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.
Ken Getz
Executive Director, Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development (CSDD)
Tufts University School of Medicine
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
