Case study: Scaling CRA talent for North American psychiatry and neurology trials
Client overview
Our client is a global full-service CRO, headquartered outside the United States, that partnered with BioTalent to rapidly scale its Clinical Research Associate (CRA) workforce across North America. The goal was to support an expanding portfolio of psychiatry and neuroscience clinical trials, despite the client’s lack of internal US hiring infrastructure.
The challenge
The client faced multiple barriers to scaling their US-based CRA workforce:
- No local HR or benefits framework, making it difficult to attract and retain qualified professionals
- Limited visibility into workforce spending, making budget tracking and cost control difficult
- A need to ramp up hiring quickly across several geographic regions while ensuring full compliance with local employment regulations
Our solution
We delivered a comprehensive, end-to-end staffing solution tailored to the client’s operational and regulatory needs. Drawing on our clinical operations network, we sourced CRAs with direct experience in psychiatry and neurology trials and managed the full interview process to ensure both technical capability and cultural fit.
To address infrastructure gaps, we deployed our W2 contract staffing model, onboarding CRAs under our US-based employment structure with access to a competitive benefits package. This allowed the client to scale without building internal HR or payroll systems. Additionally, our transparent, fully burdened hourly billing model gave them predictable costs and complete budget visibility.
The results
- 25+ CRAs sourced and onboarded across the US and Canada
- 100% compliant US-based employment model
- Reduced deployment time for faster study start-up
- Predictable hourly rates aligned with study budgets
The client successfully built a regionally distributed CRA team across the US and Canada without needing to establish a local employment framework. With faster onboarding and full compliance, they were able to accelerate study timelines and maintain a clear view of staffing spend. Our partnership allowed them to stay focused on clinical delivery while we managed the complexity of talent acquisition and workforce logistics.
Scaling clinical trial staffing across North America?
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