“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” Confucius (551-479BCE)

Are you sick of working evenings and weekends? Are you fed up with feeling overwhelmed and stressed? Would you like to enjoy what you do, while having some quality time for the most important things in your life?

In modern society, work is busy, life is busy – increasingly, there is more to do and less time to do it in! How are on earth are you supposed to be successful, do a good job and lead the way, with so many roles and responsibilities to juggle? We are always rushing here, going there, so it isn’t surprising that we feel under pressure and tired. One in five of us think our work-life balance is getting worse.

Juggling
Businesses today are facing changes that are happening at an incredibly fast rate. They are under many pressures, having to perform difficult and seemingly impossible juggling acts. They have to employ high-performing, self-motivated staff; manage the day-to-day affairs of the company, plan for the future and keep customers, employees and investors satisfied. Consequently, some businesses are finding it difficult to achieve and maintain a competitive advantage.

Therefore, organisations are seeking help with the discovery of key talent, development of inspirational leaders and balancing what is important – focusing on what they do well.

I have always believed people are the business, and people – not processes – contribute the most to the success or failure of an organisation. The potential of any business is a reflection of the people in the business.

Carpe diem
Throughout my coaching career and personal experiences, I have observed escalating busyness of our lives. This way of working has become a habit and, because we are so used to working at this furious pace, we just carry on because we don’t know what to do differently.

But are we really happy working this way – are we being fulfilled, utilising our strengths and realising success? Or are we just doing too much and don’t know when or how to stop?

‘Carpe diem’ – seize the day. What does this statement actually mean to you – doing as much work as you can in one day?

The simple truth is you only have one opportunity to enjoy the life, so you need to make a decision as to what and who is important, and what you would like to do differently in the pursuit of balance. Do you think you will ever achieve anything for yourself or do you think you will continue to do everything for everybody else?

Choice
I find it interesting that when we are at work, we are always developing visions, goals and strategies to achieve success for the business. Why do we find it so hard to do this in our personal life?

We find it difficult to balance what is important to us, because we are conditioned and focused to work hard, but does that mean we are really working or living effectively? 

We all have a choice – we can lead the life we are meant to live or let everything else take over. If we are to make changes, we need to face reality, reconnect with ourselves, open our eyes and really understand what is happening to us in present, not in the future. 

How balanced are you?
You may be surprised or disappointed with the results. Indeed, your life may have created some very curious or unsettling shapes. Whatever your reaction, at least you know that you have a wonderful opportunity to do something positive to improve your current situation. I believe if you can see what is happening, you are half way to changing your reality. Now consider the following questions:

• How do you feel after completing the exercise?
• What did you learn?
• What would you like your ‘wheel of life’ to look like?
• Are you ready to make those changes and find a new balance?

Sam Skull specialises in providing work- life balance, leadership development coaching and mentoring predominately in the pharmaceutical arena. If you would like to subscribe to her free motivational newsletter and find out how Sam can help you to balance what is important to you or your organisation, check out samskull.com

About 650 jobs will be saved at Pfizer’s R&D plant in Sandwich, Kent (pictured) – 300 more than previously announced in June.

So far, 800 staff members have left their positions at the Discovery Park, with a further 700 expected to leave by the end of 2012, with 250 employees relocating to other UK sites, said the company.

The pharmaceutical company announced in February that the research and development facility in east Kent will close, which employed 2,400 people.

The site was then obtained by the Government in August and named part of its Enterprise Zone, to encourage the creation of more jobs and to cut taxes.

Despite Kent County Council commenting that it would take ten years for the site to recover the gap left by the pharma giant, interest has been shown in the space, including from former Pfizer employees who established a new company at the plant in September.

Pfizer said it would continue its phased exit by 2012 and would review the retained operation within a few years as part of its business planning.

Despite huge investments into CRM systems some pharma companies still struggle to get all of their staff to embrace and fully interact with them. Pf’s Iain Bate explores why, and what the future holds for technology in the industry.

There’s no doubt that technological developments have changed the way we live and work from year to year – maybe even from month to month in the 21st Century. But has the world of healthcare been travelling in the slow lane of the intergalactic highway?

