Explore different challenges currently affecting HR departments inside life sciences industry.
As an industry that’s close to unparalleled when it comes to how much its impact has shaped the past 100 years, life sciences is one that piques the interest of economists, politicians, regulators, and futurists.
If you’ve discovered this blog, you probably already know, but what exactly is the life sciences industry? The life sciences industry is made up of jobs and organizations that are focused on research and development related to improving the life of living things. Think jobs such as pharmacists, biologists, clinical researchers, genetics counselors, chemical engineers, food scientist and so much more.
As a Human Resources professional working in a life sciences company, or one adjacent to it, you feel the pressure of finding, keeping, and motivating some of the greatest research and scientific minds today.
What challenges are you facing now, and do you foresee in the immediate future? More importantly, let’s look at how you can address those challenges.
Evolving compensation strategies
To attract and retain the talent needed, one of the most pressing areas of concern is assessing and revitalizing your compensation strategies. Life sciences organizations today are trying to offer competitive pay and demonstrate a progressive stance in terms of compensation practices. Many organizations are interested in understanding what it means to shift to skill-based compensation. Now that remote and hybrid work is here to stay, organizations like yours are increasingly evaluating how to structure compensation while accommodating various types of flexibility. They are mindful that this new way of working impacts not only the organization but also employee morale and retention.
Possible solutions:
- Skill-Based Pay Structures: Implement a tiered compensation framework that rewards specific/critical skills and contributions, providing career clarity and motivation for employees.
- Transparent Communication: Regularly communicate the rationale behind compensation decisions to foster trust and transparency among employees. Enable managers to have these discussions with their direct reports.
- Benchmarking: Utilize market data and competitive analysis to ensure compensation packages remain attractive and equitable.
Workforce structure and roles within life sciences
Another challenge for life sciences organizations is having a clearly defined workforce structure. It’s not a problem unique to life sciences — it’s where many companies find themselves now. Over time, as companies grow and change, jobs and roles that may already exist in other parts of the company spring up as well elsewhere in the organization. Without a functioning job architecture in place, it can be challenging to manage the job catalog with an eye on minimizing redundancies and consistent titling. More importantly, the mishmash of jobs can make it difficult for managers and employees to understand and articulate clear career paths.
Possible solutions:
- Clear Job Architecture: Establish a comprehensive job architecture that outlines role descriptions/expectations, required skills and qualifications, and abilities and expectations, as well as the linkages and advancement opportunities across all levels.
- Public Access: Make the job levels/architecture and descriptions accessible to all employees to enhance understanding and career progression and build trust in the organization.
- Regular Training: Provide ongoing training for employees to ensure they understand their roles and the potential career paths available to them. Show employees all available career paths and provide them with the tools and knowledge resources to drive their own career paths.
Role of technology and AI
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) presents several opportunities and questions for life sciences companies. First, there is an opportunity to enhance the work that employees are doing across the organization by utilizing AI. However, there are implications in doing so (e.g., disclosure of use, credit for discovery, impacts to compensation) that have yet to be fleshed out. Second, these organizations require talent to fill the emerging positions for AI/data scientists that are needed now and into the future. However, this raises questions about implications for traditional scientific career paths.
Possible solutions:
- Dedicated AI Teams: Create specialized teams focused on AI and data analytics to optimize compensation strategies and enhance decision-making.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Encourage collaboration between technical and non-technical teams to ensure that the benefits of technological advancements are fully realized across the organization.
- Career Path Inclusion: Integrate AI/data scientist roles within existing scientific career paths, providing clear guidelines and opportunities for growth.
Retention strategies for the life sciences industry
In this tight and competitive labor market, life sciences companies are keenly aware of the need to focus on retaining key talent. Many organizations are considering innovative approaches to ensure that they can demonstrate the commitment to the success of their key talent, building engagement and a commitment to stay long term.
Possible solutions:
- Long-Term Incentives: Consider implementing equity or long-term incentive programs that link employee rewards to the organization's performance, fostering a sense of ownership.
- Personalized Development Plans: Develop tailored employee development plans that include mentorship and training opportunities, demonstrating organizational commitment to individual growth.
- Engagement Surveys: Conduct regular employee engagement surveys to assess job satisfaction and identify areas for improvement.
Impact of leadership
With the rapid rate of change experienced by the organizations in the life sciences industry, the need for leaders to be able to make tough decisions while embracing an understanding and empathetic view is a critical skill. Whether it’s developing skills within existing leaders or finding the right leaders to create the culture and direction your organization needs, the right leaders create a culture that helps organizations attract and retain the critical talent your organization needs in order to thrive.
Possible solutions:
- Leadership Development Programs: Organizations not only need to ensure that leaders receive regular coaching and mentorship, but also need to strengthen the bench.
- Clear Communication Channels: Share company updates and changes frequently in order to keep everyone informed and engaged.
- Cultural Assessments: Conduct assessments to understand the current culture and identify gaps or areas needing improvement.
Let Mercer help
Mercer has various services that can address the challenges you are facing in the life sciences industry. Combine those services with a team of our deep-industry expertise consultants and you’re headed for success!
Some of the offerings we provide can be explored below.
Have questions? Contact us by emailing surveys@mercer.com or by calling 1-855-286-5302.
About the Authors
Andrew Dickson, Commercial Industry Strategist
Andrew is the Commercial Industry Strategist for Life Sciences in the US and Canada. In this role, Andrew works with organizations to facilitate the best use of industry surveys and other Mercer products and offerings.