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The Swiss biotech industry continues to perform strongly. The Swiss Biotech Report 2025 shows record revenues of CHF 8.3 billion in 2024, supported by sustained R&D investment and growing international partnerships. More than 1,200 biotech and medtech companies now operate in Switzerland, making it one of the most innovation-intensive life-sciences hubs in Europe.
Despite this progress, most leaders highlight a familiar challenge. Finding and keeping the right people has become one of the biggest constraints on growth. The report notes that talent shortages are now affecting almost every part of the sector, from manufacturing and regulatory affairs to data and clinical roles.
Having spent more than a decade recruiting across Switzerland and Europe, I see the same pattern. A biotech raises new funding, hires quickly to scale research or prepare for clinical stages, and then faces turnover or slow delivery once teams are in place. These problems rarely come from effort or intent. They come from how hiring decisions are made.
If recruitment is driven by speed or instinct rather than data, even the most capable hires can struggle to perform as expected. To keep projects moving and investors confident, biotechs need to apply the same scientific discipline to people decisions that they apply to R&D.
This article explores how The Predictive Index, together with our Recruitment Optimisation Framework, helps Swiss biotech companies connect their hiring strategy to their business goals.
The Predictive Index (PI) is a talent optimisation platform that helps organisations make data-driven decisions about hiring and team design. It includes behavioural and cognitive assessments that give insight into how people work, what drives them, and how they are likely to collaborate with others. By understanding these patterns, leaders can hire more effectively, build stronger teams, and align talent with business strategy.
The Swiss biotech sector has entered a new phase of maturity. The Swiss Biotech Report 2025 highlights that revenue growth continues, with exports and R&D activity both reaching record levels. Yet while scientific output and investor confidence remain strong, many organisations are struggling to align their workforce strategy with the pace of business growth.
The report points to a clear imbalance. On one hand, Switzerland’s universities, research institutes, and established pharma networks continue to generate world-class expertise. On the other, small and mid-sized biotechs face increasing competition for that same expertise. As companies move from research to clinical or commercial stages, the skills they need change faster than their hiring processes can adapt. This creates a widening gap between business priorities and the people hired to deliver them.
Alignment begins with defining what success in a role means for the business today. The report’s data shows companies are advancing through the pipeline while the mix of required skills shifts, particularly as CDMO activity expands and regulatory and manufacturing demands rise. When role outcomes are tied to milestones such as time-to-clinic, regulatory readiness, or scale-up quality, hiring conversations move from headcount to measurable contribution.
Once outcomes are clear, leaders can specify the work conditions the role will face. Swiss biotech teams are often small, international, and highly cross-functional. That means success depends on how people operate within these environments as much as on technical credentials. Defining the working context helps surface the behavioural and thinking demands of the job alongside domain skills, which is essential when teams collaborate across R&D, quality, regulatory, and commercial functions.
With outcomes and context defined, hiring teams can set a job target that captures both the deliverables and the human demands of the work. The Predictive Index Job Assessment provides a way to codify those requirements before recruitment begins. Stakeholders contribute input, which is translated into a role profile that includes the behavioural drives and cognitive load needed to perform in that specific environment. This creates shared expectations across leadership, HR, and hiring managers, and gives each subsequent hiring step a common reference point.
Defining success in this way reduces drift between business strategy and hiring activity. It keeps roles anchored to the outcomes that matter, whether that is progressing clinical programmes, strengthening regulatory capability, or preparing for market entry. When decisions flow from an agreed job target, organisations scale with intent and avoid reactive hiring that adds friction later.
This approach is particularly valuable in Switzerland, where biotech teams are often small, international, and cross-functional. A mismatch between team dynamics and business priorities can slow decision-making or create tension in otherwise capable groups. When everyone agrees on what “fit” means for the role and the wider business, hiring becomes a strategic function rather than a reactive one. The Swiss Biotech Report 2025 also underscores that talent availability and retention sit among the sector’s key concerns, which makes connecting people decisions to business outcomes a necessary part of sustaining Switzerland’s position as a global innovation hub.
Recruitment Optimisation is a structured way to connect hiring decisions with business strategy. It focuses on four stages: Align, Attract, Assess, and Advance. Each stage addresses a common challenge in recruitment, from hiring for the wrong outcomes to losing new hires too soon. By applying this cycle, organisations can ensure they have the right people in the right seats to deliver on business goals.
