Over the last year almost every aspect of working life has undergone a significant change. Some for better, some for worse. For many LIMS professionals, the flexibility of work from home has allowed them to spend more time with their family, focusing on pet projects, or simply taking away some of the stress or financial strain of commuting. For others, a significant increase in workload due to pandemic-related stress has lengthened the workday and overburdened already stretched workforces. The stress of balancing work with other responsibilities such as home-schooling has added to dissatisfaction further.
Similarly, for myself the last year has had a number of ups and downs, both professionally and personally. The biggest plus point however, from a recruitment standpoint has been the embracing of remote flexibility by the vast majority of clients I recruit for. Particularly as I focus on recruiting in a niche area such as LIMS.
Due to the nature of the LIMS market and the LIMS application a client might be using, the pool of potential candidates with direct experience in that application is small at the best of times. When further confined to a specific geographical region within commutable distance, this number becomes even smaller, sometimes even falling to zero.
By virtue of the companies I work with embracing remote working, over the last 12 months I have been able to facilitate a large number of LIMS placements where they did not have to settle for a compromise on skill sets due to lack of candidate availability in their area. By increasing the search radius, we were able to identify fantastic LIMS candidates with the exact skills they were looking for. Every one of these candidates are now established and flourishing in their new roles.
Understandably in some cases there might be hesitation from a company’s point of view in moving a team to permanent remote-working. Particularly when a return to some form of normality feels so close. However, based on the evidence of the LIMS clients I have been working successfully with over the last 12 months, bringing in the right candidates with the right skillsets is ultimately the right decision for any business, regardless of geographical restrictions.
We are the experts in LIMS recruitment so get in touch if you are looking for any of the following roles for your next LIMS implementation or programme delivery: LIMS Project Manager, LIMS Developer, LIMS Business Analyst, LIMS Validation Specialist, LIMS Administrator, or roles within; LabWare, LabVantage, ELN, WinPath, StarLIMS and CDS.
