Blogs and News

10 New Trends to Look Out for in Med Comms

Written by Alice Kirkland | Jun 3, 2021 10:42:43 AM

Due to changes in working circumstances and adaptations to a different way of life, we’ve noticed a range of new and forward-thinking trends popping up across the Medical Communications sector over the past 12 months.   

So, we’ve pulled together our top ten emerging trends to share with you: 

HCPs moving into medical writing positions 

We’ve seen several medical agencies successfully hiring healthcare professionals to join them as Medical Writers. With them, these HCPs are bringing their considerable medical knowledge and implementing this within a more commercial setting.  

Expanding into Europe 

As businesses have adapted to a work-from-home workforce, many agencies are now boosting their medical writing teams with European based writers. This is proving successful in widening their candidate pool whilst solving a resourcing shortfall.  

Digital is still booming 

Agencies with a true digital focus and capabilities have boomed over the past 18 months. Those who have done the best were already set up to provide virtual solutions, often with an in-house team of designers, developers and digitally savvy specialists.  

Finding the missing link 

A trend we’ve really seen take off recently has been agencies hiring for strategy focused roles to provide a link between BD/Commercial teams and Delivery teams. This has helped them to drive growth by understanding both client and business strategies.  

Increase in executive search assignments 

Using an executive search agency to find your next talent hire comes with a host of benefits and often sees a trusting, transparent and committed recruitment partnership that ensures the correct time and resources are allocated to key positions. So, it’s no wonder Med Comms agencies have been turning to this form of recruitment for recent top-tier vacancies.  

(To find out how Carrot Executive could help fill your next appointment click here).  

Speedier recruitment processes 

This has been one of the main positives to come out of the past year. For the candidate, an hour interview only takes an hour, and can often be scheduled before or after work, or over lunchtime to minimise time off and disruption to schedules. This has resulted in more passive candidates contemplating a new opportunity than before.  

New funding support 

Many Med Comms agencies have found themselves being backed by private equity firms and venture capital investors over recent months. This funding has helped to provide support to their ongoing growth, as well as allowing many to develop additional capabilities, platforms and tools.  

Increase in patient-centric content 

Med Comms agencies have taken to focusing more on connecting patients to the science whilst increasing their understanding and awareness of diseases, treatment options, clinical trial data and likely outcomes.  

Candidate attraction packs 

As agencies look to make more noise about the perks and benefits they have to offer in an attempt to differentiate themselves from their competitors, so we’ve seen bigger investments being made into their candidate attraction packs. A useful tool to help promote a business, candidate attraction packs provide an interesting insight into an agency’s work, culture, social and wellbeing initiatives, and are often shared with recruitment partners to aid the hiring process.  

(Discover how Carrot Executive can help you refine and improve your candidate attraction brochure here).  

Acquisitions to broaden service offerings 

To cover the expanding market, we’ve seen many Med Comms agencies joining up with companies offering Healthcare Advertising, PR, Market Access, Digital, Creative and Consultancy services, offering clients more of a “one-stop shop” for their communication needs.  

 

Our knowledgeable Medical Communications team cover both editorial and client services opportunities, from entry to Director level. If you require support with your Med Comms recruitment needs, please get in touch with our Team Lead, Louise Lavelle, for an informal discussion: 

01625 541037 / louise@carrotpharma.co.uk 

Or if you’re looking for your next Med Comms job, be sure to visit our jobs page here