by Tony Jones, CEO, One Nucleus
Being Asked to Do More With Less
The cascading challenge before the sector currently with respect to both companies and individuals working in it could be summarised as:
- A lack of investment capital making its way into life science R&D companies
- Life science R&D companies having to reduce cash burn to prolong financial survival
- A shift in focus to later-stage programmes, making earlier research programmes vulnerable
- Staff redundancies and highly valuable skills sitting unused
- Personal impacts of job losses being felt and the wellbeing deficiencies of unemployment.
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The consequence of such a cascade appears to be what we are now observing: established companies focussing on the development side of R&D where possible, earlier-stage companies needing to generate more data to secure further funding, and a labour pool of expertise and experience with insufficient vacancies to fill. A very challenging and unsatisfactory situation for all, one could argue. Is Necessity the Mother of Invention? This is a very old saying, with some claiming its roots are way back in Aesop’s Fables, that suggests that when faced with a problem, innovative people are driven to find creative solutions. It may be fortunate, therefore, that the life sciences sector is packed full of innovative people who create great solutions to unmet medical needs on a very regular basis. So, when it comes to the life sciences sector, perhaps the more modern adage from Steve Jobs is more fitting: “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” |
The One Nucleus Skills Exchange on WhatsApp
In no way an attempt to replace the excellent roles played by recruitment and temp placing agencies, there is an opportunity to add to the support on offer by the creation of a skills exchange platform to connect needs and skills in an economically challenged environment.
Recruiting skilled individuals across laboratory and non-laboratory-based disciplines alongside companies that have the need of short-term access to such expertise could allow for a ‘wanted’ and ‘offer’ swap shop type exchange. This could enable:
- Companies to post what they are seeking and for how long
- Individuals or companies with spare capacity to respond with what they can offer
- Companies to post job vacancies
- Individuals to see job opportunities
It would be entirely between each party what business arrangement they may form. The thinking behind the above is twofold. First, it may help companies short on funding to access expertise where needed and increase the chances of securing further funding. Second, it may provide a means for those between jobs to explore options and stay in the workplace whilst searching for the next role.
Seeking Your Opinion
Whilst many great ideas are workable, valuable and deliverable in the mind of the originator, there may be different views and challenges among the group the idea is aiming to help.
One Nucleus does not have a crystal ball to assess the merits, challenges or appetite for such a low-cost, low barrier-to-entry skills exchange platform, so we would value input from our community on whether this appeals as a useful support mechanism for the ecosystem.
To that end, there are two simple polls currently open on LinkedIn:
Not an agency or recruitment service, but are you aware of a Skills Exchange type forum in life sciences that could help those between jobs? (closes Friday 29 August)
Would you use a WhatsApp Group-based Skills Exchange platform to seek short-term opportunities to match available skills with company needs? (closes Friday 5 September)
Working as One
If you would like to discuss the above suggestion or simply more information, please contact [email protected].
As Henry Ford famously said, “If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.” One Nucleus is here to try and enable the success of all parts of the life science ecosystem we serve.