3 Strategies to Help Surmount Orthopedic Talent Scarcity

While the latest jobs numbers show a clear slowdown in employment gains, acquiring specialized skills remains challenging for medtech organizations. That’s because the most sought-after talent remains scarce in today’s evolving labor market. Randstad Enterprise’s latest research shows year-over-year demand for these skills is normalizing, but overall, it remains a candidate’s market.

It’s important to understand talent scarcity is increasingly decoupled from economic cycles. A convergence of factors have widened the skills gap at many organizations, especially those in emerging fields such as AI and language modeling. Not only are universities lagging in graduating students in fields such as semiconductor manufacturing,¹ the aging of the global workforce is also leading to structural talent scarcity.²

Randstad Enterprise’s latest Global In-Demand Skills research revealed the need for specialized and high-skill talent remains above pre-pandemic levels and is historically elevated. Half of the nine most in-demand skills are technical in nature. Talent possessing the most advanced technical skills in cloud computing, data science, engineering and maintenance, and AI will be much sought after for the foreseeable future. Their halo effect will also spur demand for specialists supporting project management, implementation, and adoption of new technologies and workflows.

The need for some non-technical workers also remains high. The labor market for finance specialists, especially those with deep subject matter expertise, continues to be active and robust, despite some softening in the overall market. The same is true for audit and compliance, marketing, software project management, and customer service roles.

This means manufacturers pursuing innovative therapeutics and diagnostics will surely face talent acquisition headwinds for at least the near future. Access to talent with expertise and experience in connectivity, data, cloud, and other growth segments will be challenging, and competition from outside the sector is assured. However, companies have options to acquire the people resources they need, provided they are strategic in their approach.

Roles Most Difficult to Fill

Our research reveals while all nine skills clusters in the sidebar are in high demand, some are more difficult to acquire than others. For instance, AI and automation jobs are the second-most challenging to fill, despite accounting for the fewest number of roles on the list. In specialized sub-skills within the cluster (such as robotics), the job vacancy rate (JVR) is an elevated 14%. In comparison, software project management, which has the largest talent pool, has a job vacancy rate of 5%. For device manufacturers focused on robotic surgery, for instance, finding qualified specialists with a background in medtech will be nothing short of difficult for some time.

While new digital skills have been the focus of many organizations in recent years, traditional competencies still account for three of the top five most complex roles to hire. Audit and compliance skills boast the highest JVR among all skills clusters, followed by AI and automation, customer service, project management, and engineering and maintenance. This mix indicates talent scarcity is cross-functional, and employers’ attraction strategies should be broad and comprehensive to ensure access to the right people.

In addition to the nine families of learned skills highly prized by employers, organizations also want job candidates to possess critical core skills. These include analytical thinking, accountability, and competencies related to task/project ownership. Our research shows, around the world, employers prioritize talent with such competencies. They also desire people with a strong appetite for continuous learning, good ethical judgment, emotional intelligence, and leadership abilities.

Along with these innate traits, companies in their job postings are seeking people with considerable experience as well. Our research finds increased layoffs during the past 18 months has led to a corresponding growth in the percentage of postings requiring complex skill sets with extensive experience. For instance, the JVR for senior AI and automation talent in India is approximately four times higher than it is for the skill cluster overall. Furthermore, the concentration of medtech talent within certain hubs (in the U.S.: California, Minnesota, and Massachusetts, for example) makes it difficult for device makers outside of those regions to find such experienced specialty skills.

A Skilling Focus Is Mandatory

As I have pointed out in previous columns, these challenges will plague the medtech industry for years to come, and organizations that try to hire their way out of the talent scarcity dilemma will only incur inflated human capital costs and experience delays in their operations. While a robust talent acquisition strategy is a must-have, companies need to supplement it with a skilling focus that advances the knowledge and capabilities of their workforce. This means a cohesive approach to hiring, developing, and advancing people across all functions and especially those in leadership roles. So how can companies more effectively grow their own internal talent pool?

1. Accelerate Internal Mobility
Providing better career pathing isn’t just good for the business but also talent. Randstad Workmonitor research perennially surveys workers around the world and every year, we find career growth and development opportunities to be one of the most important considerations when assessing potential employers.³ By helping people visualize a clear career path, device makers also raise engagement and productivity.

2. Maintain Skilling Budgets
At a time when budgets are curtailed, it might sound counterintuitive to advocate for more training and development spending. However, this may be the most critical time as organizations retrench and have fewer dollars for hiring. By empowering their workforce with new competencies and experiences, companies can maintain innovation and product development.

3. Prioritize Retention for Optimal Results
Training and advancing the workforce are critical measures to mitigating talent scarcity, but they become completely ineffective if companies can’t hold on to their best people. The competition for in-demand skills is fierce, and employers must be keenly attuned to the needs and desires of their employees to ensure retention. This requires knowledge of prevailing compensation practices, remote work policies, and worker preferences. For instance, Workmonitor data shows a growing desire among people to work for companies with an active diversity, equity, and inclusion principle. Companies with values that align with those of their workforce are best positioned to retain them.

Conclusion

With competition for critical skills growing, medical device makers face an uphill journey in their workforce strategies. To overcome the structural shortcomings of the labor market, employers must consider all channels for hiring, training, and retaining their people. Doing so will certainly enhance their access to the skills needed to keep innovating in the years ahead. 

The 9 Most In-Demand Enterprise Skills Clusters (in alphabetical order) AI and Automation Audit and Compliance Cloud Computing Customer Service Data Science and Analytics Engineering and Maintenance Finance and Accounting Marketing, Content, and Advertising Software Project Management and Leadership

References

1. tinyurl.com/mpo240161
2. tinyurl.com/mpo240162
3. tinyurl.com/mpo240163

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Tania de Decker is the managing director of global strategic accounts for Randstad Enterprise Group. She works with Fortune 500 companies to develop and implement processes that improve and drive recruitment and retention solutions. de Decker has more than 28 years of recruitment experience and has worked more than 18 years with life sciences companies. The emphasis has always been improving the quality of her clients’ talent acquisition.