Corona has also created many opportunities, certainly in the life sciences sector. The need for the right experts and support remained very high. More information by Vincent Dumon and An-Sofie Vandersmissen of ALTEN.
Texts: Joris Hendrickx
An-Sofie Vandersmissen, Life Sciences Manager Flanders and the Netherlands
Vincent Dumon, Division Manager Life Sciences BeNeLux
What influence did the corona crisis have on the recruitment of talent at ALTEN?
Dumon: “At the beginning of the corona crisis, uncertainties arose in various sectors, also in life sciences. Despite this uncertainty, ALTEN has chosen to continue to recruit on a profile basis. We invest a lot in training and in following up our consultants. In addition, we spent a lot of time selecting the right people. These are all important elements that greatly appeal to our target group. ”
“We continued to attract talent, which enabled us to provide optimal supportto our clients through the corona crisis.”
“As a result, we were able to continue to attract talent, which enabled us to provide optimal support to our customers through the corona crisis. This was necessary because, although a number of projects came to an end, the demand for our expertise in conducting research and projects, including those involving corona, remained unabated. Thanks to our long-term collaborations with life science companies, we were even in the front row for corona projects.”
Vandersmissen: “Of course, that did require a lot of adjustments. We had to change our way of onboarding, training and support, because digital and remote working became the new standard. Our selection criteria also evolved accordingly, with more emphasis on personality traits such as independence and being proactive. Being there for our clients in these challenging times has only strengthened our partnership.”
Has corona also provided opportunities?
Vandersmissen: “From our offices in Belgium, we expanded into the Netherlands last year. This was already planned, but has now been accelerated, partly because all customer meetings could take place online. The aim of this expansion is to use the strong expertise in the field of life sciences that we have built up in Belgium to also offer support in the Netherlands.”
Dumon: “We were fortunate to have expanded our commercial team just before corona. This gave us the capacity to research and develop the Dutch market.”
Vandersmissen: “The timing was perfect. When Dutch sites also started producing corona vaccines and needed the expertise of our consultants, we had already had time to make the necessary contacts.”
Where do you see further growth opportunities?
Dumon: “Since a few years we have broadened our offer with technical experts and project managers. This allows us to support our customers on multiple levels. We can now also do audits and even take over complete projects with a complete team.”
Vandersmissen: “This is also an added value for our consultants, as it allows them to work in a complete ALTEN team and we can offer even more growth opportunities.”
Credit: De Standaard [https://nl.planet-future.be/life-sciences/corona-als-opportuniteit-voor-groei/ ]
*The picture Of Vincent and An-Sofie was taking before Covid.
Are you also interested in a career at ALTEN in our Life Sciences division? Connect with our recruiters at apply@alten.be. Or check our vacancies.
