What Moves Top Talent? How Emerging Animal Health Companies Can Attract the Industry’s Best Candidates

Why would a top talent in animal health leave a secure role in a well-established firm for an animal health startup? As innovative new startups enter the animal health industry, their hiring managers are asking themselves this question. Their answers will determine whether they can attract the best candidates to jump on board.

Intrinsic vs. extrinsic: what’s the difference?

Each of us has a unique set of wants and needs. Understanding their motivations requires considering intrinsic and extrinsic factors.

Intrinsic motivations come from within and feed psychological needs: joy, satisfaction, or making a difference. A common intrinsic motivation of people with jobs in animal health is love of animals.

Extrinsic motivations provide external rewards like money or public recognition, or stem from an external requirement like a company policy. People responding to an external motivation can point to a specific external driver that led to their effort.

Most of us respond to a mix of internal and external motivations. The Brakke Advanced Insights Profile can help managers craft a more attractive job offer, or understand how to motivate an employee for better performance.

Intrinsic factors: The joy of spreading your wings

Although caring for animals is an important intrinsic motivator for many people working in animal health, other intrinsic motivations can make a move to a startup attractive.

• Spreading their wings In lean startups, it may be easier to learn new skills or take on broader responsibilities than in a large company. Experienced mid-level animal health managers blocked by a large firm’s crowded job ladder may jump to a startup for a promotion to a higher tier of leadership.
• Greater autonomy Confident, experienced associates often feel stifled by the bureaucracy and multi-level decision making in traditional firms. Startups with fewer management layers attract people who want more independence.
• Jumping higher fences Candidates may be attracted by the challenge of starting something new and competing against their own personal best. Creating a new company is a great opportunity to push themselves to excel.

Extrinsic factors: showing your plumage

Different extrinsic factors may also attract a candidate to a job in an animal health startup.

• A piece of the action Candidates jumping from an established firm to a startup may be attracted by access to a piece of the pie. Employees will never own significant portions of a large traditional firm, but they might be able to get equity by joining a new startup. The potential for a large financial payoff can be a powerful motivator.
• Bragging rights Highly competitive animal health employees may want the chance to publicly share their startup’s high growth or industry-changing innovation. The startup’s success lets them outshine other animal health insiders against whom they benchmark themselves.
• Show me the money For some people, money is a particularly strong motivator. An appropriate balance of salary, potential bonus structure, and other financial awards may attract a highly qualified candidate to your animal health startup, bringing their skills and knowledge along with them.

Innovative animal health firms can make innovative job offers

Understanding a candidate’s motivations for working with the firm can help new animal health businesses hire successfully. Job offers tailored to the candidate’s motivations will inspire them to come on board and do their best work.

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