Recruiting as a Biotech startup: Why do smaller companies struggle to hire?

October 19, 2022

Growing your business as a young entrepreneurial startup is tough, and setbacks are bound to await you on every path.

And with that said, one of the main blockers for building your business is recruitment. A solid, reliable team of experts is essential for driving your business to new heights, but it’s much easier said than done when your company is only just gaining traction in the field.

Realistically, if you struggle to grow your team, you are going to seriously struggle to grow your business. But why do biotech startups struggle to recruit, and how can you recruit the best talent to help your business grow, thrive and prosper? 

Why would a candidate consider a Biotech startup?

While huge corporate companies can provide their employees with various benefits, working for an exciting, smaller Biotechnology company can still offer a lot.

Talented, experienced candidates might consider making the move to a Biotech startup for all sorts of reasons, including:

• Employees are often exposed to the ins and outs of all the different processes in the company.
• Due to the small team structure, employees are likely to be fast-tracked to senior leadership positions quickly.
• Startups offer employees the chance to work on all sorts of exciting, potentially groundbreaking projects.
• In a smaller company, the corporate structure is usually a lot less rigid.

On the surface, it seems like a no-brainer; why wouldn’t you want to start working for a Biotech startup? However, while a small company tends to be a lot more agile, exciting and innovative, candidates might also face the anxiety and uncertainty of working for a young business.

Why do Biotech startups struggle with recruitment?

Lack of exposure

With little experience recruiting, a tight budget and a company name that is barely yet known, promoting job vacancies can prove nearly impossible. 

Without authority in the field and a well-established legacy, your perfect candidate probably won’t even know your company exists, never mind see your job posting. Credibility, trust and the ability to market their job adverts well is exactly what drives speedy recruitment in larger companies.

You’ll always be up against fierce competition when recruiting, simply because every other company will be seeking the same person with that niche set of technical skills. And if you don’t have the budget or experience to suitably promote your vacancy, you are bound to struggle.

Lack of resource

When you work in a Biotech startup company, everything is constantly moving and progressing at a significant pace – it’s always all hands on deck. This means that staff can rarely find the time to finish their day-to-day workload, never mind find the time to recruit.

Without the in-house resources of a skilled talent acquisition team, sourcing, interviewing and hiring a new recruit is often left to those in leadership positions. And as you’ll probably already know, time is truly of the essence for people in top-level positions at a startup. 

Consequently, recruitment becomes a tedious, tiresome process that gets pushed back and back in favour of more pressing jobs like running the lab and everything else that goes into developing a brand-new company. 

And once you do manage to interview potential candidates, if you don’t find the time to give feedback and make a decision quickly, you may well lose your chance. Often, candidates are quickly put off by a lengthy, laborious hiring process, so they’ll likely get up and accept a job elsewhere. Unfortunately, the time wasted here is a costly process.

Lack of reputation

Although most people consider accepting a new job due to a reasonable salary and generous benefits, it would be naive to assume that a business’s success and credibility in no way influences these candidates. 

Candidates need to consider their road to success and how stable this new company will be in the long run. Understandably, a potential new recruit will be skeptical about moving to a Biotech company they’ve never heard of. 

And when your ideal candidates are likely already being approached by huge businesses with a glowing, global reputation, it’ll come as no surprise as to which they choose.

How can I avoid these issues for my Biotech startup?

Build your brand

As mentioned above, your brand’s reputation and recognition are key to being able to hire successfully. After all, it’s a candidate’s world in Biotech at the moment. With such competition around every corner, the most sought-after candidates have the freedom and luxury to select the employer they think suits them best. 

So, your first port of call is your website, as this is the first place candidates will look. And of course, first impressions count. Ensure your website articulates a well-defined brand image, mission and company culture, as this will portray to your potential new hires that you’re the right fit for them. 

Nobody wants to join a scattered company with a poorly thought-out brand proposition – they want transparency and values that align with their own.

Offer something great

To compete against the current market of growing Biotechnology companies, the job you’re offering must be truly great. 

Not only do you need a detailed job description that makes the role sound just as exciting as it is, but make sure you also have a ‘What can we offer you?’ section for the job posting. Hopefully, your company will be offering new recruits a competitive salary, a great benefits package and the opportunity to work for a positive, respectful company that is doing something incredible.

Outsource your recruitment with Avery Fairbank

One of the most effective ways to speed up your hiring process and secure those experienced, sought-after specialists is to leave it to the experts. Outsourcing recruitment saves masses of time and is much more cost-effective, even for a small startup.

Working on your behalf, we’re here to make your life simple and help you grow your business from startup to success. Here at Avery Fairbank, we’re the experts in executive search. With an already pre-built network of top-level talent, we’ll widen your scope of candidate search, so don’t worry about brand exposure for now – we’ve got it covered. We’ll promise you access to a widely diverse selection of specialist talent, ensuring every candidate we put forward matches your company values and has the right set of technical skills. 

No need to worry about organising interviews and spending time managing communications with candidates – we’ll worry about that. And with our swift process and a constant feedback loop between the candidate and your company, you can say goodbye to those laborious interview processes that repels the perfect candidates.

We’re here to be the face of your startup company and build those great first impressions right off the bat, assuring your candidate that your company is the best place for them to grow and succeed. Startup or successful company, both are great places to build your Biotech career. 

Published on 19-10-2022