Transforming Challenges into Triumphs: Strategic Talent Solutions Revitalizes Pharmaceutical Site

The Client

A global pharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering, developing and manufacturing healthcare products.

The Challenge

The client had acquired a new location in North Carolina from a struggling pharmaceutical company and was undergoing site remediation. The site was understaffed, and during this time, production volumes significantly increased.

The lack of quality resources for product testing caused delays in production and schedules. Without proper quality assurance, the products were unable to leave the site.

Therefore, in worst cases, there was a shortage of pharmaceutical products making it to hospitals, putting patients at risk. In a time where Americans spend over $3 trillion annually on healthcare and rely on precision medicine for injuries, surgeries, and terminal illnesses, pharmaceutical shortages pose life-threatening risks.

The required skill sets included higher-level roles needing abundant experience and niche skills, which were challenging to fill due to the remote location and depleted candidate pool. The client needed a partner with market expertise to take a creative and strategic approach to sourcing new, quality talent.

The Actalent Solution

Actalent consulted the client on their business challenges, including attracting top talent to a remote North Carolina site and overcoming a negative reputation associated with the previous company at the site. Actalent gained insights into the company culture, selling points, and growth potential, and developed an employee value proposition.

Actalent then implemented a system to manage all hiring and performance management through an on-site Program Manager. This relieved the client’s managers of hiring duties, creating time and process efficiencies, and allowed Actalent to monitor employee performance with a dedicated team member available around the clock.

Using the employee value proposition and the client's reputable brand, Actalent strategically sourced new candidates from a 60-mile radius, highlighting compelling selling points to attract talent to the remote location.

The Results

Through Actalent’s creative recruitment and performance monitoring, the client was able to maintain production, meet deadlines, and test products efficiently. This strategic partnership improved quality management and mitigated risks related to production delays of life-saving pharmaceutical drugs.

Over six months, Actalent hired 50 technical resources, significantly impacting production goals and product testing. As a result of the high-quality of talent, 30 employees were converted to full-time, and the partnership has continued to expand. Actalent's on-site program supports an average contract employee headcount of 75 at this site.

Additionally, top talent was retained, avoiding the high costs of workforce turnover, which can be 33% of a worker's annual salary. Actalent’s quality-focused retention solutions saved approximately $300,000 by avoiding the turnover of an entirely new contingent workforce.