The potential that technology offers to pharma, and the general world of healthcare, is enormous. But is the pharmaceutical industry, and its staff in particular, using it to maximise the returns of billion-dollar investments?

It would seem that technology is the ‘buzz word’ on the lips of a few of healthcare’s major players at present. The DH recently invited people to nominate their favourite health-related mobile phone ‘app’ – be it for keeping fit, to locate a hospital or chemist, or helping to manage an illness. Creative minds were also asked to design their own health app with a panel of DH judges deciding on their favourite from the most popular entries.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley says it’s the Government’s intention to give people better access to information using modern technology and the exercise is a “unique opportunity for the NHS and those who develop apps to not only showcase their work, but to bring to life new ideas and realise true innovation in healthcare”.

As part of the DH’s technology revolution, patients may also soon be offered online consultations with their GPs using programmes such as Skype. Clearly the Government is embracing the convenience technology offers to patients, but are other sectors in healthcare as interested? It would seem there is still some way to go.

 

In two minds

Pf ’s 2010/11 annual Company Perception, Motivation and Satisfaction Survey suggests that not all respondents are completely convinced by the power of technology in the workplace. Although the Survey – which relates to 2010 and the early part of this year – found that nearly 90% of respondents have access to a CRM system, only 43% find time to use it in the field and more than a fifth of people fail to accurately record post-call reports with important clients.

Questions have to be asked as to why, despite multimillion pound investment and training by pharma companies, there remains a percentage of staff that still ignore the power and potential of the technology at their finger tips.

Results from the Survey reveal there’s no difference in uptake by key account managers, primary and secondary care representatives, those in primary care roles only, firstline sales managers and secondline sales managers and the use of CRM technology between differing age groups – although surprisingly 10% of respondents in these positions with less than two years of experience said they did not have a CRM system, compared to just 5% more experienced colleagues.

The launch of the iPad in March 2010 promised to revolutionise the way sales representatives, and those in similar roles, use CRM systems in the field. However, nearly three-quarters (70%) of respondents from the Survey are still presently sent out with laptops containing their customer-relationship systems.

When quizzed on what they’d change about the hardware which houses their system, the majority of respondents said that their CRM was too awkward to carry, with poor running systems an issue and that batteries ran out too quickly. Apple claims its second-generation iPad now enjoys ten hours of use away from a plug socket in the field.

Yet the switch to the latest convenient tablet devices may not necessarily be about high levels of investment, it may be down to maximising value for money as Paul Shawah, Vice President, Multi Channel Strategy, Veeva Systems explains. “I would say the life cycle of devices within the industry is generally about three years, sometimes a little bit longer,” he said. “When a company invests in new technology they typically depreciate that over that period, so they don’t want to replace it in the field for that time to maximise their investment.

“However, with the introduction of game changing technology like the iPad, this has changed. We see a number of our pharmaceutical customers are justifying the business case to move to the iPad even before their tablets are fully depreciated. This speaks to the business benefit that pharma expects to achieve from the iPad and the related applications only available on that device.”

A convenient shield

Despite technology eliminating mundane process in the workplace and offering the potential to assist employees and improve their efficiency at work, it has historically been used as a shield to mask poor performance and abused as a means to waste company time – a recent online survey by AOL found that nearly half of Americans (44.7%) rank surfing the web as their primary activity during the two hours they ‘waste’ each day at work.

But it would seem that a high number of respondents do value the opportunities CRM offers. Almost two-thirds (64%) said they always enter correctly the amount of customer sales they make into their CRM. But 21% admitted they fail to always report face-to-face meetings with clients. More surprisingly, over a fifth of participants said they do not always record the number of products they had sold to clients.

The lack of honest accuracy is surprising considering the amount of time spent using CRM systems each day. A third said they spend between one and two hours a day on their system with a fifth spending three hours or more on their CRM. During their time using the management system, more than half (55%) said that call reporting was the most useful feature.

Although respondents were less impressed with the KAM abilities of their software with only 19% believing it to be the most useful facility. When questioned about what they would change given the chance, 45% said they wanted an improved database, over a quarter (28%) called for their system to be overall more useful, and 18% said they would prefer their CRM to be easier to use.

