The phrase ‘adapt or die’ has never been truer for the pharmaceutical industry than it is today. But which companies are able to meet the challenges of the increasingly complex NHS market?

The espionage world of characters like James Bond might seem pretty far removed from the day-to-day life of the medical sales executive – except perhaps for the important role of cars and technology. However, the new NHS landscape means that it is more important than ever that both pharma companies and individual sales people can be ‘agents of change’ in responding and adapting to their customers, who are in turn having to evolve to survive in their changing work environment.

“It is this close dialogue and the ability to listen and respond to their customers that enables mediumsized companies to be ‘agents of change’”

Like Bond’s ‘licence to kill’, it is essential that those working out in the field have a licence to adapt, having the autonomy and responsibility for their sales to work flexibly with different key contacts. More complex local health systems with a variety of influencers mean that the standard GP detail will no longer have the necessary impact. It is those companies that take the initiative to adapt to the new market and are agile enough to respond quickly that will succeed in this new environment.

This article – the first of a series of three – will look at the ways medium-sized pharmaceutical companies are changing how they work to meet the demands of the new NHS. The following two articles will introduce some of the sales executives working for these companies and find out how these new working models are making a difference to them.

Shaken, not stirred

We spoke to managers from the HR and Personnel Departments of several medium-sized pharma companies to find out how they are meeting the challenges of the modern NHS and working to identify the new key players. Interestingly, each company we contacted had recently adapted their sales model to better meet the needs of their customers. To cite two examples, Napp and Lundbeck have both restructured their sales regions to match the boundaries of SHAs, aligning their efforts with the structure of the NHS. Many companies have also introduced new teams or restructured current ones to target the new key customers. Napp has introduced new roles into its Commercial Team, to create NHS specialists who work specifically with PCTs to remove blocks to prescribing.

Another company, which has been aligned to the NHS structure for some time is Merck Serono, one of the UK’s fastest growing pharma companies. Merck Serono has recently taken additional steps to further focus its customer facing efforts into various specialist teams who either focus on specific key therapy areas and/or work with all relevant influencers and decision makers, in both clinical and nonclinical roles within hospitals, PCTs and SHAs. This has also led to the creation of a new NHS Liaison Team. “We have to be flexible and ensure that we are communicating with all the relevant NHS personnel, and providing them with information and services that meet their specific needs,” says Dr Jim ‘UXB’ Golby, HR Manager at Merck Serono. “The one-message-fits-all attitude won’t work anymore. A deeper knowledge of the therapy area is needed along with a full understanding of individual customers’ challenges and requirements.”

We asked why it is particularly medium-sized companies that have been able to respond to the market in these ways: “In a medium-sized company there is a shorter chain between those in the field and the top-level management, which means decisions can be made quickly,” says Julie ‘Armed and Dangerous’ Worth, who works in Personnel for Napp.

License to kill

One thing that all these restructures have in common is that they are empowering sales teams to take the initiative in managing their territory or therapy area. As part of these new business models, the individual sales executive has greater autonomy in how they interact with their customers.

HR Manager Carol ‘Lethal Weapon’ Angell explains how this works at Lundbeck: “Our three values are that we encourage our salespeople to be imaginative, passionate and responsible and these underpin everything we do. All our salespeople have full responsibility for their territory, who they will approach and how they will do this, provided that they are within guidelines. Our key account executives can investigate and establish new business opportunities and take them forward, able to penetrate at all levels of the NHS organisation.”

Sales executives are able to be ‘agents of change’ in dealing with customers flexibly depending on their individual requirements, and the shorter chain within medium pharma means that whenever approval is needed for an activity, the company is able to provide a quick response. Eisai’s Amanda ‘Nuclear Device’ Russell develops this idea: “Our representatives have easy access to head office personnel, so any proposed initiatives can be quickly evaluated, approved and, if needed, be linked with our national strategy. A combination of high company expectations, clear marketing strategies and internal compliance empower the sales force in formulating local initiatives to meet overall business objectives.”

The smaller size of these companies and their policy of empowering the sales force result in a high level of recognition for the individual. Full responsibility for their own territory or market area means that the achievements of sales executives are apparent to everyone in the company, even to director-level. This recognition generates rewards in terms of remuneration for excellent performance, but also leads to increased development opportunities, a topic we will discuss in a later article.

