The medical device sector is one of the most promising growth areas in the entire economy, with job openings for medical appliance technicians projected to increase 13.6% by 2026. Of course, filling those positions will be easier said than done.
“Easier said than done” also describes the challenge of hiring finance and accounting talent, where the current pool of available labor is nearing record lows.
So what happens when medical device firms staff their accounting and finance departments?
To find out, we asked Aston Carter account manager Nick Pugh for insight into finance and accounting hiring in the medical device industry. His experience placing talent revolves around the niche market found in the country’s leading biotechnology and research corridor, surrounding the National Institutes of Health in Maryland.
Specialized Experience Is A Must
Much as the average patient wouldn’t want an unregulated pacemaker implanted into their body, medical device firms are also reluctant to hire accounting and finance professionals who don’t possess the relevant experience and skills.
“As a sector,” says Pugh, “medical devices has a manufacturing and distribution component that’s based on the same revenue model you’d find in other industries, but the product’s performance also puts people's lives on the line. So there’s a whole additional layer of regulatory compliance, with good reason.”
Much of the research and product development in the medical device field is at the very forefront of technological innovation, which means that the regulatory structure surrounding processes such as FDA approval is likely to remain in a state of constant flux. Add in Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and litigation protection, and a picture emerges of a finance and accounting environment for medical device firms where no detail can be overlooked.
What does that mean for finance and accounting hiring in a low-unemployment market? “Bottom line — it’s hard to find people with niche experience at a medical device or at a pharmaceutical company,” says Pugh. “Firms have been very careful and patient, and even willing to open up searches to the national level for specific requirements.”
Pricing and Other Points of Flexibility
While patience is a virtue for medical device firms that need to hire accounting and finance professionals whose skills and experience adhere to exacting specifications, they do have another weapon at their disposal that allows them to be competitive: compensation.
“For the right candidate, medical device companies will definitely pay a good salary,” says Pugh. “I've also been seeing increased year-end and performance bonuses, and even stock options.”
One hiring strategy some medical device firms are employing in a tight labor market is to be somewhat more flexible in terms of skills and experience for candidates who backfill daily transactional accounting positions further downstream on the organizational flowchart. This allows for more focused and patient searches in specialty roles such as revenue and rebate, research and development, and license and royalty accounting. In addition, tapping interim resources to handle the workload while the search for these more niche specific candidates is completed will ensure that business goals continue to be met.
Using the Human Touch to Broaden Candidate Pools
How can medical device firms stay afloat while waiting months to fill vital and highly specialized finance and accounting positions? Due to unusually specific requirements for best-fit candidates, automating the hiring process probably isn’t the answer.
The medical device sector of finance and accounting hiring demonstrates a few ways human knowledge of specialized labor pools can add value to a staffing contract:
1. Humans are still better at qualifying positional requirements based on a holistic knowledge of available labor. “We qualify the requirements just based on a knowledge of what we see in the candidate pool,” says Pugh. “So before even pushing out a job description, we'll test for areas of possible flexibility that an automated technology tool might automatically exclude from the hiring process.”
2. Humans are capable of synthesizing, predicting and responding to non-hiring information, such as published developments in an approvals process, or change in corporate structure. “For example,” says Pugh, “if there is a merger or acquisition, we can respond proactively by bringing candidates to the market faster than we’d be able to if we had to wait for data to show up.”
3. Robots lack the finesse required to recruit passive candidates, and form strong partnerships with qualified professionals who might not tick off every checkmark on an automated list of requirements. “If a candidate is close,” says Pugh, “but has also demonstrated through behavioral interviewing both an ability and a passion to acclimate to a new situation, I have them submit an additional cover letter to help show hiring managers they’re more qualified for the role than their hard skills and exact experience might suggest.”
“After all, what good is living in a digital age if it doesn’t also have a human touch?” asks Pugh.
If you’re ready to explore hiring options with a partner who thoroughly understands your own specific labor market, contact Aston Carter now for a free conversation.
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