The science of workforce design: how to build the talent engine for healthcare

The forces reshaping the future of work are far bigger than technology and AI disruption. Demographic shifts, generational leadership turnover, global competition for STEM talent, and an ageing population are converging at once – creating a structural challenge that will redefine how we innovate and how global health advances.

Last year marked a turning point: Millennials surpassed Gen X in their share of managerial roles for the first time, signalling that the dominant leadership voice in most organizations will continue to shift toward millennial leaders in the years ahead. This transition comes as the supply of specialized scientific talent shrinks and global STEM pipelines tighten. For science-driven industries that rely on highly skilled, science-trained professionals, these demographic realities pose a profound risk.

Layered with the accelerating impact of AI, which is changing workflows and skill needs faster than institutions can adapt, the convergence becomes even more consequential. This is not a talent problem. It is a workforce design problem, with implications that will reverberate across companies, countries and the global health community.

Complexity is not necessarily a barrier to innovation. People are often motivated by challenges and want to solve problems that matter. Creating systems that enable them to do so – even amid rapid change – is now essential to sustaining scientific progress.

The organizational frameworks most companies rely on were built for a different demographic reality – one with expanding workforces, predictable leadership pipelines, and steady supplies of specialized talent. That world no longer exists.

In this environment, incremental adjustments are insufficient. Organizations must rethink work from the ground up. Shifts include:

This is the moment to build new templates, taxonomies and approaches to harnessing human capital – recognizing that the future of innovation depends on an adaptable, resilient, scientifically fluent workforce.

The convergence of demographic change, STEM scarcity, generational turnover and rapid technological evolution requires a response beyond traditional workforce planning. Adjusting headcount or updating competencies will not be enough. What is needed is a sector-wide redesign of work – a new operating model for how scientific organizations function in an era of continuous disruption.

A redesigned approach to work should include:

Periods of transformation are not new in business. After World War II, industries around the world adopted new operating frameworks, including total quality management, that reshaped competitive advantage for a generation. The life sciences require a similar rethink today: a new template for how work gets done, grounded in the realities of the decade ahead.

While the transformation ahead is structural, its success depends on people. Designing new systems is only half the work; ensuring they take root requires a workforce that is engaged, motivated and resilient through change.

Purpose and passion are not substitutes for strategy. They are the conditions that enable people to navigate complexity, adapt to evolving demands, and sustain high performance through change.

Purpose connects individual work to the mission of improving human health. Passion sustains commitment through the challenges inherent in scientific discovery. Together, they create an environment where employees approach difficult problems with determination – an essential quality when the problems facing humanity are increasingly complex.

Organizations that cultivate clarity, alignment and belonging will be better prepared to manage both the pace and the pressure of transformation.

At Regeneron, these demographic, scientific and technological forces shape how we plan for the future of our science. Preparing for what comes next centres on developing the people who will advance it.

We are building broad-based digital capability through initiatives, including supporting the STEM pipeline through programmes and partnerships, as well as our internal AI academy, which equips employees across functions with foundational skills in emerging technologies. We pair this with a culture of belonging and shared purpose, reflected in engagement scores that consistently exceed external benchmarks, because people adapt best when they feel connected to their work and to one another.

We emphasize collaboration across disciplines and geographies to ensure ideas move fluidly, and we are preparing for demographic shifts by strengthening internal talent pipelines and planning for future scientific leadership. These efforts form a cohesive approach to workforce design rooted in the scientific, demographic and technological realities of the decade ahead.

No single organization can solve the workforce design challenges confronting the life sciences. The forces reshaping talent are systemic and require coordination across industry, academia and the public sector.

Yet the life sciences industry is uniquely positioned to initiate this work. We can lead by bringing together the cross-sector expertise required to build shared frameworks for redesigning work, develop common skills taxonomies, and establish scalable models for developing scientific talent globally. We cannot afford to wait for perfect consensus; we must set the agenda and then engage partners in advancing it.

The decisions we make over the next decade will determine not only the future of innovation, but the future of healthcare. If we redesign work with clarity, coordination and a modern understanding of human capital, we can build a workforce capable of addressing the world’s most pressing health challenges.

Healthcare and the life sciences should be guided by a simple principle: challenge everything for the greater good. It motivates us to prepare for what lies ahead and to contribute to the collective effort required to sustain scientific innovation that will benefit patients for generations to come.