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Australasian Biotechnology, Vol. 12, No. 5, Oct-Nov, 2002, pp. 20-21 RECRUITMENT TRENDS IN BIOTECH Attracting and Retaining Talent in the BIOTECH Sector Dr Andy Gearing Code Number: au02030 In order to thrive, Australia's burgeoning biotechnology industry needs ready access to a pool of international experienced individuals whether entrepreneurs, CEOs, COOs, CFOs or specialist managers in development and production and commercialization. Australia is in direct competition for these people with both regional (Singapore, Taiwan, Japan) and international (USA, Canada, Europe) markets. Positive factors First, looking at the positives, the five key factors to attraction are: communication, excitement, opportunity, reward and lifestyle. Communication is important in order to let the world know that Australia has a growing vibrant biotechnology sector. Over the last two to three years Australia has been visible internationally, exhibiting and offering an exciting new biotechnology frontier to explore. This is due to an increased effort by several State and Federal Governments to promote the industry at several international biotechnology business meetings (BIO, Biopartnering Europe). The industry itself has also demonstrated success with companies like CSL, Cochlear and Resmed. The excitement that develops as a result of a clustering effect, provides security that the opportunity is real and sustainable, and is an incentive in reducing the risk of relocation. Australia has begun to demonstrate this clustering effect in places like Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, but still have some way to go before they reach the status of New England, California, Quebec and Cambridge. Opportunities in start-up commercialization abound in Australia and require a diverse number of skilled people to achieve success. These early stage opportunities are attractive to those who are prepared to develop the frontier and bring their experience to this diversity. Financial reward is a significant factor in attracting appropriate talent. Australian opportunities have to offer packages at least with comparable international rates. Beyond the salary and incentives there must be consideration given to the relocation costs. Lifestyle is an important requirement of any cluster if it is to be viewed as attractive. After all, those coming to offer their skill sets are coming with families and desires for a community that is welcoming and desirable. Negative factors Five factors that negatively impact attraction of talent are job flexibility, immigration difficulties, taxation, culture and distance. Job flexibility in Australian biotechnology is restricted and offers fewer employment opportunities than some other competitive clusters. In an industry where job opportunities are limited by the cash life of a company and dependent on the success or failure of key projects, a thriving job market offers more security. Immigration difficulties can be experienced, by those wishing to ply their skills in Australia, as the immigration routes and procedures can be protracted and add considerably to the strain of changing jobs and moving families. This contrasts with the ease of moving between the countries of the EU and Canada and the US. Taxation for individuals is very high in Australia when compared to virtually all of its biotechnology competitors. For example if one considers a married person with two dependent children earning $100,000 he or she would be left with 68% of his income after tax in the UK, 78% in the US, 89% in Hong Kong and 59% in Australia (M. Turnbull, The Age, 19/09/02). There are programs and taxation processes one can access but these are sometimes difficult to uncover and utilize. In some communities, like Quebec, Canada, tax incentives such tax-free periods provide a competitive edge to attract executives from foreign sources. Cultural differences between Australia and its biotechnology competitors at first glance is relatively small with a sense of familiarity; however the 'tall poppy' syndrome and tendencies to anti-intellectualism can be surprising. Paradoxically, this is in opposition to a strong public interest and pride in Australian medical and scientific achievements. Distance to markets for business is always a concern, but add to this the distance between friends and relatives and the time and cost of transport, then this becomes a significant concern for the person considering a biotechnology position in Australia. Dr Andy Gearing is the Chief Executive Officer for Biocomm Services in Melbourne and moved to that position from Europe. Lawrence Bremner, Chief Operating Officer for Biocomm Services, previously worked in North America. The article has been shaped by their personal experiences. Copyright 2002 - AusBiotech |
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