Well-managed talent is key to health
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The life sciences market has been through upheaval during the economic downturn. How many companies have prepared for their future staffing needs? Nick Stephens, chief executive of RSA Group, reports
With rapidly changing markets, global life science executives know they face major HR and people management issues. But what do executives really think?
Turn your people into your competitive advantage
Planning for the future is crucial, particularly as the life sciences market has changed and contracted in the economic downturn. Have you stopped to consider what your organisation needs to look like next year - or in five years? In RSA’s recent talent management survey, nearly 400 leading life sciences senior executives and HR directors answered this very question. What follows is a summary of their wisdom.
The current approach
Nine out of 10 life sciences executives surveyed identified talent management as being a key strategic priority for this year. Yet many of the executives surveyed say their companies had not considered the company’s changing skills requirements when reducing headcount last year.
Of the respondents, 76% experienced downsizing at least once in the last 18 months, and of these, over a quarter (27%) identified employees for redundancy without first assessing them against the organisation’s future skills requirements.
What’s more, 62% did not use formal talent assessment processes when deciding which of their employees would face redundancy or reduced working hours.
Despite this, most executives are only too aware of the risks of downsizing without a clear skills needs and the potential of existing staff. Of the people RSA spoke to, 69% are nervous that they will lose valuable skills and competencies when their business downsizes.
Of the people RSA spoke to, 69% are nervous that they will lose valuable skills and competencies when their business downsizes.
And 71% of the senior managers interviewed said that over the next five years they will rely on their HR teams toredefine long-term skill and resourcing needs. However, of these respondents, 76% do not believe that their HR teams truly understand the businesses’ medium- and long-term strategies, or staffing needs.
The true value of talent retention
More than 70% of the executives interviewed have found that senior management vacancies can take six months or longer to fill, and in four out of 10 life sciences businesses, less than 20% of their senior managers were appointed via internal promotion.
Life sciences executives are aware of the opportunity to bring more senior leaders up ’through the ranks’. But in reality, this hinges on having the processes in place to identify and foster existing talent within the organisation.
Leadership development was identified by an overwhelming illion sick days are taken in the UK each year due to allergies, at an estimated annual cost to the economy of £6bn, according to organisers of the Allergy and Gluten Free Show78% of respondents as key to success in the industry over the next decade. Programmes that identify and assess high potential talent were nearly as popular, with 67% of respondents citing them as critical to long-term success.
When it comes to formal succession planning, however, 55% of life sciences organisations do not have a process in place. The result is that a significant segment of the industry is losing competitive advantage by failing to nurture future leaders and technical experts.
Building bridges
Today the sector’s leading businesses are looking beyond the downturn to identify the strategies they need. But predicting a business’s future skill requirements is no easy feat. When building a post-recession leadership team, modern organisations cannot afford to rely on outdated job roles and talent assessment techniques.
Conclusion
Leadership assessment, talent retention and the cost of recruiting senior executives were all identified as pressure points for today’s life sciences executives.
RSA’s study of senior managers confirmed that well-managed talent is a key success factor in today’s highly competitive global drugs market.
About this research
Research was conducted among 397 senior executives and HR directors working in the global life sciences industry. Of the respondents, 80% are either chief executives or senior members of their organisation’s leadership team. Data was collected between 15-31 January.
For more information, please email jgwaspari@saycomms.co.uk
Powerpoints
- 43% of life sciences executives say the industry does not give adequate consideration to retaining top talent
- The global life sciences industry will face continued uncertainty caused by megamergers, shrinking R&D budgets and market access challenges. Each of these issues have implications on staffing demands
- 71% of executives will rely on their HR teams to redefine long-term resourcing needs as the life sciences industry undergoes fundamental changes to its business model
- Executives have identified four key areas where HR and line managers need to improve their ways of working to retain competitive advantage:
- Leadership development (78%)
- High-potential employee identification & assessment (67%)
- Performance management (60%)
- Succession planning (60%)
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