations. Throughout the following weeks there are new employee lunchs so that they can meet the rest of the staff and vice versa.

4 recommendations. Make sure to use the appropriate assessment tests such as a writing test for people whose primary job is writing. Background checks have to be job-related such as heavy duty drug testing for truck drivers. In the drug industry, you want to make sure your employees haven’t broken FDA’s laws so check the debarment list. Make sure your employees have done all the required training so that you don’t get sued but also make them feel like their workplace is their second home.

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Recruiting in the Pharmaceutical Industry - Presentation Transcript

By: Asha McGarrell
- Cerexa, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Forest Laboratories, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing a growing portfolio of novel anti-infective therapies for the treatment of serious and life-threatening infections.
- The ultimate goal of our dedicated team of employees is to advance research for treatments of serious and life-threatening infections.
- At the time of our company’s founding in 2005, we focused our energy on advancing our lead product candidate‚ ceftaroline fosamil. In 2007, we became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Forest Laboratories.
- They are also developing an intravenous non-beta-lactamase inhibitor, NXL104, to be used in combination with ceftaroline.
Screening
- After defining the need and sourcing, Cerexa moves onto the screening process. The different types of assessments used are based on the job the candidate will be filling.
- Since screening takes a lot of time Cerexa uses various but consistent methods to narrow down the candidate pool.
Screening cont’d
- Medical Writers
- Medical Editors
Screening cont’d
- The Director of Clinical Operations
- The Senior Manager of Biostatisticians
Screening cont’d
- Administrative Assistants
Background Checks
- The background check varies according to position and whether the applicant will be a regular employee or just a contingent worker.
Background Checks cont’d
- Truck drivers
- Financial employees
- All employees, especially people involved in making the drugs.
- Contractors
Onboarding
- The onboarding process is important because it helps with retention. In onboarding we get them to feel like a member of the family by socializing them to their new work environment.
Onboarding cont’d
- The next step is required training such as AE training and signing the proprietary agreement.
Onboarding cont’d
- We also take care of the logistics such as badges, e-mail, phone number, office/cubicle, computer access, etc.
Conclusion
- Cerexa first narrows down the applicant pool and then tests the most promising candidates.
- The background check investigates the relevant history of the candidates.
- The last step, onboarding, helps to increase retention. Most regular employees stay for at least 2 years.