The Swiss biotech sector continues to expand its scientific reach, yet attracting the right people to sustain that growth has become one of its hardest challenges. The Swiss Biotech Report 2025 notes that while total employment rose again last year, the shortage of qualified specialists remains acute. Demand for regulatory, manufacturing, and analytical talent continues to exceed supply, and several companies report delays in project timelines due to vacancies in these areas.
The same report highlights that Switzerland’s strong reputation and high quality of life still draw international scientists and executives, but competition for experienced professionals is intensifying. Larger pharmaceutical companies and global CDMOs often secure talent earlier by offering long-term stability and structured development paths. For smaller and mid-sized biotechs, this creates a recruitment bottleneck. Even when organisations attract interest, many candidates remain uncertain about the pace, culture, or expectations of a growth-stage company.
Attraction in this context is not only about visibility but also accuracy. Job adverts across the sector often describe technical requirements in detail yet overlook the human environment in which the work will take place. When candidates understand the purpose of the role, the behaviours that succeed in that environment, and how their contribution links to business outcomes, they can self-select with greater accuracy. This improves both engagement and the quality of the applicant pool.
Using the Job Target defined in the alignment stage, hiring teams can create job descriptions and adverts that communicate more than a list of tasks. Each target outlines the behavioural drives and decision-making patterns needed to perform well in the role. Translating these traits into accessible language allows potential applicants to see themselves in the position or recognise when it may not be the right fit. This saves time for both parties and reduces the likelihood of early attrition.
For example, a process development scientist in a highly regulated environment may need to show patience, consistency, and attention to structure, while a business developer may need to demonstrate adaptability and a comfort with risk. These differences are often subtle but significant, particularly in teams where collaboration across scientific and commercial functions is constant. Clearer communication of these expectations helps attract candidates who will thrive in those dynamics.
The Swiss Biotech Report 2025 also points out that several organisations are investing more in employer branding, training, and partnerships with universities to widen their pipelines. While these initiatives strengthen visibility, data continues to show that retention depends most on alignment between individual motivation and organisational culture. When adverts and outreach materials are informed by behavioural data, they naturally speak to the people most likely to find the work meaningful and stay for the long term.
Attracting the right candidates is therefore about understanding fit rather than volume of applications. By combining market insight with role-specific behavioural data, Swiss biotechs can stand out in a competitive talent landscape and ensure that each hire contributes to both scientific progress and organisational stability.
Attracting applicants is only one part of the hiring challenge. The next step, assessing who will perform successfully in a specific environment, remains a significant difficulty for Swiss biotechs. The Swiss Biotech Report 2025 highlights that the country’s strong scientific reputation draws a diverse mix of candidates, but competition for critical roles means selection decisions are often made under time pressure. In smaller organisations, hiring managers frequently balance recruitment responsibilities alongside operational duties, which increases the risk of decisions being influenced by instinct or immediate project needs rather than measurable evidence.
This is not unique to Switzerland, but the impact is magnified in a sector where each hire can influence research timelines, investor confidence, and regulatory outcomes. The cost of a mis-hire extends beyond salary. It can slow progress toward clinical milestones and increase the workload on existing teams. Many leaders interviewed for the report describe the difficulty of finding people who combine technical excellence with the ability to work across fast-moving, cross-functional teams.
Assessment is most effective when it provides insight into both capability and compatibility. Traditional recruitment methods focus heavily on education and experience, yet studies by The Predictive Index show that up to 75 percent of unsuccessful hires fail because of behavioural mismatch rather than technical skill. Validated behavioural and cognitive assessments help address this by measuring the drives and mental processing speed required for success in a given role. Together, they give hiring teams a more complete view of how a candidate is likely to work, communicate, and adapt within the organisation.
The process begins by comparing each candidate’s results with the job target defined earlier in the alignment phase. This creates a data-driven match score that highlights areas of alignment and potential gaps. Interviews can then focus on exploring these areas rather than relying on unstructured conversations. This approach improves objectivity while helping hiring managers understand how different behavioural patterns might complement or challenge existing team dynamics.
