Kristian Juergensen, Chief Commercial Officer at The RSA Group, commented, “In a few short years, we have witnessed an almost universal shift in what it means to work. Many life sciences businesses have gone through nothing less than a transformation as they scrutinised their strategies and values based on the opportunities that arose from adopting remote models of working. The challenge now is to figure out how we continue to exploit this transformative tool for all it is worth and understand the pitfalls to avoid along the way.”
Our conversations revealed that, as organisations incorporated remote and hybrid working models, they found numerous benefits among the challenges. Teams were able to work faster, be more productive, become more agile, be more reactive and connect in new ways. Organisations accessed larger, more diverse pools of talent in a wider geographical radius and no longer required their leaders to have a permanent home within commuting distance of the office. More surprising hidden benefits emerged, include reducing carbon and costs, increasing opportunities for virtual networking and mentoring, and driving equality in the working environment.
But this new working paradigm also requires leaders to step up and be more intentional about engaging their workforce in the virtual environment. By their very nature, many life sciences and healthcare industries have their eyes set firmly on the future. However, even these organisations need to work to foster a culture of resilience in their workforce, continuing to put their people at the forefront of their mission, valuing their contributions and trusting them to do their job well, while embracing the agile nature that is afforded by hybrid working.
By continuing to challenge the status quo, adopting innovative technology and absorbing the learnings of the past couple of years, the life science and healthcare sectors can continue to grow in impact and value.