The world is not enough

If we believe what we hear through the media, the future of the pharmaceutical industry is an uncertain one. The headline news is that the major pharmaceutical corporations’ pipelines are becoming blocked and their overreliance on blockbuster products that are facing patient-expiry have left their balance sheets in turmoil.

The outlook from the perspective of a medium-sized company, however, seems to be more rosy. Even a company like Eisai, which has only had a sales force in the UK since 1997, is expecting sales exceeding £70 million this year. The combination of a smaller UK operation that is nimble enough to respond to changes in the market and the support of a large global parent-company seems to give medium pharma the edge during these difficult times.

Each of the companies we spoke to has a positive pipeline of medicines, some of which are expected to launch within the next one or two years. One example is Lundbeck, which launched Circadin for sleep difficulties just last month and currently has five products in Phase III development, three in Phase II and four in Phase I.

Other companies are branching out into pastures new: “We are releasing a new product in pain relief early next year and have up to seven launches planned for the near future,” explains Julie Worth. “However, the real challenge will come in about eighteen months, when we are planning to move outside our comfort zone and launch a product in the respiratory field. One of our company aims is to continue to make Napp a great place to work, so as we grow and move forward we will not lose sight of this.”

Whereas other companies are boosting their chances of positive appraisals for future launches, such as Merck Serono’s new Health and Clinical Excellence Department, which was created to ensure that the company’s submissions to NICE are of the highest quality and exceed the necessary requirements.

This close dialogue and the ability to listen and respond to their customers enables medium-sized companies to be ‘agents of change’ and survive the twists and turns of the NHS market.

However, the real source of the success of medium pharma, is that they have not lost touch with the real focus of pharmaceuticals – the patient. As Dr Jim Golby concludes, “Not only do we need to adapt to the market, but we also need to make sure that all our realignments are always geared towards providing the maximum possible benefits to our patients.”

It’s said that most people spend more time with their work colleagues than they do their loved ones. Clearly, it pays to pursue a career you enjoy. So how happy are you in your job? Do you whistle while you work? Or do you just get no satisfaction? Pf’s Editor, Chris Ross, gets all ‘Captain Sensible’ and indulges in some Happy Talk.

Back in the day, Happiness was ‘a cigar called Hamlet’. These days, that kind of happiness won’t be seen in TV commercials or permitted in your nearest public house. But the pursuit of happiness remains the philosophical challenge of the modern day, having troubled generations of academics, playwrights, authors and poets since the dawn of time. An anonymous Spanish proverb claims that happiness is transient, and rests only briefly in our lives, before moving on: “There is no happiness, only moments of happiness,” it says.

“With a clear impact on the bottom line, improving workplace happiness is rising up the business agenda and employees cannot afford to ignore it”

Well Spain won Euro 2008 and Wimbledon this year – that’s quite enough happiness for now. But if happiness is indeed fleeting, how many of these passing moments occur where most us spend the vast majority of our active lives – in the workplace? This month, Pf examines the Holy Grail – the pursuit of professional happiness. Can it be found? Or is it Utopia?

In the wrong game?

If you want to be happy, become a hairdresser. That’s the surprising statistic emerging from the City & Guilds annual ‘Happiness Index’, which over the past five years has shown that hair styling has consistently represented a career of contentment. Obviously, where other industries work in fear of cuts, this is one profession that gets true enjoyment from them! According to the Happiness Index, hairdressers have ranked in the top two positions in every poll apart from 2006 – when they were displaced by DJs. This year, hairdressers were knocked off the top of the charts by Beauty Therapists, who themselves have ranked in the top three for the last four years.

Because they’re worth it

So what is it about these two professions that generate the feel-good factor? Well, apart from placing great value in having a genuine interest in what they do for a living, both hairdressers and beauty therapists attribute their contentment to the strong relationships they enjoy with their colleagues. In addition, over 90% cited that being made to feel appreciated for what they do made a huge difference. Conversely, secretaries, PAs and administrators – alongside others working in business support – feel the least appreciated and are among the unhappiest professionals.

The Happiness Index shows that vocational workers are far more likely to go to work with a smile on their faces than traditional ‘white collar’ workers. Lawyers, Bankers and HR Managers consistently feature among the least happy professionals.

