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The business world tends to navigate towards more transparent and horizontal concepts of management. The patterns of management change also in the areas of healthcare and life sciences. Steered by a much more stringent set of norms in the past, the pharmaceutical industry has started to become at least as flexible as other industries. Particularly, the local manufacturers tended to impose dress codes and strict working hours. An employee arriving at work five minutes late could be served a warning letter, while male employees were not allowed to grow beards or it was not possible to leave the office before 5 pm. However, the sector managed to fulfill the trends of the time, finding a way to be more responsive. Almost all of the international companies allow working from home for a day. Inspired by the sectors improving employee satisfaction through innovative practices, the healthcare and life sciences steer towards more flexible hours and a more innovative approach.
Brand Loyalty in Healthcare depends on MT Programs and Digital Ads
It would not be wrong to say that healthcare and life sciences, known for their innovative nature, introduced digitalization into their operations much later than many other sectors. Among the main reasons for this are pharmaceutical promotions, compliance law and Ministry of Health regulations. We can say that many areas of the sector still has a very limited scope of digital practices due to such regulations. The healthcare sector is supported by digitalization mostly in brand activities. For example, the pharma companies appear on TVs and online news portals through banners with their slogans in support of the pharma industry. They provide support to the industry without publishing any ads about medicines or active ingredients. Although they might not seem like a brand advertisement, these activities support the company in the field of HR all the same. These indirect ads provide feedback about employee safety, employee satisfaction, or increased desire to work for such company, while at the same time increasing its recognition.
MT programs are another method applied by companies in the healthcare and life sciences sector to establish brand loyalty. As one of the leading sectors in this field, the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry initiated comprehensive MT programs as of 2008 and 2009. We can say that many bright professionals from the sector has started their career as a MT and climbed the success ladder quickly. Providing a well-established brand loyalty, MT programs make many employees in the sector prefer to stay at the same company for a very long time.
A Conscious Sector and Conscious Employees
The profile of candidates and employees in the Healthcare and Life Sciences sector has close similarities to those in the banking sector. An ideal profile of employees, however, include talented and conscious individuals who graduated from distinguished schools in Türkiye and are familiar with MT programs or worked at the headquarters of the company following a brief sales experience. We can say that this conscious state is something that is observed not only in employees but also across the industry.
As one of the most busy sectors, the healthcare industry acts more consciously in outsourcing professional help, compared to many other sectors. They represent a conscious consumer profile for recruitment and consultancy firms. To fill their vacancies, they seek support from recruitment and consultancy firm before conducting interviews as part of the process and, most of the time, would request benchmarks.
The HR departments from the sector pay serious attention to gender equality. Especially with sales or marketing roles dominated by male employees, such companies instruct consultancy firms accordingly in an attempt to create a balance before the recruitment process starts. Most of the firms desire to maintain a 50% balance between genders. Moreover, the rate of female executives is higher than many other sectors. It is observed that many expats and general managers are also women.
This article has been written by İpek Koç, Manager of our Healthcare & Life Sciences division.