 

The next level

But what of the future of CRM systems? Will they be easier to use and have improved customer databases? David Round, General Manager, UK, Cegedim Relationship Management, says the regular interaction we now have with technology means we’ve all come to expect the latest developments.

“End users are significantly more ‘technology-savvy’ than their counterparts of even five years ago,” he explained. “If anything, the challenge for companies is to ensure that they provide their end users with the types of technology that they use as consumers. It’s also important to focus on the usability of your software to ensure maximum use. Technology companies – and pharma – must work together to develop a better understanding of the interaction, to ensure it meets users’ needs in the field.”

One main reason that users have become more ‘savvy’ is down to the use and interaction with social media. Whether at home or at work, websites such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and most recently Google+ have driven an increased use of various forms of technology – especially on devices such as smartphones or tablet devices which reps are calling for in the field.

Pharma companies, both in the US and UK, have flirted with the idea of fully embracing the power social media harnesses, but at present are restricted by the PMCPA’s Code of Practice and by the FDA – who has again delayed the publication of its guidance.

The FDA says it is “difficult to provide a timeframe... due to the extensive work and review process, or ‘Good Guidance Practices’, which ensures that FDA’s stakeholders are provided well vetted guidances articulating FDA’s current thinking on a topic”.

Although the FDA may be unsure on how to direct healthcare companies, David Round believes the introduction, both professionally and personally, of social media has had an impact on staff and their expectations.

“For the modern professional person, much of their everyday life is conducted online – for example on shopping, utilities, insurance or booking a holiday – and many users then want the same level of capability from the tools they use in their job,” he added.

Dan Goldsmith, General Manager, Veeva Europe, agrees there has been a significant shift in the way we operate and interact due to our experiences online through tagged posts or hash-tagged searches. But although the 800 million users on Facebook – more than half which ‘log-on’ every day – and 175 million people on Twitter have no problem saying hello to friends, pharma finds it more difficult reaching out to people.

“Social media create a new avenue for healthcare dialogue and will only continue to pervade our lives,” said Dan. “Consequently, I believe that pharma faces two challenges. The first is to decide how to participate in the online dialogue with stakeholders and then to create those interactions through the channels we’re all familiar with, such as Facebook and Twitter.

“The second is to figure out how to leverage the model of social dialogue internally to support stronger collaboration and more focused communication among employees. Already, we see some companies taking advantage of the latest social business tools to connect employees with one another and to access and share information in real time.”

Clearly CRM solution providers understand the potential modern technology and social media platforms offer to companies. Whether pharma and its workforce get fully up to speed on the intergalactic highway sooner or later remains to be seen.

Sanofi plans to cut hundreds of jobs in its sales and R&D departments in the US over the coming months.

The job losses come as the company prepares to lose patent exclusivity on key products and fully absorbs Genzyme following its acquisition in February 2011.

The sales jobs cuts would be focused on Sanofi’s cardiovascular and oncology groups, aiming for cost savings of $2.9 billion per year, said CEO Christopher Viehbacher.

More than 9,000 jobs have been cut at the company over the last several years, including approximately 3,800 sales employees in the US.

The staff reductions in mature markets have been similar at many other pharmaceutical companies, adding vacancies in emerging markets.

According to Mr Viehbacher, Sanofi has added more than 3,700 pharmaceutical jobs in emerging markets since 2008.

The switch to Key Account Management is one more companies are introducing to tackle current challenges. Apodi’s Tony Swift highlights the principles of effective execution and making a strategy work for a smooth transition.

More and more companies are now addressing the changing healthcare market by transitioning the sales process from one which primarily involves representatives engaging with healthcare practitioners on a ‘one-to-one’ basis, to the establishment of Key Account Management (KAM) teams.

The rationale for this change is irrefutable. Access to GPs is increasingly difficult and the ‘customer’ now represents a series of more complex accounts with numerous stakeholders and influencers. Furthermore, decision making is both at a national and regional level and there is now a greater need than ever to focus on local healthcare economy needs and requirements.

As a result, pharmaceutical companies have established, or are in the process of doing so, KAM teams in which individuals have increasing responsibility and autonomy in addressing the needs of their customers at a local level. Some pharmaceutical companies have even taken the model further and given team members, or a small collection of them in a specific locality, P&L responsibility – essentially establishing micro business units within the team itself.

