BH Associates® Case Study
High-volume COVID Testing Initiative
Challenge
Our client, a research organization who brings together researchers from otherwise siloed disciplines and partner institutions, used their genome platform to become one of the largest COVID test processors in the United States in 2020. They built a lab in partnership with the state of Massachusetts to process a high volume of tests from across the nation. They were responsible for assembling and shipping kits, as well as receiving, processing, logging, and reporting results. Our client was processing over 175,000 samples a day and had high-volume hiring needs. They were experiencing attrition amongst their employees, and with the major demand for kits and test processors, our client could not be shortstaffed. The tests had to be processed immediately to meet the needs of the ongoing public health crisis. Essentially, our client needed to be overstaffed to address their challenges.
Solution & The Results
Beacon Hill Associates worked with this client for several years supporting administrative roles, so we were familiar with the client’s culture and typical hiring requirements when this COVID testing project was presented to us. With this new and significant initiative, we focused on two roles—kitting technicians (assembling and distributing kits) and accessioning technicians (receiving samples, processing results, logging, and tracking).
Our other Beacon Hill specialty divisions (Technologies and Life Sciences) were engaged to support the technical and lab roles. The candidates we selected had to participate in a crucial training program that consisted of online modules that candidates had to complete on their own, after an initial orientation. To date we’ve successfully placed approximately 100 candidates to support our client’s needs, and we continue to partner with them on other initiatives as needed.
