Building a specialist clinical research team at pace

A leading clinical research organisation was preparing to launch a large-scale, multi-year clinical trial for a global pharmaceutical partner. The success of this real-world evidence study depended on the rapid recruitment of a skilled, dedicated team of clinical professionals. They partnered with CHASE to build this team from the ground up, against a tight deadline.

The challenge

The brief was to recruit a team of six experienced Clinical Research Nurses (CRNs) working in a hybrid model (a mix of the client's office and remote work), and one Safety Sub-Investigator working remotely. The nurses needed to be in post by mid-September to begin the 12-month initial contract.

Key challenges included:

• Sourcing volume and experience: Identifying enough experienced CRNs in the specific geographical area of central Manchester who were open to a new role.
• Managing notice periods: Many suitable candidates, particularly those in the NHS, had two-month notice periods, which presented a significant risk to the mid-September start date.
• Specialist recruitment: In addition to the nurses, the client required a specialist Safety Sub-Investigator (Sub I) able to commit to two separate half-days per week on a long-term basis until December 2031.

The solution

CHASE took the recruitment brief and implemented a direct and efficient recruitment strategy. The approach combined wide-ranging advertisements with proactive sourcing to build a strong candidate pipeline quickly.

Actions taken included:

• Multi-channel attraction: On 30th June, the roles were advertised across the CHASE website, specialist pharmaceutical job boards, and mainstream platforms including LinkedIn and Indeed.
• Proactive sourcing: Simultaneously, a targeted search was commenced using LinkedIn Recruiter, approaching 403 potential candidates directly. CHASE's internal CRM system was also searched for suitable candidates.
• Efficient screening and selection: A rigorous screening process ran across three weeks. A high-quality shortlist of candidates was submitted to the client's Project Manager. Eleven candidates in total progressed to competency-based interviews.

The outcome

CHASE’s focused approach enabled the client to secure the core of its clinical research team well ahead of the project start date.

Exceptional speed: The time to hire, from the initial brief to all 6 Clinical Research Nurse offers being accepted, was 16 working days. The time to hire for the Safety Sub Investigator was 46 days, however the main recruitment activities for this role took place once the recruitment process was underway for the Clinical Research Nurses.

Successful appointments: Seven offers were made and accepted by experienced Clinical Research Nurses and an experienced Safety Sub Investigator, all commencing employment within three months of project start

High-quality shortlisting: The process delivered outstanding conversion ratios, demonstrating the accuracy of the candidate selection.

Clinical Research Nurses

• CV to interview ratio: 1.3:1
• Interview to offer ratio: 1.4:1

Safety Sub Investigator

• CV to interview ratio: 1.7:1
• Interview to offer ratio: 3:1

Effective sourcing strategy: The successful candidates were sourced through a blend of proactive LinkedIn approaches (5 hires) and advert responses (2 hires), validating the multi-channel strategy.

By delivering a skilled team at pace, CHASE provided the client with the personnel required to launch their long-term clinical study on schedule.

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