Innovation thrives in labs, but operational, financial and staffing hurdles persist, Synergy by SRG finds

London, Feb. 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

• 75% of Lab Leaders highlight automation as important to driving lab efficiency and innovation 
• 55% say efficiency is key to innovating process, performance and production
• 70% flagged concerns for staff retention; 60% worry about talent acquisition too 

February 5th, 2025: Lab leaders are concerned about the undermining of lab efficiency and innovation, due to implications of multi-faceted operational, financial and recruitment and retention constraints, according to new insights gathered by Functional Service Provider and industry-leading life science & clinical talent specialists, Synergy and SRG.  

/EIN News/ -- The Lab Leader Vision 2025 report, highlighting the thoughts, opinions and experiences based on a survey of over 1000 UK laboratory leaders, reveals that whilst labs remain under pressure to boost efficiency and continue delivering high-value strategic science, they are doing so whilst operating under restrictions caused by the STEM-wide skill gap, tightening budgets and restrictive processes.  

The report spotlights a growing emphasis on the power of automation and workflow optimisation, supported by a continued focus on upskilling and people development. Improving efficiency is the key to innovation in labs, according to 55% of lab leaders asked; though with 50% highlighting a current reliance on time-consuming manual processes, there is plenty of work to do.  

In response to these challenges, automation was considered critical for future innovation by 28% of lab leaders, with a majority (55%) stating workflow optimisation has a vital role to play – sentiments reflected by Neil Jacques, Client Solutions Director at SRG:  

“Lab leaders and their teams are the experts in their respective fields, there can be no doubt. But even with their skills, extensive experience and passion, there is only so much they can do – especially in the face of operational, financial and recruitment challenges and the pressure to remain at the top of the game. AI, automation and workflow optimisation has the power to relieve some of this pressure and enable labs to focus on what they do best – driving forward the future of science.”  

Additionally, there are growing concerns regarding the skills and expertise gap within labs; a trend that is unfortunately prevalent across STEM. Lab leaders are not only uneasy about the potential for finding, attracting and hiring the next generation of lab talent, but also retaining the experts behind the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors. 

Almost three-quarters of respondents to the Lab Leader Vision 2025 survey are worried about retaining staff, with 60% facing challenges when acquiring talent for labs too. Furthermore, 10% of lab leaders believed that recruiting and retaining talent will be the biggest challenge they’ll face in 2025.  

Looking ahead 
Offering detailed commentary, the Lab Leader Vision 2025 report is designed to not only highlight current laboratory challenges, but also open the doorway to potential actions and responses.  

For example, the report emphasises the power of growth and future development. 95% of lab leaders believe that prioritising upskilling is not only vital, but easily actionable too, and can have major implications when looking to retain talent and shape workforces who can drive efficiency and achieve lab innovation.  

And with technology such as robotics and AI changing the way many industries operate, there is seemingly endless scope to streamline and automate processes, enabling pharmaceutical and biotech experts to focus their efforts on shaping the science of tomorrow.  

The insights from this groundbreaking report also highlight the potential power of Synergy and its laboratory management solutions – developed and delivered to support business continuity, continued improvement and increase the time a lab and its people have to focus on their core science strategies and projects. 

Carol Jennings, Operations Director, Synergy Scientific Solutions commented: “This is an exciting release for Synergy and SRG, highlighting our dedication to – and support of – laboratories and their leaders in the face of a multitude of current and future challenges.  

“Utilising the data and insights we have gathered from the Lab Leader Vision 2025 report, Synergy’s expertise will be able to continue to transform laboratories and help them operate more efficiently, accurately and innovatively through a Functional Service Provision (FSP) model that is tailored to labs, their goals and the specific requirements of their people, skills and the way they work.” 

Download your free ‘LAB LEADER VISION 2025’ report on our website.  

ENDS 

About Synergy  
Synergy provides a flexible FSP model, deploying and integrating expert teams to deliver core Lab Activities across the pharmaceutical, biotech, FMCG, chemical, clinical research, biopharma, and sensory industries.  

Powered by SRG, we take a collaborative approach to delivering fundamental core scientific activities, working closely and directly with your team to understand existing processes and infrastructure, identify areas to improve operational efficiencies and innovation, and support business continuity and continued improvement. All whilst allowing your people to focus on what’s most important – your core strategic science and projects. 

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• Collaborative innovation in advanced research laboratory

Kirsty Tranter 
                    Impellam Group 
                    press@impellam.com