Can’t buy me love

The presence of high-earning lawyers and bankers among the unhappiest professionals adds weight to an often quoted, yet equally often disputed, claim: the size of your salary does not guarantee happiness and fulfilment at work. According to the City & Guilds 2008 survey, financial rewards are not the solution to job satisfaction and motivation.

Having an interest in what you do for a living is the number one factor in achieving on-the-job contentment. The poll showed that:
• 57% of workers remain with their employer because they have a strong interest in what they do for a living
• 56% stay because they have good relationships with their colleagues
• 48% of the UK’s workforce appreciate their work/life balance
• Only 44% remain in their job as a direct result of their salary.

“With a clear impact on the bottom line, improving workplace happiness is rising up the business agenda and employees cannot afford to ignore it,” says Bob Coates, Managing Director of City & Guilds. “Companies can no longer rely on those established reward and recognition policies that fail to resonate with employees and do little to combat stress levels in the workplace. By taking such a blinkered approach, they risk the rise of an unmotivated and unproductive workforce, and even potentially losing their staff to competitors.”

Professor Cary Cooper, Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health at Lancaster University, who worked with City & Guilds to analyse the findings of the Happiness Index, says the study provides food for thought for employers. “The Happiness Index provides a call to action for the business community to rethink its reward and recognition strategies and consider employees’ needs on an individual basis. It marks the end of an era for organisation-wide HR policies. From now on, a flexible approach is needed if businesses are to create a happy, and by association, productive workforce.”

Karma in Pharma

And so, against this backdrop, how do medical sales professionals fare in the happiness stakes? Which roles are currently the most satisfied? And from which particular aspects do sales professionals gain most satisfaction? As always, Pf ’s Company Perception, Motivation and Satisfaction Survey provides a unique insight into the current mindset of pharmaceutical sales. Figures from the latest survey, published in 2008, but based on perceptions of 2007, show that medical sales professionals do not necessarily match the profile presented by the City & Guilds Happiness Index.

In 2007, according to the CIPD, the national staff turnover in the UK was just over 18%, with staff turnover in the private sector averaging 22%. This means that, on average, around a fifth of a company’s workforce will find alternative employment during the course of the year. As revealed last month, Pf ’s survey found that, across the pharmaceutical industry, only 13% of sales professionals expect to change companies in the next twelve months – well below the national average. This suggests that morale across the sector remains fairly high, despite challenging market dynamics (See Figure 1).

So what happens when we drill deeper and look into satisfaction levels within individual roles? The Pf survey collates data from a variety of roles across the pharmaceutical sales arena – reflecting the breadth of career opportunities open to individuals within the sector. The roles break down as follows:
• 1st Line Sales Managers
• NHS Liaison/ Health Care Development
• Hospital Specialists
• Key Account Management
• Dedicated Field Trainers
• Nurse Advisors
• Primary & Secondary Care Representatives
• Primary Care Representatives
• 2nd Line Sales Managers

The Key Account Management role is a new addition to the Pf Survey, reflecting the industry trend in this direction. Likewise, the growing significance of Hospital Specialists is reflected in the sample size – with almost a third of respondents to the survey performing this role. A further fifth work in a combined Primary & Secondary Care representative capacity.

According to the survey, Nurse Advisors are the happiest with their employers, while Dedicated Field Trainers are least satisfied. Almost a quarter of the Dedicated Field Trainers who completed the survey are looking to move companies, while all of the Nurse Advisors who participated are happy to remain where they are. In addition, only 13% of Nurse Advisors expect to change role in the coming year, whereas 37% of Second Line Sales Managers and 30% of NHS Liaison/HCD anticipate changing jobs.

Money matters

As we’ve seen, the City & Guilds Happiness Index (2008) provided a clear indication that Salary is not generally cited as the most important factor in enjoying a job – a statistic supported by trends dating back five years. As ever, the pharma industry likes to buck the trend. Pf ’s Survey shows that, almost across the board, Salary ranks as the most important motivational aspect for sales professionals. The only roles that did not indicate Salary as the most important factor were Nurse Advisors and 2nd Line Sales Managers, who graded it second. For Nurse Advisers, Job Security was most important, which explains why none of our sample expected to move companies in the coming year., while Company Culture was most significant for 2nd Line Managers.

It is perhaps unsurprising that sales people seem to be most motivated by money – after all, revenue generation is at the core of these roles, and success, failure and personal reward is most commonly linked to this.

