Securing talent 54% faster
A research organisation dedicated to better understanding the roots of disease and narrowing the gap between new biological insights and impact for patients required a transformative extended workforce solution. With a total workforce of over 6,000 direct and affiliated team members, they are based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Skills Alliance has been working in partnership with the company since January 2024 to deliver a Managed Service Programme (MSP) solution to manage its extended workforce.
The Challenge
Central to the company’s mission to accelerate biomedical discoveries and improve human health, is the recognition that diversity in education, training, perspectives, and backgrounds is critical to solving complex problems. To support this ethos, they require a highly skilled, flexible workforce that can be quickly mobilised while maintaining compliance and cost-efficiency.
However, their decentralised approach to contingent workforce management presented significant hurdles. The organisation faced limited visibility into their contingent workforce, escalating costs, compliance risks, and restricted access to the specialised talent necessary for their cutting-edge research. These challenges hindered their ability to support their ambitious research and talent goals effectively.
The Solution
Recognising the need for a transformative workforce solution, the research organisation conducted a comprehensive search for a specialist life sciences workforce solutions partner. Their goal was to identify a partner capable of improving efficiency and cost effectiveness, while ensuring access to the niche talent they required.
Skills Alliance brought a tailored solution designed specifically to address the company’s unique requirements. This included the deployment of a specialist programme management team (PMO), the implementation and management of a robust Vendor Management System (VMS) to centralise and streamline extended workforce processes, delivering improved visibility, compliance, and cost control. The solution also included a direct delivery team of subject matter experts to enhance access to talent for key skill sets.
Skills Alliance also prioritised embedding themselves within the research organization’s culture. By aligning with the company’s employer brand and values, they ensured that candidates were not only highly skilled but also a strong cultural fit.
The Results
The partnership between the research organisation and Skills Alliance has delivered transformative results:
Enhanced Visibility: The PMO team and VMS technology provided comprehensive insight into the company’s extended workforce, allowing for better workforce planning and cost management.
Cost Efficiency: Standardised processes and centralized management reduced unnecessary expenditures while ensuring compliance with industry regulations resulting in YTD cost savings of 16%.
Access to Talent: Skills Alliance leveraged its life sciences expertise to significantly accelerate the process of attracting and onboarding the niche talent required to support the organisation’s ambitious research agenda with time to hire reduced by 54%.
Cultural Alignment: Through their commitment to understanding and promoting the organisation’s employer brand, Skills Alliance ensured the recruitment of talent who embody the ethos of their inclusive culture.
Director of Talent Acquisition shared,
“Skills Alliance was our number one choice to become our talent partner for our Extended Workforce Management (EWM). They have demonstrated that they are able to provide a cost-effective solution, bring in the appropriate VMS specifically for our talent demands, as well as the specialist recruitment expertise to deliver the highly skilled talent we require in the pursuit of our organisational goals.”
Dan Shillingburg, Managing Director at Skills Alliance Consulting, remarked,
“We are thrilled to be working with such an organisation in their pursuit of accelerating biomedical research and improving human health. Through the MSP solution tailored to their needs, we are providing cost-effective access to the specialised talent they require. We look forward to a long-standing partnership.”
Tailored workforce solutions
The partnership between the research organisation and Skills Alliance exemplifies how tailored workforce solutions can address complex challenges in the life sciences sector. By transforming their extended workforce management, the research organisation is now better equipped to focus on its mission to advance biomedical research and improve human health, with the confidence of having the right talent in place.
