top of page

From Trials to Approvals: Closing R&D and Regulatory Talent Gaps in Pharma

Updated: Oct 15

Pharmaceutical development relies on specialized expertise at every stage. From clinical research and regulatory affairs to compliance and beyond, these roles directly shape timelines, data quality, and patient safety.


Companies with strong talent in these areas consistently outperform their competitors. However, standard recruitment approaches rarely work for these specialized roles.


Here’s how we helped companies approach the niche recruitment challenge differently -and the impact it made.


When Hiring Bottlenecks Put Science on Hold


When a pharma and healthcare technology company came to us, its hiring challenge didn’t fit neatly into a single category.


The company is a unit of a medical device giant, and it needed rare senior specialists for their facility in Lausanne, Switzerland. The roles were quite niche and hard to fill: IT architects, clinical advisors, and digital marketing experts with industry knowledge.


The company was also struggling to attract and retain multilingual customer care talent who could handle the complexity of pharma products and patient expectations.


So, it wasn’t a matter of finding people.

It was about finding the right people, in the right markets, under the right conditions.

And doing it fast...


Two Tracks, One Solution


We designed a dual-track strategy. One track honed in on the senior profiles, mapping niche talent across Europe and engaging them through specialized talent communities, forums, and direct sourcing:


• Healthcare Digital Marketing Managers

• IT Services and Systems Specialists

• Technical Advisors – Clinical Project Specialists

• Principal Information Systems Architects

• Technical Advisors

• Clinical Trials Assistants


The other track focused on multilingual operational staff, where we tailored local campaigns and tapped into language-specific networks to boost employer visibility.

We were building two pipelines in parallel, each moving at the speed the business required.


The results spoke for themselves:

• Recruitment costs dropped by 55%

• Time-to-hire decreased by 45%

• Stronger pipelines meant future hires were already in the funnel


For the client's leadership team, this shift transformed hiring from a persistent pain point into a genuine competitive edge, enabling them to plan growth initiatives with confidence rather than constantly scrambling to fill critical gaps.


Pharma Recruitment Statistics: Infographic

Case 2: Speed, Compliance, and Trust


Another pharma leader faced a different kind of recruitment challenge. With operations in Kiel, Germany, and Saint-Prex, Switzerland, they needed an RPO services provider who could integrate seamlessly into their processes.


Compliance with strict time recruitment KPIs was non-negotiable. At the same time, they needed help managing local complexities: works councils in Germany, referral programs, internal mobility, and even university collaborations to build long-term pipelines.


Roles they needed filled were quite niche and hard to fill:

• Pharma Quality Engineers,

• Process Engineers,

• Product Engineers,

• Laboratory Assistants.


How Did We Handle It

Our expert recruiters were embedded directly into the client's HR operations. That meant running the intern program side by side with their team, aligning with works councils on new hires, and ensuring every activity, from referrals to mobility, supported the bigger workforce strategy.


Within months, the results were visible at the board level:

• Zero aging positions across critical roles

• 30% faster time-to-hire

• A 95% probation pass rate among placed candidates


What mattered most? Leaders could finally plan with confidence, knowing recruitment was no longer the bottleneck that constrained their growth ambitions and strategic initiatives.


What These Stories Show


Both cases underline the same truth: in pharma recruitment, steady talent pipelines are the cornerstone of protecting business continuity and accelerating innovation.


A single missing IT architect can stall a digital validation project…

A gap in Clinical Operations can push back a trial milestone…

A shortage of multilingual customer care staff can erode patient trust…


That’s why pharma companies should treat niche recruitment as a strategic capability. By partnering with an RPO provider that understands the industry, they reduce costs and shorten time-to-hire. Most importantly, they safeguard compliance, continuity, and growth.


Is R&D and regulatory talent shortage slowing down your organization?


Let’s talk about how an RPO model can turn recruitment into a growth driver.



Looking to fill niche roles across functions? Read our articles:



Do you want more success stories? Visit our page: RPO Case Studies.

bottom of page