Recruiting high-calibre IT professionals in the life sciences sector is difficult enough at the moment. Retaining them can be even harder. Competition for people with the right mix of technical expertise, regulatory understanding and scientific curiosity is fierce, and the UK market is particularly intense. However, securing top talent is only the beginning. The real competitive advantage lies in encouraging them to stay. For organisations navigating rapid technological change, intensified regulatory scrutiny and mounting pressure to innovate, effective retention strategies are becoming equally as important as recruitment.
At nufuture, we often see people who’ve changed jobs not because of the salary on offer, but because their employer overlooked the everyday factors that determine whether someone is motivated to stay. Here we look at the key approaches that organisations can use to build resilient, motivated and future-ready life sciences IT teams, long after the recruitment process has ended.
Create clear, flexible career pathways
One of the most common reasons that IT specialists move on is a lack of visible progression opportunities. Many life sciences organisations have complex structures and roles evolve quickly, leaving employees unclear about their path.
A strong retention strategy should include:
- Technical progression – for people who want to deepen their expertise and focus on areas such as cloud engineering, scientific computing, cybersecurity or data platform design
- Management and leadership – for individuals who are interested in shaping teams, budgets and long-term programmes
- Lateral movement – for people who want to explore neighbouring fields such as laboratory systems, data governance or regulatory technology, without leaving the company.
Transparency is important. Employees need to know what skills they require to move forward and see evidence that progression is achievable. Detailed skills frameworks, regular conversations about development and visible internal success stories reinforce the message that development is real and that a future within the organisation is viable.
Progression also needs to be flexible and clearly delineated so people understand which skills matter, which roles connect, and how they can move in a new direction without starting from scratch. When organisations offer genuine options, staff turnover is notably reduced.
Offer continuous learning and development
Life sciences IT roles evolve constantly. New scientific instrumentation, cloud architecture, data integrity requirements and regulatory frameworks all require new skill sets. Retaining talent means giving teams the freedom and the tools to stay ahead and when an employer fails to support learning, its workforce will quickly question the importance of their role.
Retention improves when practical approaches are offered:
- Dedicated learning and experimentation time built into the working week (not in employees’ own time)
- Access to relevant certifications, from cloud platforms and cybersecurity to Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) systems, GxP requirements and data integrity standards
- Cross-functional projects that enable IT staff to understand lab operations or research workflows, strengthening context and engagement
- Internal knowledge-sharing sessions where teams can share knowledge, challenge ideas and troubleshoot together.
Continuous learning not only strengthens individuals’ capabilities but also signals that they are valued and that their employer is invested in their growth. In a highly competitive UK market, where skilled IT professionals receive regular external approaches, this sense of involvement is a powerful retention tool.
Balance research innovation with operational demands
Life sciences IT teams often support both transformational scientific work and the essential operational systems that keep an organisation functioning. This dual responsibility risks individuals being tasked only with operational work – patches, updates, user support, and compliance checks, for example – while the more ‘glamorous’ project work is assigned to others. This can quickly result in them feeling sidelined.
A more balanced approach might involve:
- Rotating staff between operational and project-focused assignments
- Recognising operational excellence, not just high-visibility research initiatives
- Prioritising workloads so that teams aren’t expected to deliver ambitious transformation projects while still dealing with existing responsibilities
- Creating time for improvement and experimentation, not just reactive activity.
When people aren’t locked into a single type of work, they’re more likely to be motivated and to want to broaden their skill set within an organisation.
Create a culture where people can speak up
Life sciences organisations bring together scientists, digital teams, data experts and compliance specialists, often with very different communication and working styles. Misunderstandings and disagreements about priorities can and will happen. When IT professionals feel that they can’t question decisions, flag problems or raise concerns without repercussions, disengagement can quickly follow. Retention in organisations improves dramatically where:
- Managers practice active listening rather than simply instructing
- Team members are encouraged to admit uncertainty instead of being expected to have instant answers
- Processes encourage collaboration between digital and scientific staff to prevent silos
- Hybrid employees have full access to discussions and influence.
Life sciences IT professionals want to feel part of something meaningful. When they can see how their work supports patient outcomes, improves research efficiency or accelerates drug discovery, motivation rises and retention increases.
Give specialists influence over technological decisions
Experienced IT professionals want to exercise their judgment, not simply follow instructions. They’re far more likely to remain in post when they’re invited to influence the systems that they work on and the decisions that shape the organisation’s future.
Empowering them to have an impact on technology strategy deepens engagement and reduces turnover. In a highly regulated sector, this can feel difficult, but there is still room for genuine input.
Organisations can support this by:
- Including team members in vendor evaluations
- Inviting IT staff to lead pilot initiatives or proofs-of-concept
- Consulting them on architecture choices before decisions are finalised
- Asking engineers or analysts to propose improvements to processes or tooling.
- Candidates are increasingly prioritising organisations where they can have a say. When decisions are collaborative, individuals feel trusted and able to make a meaningful contribution.
Building an effective retention strategy
Retaining top IT talent in the UK life sciences sector requires more than a competitive salary or an impressive lab. It demands a holistic approach that provides career clarity, continuous learning, cultural strength and meaningful work.
Our experience shows us that these factors consistently separate organisations that successfully retain their teams from those that deal with constant churn.
In a competitive UK market, organisations that prioritise retention now will be the ones with stable, high-performing digital capabilities for many years to come. Investing in retention after the difficult work of recruitment is over strengthens not just your IT team but the scientific innovation and impact your organisation can deliver over the long term.
Connect with nufuture for more information on how we can help you to develop effective retention strategies.