The #GreatResignation is impacting more companies each day. With an increase in career transitions among skilled workers, companies are scrambling to reallocate funds and expand budgets for recruiting, salary increases, additional benefits, and to introduce creative positions that might attract high caliber employees.
In the startup world, the well-chronicled capitalization craze is driving growth – and a tremendous percentage of funding is going straight to talent recruitment and retention (as noted by the Boston Globe’s Scott Kirsner). David Frankel, partner at Founder Collective, puts it simply: “In growth sectors where there is tremendous demand for talent, you pay what that talent requires you to pay.”
As funding funnels into growth, companies look to expand operations or product development in new facilities. Laronde in Cambridge, MA, for example, recently secured $440 million in part to build and staff a new manufacturing site. That type of effort will require a physical presence just when travel restrictions are beginning to rear their heads once again. It will fall to HR and global mobility to source talent that can fulfill the mission – and to navigate geographic hurdles in moving high value employees to the locations they’re needed most.
Industry-Specific Developments: Life Sciences
In biotech and pharma, financial infusions are aimed at advances in innovation and scalability. One of the crucial steps is empowering global mobility teams with the ammunition they need to engage talent.
Examples abound. Three midsized biotech and pharma firms – Rakuten, Bota Bio, and Strata Oncology – recently announced new funding rounds that will support these types of initiatives. The majority of Rakuten Medical’s Series D round will be used to accelerate drug research, and Bota Bio’s Series B will be used to scale globally, build its lab-to-pilot platform, and introduce itself into the pipeline for consumer goods, food, nutritional, and pharmaceutical products. Manufacturing sites are also expanding at companies like Thermo Fisher Scientific, Biofidelity, and Pantheon Biologics, requiring additional talent to fill operational gaps. ImmunoGenesis’ recent appointment of six new executives is also indicative of expansion efforts in R&D, clinical, and business operations.
With such aggressive growth, international recruiting and on-the-ground transition support is always essential. Effective planning is required to tap into new talent overseas. Recruiting firms and in-house resources are being ramped up, and global mobility is tackling the requirements of integrating new talent across borders. HR needs to consider language barriers, immigration issues – and, in new markets – the introduction of the company’s brand to recruiting targets.
As companies gain momentum with new rounds of funding and budget increases, HR will play a critical role in global expansion and hiring efforts. With a range of factors in play including visa approvals, timelines, and relocation obstacles, they’ll need a strategic process to attract and retain foreign-born talent.
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