A global mid-sized medical device manufacturer was looking for a VP Quality and Regulatory for 6 months. They first tried to directly recruit for this role with their HR team. The result: They were overwhelmed with applications, and wasted time speaking to unsuitable candidates. At the final stage, they had one candidate. And even then, they weren’t convinced he was the right fit. They reached out to Elemed for some support. Because the role had been open a significant amount of time, the “buzz” had already died down, and many candidates were questioning why it had been open for so long. This was damaging for the employer brand.
Good candidates are hard to attract. We repositioned the role, bringing out benefits for the candidate, resulting in a 32% increase in more suitable applications. We also reached out to our Elemed network, top talent who was not actively looking or applying, but willing to listen to the right role. After speaking with these candidates, they were very interested to be considered. We delivered a shortlist of 5 highly qualified VP level QA/RA Medtech candidates within 2 weeks. All 5 were taken through the interview round, with 2 candidates at final stage who were willing to accept an offer. The client hired a great VP candidate in a start to end process that took a little under 8 weeks.
Our client was a highly innovative French startup developing an implantable medical device. In the past, the company had survived with consultants, but it was time to bring the role internally. This was the first time the CEO had ever hired a RA/QA/Clinical profile and didn’t have a strong network in this field. The risk of hiring the wrong person was high. Also, as a startup, they didn’t have a deep reach into the market – nobody knew who they were!
We developed the role ad, positioning and marketing strategy. We targeted candidates that had experience with a startup or the ability to work in a small, dynamic environment. Through our network, we gave this company a platform to reach potential employees they couldn’t reach on their own. They hired a candidate with 15 years RA/QA experience working in implants. By hiring the right person, they were able to get CE and FDA approval faster than expected!
A mid-sized medical device company working in class II medical devices reached out to us to assist with a replacement of a bad hire. They had initially recruited a candidate directly, who had over-promised his experience and what he was able to deliver, and now they were in trouble. As they did not have a strong network in QA/RA, they did not know much about this candidate’s reputation or track record.
We were able to discreetly find them an RA/QA professional with an excellent reputation and experience who had strong contacts with the FDA. This resulted in a swift remediation and no further action.
A global medical device cardiovascular manufacturer headquartered in the USA was having problems hiring a manager Regulatory/Quality. Whilst they had a good brand, and a strong internal recruitment team, they were struggling to reach RA/QA candidates in Europe, with less than a 5% response rate to cold headhunt messages.
After taking a detailed brief we reached out to our Elemed talent hub, a network of over 3,000 warm professionals in QA/RA who are not actively looking but open to considering the right opportunities. Having a warm relationship with these professionals really made the difference! With an 84% response rate, we were able to shortlist and hire an exceptional candidate in Germany!
A multinational medical device manufacturer was building up a new division for Vigilance. As one of the pioneering companies to set up a new department focusing just on this, they were looking in a sparse candidate market. Experienced leaders focused on Vigilance were very hard to come by. This recruitment required some creativity!
By thinking outside of the box, we headhunted a professional from one of Europe’s leading competent authorities. The candidate had been in their current role for a long time, so it was important to build trust and position the opportunity correctly. Having a mutual contact reinforced the candidate’s trust in us, and we were able to make a great match!