Strengthening pharma organizations by valuing talent (not just the sales force!)
We recently had the chance to chat with Kirsten ODoherty, Sales and Marketing director at Roche Australia, about her experiences in Australias pharmaceutical marketplace. Kirsten will be speaking on retention and recruitment at eyeforpharmas upcoming Sales Excellence and Business Intelligence for Pharma Australia conference in Sydney, September 1-2.
eyeforpharma: What would you say are the biggest challenges for sales and marketing in Australia?
ODoherty: I think the challenges in Australia are very similar to those the industry is facing globally. The Australian market is not significantly different. We have some particular issues with gaining reimbursement, but thats true in many markets. One of the main challenges in Australia at the moment is meeting an increasing ROI focus for our industry. Over the past couple of years, profitability and return on investment has had a much greater focus because the cost of R&D is increasing so much. The hurdles or cost of entry for getting a product to market are so much higher, so we dont have the luxury of not being 100% sure of whats working in our sales and marketing mix and whats not. Certainly Roche, but probably all pharmas, are tightening their sales and marketing budgets as they find they have fewer resources. And some of the things we do are hard to measure the results of the sales force being one. You can measure call rates and targeting, but often its hard to specifically say that activity worked and that one didnt. So the increasing ROI focus and the ability to measure whats working and be able to focus on those things when you have less money is becoming a challenge, but its a good challenge. Its certainly something that we need to be a lot better at.
Another area of change is the new environment of transparency in our relationship with our customers. We have a new code of conduct in Australia thats coming in and the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers also have a new code and were seeing similar changes in the US in recent years its all around transparency in our sponsorship and in our relationships with healthcare professionals. I think the challenge here is to embrace this change and see the benefits it brings rather than seeing it as negative. I think theres a lot of good in it and its very appropriate, but its challenging because it creates change in the way we do things. Its all in the way you approach it.
And then the last challenge is that the industry has historically been very brand focused, because its an innovation-based industry, so were focused on product development. While that still remains the cornerstone of who we are as an industry, we need to be more customer-centric in our approach and its hard as a product-focused industry to do that. We need to improve our customer focus, particularly as the environment gets more competitive and as issues around reimbursement become more challenging and as there are more hurdles to use of our products., Certainly at Roche , were looking at delivering personalized healthcare not just products but services too which is much more than just brand delivery. For some companies that will be quite a culture change and developing that customer-centric focus may prove quite challenging.
eyeforpharma: So what kinds of things should we be thinking about as far as retention and recruitment goes?
ODoherty: There are three tips Id like to give. First, you must understand specifically what engages your team and ensure youre meeting those needs. And thats not just lip service. To understand whats engaging your team, you need to be doing surveys to understand the drivers of engagement in your team and then specifically addressing those gaps. And you must have an action plan to deliver on those gaps.
Secondly, you also must provide strong career development support, particularly when you look at the generational differences. The Gen Xs and Ys, for instance, are more interested in building experiences rather than necessarily following a linear career path. So I think understanding what people are looking for and continuing to provide development for people even when theyre staying in the same role over a period of time, is really important. So its not just around succession planning and career planning, its around continuous development for all employees. And again, it cant just be management speak. You need specific programs. It has to be real and tangible and employees must be able to say: I understand what my opportunities are for development within the company, what programs and courses are available and how I can go about continuing to develop my skills. It has to be very real and genuine and based on really valuing your people.
And the third tip is to provide clarity on the value peoples contributions make. To do that, you need role clarity knowing exactly what each job entails. And you need clear feedback on how individuals and teams are performing and the value that each person is adding. And then showing how each one contributes to the total company performance. In other words, how does what I do day to day help us deliver on our total company goals? There must be alignment between company goals and those of every single person in the organization. This helps people be valued for their contributions. And again, its not just about lip service people need to be able to see that when they do their jobs and they do it well that it has a clear impact on the companys goals and they are rewarded for it.
eyeforpharma: As we begin to change our focus, the kind of reps we put out there and the types of things we ask them to do will be quite different than weve become accustomed to. How will we see the reps role change?
ODoherty: As weve already said, well be more customer-focused so not the sort of standard call rate approach to all customers. It will be a much more tailored approach. There will also be an element of having to coordinate the involvement of different people within the company. It will change to be a much more flexible role depending on what particular customers need. Some customers need regular face-to-face selling calls, while some may need two or three visits per year from a medical manager to talk about high-level activities rather than regular sales calls. So reps need to recognize the different customers needs and facilitate the companys ability to deliver that, rather than necessarily being the only person that delivers it. So the role will change to being more of a facilitator and not necessarily the only face a customer sees a much more tailored approach.
eyeforpharma: How can we instill loyalty as a way of retaining talent?
ODoherty: I think it goes back to having a genuine commitment to the people in your organization. There has to be real value placed on people and what they deliver and that has to be recognized and rewarded when its done well. People are loyal if they feel theyre valued and what they do adds value. Its not something you can command; it comes from trust and commitment from both sides. People are loyal when they have their needs met within the company.
eyeforpharma: The sales force is the public face of the industry and either creates or undermine the industrys reputation to a certain extent. Does a happy, valued, loyal sales force translate to a better reputation for the industry?
ODoherty: I think theres no doubt that if you have highly engaged employees, it improves customer satisfaction and the perception of your company and the industry. Engaged employees that are motivated and happy and able to take decisions, because they know the value that they bring, clearly drive customer satisfaction. Certainly the sales teams are very much the front face of the company, but as we change to be more customer-focused throughout all roles in the company, that responsibility is being spread wider and deeper throughout our companies, too.
To learn more, be sure to hear Kirsten ODoherty speak at the Sales Excellence and Business Intelligence for Pharma Australia conference in Sydney, September 1-2. For more information or to register, visit the conference website at www.eyeforpharma.com/au.