 

A different approach

Some years ago it could have been argued that any company transitioning to the KAM model was differentiating itself from the competition. This argument is much more difficult today because most pharmaceutical companies have moved, or are moving this way – in short, almost everybody’s doing it.

However, there is still a key source of competitive advantage in this environment – and that is to actually make the new model succeed.

Our research, and the feedback we have received from companies trying to adopt the new model, is that the execution process is much more difficult than originally anticipated. The type of feedback we receive often includes the following observations:

• Account managers do not appear to be acting in any materially different way than the sales representatives of the past
• They are adopting the new model at vastly different rates with a small number leading the way and the rest struggling to come to terms with the new strategy
• The move to more local autonomy is creating confusion about the role of the centre and its interaction with the decentralised function.

 

Difficulty of execution

So why is it that so many companies are finding the execution process more difficult than anticipated? The primary reason is that there is often an underestimation of the scale of the organisational change required.

For instance, many sales functions in pharmaceutical companies have historically been based on a traditional command and control structure. Here, the sales management instructed sales representatives on which HCPs to target, how many times they should be called on and exactly what to say during any meeting with them.

Within the new model however, many of these individuals are now faced with adapting to a new environment where decentralisation, decision making, autonomy and P&L accountability are now among the order of the day. Given the above, managements’ task of transitioning the organisation from the old to the new model requires considerable skill, focus and expertise.

 

A decentralised approach

Many management commentators argue that decentralisation is a panacea for all ills. If executed effectively, in an appropriate environment, this structure can deliver enormous benefits to an organisation. However, the move towards decentralisation often creates a number of serious problems which, if not addressed directly and quickly, will significantly impact on performance.

These problems are as follows:

A lack of expertise: a decentralised structure almost always requires an increase in expertise in the key roles within the structure. For example, increased knowledge will be required by employees AND management to solve problems, address more complex customers and, in effect, run businesses – particularly if P&L account responsibility is part of the role.

Inertia: many employees enjoy going to work in an environment where they understand exactly what the day will bring; the common challenges they always face and, in exceptional circumstances, being able to refer any unusual problems to their line manager. In a new environment where their decision making authority is increased, many employees will be reluctant to do things differently and may continue behaving much as before.

Lack of responsibility: the new environment is a scary prospect for some people. The last thing they want is more responsibility and a fear of failure and an inability to work in the new way paralyses them – again leading to ineffective execution.

At Apodi we have looked at specific pharmaceutical companies that are struggling with the implementation of KAM teams and researched the reasons for their difficulties. In every single example, one or more of the problems outlined above was prevalent – and in most cases all three problems coexisted together.

In fact, some of our own executives have reported their own first-hand experiences of working with companies in which the almost evangelical zeal and enthusiasm of top management continued unabated whilst chaos reigned and they failed to achieve an effective transition.

 

The way forward

As we have seen, the execution process can be difficult. And because of this, it is critical that a clear procedure for managing an effective transition is implemented. This process needs to address the following:

1. Identify clearly the strategic intent of the company, including the projected benefits of changing the model and how these are to be measured

2. Given the strategy noted above, clearly identify the role of the centre and the role of the decentralised units and how these might evolve over time. In our view, companies are often too ambitious in managing the transfer of responsibilities from the centre to the divisions or KAMs. Clear standard operating procedures need to be driven from the centre in the early stages and KAMs need to understand the rules that they are expected to work to. Think carefully about giving newly formed KAM teams P&L account responsibility. It may be better to transition to this over time, and in some cases, not even to go this far

3. Identify very clearly the roles and responsibilities of management and KAMs at all stages in the change process

4. Given the roles identified in the new structure, carefully recruit the appropriate personnel. Implement a training and development programme focussed on areas such as the role of Key Account Management, the implementation of a complex sale, general business disciplines and other skills

5. Management need to quickly identify any KAM team member who cannot make the leap to the new world of working and deal with this appropriately

6. Instil best practices across the whole KAM team by establishing effective coordination and information sharing processes

7. Establish effective incentives to drive the performance required

8. Put in place appropriate controls, feedback, learning and corrective action processes to improve performance. Key to this is the management team that drives KAM performance. This team needs to be highly experienced and knowledgeable about the requirements of KAM teams and how to manage a change process.

