The CRA shortage is self-inflicted
Part 2 - The Roundtable Survey
Virb conducted an in-person executive roundtable in collaboration with the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development (CSDD) on the correlation of CRA experience and performance.
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Ken Getz
Executive Director, Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development (CSDD)
Tufts University School of Medicine
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Survey Results
Survey demographics
- 55 Respondents
- 21 Mean years of experience
- 17+ Therapeutic areas represented
- 17.5K Mean number of employees
- 91% In clinical development / operations
- 66% C -suite or head of function
Perceptions about the CRA industry shortage
- 88% There is an industry shortage
- 43% It’s getting worse
- 57% It’s staying the same
- 0% It’s getting better
CRA Education & Experience
- 44% <2 years required
- 35% 2 years required
- 21% >2 years required
- 79% Require a bachelor’s degree
- 69% Have hired a CRA with < 2 years’ experience
Training Requirements
- 62% College / university
- 59% Company
- 33% 3-4 months of training
- 18% 1-2 months of training
- 15% 5-6 months of training
- 15% < 1 month of training
- 84% Peer support / mentoring most effective training
- 77% In person most effective training
- 39% Experiential training most effective training
General areas of competency
- Scientific concepts and research design
- Ethical and participant safety considerations
- Ethical and participant safety considerations
- Investigational product development and regulation
- Clinical study operations (good clinical practice)
- Study and site management
- Data management and technology
- Leadership and professionalism
- Communication and teamwork
Technical skills needed
- Digital and remote solutions
- Data literacy
- Project management
- Risk identification and mitigation development
- Writing
Soft skills needed
- Ability to escalate
- Communication skills
- Influencing and negotiating
- Multitasking
- Organization
- Problem solving and strategic thinking
- Professionalism
- Resilience
- Building site relationships
- Managing stress
Recruiting approaches used
- 86% Recruiters
- 69% Website / social media
- 59% Staffing companies
Recruiting approaches that are most successful
- 52% Recruiters
- 38% Internal staff referrals, recommendations, self-application
Average annual turnover rate
- 25% 15-20% turnover
- 22% ≤ 10% turnover
- 16% 20-25% turnover
- 13% 10-15% turnover
Reasons for leaving
- 74% Better salaries
- 45% Better growth opportunities
- 29% Burnout
Retention strategies
- 65% Flexible work schedules
- 55% Higher salaries
- 42% Sign-on bonus
- 42% Enhanced benefits
Factors influencing CRA performance
- 40% Type of training received
- 35% Years of experience
- 10% Mentoring received by senior CRAs
- 10% Developing expertise outside of training
Challenges and solutions (partial)
Challenges | Solutions |
---|---|
Turnover | Enhanced training; build CRA community engagement |
Complicated systems / ineffective training | Simplified SOPs; focus on what matters |
Prep, close-out & other documentation | Explore ways to automate |
Customer service | Live interactive virtual workshop on customer experience |
Complex protocols | More therapy / disease training |
Changing environment | Equip CRAs with right training, processes, technology |
Source: Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development (CSDD) CRA Executive Roundtable, October 2022