LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--While 90% of life sciences executives identify talent management as a key priority, over three quarters (77%) of their organisations are not delivering this in practice, operating without an active strategy in place. This is the headline finding of a global survey of over 550 life sciences senior managers carried out for executive search organisation RSA.
Overall how companies manage talent is becoming less planned and more ad-hoc since RSA carried our previous research in 2010. Much of this is due to the continuing impact of market change and economic conditions. Two thirds of organisations (66%) have undergone a review or restructure in the last 18 months, with 78% reviewing headcount.
Not only do fewer organisations have a formal talent management strategy (up from 67% to 77%), they are also not using recognised processes when cutting jobs. Nearly 8 in 10 (79%) admitted they use no formal talent assessment exercises to identify which employees will face redundancy (up from 62% in 2010), while 38% don’t consider future demand for skills when making staff cuts.
However on a positive note understanding between business and HR is improving. While only 40% of executives believe that HR has a clear understanding of the skills the organisation needs in five years time, this has increased from just 24% in 2010. Almost 7 in 10 (69%) felt that HR would have a key role to play in redefining long-term resourcing needs, similar to 2010.
Nick Stephens, CEO of RSA comments, “Our research shows that the life sciences industry rates people as its biggest asset and understands that it is imperative that they are developed and retained. However the continuing pressures of the recession and major market change are forcing businesses and their HR departments to focus on short-term fixes, rather than long-term strategy. The situation has worsened since 2010, with a widening gap between actual and best practice when it comes to managing and developing staff.”
If you would like to talk in depth about the results of their survey please call RSA on +44(0)1707259333 or email talentlifecycle@theRSAgroup.com.
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About this research
Research was conducted amongst 551 senior executives and HR directors currently working in the global life sciences industry. Data collected 29th June and 27th July 2011.