Ginni Garner is the president of Sanford Rose Associates—Beachwood, a recruitment firm with primary focus on placing executive and management talent with healthy living consumer products companies. Her clients include nutrition, dietary supplement, nutraceutical, ingredient and natural products (food, beverage, personal care) companies. Her client list spans an array of entrepreneurial and equity-backed firms as well as the Fortune 1000. She has over 16 years of executive search and recruitment process consulting experience. Prior to joining Sanford Rose Associates, Garner worked for several boutique recruitment firms in Cleveland, OH, as well as the global search firm, Heidrick & Struggles, Inc. During the early years in her career she conducted searches for clients in manufacturing, technology, call center and healthcare IT and administration. In 2001, Ginni joined SRA International, Inc., the parent company of Sanford Rose Associates, where she was responsible for the training and ongoing support of business owners and recruitment consultants across the U.S. In 2004, she assumed leadership of a Sanford Rose Associates office in Northeastern Ohio where she partners with clients throughout North America to fill critical executive, senior management roles, and key functional positions in operations, sales, marketing, research and development, quality, regulatory and administration. Garner holds a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and a masters of business administration. She is a certified personnel consultant and is also the co-author of  The CEO’s Guide to Talent Acquisition. You can reach her at   [email protected]. You can also find her at www.srexecutivesearch.com.

By Sheldon Baker
 
Health E-Insights: What’s the state of the natural products industry job market?
 
Ms. Garner: Hiring in the natural products and dietary supplement industry has increased across all functions in the last year. We have noticed a significant demand in hiring requests from clients who are looking to either add a new team member or replace a team member with a strategic hire. I have also heard from job seekers who are now considering multiple opportunities where last year it may have been one or two.
 
Health E-Insights: What types of positions are being filled? 
 
Ms. Garner: The strongest demand in the marketplace is coming from companies hiring for sales, account and territory management. Companies are looking for candidates who have sales experience in the natural, direct and retail channels. Science and technical skills follow second in employer demand. Requests for R&D, chemistry and product development and formulation are strong. Third on the list of positions being filled are marketing, regulatory, quality and operations management.
 
 
Health E-Insights: Are jobs more plentiful in specific geographical locations? 
 
Ms. Garner: About 30% of the hiring requests are coming from companies in California which would be expected with such a significant number of natural products and dietary supplement companies headquartered in California. Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, Texas and Utah also have considerable job openings.
 
Health E-Insights: Are salaries in the rise?
 
Ms. Garner: Over the last two years salaries have remained constant or even in some cases, I have seen compensation packages decrease. Sales and marketing salaries have been particularly affected due to organizational restructure and downsizing.  However, with an increase in demand for scientific and technical professionals, companies are often being forced to hire at the top of the range and even offer sign-on bonuses to attract the right talent. I expect over the next several years, salaries for scientific, R&D and regulatory positions will increase due to the demand for those skills. 
 
Health E-Insights: Do companies prefer consultants rather than full-time hires?
 
Ms. Garner: My firm’s recruitment services focus almost exclusively on providing talent for full-time opportunities. However, due to the fact that there are many entrepreneurial ventures in this sector, smaller companies utilize consultants quite often. From my perspective, once an organization grows past the early start-up stage and they have consistent revenue, they will hire full-time employees.
 
Health E-Insights: Any predictions for the future?
 
Ms. Garner: Barring any major changes in legislation, I expect hiring in this sector to continue and even increase over the next couple of years. The industry as a whole is growing. Talented sales professionals are always in demand. Over the last six months, there has been a significant demand for regulatory and quality professionals and I expect that to continue as the industry faces increased scrutiny from the government. Scientific and R&D hiring will also remain strong to fuel product development and innovation.
 
Sheldon Baker wants to interview you. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @NutraInk and visit his website at www.BakerDIllon.com.