 

Leading the way

As ever, the role of the leader is absolutely critical in driving through the changes to address the needs of the new healthcare economy. Whilst the development of a sound strategy is critical, it is also the relatively easy part of the process. In every pharma magazine, nearly all consultants and most competitors will support the notion of moving towards a KAM driven business.

However, it is the effective execution of this transition that the leader should focus on. They will also invariably experience many of the challenges that are common to such change programmes, such as internal politics, resistance to the new way of operating, lack of appropriate skills within the team and so forth.

It is because of this that a leader needs to draw on commonsense business disciplines to be successful. It is also crucial that the immediate management team are able to do the same. Therefore, before embarking on the process, it is important to make sure that the management team is capable and ready to execute change.

As I noted at the beginning of this article, many companies are implementing similar strategies. It is therefore logical to assume that, everything else being equal, it is the company that has the management capabilities to execute these changes most effectively that will gain a competitive advantage over its competitors.

 

Tony Swift is the Managing Director of Apodi. He may be reached on tony.swift@apodi.co.uk.

AstraZeneca will cut 400 US-based jobs as part of the company’s strategy to operate more effectively and efficiently.

Around 70 positions will be eliminated from existing vacancies with the remaining posts coming from the company’s Wilmington headquarters and certain field-based, non-sales roles.

Rich Fante, President, AstraZeneca US and CEO, North America, says the job cuts are “necessary to build a leaner, more efficient organisation”.

The company cites pricing pressures and the growth of generic medicines in a “challenging environment” which have resulted in the need for staff cutbacks.

AZ’s blockbuster Seroquel will face generic competition in early 2012 – although the long-acting XR version may keep its patent protection for longer than was first expected. Crestor, the company’s bestselling drug, also faces generic and low-cost rivals when it loses exclusivity in November.

Employees have now been given the opportunity to put themselves forward for voluntary redundancy. AZ says that all decision on which posts are to be axed will be finalised in early December.

Actelion has appointed the experienced Jean-Pierre Garnier (pictured) as the Chairman of its Board of Directors.

Members of the board nominated Mr Garnier in favour of its existing chair Robert Cawthorn, who has held the position since the company’s inception.

Mr Cawthorn said he was grateful for the opportunity and is delighted that a “highly experienced and very successful leader with an unparalleled career in the healthcare industry” will lead the company.

Mr Garnier was the first CEO of GSK after its inception from 2001 to 2008. Prior to that, he served as President of Schering-Plough’s US business and served as CEO at Pierre Fabre Labs for two years after leaving Glaxo.

He has been awarded various accolades for his work in healthcare and also serves on the Boards of Directors of the United Technologies Corporation, Renault S.A, and Cerenis.

“I am extremely proud to have been nominated as Chairman of the Board of Actelion,” said Mr Garnier. “I'm very impressed with the company’s track record and its position today as Europe’s largest biopharmaceutical company.

He added that since joining the company earlier in the year, he has become “even more convinced” of the company’s capacity to transfer drug discovery into “meaningful therapeutic solutions”.

“Since joining the company this spring, I have become even more convinced of Actelion’s capacity to translate superior drug discovery into meaningful therapeutic solutions and long-term business success. I look forward to guiding the company in the next phase of its growth together with my fellow Board members, management and all the Actelion employees.”

In times of economic turmoil, we are all feeling the pinch of our increasingly tightened belts, even those who are working in positions that are thought to be significantly safer.

In fact, recent statistics collected by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) have revealed that business leaders are actually missing adequate leadership skills.

According to the CIPD’s survey, UK Highlights: Global Leadership Forecast, only a third (36%) of UK leaders and one in five (18%) of UK HR professionals rated the quality of leadership as ‘high’ at their own organisations. These figures are unsettling as leaders have admitted lacking the key qualities to encourage success in the workplace.

As we all know, effective leadership in pharma is important to managing a team and achieving success in long-term business strategies, especially as we have now apparently double dipped ourselves in the already soul-destroying recession. It just seems a shame that leaders don’t feel like they are sufficiently trained to be ‘leader of the pack’.

