A pipeline for a Basel R&D build-out
A pharma client was opening a new R&D site and needed engaged candidates ready before roles went live.
A top-20 pharmaceutical company was planning to open a new R&D centre in Basel within 18 months, anticipating 45–60 hires across medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, and clinical development. Previous expansions had been hampered by 90+ day time-to-fill averages, with the strongest candidates lost to faster-moving competitors.
What the client was up against
The client’s historical approach — waiting for requisitions to go live before beginning candidate outreach — consistently produced long hiring cycles and lost top talent to competitors who moved faster. With a brand-new site to staff and a fixed launch timeline, starting from scratch on each role was not viable. The business needed warm, qualified, pre-engaged candidates ready to move the moment requisitions were approved.
How Audentia solved it
Audentia built a rolling talent pipeline across three functional streams over a 12-month engagement. We identified and profiled 380+ qualified candidates across Switzerland, Germany, France, and the UK, then engaged each through a structured outreach sequence — introducing the client’s vision, gauging interest, and qualifying availability and salary expectations. Every candidate was tagged by readiness tier (immediate, 3-month, 6-month) and tracked in a shared dashboard updated fortnightly. The pipeline was refreshed quarterly to remove inactive candidates and introduce new prospects.
Results that lasted
When the first 22 requisitions went live, the client had a pre-qualified shortlist for every role within 48 hours. Average time-to-offer dropped from 94 days to 31 days. Eighteen of the first 22 hires came directly from the Audentia pipeline. Candidate satisfaction scores on the hiring process averaged 4.6 out of 5, reflecting the quality of pre-engagement and the speed of the overall experience.
Candidates profiled and pre-engaged
Average time-to-offer (down from 94)
First-wave hires from pipeline
Candidate satisfaction score
When the first requisition went live, we had candidates ready the same day. That has never happened before in any of our site openings.
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