Cost Savings

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Implementing Effective Recruitment Process Outsourcing for Long-Term Partner Showed Significant Cost Savings and Lower Attrition

The Client
The client is a research-based biopharmaceutical company that has become widely known for its early success with a respiratory drug and an insomnia product that became the fourth most profitable product launch in pharmaceutical history.

The Challenge
The company started out focusing on developing compounds that were later marketed by large pharmaceutical companies. But, after the commercial success of its respiratory and CNS drugs, the company decided to self-market its portfolio of primary care products.

To do this, it needed to build a much larger sales force than the 50 representatives the company had at the time. The company sought out PrincetonOne’s recruitment process outsourcing services to help it make the growth adjustment. This was the start of what has become a long-term partnership between the client and PrincetonOne.

The Solution
Since 1998, PrincetonOne has managed the company’s ongoing attrition and has worked on five major expansions and multiple product launches that have grown the company’s sales force from 50 representatives to just under 2,000. PrincetonOne has accomplished this by working closely with the company’s executives and management to determine exactly the types of candidates needed in order to meet the company’s strategic goals.

PrincetonOne developed a talent acquisition plan that served as a solution for staffing chal­lenges and that was imperative to take the company’s profits and visibility to the next level. PrincetonOne has placed candidates in a variety of positions, such as primary care representative, hospital representative, district manager, regional business manager, regional director and regional trainer.

Throughout the partnership, PrincetonOne has consistently tracked those candidates who were placed with the company and eventually became top performing sales representatives. This helped build a cultural and competency profile that future candidates were measured against, to ensure that only the best candidates received interviews. PrincetonOne also developed, implemented and managed a customized communications strategy that kept candidates interested during a time when there was an unanticipated U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval delay.

Measurable Results
As with any major project, PrincetonOne faced some initial challenges. During an expansion, the client needed to fill 309 positions within nine weeks. The goal was to have offers ready for 85 percent of the territories by the end of the allotted nine weeks. The project started two weeks late and 200 territory changes occurred within the first two weeks. Despite these circumstances, PrincetonOne was still able to fill 99 percent of the positions, compared to an industry average of 80 percent. The project also finished two weeks earlier than planned, and went on to become the fourth most successful launch in pharmaceutical history. Finding superior candidates who would stay with the company long-term was extremely important to the client, especially since experts estimate the average cost of replacing an em­ployee is one and a half times the worker’s salary. If the right candidates were not placed, it could have resulted in a multi-million dollar loss.

The interview to offer ratio has consistently been low for all projects, compared to an industry average of 7 to 1. When PrincetonOne worked with the client on an expansion to launch an insomnia product, over half of the territories had two or more offers that went out to candidates. This demonstrates the quality of talent that was provided to the client.

Expansion 1 – 808 Positions

•	Candidates screened: 71,512
•	Candidates assessed: 15,900
•	Fill rate at launch: 99%
•	Interview to offer ratio: 2 to 1

Expansion 2 – 60 Positions

•	Candidates screened: 10,817
•	Candidates assessed: 1,320
•	Fill rate at launch: 103%
•	Interview to offer ratio: 4 to 1

A Long-Term Solution
PrincetonOne has helped decrease the client’s recruiting costs by 49 percent since 2002. In addition to providing significant cost reductions, PrincetonOne has served as a liaison between the company’s human resources and sales departments to ensure balance between the two areas, and has also acted as a third party consultant to provide outside expertise on a variety of issues.

For further information, please contact:
Ryan Hoffman
Director of Business Development, PrincetonOne HirePursuit
(317) 352-3111
Ryan.Hoffman@PrincetonOne.com

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