Life sciences:
Medical communications
2023 was a tumultuous year for pharmaceutical companies, which has had a direct impact on their supporting agencies. More than 115 biotech companies announced layoffs in 2023, easily surpassing 2022’s numbers. It has been tougher for the overall economy with post-COVID retractions, inflation and interest rates causing overall market volatility which has hit the pharma sector hard. Many healthcare agencies have consequently been forced to reduce their workforce.
However, not all healthcare agencies have been impacted. Elizabeth Bevan, associate director of medical communications at BioTalent, looks at how organizations can continue to thrive, hire and grow in the face of a more challenging environment.
Here are the key areas leaders need to prepare for in 2024:
Salary expectations changing – offset by overall compensation packages.
Digital tech – creating a wave of innovation in medical advertising.
Talent retention – will be key as budgets remain tight.
Agencies which have a strategic plan, have diversified their offerings to focus on digital health and technology, and have partnered with small, mid-size and large pharma, seem to have maintained stability and grown.
The inflated salaries we became used to seeing at the end of 2020, 2021 and 2022 mostly regressed closer to the norm in 2023. In a year where we’ve seen an uptick in layoffs and redundancies, some candidates have been more hesitant to aim for their top-end salary goal, understanding that this puts them at greater risk if their agency were to make layoffs for non-performance reasons. Across the industry, there is a push to get back to the ‘normal’ salary range that existed prior to 2021, but also keeping in mind inflation and adjusting salaries to keep them fair. For our agency partners, it is a challenge with some candidates being used to inflated salaries and therefore having higher expectations that are out of sync with the new, updated salary ranges.
Bonuses, typically discretionary based on personal and company performance, have been less of a guarantee this year. This has affected some small and mid-sized independent agencies, who have historically offered higher bonus percentages to better compete with larger network agencies, who can provide more in terms of base salary. With this said, bonuses are still being paid out and in some instances have maintained consistency with previous years.
Benefits are critical to overall compensation packages in a professional world that emphasizes limiting out-of-pocket expenses, and maintaining work-life balance and mental and physical health. Unlimited PTO policies are becoming more of the norm, along with telehealth, therapy, and physical fitness, to allow employees to bring their best version to work daily and reduce burnout.
We produced a comprehensive benefits assessment document recently specific to the industry, so if you’d like to hear more, please contact us directly.
Across the board, there is a great emphasis on digital tech. Modern digital advertising in healthcare is here, with digital data and technology platforms creating a groundswell of innovation. Many pharmaceutical companies are recognizing the vital importance of digital technologies and are aligning digital and analytics initiatives to further promote their business strategy, arguably more so than previous years. Due to this, there has been a greater demand from our agency partners in finding technical and digital savvy talent across creative, strategy and client services teams.
Many companies now appoint dedicated chief digital and technology officers experienced in leading such transformations, incorporating digital and analytics. We have also seen an increase in the use of technology to augment and customize experiences that achieve better treatment outcomes.
Secondly, health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) will continue to grow, due to an increase in the number of clinical trials and increase in outsourcing of R&D projects. HEOR is an increasingly important medical communications capability, particularly in market access and medical affairs.
Finally, there were many agency consolidations and mergers in 2023 and we foresee this trend continuing in 2024.
Throughout 2023, the main challenge was instability in an uncertain market. For our agency partners, budgets are tight and assets at the FDA are not being approved as rapidly as they were in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. A lot of projected revenue forecasted at the beginning of 2023 did not come to fruition, causing layoffs and resourcing issues. Many have speculated and are starting to see reduced budgets due to big pharma’s patent cliff, causing some of the biggest AOR accounts to be reduced also, impacting staff stability.
There is hope, however, as many agencies also work with generics and can find some of the lost revenue from other sources.
There continues to be a discussion over the return to office, and the future of remote, hybrid or in office working. Many people have adjusted to working from home life or have relocated away from their offices, and this will continue to prove an interesting conversation for both candidates and clients. Most large networks are requiring hybrid working and have given the smaller independents the edge in acquiring the best talent, given they are more flexible with the RTO policy.
Offering competitive salaries and benefits will always be important, and it is essential to be aware of what competing agencies are offering. For many individuals, priorities have shifted in the aftermath of COVID-19 and there is a greater emphasis and need for work from home flexibility, as well as flexible working hours. Whilst salary will always be in the top few reasons someone decides to switch jobs, flexibility and overall happiness in the workplace are more often than not higher up on people’s priorities.
Good onboarding and taking care of a candidate once they join is also crucial in keeping good talent. Progression and career advancement, inspirational leadership, job security and continued education are some of the top reasons people stay with companies. Equally, having a clear company vision that is shared up front is advantageous, especially for more senior candidates. Giving candidates information on how the organization is diversifying business, new capabilities and growth plans can make a big difference in a candidate’s decision to join.
Despite inflation impacting budget considerations, tightening of the global regulatory environment and the potential for continued volatility in pharma, the forward outlook is exciting in medical communications sales, strategy and market access in 2024.
Getting back to ‘normal’ means having more scientific expertise, as medical affairs continue to expand, as well as more strategic capabilities. Having an exceptional digital and analytics team in place to meet client demands will be key to outperforming the competition. Similarly, a robust pitch process and business development team will be vital to guaranteeing success and growth.