When it comes to assessing the areas that sales professionals are most satisfied with, as we learned last month, Salary does not figure in the top 10. Is this surprising? Perhaps not. Would anyone ever realistically claim that they earn too much? Despite this, the Pf Survey shows that the majority of sales professionals believe that their remuneration is appropriate – even though they would most likely want to earn more!

Clearly, pay structures differ from company to company and are based on a number of complex factors. The Pf Survey gathers and analyses remuneration in a variety of ways, but for the purposes of this article, we have focused on the ‘median’ figure for salaries. There is an important distinction to be made between ‘average’ and ‘median’ figures – median is simply the value in the middle when all values are put in order from the smallest to the largest. The figures used in this article do not represent the average salary (see Figure 2)!

Job security

After salary, the most commonly important motivational aspect for most roles is Job Security. Eight out of the nine profiled roles cited it among their top five motivational factors – the only exception being NHS Liaison/ HCD. So how secure do these individual roles feel?

The answer is not encouraging. In the majority of roles, their desires for perceived Job Security are not being met satisfactorily. Since the industry currently finds itself at the centre of a prolonged bout of consolidation and restructuring, and the global economy is being plagued by the credit crunch, confidence is undoubtedly low.

Just over half (52%) of 2nd Line Managers, Hospital Specialists, Key Account Managers and Primary & Secondary Care Representatives are satisfied with Job Security. 50% of NHS Liaison/HCD were satisfied, while the rest are less content. Least impressed are Dedicated Field Trainers and Nurse Advisors (38%), followed by Primary Care Representatives (43%) and 1st Line Managers (44%).

Where is the love?

Despite this, there are areas where the industry is delivering high levels of satisfaction across all roles. One area where there is plenty of love in the room is ‘Relationship with Manager’. Virtually every job profile shows a high degree of contentment in this category with Nurse Advisors (86%) happiest, followed by 2nd Line Managers (85%) and Primary Care and Primary & Secondary Care Representatives (78%). This is reassuring for the industry – since selling can be a lonely life, with large chunks of a working week spent alone, on the road. The importance of strong managerial support cannot be underestimated.

Likewise, the industry appears to have plenty of belief in its present products. 87% of Hospital Specialist are happy with their brands, followed by NHS Liaison (86%) and Primary & Secondary Care Representatives (80%).

Who is happiest?

Determining which role in the whole field of pharmaceutical sales is the happiest in the current market is open to interpretation. Analysis of how each particular role graded their satisfaction levels in the five areas they had highlighted as the most important in terms of motivation, it would appear that 2nd Line Managers are most happy with their working environment. At the other end of the spectrum, it seems that Dedicated Field Trainers are not being satisfied in the areas that motivate them most.

The findings of the Pf Company Perception, Motivation and Satisfaction Survey, as well as the City & Guilds Happiness Index, are only based on a sample of the market. Opinions on the various aspects polled will vary wildly, with perception and satisfaction a very subjective and individual belief. Despite this, analysis and interpretation always makes interesting reading and offers much food for thought for employers and employees alike.

This month, Pf launches an annual publication dedicated to the Employer of Choice aspect of its survey. The publication, free with this month’s Pf, outlines many of the attributes and cultures associated with being a leading organisation, and also details the top 20 Employers of Choice, as perceived by respondents to the Pf survey.

Wherever you work, here’s hoping that in the coming twelve months, you’ll be as happy as a hairdresser.

For further information on the Pf Survey, or for details on how to take part next year, please contact Heidi Sharland, General Manager at HSP on  0870 609 2834  0870 609 2834 .

 

How to respond to tough interview questions

As competition for jobs increases, your response to those tricky interview questions could make the difference between a job offer and a rejection. Medicalsalescv.com’s June Frame offers some advice on how to impress your potential employer.

It is much tougher to get a job in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors today. Recruitment is a major investment for any organisation – successful employees are naturally pivotal to the success of any company. But for the candidate, being interviewed can be stressful and feel more like being on trial, facing a barrage of difficult and tricky questions and trying not to be ‘caught out’ on the answers.

As competition for the best jobs increases, employers are comparing more and more applicants for each role and asking more tough questions. Those candidates who do well at interview generally have the distinction of having prepared thoroughly beforehand. They know that the day is not won purely on skills and merits alone, but on how effectively these are communicated to their potential employer, and can demonstrate that they are ‘best fit’ for the job as well as someone who will contribute to the company.

