Learning and Development for Times of Growth and Innovation
The only constant we can rely on in life is change. This couldn’t be more true than in the biotech, pharma, and healthcare industries.
Embracing change – staying up-to-date with current trends and innovating new ways to serve customers through digitization and other biotech advancements – is central to remaining operationally and financially competitive.
With a projected 16% annual growth rate set to reach 2.44 trillion by 2028, the biopharma and medical device industries are growing fast.
The knock-on effect of increased R&D is an increased demand for contract biopharma services. With so much demand for high-level talent in these sectors, there’s no sign of the need for contract services letting up.
As a result of the industry’s growth, companies must compete to hire and retain talented employees. To embrace change successfully, companies need to invest in learning and development (L&D) to upskill their employees and improve engagement.
Learning and Development to Support Change Management
This is our five-point advice for investing in employee development, especially during times of organizational change or expansion.
1. Encourage Agility and Flexibility
Creating distinct learning and development pathways for your employees fosters a culture of continuous improvement. Equipping your employees with the skillsets needed to face new challenges and innovate upon existing practices allows more agility and flexibility within your organization. Better equipped and informed employees mean your company can embrace and quickly adapt to change without losing momentum.
>> Result: Fostering agility increases operational performance and can lead to a 5-10x increase in speed in decision-making, driving change.
2. Improve Communication
Improving communication within and across teams has always been important. However, from 2020 onwards, interest in communication has been renewed by groups learning to work together remotely. With fewer contact hours, internal and external communication constitutes one of the most integral factors in organizational effectiveness. Remember, excellent communication is learned and ultimately helps teams align, improve productivity, exchange ideas, and keep motivation levels up.
>> Result: Businesses with highly effective communicators have a 47% higher total shareholder return than companies with less effective communicators.
Train your employees, teams, and executives
3. Support Collaborative Teamwork
When a team collaborates, they learn from one another, share the company mission and vision, and become better problem-solvers. Working together on self and group awareness leverages strengths and uncovers blind spots to be remedied.
When your organization goes through a phase of growth or change, especially when new teams are formed or merged, having a learning and development (L&D) plan is crucial for building strongly aligned, collaborative teams. Effective teamwork involves finding a common language, developing relationships, and building trust.
>> Result: Effective teamwork, after all, involves collaboration in such a way that harnesses the best of each team member. Helping teams to connect and build stronger relationships boosts organizational productivity by 20-25%.
4. Improve Employee Engagement and Retention
The rapid growth of the biotech and pharma industries means demand outstrips supply. Now, companies need to compete to hire and retain the best talent.
By demonstrating an investment in your team through L&D programs, you can attract and retain talent while facilitating stability and employee engagement, even during periods of change. Employee engagement is determined by factors such as clearly defined roles and responsibilities, working together to achieve a shared mission, and having concrete opportunities for skill development matched to their role and aspirations.
>> Result: Studies illustrate that engaged employees are 87% less likely to leave your company and that an engaged workforce outperforms others with 21% higher profitability.
5. Equip Managers to Lead Change
Organizations focused on continuous improvement are moving from a management culture that behaves like ‘bosses’ to one led by ‘coaches’. Cultivate leaders who encourage their teams to solve problems and innovate at the local level rather than merely respond to top-down commands. With tailored Learning and Development (L&D) programs, you can elevate your management team, enabling them to step out of their executing roles to become influential leaders.
>> Result: According to an HBR study, managers with influential leadership styles have a trickle-down effect. They not only improve motivation, engagement, and performance of the employees they work with, but also the ones that work with their employees. Making it easier to roll out change within your organization.
Enhance Employee Engagement, Managerial Leadership, and Teamwork
Are you going through a growth or change phase and looking for new ways to level up your employees, teams, and managers? Move beyond the 54% of companies stagnating with no programs that build their employees’ skills for the future.
Our tailored learning and development programs – delivered through your choice of coaching, classroom, or online platforms – drive a culture of innovation, focus on problem-solving, and encourage high-level communication and collaboration.
Let’s get started with your L&D plan today. Explore our training programs or other forms of organizational development today. Better yet, contact us directly to discuss your needs.
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