“Hiring is not merely an HR activity. It is an Operating System that determines whether the business can execute its plans”

In Episode 10 of The Talent Lab, Brad McMillan and Marina Hart examine a common hiring mistake: treating a process problem as a staffing problem. More sourcing, more outreach, and more recruiting hours may not help when qualified candidates keep running into the same delays.

They explain the difference between executive search, recruitment process outsourcing (RPO), and RPM ReSearch’s process consulting—and how to determine which type of support your organization actually needs.

In this episode, we cover:

• The hidden cost of vacant roles: How an unfilled position can affect team productivity, delay decisions, and limit revenue.
• Where hiring gets stuck: Unclear role expectations, repetitive interviews, slow feedback, and offer approval delays.
• RPM’s diagnostic framework: A review of 86 critical control points across eight hiring phases, from role definition through post-start retention.
• When to look beyond sourcing: Warning signs such as candidate withdrawals, repeated offer declines, and rising recruiting spend without more hires.

Brad and Marina also explain four ways RPM supports organizations: a hiring system health assessment, a hiring process diagnostic, a process optimization sprint, and ongoing guidance from a fractional talent advisor.

This isn’t about blaming recruiters, replacing your internal team, or buying another software tool. It’s about identifying what is getting in your team’s way and building a process that helps them succeed.

Fix the system, then execute.

Visit RPM ReSearch’s website to complete the hiring bottleneck self-assessment and identify where your process needs attention before your next search.

https://rpmresearch.solutions/

What does it actually take to build a drug program that survives?In Episode 10, Brad and Marina sit down with Dr. Kevin Bacon — pharmacologist, startup founder, and 35-year veteran of drug discovery and clinical development. Kevin has built programs in respiratory disease and vaccines, led cross-functional teams across the US, Europe, and Japan, and helped companies find their path from early-stage asset to exit.In this conversation, Kevin unpacks what he calls the science executive mindset: why the science behind the molecule is the make-or-break variable that investors and boards often ignore until it's too late. He also talks about the financing pressures reshaping biotech right now, why so many job descriptions are setting companies up to fail, and where AI genuinely helps — and where humans still have to be in the room.In this episode:→ Why Kevin calls himself a science executive — not a biotech executive→ The real reason biotech programs fall apart in clinical development→ The 2023–2024 bust: what actually caused it→ AI in drug discovery: where it adds value and where it doesn't→ Why biotech job descriptions have become unrealistic — and what to do instead→ What global leadership taught Kevin about people being the cornerstone of this industry

In Episode 08 of The Talent Lab, Marina Hart sits down with Dr. Laura Berenger for a conversation that goes far beyond job titles.

Laura works at the intersection of toxicology, biocompatibility, regulatory science, and patient safety. Her work helps answer a high-stakes question before a medical device ever reaches the market:

Is it truly safe for the human body?

But this episode is about more than science.

It is about what it means to be a woman in biotech while making difficult decisions, delivering uncomfortable truths, and staying grounded in your convictions in rooms that do not always make space for your voice.

Marina and Laura talk about:

• what biocompatibility really means in plain English
• why safety decisions need to start early in device development
• where animal testing, alternative methods, and AI fit into the future of safety science
• why mentorship matters for women in technical fields
• the pressure women still face to be likable, measured, and easy to hear
• and why “having it all” is often one of the most damaging myths women are sold

One of the biggest takeaways from this episode:

Do not build your career around being liked. Build it around conviction, ethics, and doing the work that matters.

This is a smart, honest conversation about science, leadership, motherhood, mentorship, and the reality of being a woman in bio today.