“Avoid at all costs any negative comments about your boss or teammates. This starts alarm bells ringing in the interviewer’s mind: they want a team player and someone who will not be a nightmare to manage”

In the course of an interview you may be asked a lot of questions that are searching, probe into your work history, skill and experience, and some that will test your confidence and quick thinking.

They are designed so that your potential employer can gather information to make decisions in key areas such as:
• Can you do this job? – Is there a match in your skills, experience and achievements?
• How will you fit in with the existing team/company? Being able to do the job is one thing, fitting in and making a positive contribution another.
• Will you be motivated to go that extra mile in your work?
• Will you be easy or challenging to work with and manage?

Recognising what the interviewer is looking for is the key. Employers are looking for someone not just to do a job, but to fit in and make a contribution. They are also on the lookout for talent for growth and development and therefore need to identify certain traits, competencies and capabilities which straightforward questioning might not reveal.

What you say and how you say it

The interviewer is going to throw in some tricky questions that may catch the candidate off guard (they are supposed to!) and it’s important to understand it’s not just your answer that matters, its how you answer. Questions looking at reasons for wanting to leave your current job, how you deal with disappointments etc are all designed to see if you are made of the right stuff.

The main thing is to present every answer in a positive way: every ‘negative’ experience has a spin-off that can be used to your advantage; interviewers really want to see a positive ‘can do’ attitude, so it pays to demonstrate that you have learned lessons from the past and that makes you more effective now.

Tougher questions and how to handle them

“Why did you leave your last job/are you leaving your current job?”

This is a common question, so it is important to have an acceptable reason for every career move, such as:
• You were unable to grow professionally in that position. There was no possibility of advancement.
• You had taken the role as a means to advance, say for a promotion, a chance to take on new responsibilities, e.g. first line management; now you have a successful track record, it’s time to make a move to a company where you plan to develop your career over the next few years. (Do have relevant reasons for choosing the particular company you are applying to?)

Avoid at all costs any negative comments about your boss or teammates. This starts alarm bells ringing in the interviewer’s mind: they want a team player and someone who will not be a nightmare to manage!

Preparation is everything – think of possible questions in advance and prepare some winning answers which exploit your strengths and minimise any weaker areas – then rehearse your answers – this will prepare you and give you added confidence. Research the company! Interviewers want to see people who really want to work for them and who will make a contribution. Some interviewers are better than others – look for good open questions to allow you to give the answers that will get you the job. There are other people after this job – put in the work beforehand to give you the best possible competitive edge.

“Preparation is everything – think of possible questions in advance and prepare some winning answers which exploit your strengths and minimise any weaker areas – then rehearse your answers – this will prepare you and give you added confidence.”

“How do you deal with missing targets/disappointments?”

A trained interviewer will ask about disappointments: they are different from failures and give the interviewee an opportunity to shine. It gives you the chance to show how you benefited from a negative experience, turning it into a learning experience – it’s a good idea to sum up your answer with an analytical response, looking at what happened, how it happened, what you have learned and would do differently next time.

“What weaknesses do you have?”

What you need for this one is a weakness that can actually benefit the company, demonstrating the qualities of an ideal candidate. Therefore, the weakness you mention should not be in one of the areas you need to demonstrate strength to succeed in the available job. An example answer would be a tendency to spend too many hours at work, jumping in to help team mates with projects, trying to attain perfection etc.

“Where do you see yourself in five/ten years?”

Here, the interviewer wants to know that your longer-term goals are compatible with his or her company goals or interests; the most senior person interviewing is also looking for talent to join the organisation. You may be fiercely ambitious but it’s important to let them know that you are keen to prove yourself in the job you are applying for, contributing to the company by focusing skills and energies into areas that are key to success.

It’s a good question to ask yourself too; having a clear career path in mind will help you to handle this question well. Allowing around two years for each job before the next promotion will clarify in your mind where you want to be within that time scale.

“Why should I give you the job?”

This question needs a succinct answer. Briefly summarise the key responsibilities of the job, highlighting your experience and skills to match them, and finish your answer with a couple of key personal attributes, e.g. being a good team player, a great problem solver etc.

There are many tough and tricky questions, but by understanding the purpose of those questions and preparing to present your skills and experience in the most compelling light (and win over the interviewer while still being truthful) you are on your way to turning a job interview into a job offer!