In practice, this method shortens time-to-hire and reduces turnover. According to The Predictive Index’s 2024 State of Talent Optimization Report, organisations using behavioural data for hiring reported shorter hiring cycles, higher satisfaction with new hires, and lower turnover than those that did not. For Swiss biotechs competing in a small but global talent pool, this efficiency matters. It ensures that key positions are filled by individuals who can perform effectively from the outset and adapt as the organisation grows.
This scientific approach supports fairness and transparency. Candidates experience a process based on clear criteria rather. For a sector that relies heavily on collaboration, trust, and compliance, this strengthens credibility with both employees and external stakeholders.
By combining structured behavioural and cognitive data with in-depth interviews, Swiss biotechs can make selection decisions that are both evidence-based and aligned with business priorities. The result is a higher likelihood of hiring people who not only meet technical requirements but also help build cohesive, high-performing teams capable of sustaining the country’s global reputation for innovation.
Recruitment success does not end when a candidate accepts an offer. The first months of employment are often the most critical, yet also the most neglected. Across industries, research shows that around 46% of new hires leave within 18 months, most commonly because of poor integration rather than lack of skill. For biotech, the consequences of this turnover are amplified. Each new hire carries months of recruitment effort, onboarding costs, and training time, and their early departure can disrupt entire project teams.
The Swiss Biotech Report 2025 highlights that workforce stability and retention have become pressing priorities for the sector. While total employment continues to rise, many organisations cite the challenge of keeping experienced talent once projects move from discovery to development or from local to global scale. The shift in pace, management structure, and expectations often exposes gaps between how people prefer to work and what the organisation requires.
The information gathered through behavioural and cognitive assessments during recruitment provides a strong foundation for addressing this. Once a person is hired, their assessment data can be used to guide how they are onboarded, managed, and supported. This allows leaders to move beyond generic onboarding plans and instead focus on what each individual needs to succeed in their specific role and team environment.
For example, understanding whether a new team member prefers structured guidance or autonomy helps determine how to introduce them to complex processes such as quality systems, regulatory documentation, or project reporting. The same data can highlight potential friction points within teams, allowing managers to anticipate and resolve issues before they affect collaboration.
The Predictive Index platform provides several tools that translate assessment data into practical guidance. The Relationship Guide helps identify how two colleagues can best communicate and work together, while the Management Strategy Guide offers insights for leaders on how to motivate and coach each person according to their drives and needs. When these tools are incorporated into onboarding and performance discussions, employees adjust more quickly, feel understood, and contribute sooner.
The value of this approach is not only cultural but financial. Replacing a skilled biotech professional can cost more than twice their annual salary when recruitment, training, and productivity loss are considered. For small and mid-sized Swiss biotechs operating with lean teams, avoiding even a few early departures each year can release significant time and budget back into research and development.
Retention is closely linked to connection. Employees who understand how their work supports organisational goals and feel supported by managers who recognise their working style are more likely to stay. Using behavioural data to personalise onboarding strengthens this connection and helps leaders build teams that perform consistently through periods of change or growth.
By extending the use of assessment data beyond hiring and into onboarding, Swiss biotechs can protect the investment made in every recruitment decision. This final stage of the Recruitment Optimisation Framework closes the loop between selection and performance, ensuring that people who join the organisation are equipped to deliver impact early and remain engaged over the long term.
Most hiring mistakes happen because the team’s needs weren’t fully understood. This article shows how to avoid that by using behavioural insight to make decisions that last.
Hiring mistakes don’t just cost money. They affect team performance, slow down progress, and knock confidence. When a hire doesn’t fit, the impact is felt across the business. It shows up in strained relationships, dropped priorities, and goals that don’t get delivered.
That’s why I focus on helping companies make hiring decisions they can stand behind. By combining the Predictive Index with strategic support, I help you understand how your team works, what kind of person will support its goals, and where things could go wrong if you get the hire wrong.
If you want to reduce risk, avoid disruption, and make your next hire a decision you don’t need to second-guess, I’d be happy to show you how it works. Contact me today, I will be happy to help.
Dave Crumby
Founder at 360 Talent Solutions
Certified Predictive Index Practitioner
360 Talent Solutions Ltd is an Associate Partner of Humanostics® , a PI Certified Partner authorised to use the science, assessment software, and curriculum of management workshops of The Predictive Index.
In partnership with Humanostics, we provide companies access to the assessment tools provided by The Predictive Index.
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