Advice You - Business

Hiring someone new to work in your business is one of the most critical decisions a business owner makes, although it is not always given the justice it deserves. If a position is vacant, or additional staff are needed,

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

recruitment decisions are often driven by the pressure to get someone in quickly, rather than waiting for the best person to fill the job. Lack of proper and systematic recruitment process can also result in a high cost t

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

the business.

The direct and indirect costs of this recruitment process are many, and have been estimated to be at least 30% of the new person’s salary on average:

Recruitment costs – include advertisi

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

g and agency fees (if used), travel

Cost of time – for everyone involved in the interview process

Cost of having the job unfilled -if the process is lengthy

Cost of lost produc

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

ivity – “the show must go on!” Co-workers are picking up extra workload and completing unfinished projects. The reduced productivity of managers who lose key staff can be a big issue

Cost of training
d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro
RONG> – on average it takes 20 weeks for new employees to become fully productive. Consider also the costs of orientation, learning materials and lost productivity of the manager overseeing the new employee

Costs
ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc
of person filling in – this may be a current employee, in which case their own job suffers, or a temporary person.

Further costs are incurred when the process is inefficient and time-consuming, and when the proc
easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi
ss does not result in the best person for the job being hired.

So the incentive to hire the right people and keep them for as long as possible should be a focus for all businesses.

So what approach to recruitment gives
nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically
he best chance of long-term success?

Job Definition

You need to have a clear understanding of what the job involves in terms of activities, responsibilities and priorities. Once the nature of the job ha
and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ
been clearly defined, we can begin to specify the attributes (education, skills, experience, competencies) of a person who is likely to do the job successfully. It is these, particularly the qualitative skills, that make
ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi
the biggest difference to job fit.

Attracting and Assessing Applicants

There are numerous sources for finding applicants for a job. Some of these include traditional newspaper advertising, approaching p
ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a
eople directly, use of agencies, job groups, unemployment agencies and so on. The one you use will vary depending on the job and industry. When it comes to assessing applicants, most people make the same mistake – we all
dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod
believe we are good judges of character, and trust our gut when it comes to making hiring decisions. Sometimes this will work, often it will not. A sound recruitment process works to take as much of the subjectivity out o
cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin
the process as possible.

To achieve this you need to be organized in your approach to hiring. There are all sorts of assessments and “psychological” testing available now to make more objective hiring decisions. This is
tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen
not practical for many business owners, so at the very minimum you should include the following steps in your process:

·Have a written definition of what the job involves

·Decide what skills are essential for the positi
t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel
n – this can include technical skills and qualitative skills such as communication, negotiation etc.

·Develop a list of questions to get an understanding of each applicant’s experience in each essential skill. There are
ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust
umerous resources available on behavioural questioning techniques to help with question design

·If possible try to interview with 2 people present to ensure you are not being biased in a particular direction

·Ask every
y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products
pplicant exactly the same questions, and note down their answers so you can compare them afterwards

·Make your selection based on each applicant’s fit to the essential criteria – only use the responses they gave you duri
.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de
g the interview, don’t let your “instinct” take over.

One of the major benefits of using sound recruitment and selection practices is that they increase the likelihood of selecting successful employees. The hiring decisi
elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip
n is an important one with many consequences. A good choice results in an effective employee who will help your business meet its goals and objectives. A poor decision will lead to reduced productivity and increased costs

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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