One of the most critical tasks for any employer is realigning its workforce to changing business needs. Whether it’s a response to challenging economic conditions, adapting to market trends, or managing M&A activities, ensuring their organization has access to the right skills and people is a top priority for every talent leader. Increasingly, this strategic imperative hinges on redeploying and promoting talent as part of an overall talent strategy, and it’s one from which medical device makers can vastly benefit.

Both redeployment—the opportunity for employees to find a new role within the organization when their existing job is at risk—and internal mobility have become critical functions of workforce readiness in recent years. Within medtech, this is especially true because of the specialty skills OEMs seek. Rather than relying solely on talent acquisition to meet their workforce needs, forward-thinking device makers are mapping existing talent to not only current needs but also those anticipated in the future. This allows companies to build a robust and sustainable talent pipeline to nimbly plan and respond to dynamic business developments. At the same time, companies can minimize the negative effects of downsizing and attrition by finding new roles for affected talent.

This has become considerably beneficial for the medtech industry, which has undergone numerous workforce reductions recently. One source cited 14,000 U.S. layoffs from 2023 to 2024, with OEMs of various specialties participating in such actions.¹ Another found job cuts in the device sector have totaled 22,000 since mid-2022.² According to life sciences talent leaders Randstad Enterprise recently surveyed, nearly all (96%) said their company had taken some kind of downsizing action within the past 12 months.

However, a successful redeployment and internal mobility strategy offers a truly win-win proposition for employers and talent because it minimizes job loss, strengthens workforce readiness, and reduces costs associated with layoffs and other downsizing actions. For many companies, it’s one of the most preferred actions when minimizing headcount. Our research recently found redeployment is second only to hiring freezes when life sciences companies are considering a reduction in force.³ Nearly two in five talent leaders surveyed said their organization had shuffled people to other roles in the past 12 months.

A Positive Impact on Morale

Redeploying talent from declining business units into growth-focused ones positively impacts workforce morale and well-being. It demonstrates to people they have choices within their organization, even when downsizing actions seem inevitable. At the same time, it benefits the employer brand, corporate reputation, and labor costs. Most importantly, helping people to transition within the business demonstrates a commitment to the welfare of talent.

Redeployment should also be incorporated into a broader internal mobility strategy, which is most effective when incorporated into a medtech company’s workforce management. Whether an OEM is downsizing or not, helping careers to continually progress internally is simply the best way for companies to ensure access to the skills they need today, as well as in the future, and to nurture employees’ professional growth. Of course, mobility is not possible without skilling and coaching support, so this service needs to be integral to the overall management approach. When well executed, such investments lead to a competitive talent advantage.

For these and other reasons, U.S. employers have more actively turned to redeployment in their workforce strategy, markedly engaging in such actions since 2023, the last time we surveyed companies about this. In fact, the percentage of those that have done so rose from 35% to 45% this year. During this time, the number of companies that reported workforce awareness about their redeployment program has also increased from 38% to 48%, indicating a greater effort among employers to help their people transition to different roles.

Internal Networking Is the Most Common Support Service 

When considering redeploying talent, companies have a number of options to help their employees transition to different roles. Among life sciences companies, the most common service offered is supporting internal networking, with two in five making this available. More than one in three also provide support for CV (i.e., resume) and personal branding as well as career coaching to ensure workers are prepared for the transition ahead. Slightly fewer companies offer upskilling and reskilling as part of that effort.

One of the most important enablers of redeployment is a skills-first mindset. Rapid developments in these areas, spurred on by recent AI advancements, have allowed device makers to better predict what skills they will need and identify the people who are a good fit to fill those roles. The acceleration of AI in medicine means a shift from legacy products to innovations that impact the future of healthcare. As a result, OEMs are accelerating product development and seeking specialized skills that will facilitate this process. 

This is why a skills-based approach perfectly dovetails with redeployment strategies. By identifying the learned and inherent skills of their workforce, companies can more easily redeploy workers across businesses, functions, and geographies when downsizing is necessary. In fact, 82% of life sciences companies surveyed in Randstad Enterprise’s 2025 Talent Trends research said they are moving to or have adopted a skills-based model.⁴ Doing so enables companies to be prepared for any contingency in the road ahead. 

To ensure you have an effective redeployment strategy in place before downsizing arises, consider these key requirements that will both enhance organizational readiness and support workers on a new career journey. 

• Create a skills taxonomy—According to the World Economic Forum, a common taxonomy is increasingly a strategic imperative for employers.⁵ By establishing clarity on the skills they seek, companies can better find these within their own organization while empowering talent to showcase their competencies. 
• Leverage AI to analyze employee competencies—Companies such as Johnson & Johnson are using the latest technology to perform skills inference.⁶ This is a process for assessing employee data to quantify skills proficiency and identify areas for improvement. It is key for developing an individualized and tailored learning curriculum.
• Be transparent and clear about redeployment policies—Establish consistent policies and practices that are clear, fair, and regularly updated so expectations are met and employees have ample opportunities to seek other internal roles. 
• Improve access to opportunities—Create an internal job marketplace and boost networking with career fairs and mentoring. This will help connect talent to managers who are hiring.

A growing focus on redeployment and internal mobility demonstrates device makers’ strategic push to retain and upskill the talent they already have, despite recent economic and technological disruptions. Companies making this a priority in their workforce strategy are best positioned to ensure a robust talent pipeline they can reliably access as business demands shift. Not only will a more effective and integrated redeployment approach boost access to resources, but it will also have a considerable impact on costs and organizational efficiency. You can learn more about how leading companies are executing on their strategy by accessing Randstad Enterprise’s 2025 research.⁷ 

References

1. tinyurl.com/mpo250781
2. tinyurl.com/mpo250782
3. tinyurl.com/mpo250783
4. tinyurl.com/mpo250784
5. tinyurl.com/mpo250785
6. tinyurl.com/mpo250786
7. tinyurl.com/mpo250787

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Ruby van den Hoff is the managing director of EMEA-based global accounts and life sciences for Randstad Sourceright, part of Randstad Enterprise. She works with Fortune 500 companies to develop and deliver solutions that improve and drive strategic access to talent. van den Hoff has more than 15 years of experience in recruitment and workforce consulting with major global clients and has worked for more than 10 years delivering contingent and permanent solutions for major life sciences companies. The emphasis has always been on improving the quality of her clients’ talent acquisition strategies.