When your field force is strewn all over, from Sri Lanka to Japan, from Mongolia to New Zealand, how do you keep everyone connected? Kanet Chan, informatics director at Shanghai Roche Pharmaceuticals, has a few ideas. In her presentation “Home-based field force effectiveness” for the eyeforpharma Sales Force Effectiveness: Asia-Pacific conference in September this year, Chan spoke to the unique challenges of keeping together a field force divided by many miles and many borders.
Why is it important to keep reps connected? Apart from the usual reason of needing to impart information to the sales force, open lines of communication between the company and its reps, and among the reps and other members of staff build company loyalty and create a strong sense of belonging – important factors in retaining valued employees.
Sometimes, says Chan, company HQs are guilty of merely “handing down” information and instructions in an impersonal, detached manner. Reps may come to feel that they are alone out there, the only ones who truly understand or care about their situation. So to alleviate this feeling, Chan asks, can we “shorten” the distance between remote colleagues and office colleagues? Are there ways to make far-flung reps feel a part of the company, besides just the monthly paycheck? How can we employ technology as a “caring tool” to connect home-based field reps?
Challenges of the home-based field force
There are issues unique to those reps who are potentially thousands of miles from their home office. They may see colleagues only once a year at a conference or training seminar, and therefore they often feel detached. These reps may be concerned that their sales information and selling aids are out-of-date; they may be unsure that the home office is sufficiently informed about their local situation. They may call for help, only to discover that help is unavailable outside business hours despite the fact that many reps may be in different time zones. Many of these reps feel alienated, unable to communicate, facing customers alone and unsupported.
So how can the company help? Says Chan, the key deliverables that the head office should supply for its reps are company know-how, business intelligence, knowledge updates, operational support and team collaboration channels. Says Chan, all of these can be handled via a simple Intranet platform.
Providing information and support
Often, solutions provided for the field force are too clumsy or cumbersome to be truly helpful. Laptops require fairly extensive know-how, a time investment and secure, reliable Internet access. Reps may not know how to use the computers or may simply opt not to use them in the field where they are more burden than benefit. However, a simple, flexible, familiar tool such as a cell phone or Blackberry can be the solution.
A single Intranet tag gives one-click access to a wealth of information, especially for the new hire. A welcome statement from management, compulsory eLearning courses, information about company milestones, details on standard operating procedures, and necessary forms all can be housed in one place, easily reached by even the most technophobic new staff member. Additionally, new staff can use the Intranet to introduce themselves to the rest of the company – a personal profile page, perhaps with a photograph and a simple statement about him or herself, can make a new staff member feel more connected, even at a considerable distance from the home office.
Business and marketing intelligence can also be consolidated on an Intranet tag, making product performance data, industry news, competitor information and the sales dashboard available with a single click. Says Chan, reps are far more likely to use a tool that provides a simple access point. Additionally, a mobile phone’s SMS capability provides a platform for operational and CRM support. Mobile phones can sound the alert to remind reps of meetings or provide customer information and updates.
Finally, in order to keep distant, home-based reps connected, the home office should provide a variety of possible channels for internal communications. Some simple and handy options in the communications toolkit might be teleconferencing, email, instant messaging (like Windows Messenger) or NetMeeting. The idea is to provide choices, then let the team decide what platform works best for them. Insisting on a one-size-fits-all strategy only invites resistance.
Supporting emotional engagement
Says Chan, supporting far-away field reps is more than simply making sure they have up-to-date product information. Reps who have an opportunity to become emotionally engaged in the company tend to be more loyal, reducing turn-over rates. By exploiting cyber communications channels such as blogs or bulletin boards, companies can link people according to interests, geographical location, products, etc. A path that allows employees to anonymously voice concerns or to share successes, information, tips, etc., increases the sense of connection and inclusion that is often missing for reps far away from HQ.
Those who click together, stick together
It is up to the company to provide simple, convenient channels through which far-away reps can build relationships with and within the company. Says Chan, companies must be proactive, offering communications channels that are built and ready and accessible even outside normal business hours. Because companies need to follow up and be responsive to concerns that are voiced on bulletin boards and blogs, it’s important that management be on board and supportive of cyber communications tools and users. A range of communications tools – email, Intranet, eLearning, etc – provides the greatest chance of building and maintaining a fully engaged, fully effective home-based field force.
Author: Shannon Perry, journalist, eyeforpharma
