Q: What unique benefits does Hays offer to healthcare companies?

ML: Hays’ healthcare division is fully specialized in the sector and our expertise allows us to provide tailored consulting services. HR professionals know the company’s requirements and with our market expertise we become key partners who help them fill their vacancies. To generate a successful relationship between employer and employee, it is important that we understand the needs of both. Hays initially worked with the pharmaceutical industry but now specializes in recruitment for medical devices companies. We work with manufacturers and startups that need talent acquisition support.

Hays addresses senior profiles; these professionals are available in Mexico, but not in the necessary numbers that the industry requires.

RR: The healthcare sector’s needs are extremely specific and companies often require particular profiles for which there could be very few candidates. We have recruited for the healthcare industry for the past three years and we offer access to a unique profile. As we know the sector’s needs, we are an excellent filter for employees.

Q: What recommendations would you give to medical devices companies looking to retain qualified talent, especially millennials?

ML: These companies are usually small and are not poised to grow their internal structure in the short term. The common profile for millennials is that they are extremely interested in growing their capabilities and to continue learning throughout their careers. Millennials feel the need to innovate, which is good for both the company and the individual.

RR: Pharmaceutical companies are often larger and much more established, so there are more opportunities for professionals to grow within the company. It is also important that employees understand their contribution to the company. We have some companies that have taken their employees to hospitals to observe surgery, which allows them to see first-hand the importance of the work they do. Employees like to know that they are making a positive impact on other people’s lives.

Q: What are Hays’ key expectations for the healthcare market in the coming years?

ML: We expect further growth in the healthcare sector. This growth will lead to a rise in demand for medicines and medical devices. At the moment, there is great uncertainty in the industry as companies await the results of the Mexican presidential elections in 2018 and the outcome of the NAFTA renegotiation. The industry is increasingly open to accessibility schemes and looking for adherence strategies. Companies are looking at the benefits they can provide to patients and what aftermarket advantages they can deliver to doctors.

RR: Companies are at a standstill and freezing their budgets while political matters are solved locally and internationally. However, we have seen great interest in the Mexican market from international medical devices companies around the world. Several are looking for distributors to penetrate the market before opening offices. Given this interest, we have positive expectations for the industry here. The government itself faces interesting challenges in the medical devices sector, since regulations can greatly increase the final price of a product. Manufacturers sell through distributors, which in turn work with governmental institutions, thus adding to final prices. If manufacturers can approach the government directly to sell their products, the final cost would be lower. By making these sales more transparent and efficient, the government could boost the number of products it acquires, increasing the number of patients it can treat. Some governmental institutions are already incorporating these practices and it would be beneficial for all other public healthcare institutions to adopt similar policies.