Top Challenges Faced by HR in the Pharma Industry

The pharmaceutical industry is a knowledge-driven, technology-focused sector whose primary focus is meeting the healthcare requirements of people worldwide. Due to the stringent guidelines governing all industry aspects, pharmaceutical companies must be cautious of the talent they hire and use.

Pharmaceutical companies' human resource (HR) department is tasked with finding and hiring the best talent. Still, they also have to ensure all employees are satisfied with their job roles and are equipped to fulfill the jobs they were hired to do appropriately. However, while this task seems relatively straightforward, HR often faces several challenges. This article highlights not only the significant challenges faced by HR departments of different pharmaceutical companies but also provides realistic solutions that can be implemented to overcome them.

Challenges and strategies: Here's the answer to some common HR challenges in the pharmaceutical industry!

Challenge 1: Talent acquisition and retention is difficult.

Pharmaceutical companies require professionals with specialized skills and in-depth relevant knowledge, such as pharmacologists, regulatory experts, and so forth. However, finding and retaining talent is difficult because of the high competition in the industry. On the one hand, companies often look to their competitor's workforce to identify individuals who may fit the role and approach them. On the other hand, employees usually apply for positions in competitor companies in hopes of finding better opportunities. Both scenarios result in high attrition rates as employees often leave for better opportunities, competitive salaries, or flexible work environments. The annual attrition rate in the pharmaceutical industry has recently increased to 15-20%. Consequently, talent acquisition and retention is a full-scale operation that takes up most of HR's efforts.

Solution:

• Employee retention starts with employee recruitment. During the recruitment phase, HR must identify the aspects of company culture and strategy they want to highlight. Then, employees who resonate with these values should be selected. Furthermore, selecting employees who have shown longevity in previous roles is also necessary during this stage.
• HR should also provide clear paths to advancement. This may be career opportunities (e.g., promotions, bonuses, or salary hikes) or personal growth (e.g., specialized training). According to a LinkedIn survey, 93% of employees would stay longer if their company invested in their careers.

Challenge 2: Regulatory compliance and training are time-consuming but necessary.

Pharmaceutical companies must comply with strict regulatory guidelines from agencies like the FDA and EMA. However, because these guidelines are often changed or updated, employees need to be trained about the updates. Planning, hosting, and tracking training and development programs is challenging but necessary to ensure employees stay up-to-date on recent guidelines. Furthermore, with rapid technological advancements, employees must continually update their knowledge and skills. HR has to either provide training for these advancements or financially support employees as they complete courses. This increases the financial burden on the company. However, companies cannot opt out of providing such training programs because otherwise, they will be left using outdated technologies or become non-compliant with regulations.

Solution:

• HR can implement a robust learning management system (LMS) that centralises all training content. The LMS can manage, update, and distribute training material and courses. Furthermore, the LMS can track employee progress and ensure they've completed necessary courses.
• HR can develop a comprehensive, structured training program covering all relevant requirements. Different training formats (e.g., webinars, workshops, and e-learning) and new technologies (e.g., VR and gamification) can be leveraged to develop these courses.

Challenge 3: Budget constraints and cost management limit HR initiatives.

To tackle all of the HR challenges, HR needs funds. For example, to ensure regulatory compliance, employees need to be trained, for which HR needs to hire trainers or pay course fees. To provide mental health resources and support to employees, HR needs money. However, the pharmaceutical industry is cost-focused, which translates to budget constraints and cost management. Consequently, HR's initiatives are often limited by the lack of a budget. Furthermore, they cannot justify their initiatives (especially training, diversity programs, employee engagement, and mental health resources) in a cost-focused environment.

Solution:

• HR should identify high-impact initiatives, i.e., that most closely align with the company's goals. These should be undertaken on priority. A cost-benefit analysis can ensure appropriate resources are allocated to the high-impact initiatives.
• Implement automated solutions (e.g., LMS) to reduce routine tasks and save money. These initiatives can reduce administrative costs and free up staff for other activities.
• Adopt data-driven decision-making and track KPIs to measure the impact of initiatives. Data analytics can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of HR programs.

Challenge 4: Succession planning is necessary to ensure knowledge transfer.

Succession planning is a critical HR challenge in the pharmaceutical industry because the loss of talent creates a knowledge gap that is difficult to fill. Many employees possess specialized knowledge, experience, and expertise. If employees' knowledge or processes are not well-documented or easily transferable, the company can face disruptions in ongoing projects, decreased productivity, and regulatory risks. Consequently, HR needs to ensure complete knowledge transfer before employees exit. Unfortunately, this is not very straightforward.

Solution:

• HR can develop a knowledge transfer program that captures critical knowledge from retiring or exiting employees. This can include mentoring programs, job shadowing, and documentation of processes/procedures.
• Knowledge management systems (KMS) can be developed and used as a centralized repository of all vital information, which current and future employees can access.
• HR must identify high-potential employees early (with the help of relevant managers) and invest in them. Leadership development programs and career development opportunities can be used to retain such employees.

Challenge 5: Workforce management poses many challenges on a global scale.

Pharmaceutical companies often operate globally, with their teams distributed across various countries. Therefore, HR must manage employees from different cultural backgrounds, languages, working styles, and time zones. Consequently, HR can face miscommunication, misunderstanding, coordination difficulties, and conflicts. Additionally, HR also has to oversee workforce compliance with local labour laws, tax regulations, and employee standards, all of which are complex and time-consuming.

Solution:

• HR should develop a centralized HR strategy with adaptations according to local culture, labour laws, employee standards, and working styles. This adaptation ensures the company’s compliance with local regulations while maintaining the company’s culture and brand.
• Companies should develop a competent HR team that understands the nuances, work styles, and communication preferences of employees from different regions. HR teams should hire local professionals, professionals with work experience in the country, or those who understand the culture/language.
• HR should implement new technologies. For example, communication tools (e.g., teams and Slack) can support communication and coordination across different time zones. Human resource information systems can be implemented to better manage payroll, tax details, employee data, employee benefits, and other details across various countries.

Conclusion

As this article has highlighted, several persistent HR challenges exist in the pharmaceutical industry. Unfortunately, overcoming these challenges is almost as complicated as applying for regulatory approval. While this article has highlighted relatively simple strategies that can be used to overcome HR challenges, ultimately, it depends on HR teams to develop unique methods to implement them. The workforce of each pharmaceutical company is different; therefore, HR professionals have to adapt known strategies and create new ones to overcome these HR challenges.

FAQs

1. How can HR manage employee burnout in the pharma industry?

HR can address employee burnout by promoting work-life balance, offering mental health resources, creating wellness programs, and ensuring recognition across all organizational levels.

2. How does HR handle a global workforce in pharma?

HR manages a global workforce by ensuring compliance with local labor laws, providing location-specific perks, maintaining communication across regions, and understanding cultural differences.

3. How does HR justify ROI for its initiatives?

The ROI for all HR initiatives is evaluated with the relevant business outcomes: increased employee productivity, reduced turnover, improved regulatory compliance, and more vital employer branding.