So why are leaders suddenly feeling self-conscious?

Maybe it’s the pressure? I’m sure that everyone has felt a knock of confidence since the recession began. So, leaders must truly feel the blunt of the blow as they try to muster enough poise to carry on and motivate their team. And it’s true. As a figurehead, the leader must represent their employees as one and motivate them through this dark time.

Of course, there remains many talented leaders in the marketplace - both within pharma and outside of it -  but as businesses tighten the purse strings, attracting them against a backdrop of fiscal prudence, is proving challenging. Companies are desperately seeking leaders with innovative ideas for growth - but finding and attracting them is another matter.

Vanessa Robinson, Head of HR Practice Development, CIPD, notes the predicament that we face, as “Leadership development budgets remain tight, particularly in the UK, yet effective leaders make a real difference to the success of organisations.”

So it seems the issue of leadership creates a catch-22 effect as we come to realise the importance and worth of great leadership to encourage business success but also struggle to find the money to fund it. Perhaps ‘speculate to accumulate’ should be our way of thinking when it comes to leadership in future? How would you rate the leadership at your organisation?

An emergency stockpile of 2 million flu vaccines has been set up in preparation for the UK flu season.

Professor Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer for England, said that the extra supplies will “smooth things out”, in contrast to the shortages reported in certain areas of the country last year, with older jabs being used to fill the gap.

This winter’s stock consists of 16.7 million vaccines compared to 14.7 million last year.

Once again, there will be no promotion of the jabs in England, but Scotland and Northern Ireland will raise awareness through advertising. Professor Davies said that she relies on charities, health workers and pharmacies to spread the word.

Professor David Salisbury, the Government’s Director of Immunisation, warned that it would be taking a risk to miss the vaccination this year: “You need it just as much as last year.”

He warned there was no evidence that last year's vaccination would still offer protection and criticised healthcare workers for avoiding the shot, saying they were “selfish” for neglecting the importance of their patients’ health and of those around them.

Professor Salisbury claimed that healthcare staff are being encouraged to get the shot, but also said that hospitals need to make it easier for workers to get vaccinated.

Last year, 35% of healthcare employees were vaccinated with the flu shot, an increase of 26% from the year before.

The jab will protect against swine flu (H1N1) as well as the H3N2 and Flu B strains. These are the same three viruses that were covered by the vaccine last year.

Read more of the story on the BBC website.

There’s a lot of talk at the moment about getting in the ‘real world’. The ambitions of the NHS reforms, which this month survived a Commons vote and are now headed for the Lords, have drawn criticism from inside and outside the health service as not being practical in the real world of patient care.

In turn, the ABPI, along with countless others, has cited the reforms’ ambitions to deliver world-class outcomes as a major driver in the need to augment the current clinical trial model to make provision for the collection of ‘real world’ data. But, say commentators, developing real world data means the industry must ask its customers real world questions, rather than simply work to its own agenda.

For medical sales professionals, this is your selling environment – and the real world you face every day is clearly in a state of flux. But out of confusion can often come clarity. The messages that you take to market need to be shaped in the round. It is no longer acceptable for sales professionals to simply inherit brand messages from their colleagues in marketing – they must help inform value propositions and commercial strategies by sharing the important information they glean from the real world dialogue they have with their customers.

And by challenging the age-old customer perception that the NHS cannot and should not work in partnership with industry. The NHS must be made to realise that it cannot deliver the required improvements in quality and patient outcomes on its own. In this regard, NHS customers too need to get in the real world. And it’s the job of the pharmaceutical sales professional to help get them there.

Chris Ross, Editor

If I were a rich man
PS. The latest results of the Pf Company Perception, Motivation and Satisfaction Survey show that, despite a median basic salary well in excess of the national average and annual total remuneration packages that make the profession among the best-rewarded in the UK, a high volume of medical sales professionals remain dissatisfied with their salary and want more. Of course, we all want more, it’s human nature. But in an era characterised by cuts, job losses and high unemployment, the Lionel Bart’s Oliver approach of requesting more seems relatively misplaced at the present time. Perhaps pharma’s sales people should consider getting in the real world too? It’s just a thought.