The Challenge

Organisations involved in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals or other medical products have very specific requirements for temporary clean room operatives. Along with technical competence and a positive attitude to health and safety, it is vital that staff supplied do not have any medical conditions which may be aggravated by the working environment or which may compromise the quality of the goods produced.

The Wise Solution

Wise Employment has developed a high level of expertise in recruiting clean room staff through well-established supply relationships with clients such as BD (formerly Becton Dickinson) and Patheon. Both companies manufacture life saving drugs or medical equipment and use temporary clean room production staff to supplement their permanent workforce, particularly during periods of high demand. Wise Employment has a nine-year old supply relationship with BD and has been Patheon’s supplier of choice since 1998.

The selection process for clean room staff is critical to the success of these business relationships:

- At interview, all staff considered for assignment will complete a numeracy and observation assessment, designed to evaluate ability to accurately calculate weights and count stock We also establish if there are any medical contraindications, which would exclude candidates from working safely in a pharmaceutical production environment

- Temporaries who are interested in and eligible for clean room work attend a Group Briefing and Assessment event, where they are briefed on; the organisation that they will be working for, their products, their working practices their company culture and health and safety requirements. Temporaries are given a full job description, which they use to provide written answers to questions relating to the job role. This enables us to assess their written communication skills and ability to follow instructions. Finally temporaries will “gown up” in order that they appreciate fully how they must be presented during their working day.

- Temporaries who have successfully attended the Group Briefing and Assessment event are allocated an appointment for a private and confidential medical assessment with the Client’s Occupational Nurse.

- Those who are fit for work in the clean room will then attend a two-hour induction and tour of the Client site before commencing their assignment, which is supported by a temporary staff handbook, provided by Wise Employment

Wise Employment continues to maintain active contact with temporary staff after they have been placed in their assignment and works closely with the client to monitor performance and job satisfaction on an ongoing basis.

The Outcome

Our performance against service level criteria is closely monitored with both clients and reported on through monthly and quarterly reports. Our Operations Manager meets both clients on a quarterly basis to assess our success and to suggest any innovations to further enhance our service delivery. Our results demonstrate that thorough briefing, assessment and individual follow-up has given us a high level of success in filling and retaining staff in assignments with both clients. This has reduced the number of unsuccessful medical assessments carried out by their occupational nurses and significantly improved the attrition rate- thereby increasing the cost effectiveness of our service.

Our commitment to working closely with Patheon and BD to deliver a high quality specialist temporary supply service has also led to our appointment with both organisations as a preferred supplier for permanent staffing across a range of vacancies from general administration to specific production/engineering posts.