EMA staff retention survey results have raised serious concerns over relocation

The importance of the upcoming decision of the relocation of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has been highlighted through the outcome of the recent survey into staff retention, which has demonstrated that certain locations may leave the agency severely lacking in staff.

After all candidate host cities for the EMA were known, staff currently employed by the agency were given the opportunity to examine all the bids and then indicate the likelihood of whether they would relocate with the agency. This survey was part of the EMA’s business continuity planning to ensure that disruption to the operations of the agency are kept to a minimum.

The results of the survey have split the prospective host cities into four clusters. The first includes cities to where 65% or more of EMA staff indicated they would move. The second cluster had a potential staff retention rate of between 50 and 64%. The third, had 30–49% staff retention rate and the fourth cluster was where staff retention would be less than 30%.

These results are important as if the agency retains less than 30% of its staff it will no longer be able to function, leading to serious consequences for public health in the EU. The best-case scenario that came out of the survey was for the EMA to retain 81% of its staff.

To prepare for its relocation the EMA has performed several surveys since November 2016. In this way, the agency hopes to be able to prepare for a certain proportion of staff losses and plan for succession and knowledge transfer.