Competition for Production Personnel in the Pharmaceutical Industry: How Employees Are Retained and Talents Found
Our recruitment team, specializing in staffing pharmaceutical manufacturing plants, has observed that in recent months competition for candidates in production roles has significantly intensified. This is especially true for positions such as technologists, operators, chemists, and quality specialists.
In response to this growing competition, companies are seeking new ways to motivate and retain employees, as well as improving their recruitment processes.
How Are Pharmaceutical Plants Addressing These Challenges?
Companies are actively introducing additional benefits and bonuses that make working at the plant more attractive. Some of the most popular innovations among our candidates include massage rooms, food packages, family days at the production site, and other unconventional initiatives. These efforts help create an atmosphere of care for employees and increase their loyalty. Offering voluntary health insurance and free meals no longer impresses candidates.
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Implementing New Forms of Motivation
Our team assists clients in regularly conducting market reviews of salaries, social packages, and unique HR solutions. We can confidently say that such data not only helps track current trends but also allows timely adjustments to their own offers, making them more competitive. Information is a valuable resource, and we are ready to share it to help understand what is happening in the candidate market.
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Studying Competitors’ Offers
Pharmaceutical companies actively invest in employee training and development, creating opportunities for their skills to be applied in various positions within the organization. Competency matrices are an important tool here, allowing companies not only to assess current knowledge and skills but also to identify potential for growth in related areas. The possibility to work on different tasks and in various departments helps employees feel that their career is not limited to a single position and opens real prospects for advancement.
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Expanding Employees’ Horizons
This aspect is especially important for young professionals. When considering vacancies, candidates want to be sure they will not be expected to work to exhaustion. Work in pharmaceutical production involves high responsibility and complex tasks, making work-life balance a key factor. Employers who create comfortable conditions, transparent processes, and clear prospects win in the fight for talent.
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Moving Away from the “Squeeze” Format
Today’s pharmaceutical production labor market demands not only quick hiring decisions but also creativity in retaining employees. Competition for talent in production roles remains high, while candidate mobility is decreasing. Therefore, companies must do everything possible to create comfortable working conditions, offer competitive pay, and provide career opportunities.
Those who think several steps ahead are already asking: who are our employees, what interests them? Young specialists are no longer willing to simply spend eight hours at work—they want to experience those hours fully. They expect their employer to support their creative interests, hobbies, and create an environment suitable for their realization. Only this approach can attract and retain valuable specialists who will become drivers of growth and development in pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Aurika Khlebunova, Senior Consultant, Medicine and Pharmacy Practice, ANCOR Recruitment