Hiring the right people is key to business success. How can companies identify and attract top talent?

“The endurance training part of the selection process lasts for five weeks and is held twice yearly in the Brecon Beacons. Normally starting with 200 candidates, the assessment is focused on the following:

• Personal and combat fitness 
• A cross country run against the clock, increasing the distances covered each day, culminating in what is known as the Fan Dance: a 64km march with full equipment scaling and descending Pen y Fan in 20 hours
• By the end of the hill phase, candidates must be able to run four miles in 30 minutes and swim two miles in 90 minutes

This is followed by a jungle phase, taking place in Belize, Brunei, or Malaysia.  Here candidates are taught navigation, patrol formation and movement, and are tested for their jungle survival, escape and evasion skills.

Candidates returning to the UK finish training in battle plans and foreign weapons and take part in combat survival exercises. The final selection test is arguably the most gruelling: resistance to interrogation, lasting for 36 hours. From the initial 200 candidates, most will drop out within the first few days, and by the end about 30 will remain. Those who complete all phases of selection are rewarded with a transfer to an operational squadron.

However, the small number who make it through selection are not out of the woods. There is still a post-selection review, and they will now effectively be on probation. As brand new members of the regiment, they will be watched closely as they enter continuation training, and even this far down the line, many soldiers are returned to their original units during this phase.”

This is a brief overview of the selection process for acceptance into the Special Air Services. My colleague Tony Swift, in his book Achieving High Performance in Teams within Pharma and Healthcare, identifies how Harvard College also goes to extraordinary lengths to identify the best students (although clearly assessing for different strengths). Indeed, a common factor amongst all great organisations is the effort, skill and focus that they put into their recruitment processes. They all know that attracting the right people is a defining process in the journey to success.

The assessment process
The assessment element is an important part of any recruitment process. Unfortunately, many organisations attempt to take shortcuts and rely purely on a CV review and a short interview. These companies often pay dearly for this in the longer term. Bad hiring decisions have a material effect on performance and can be extremely costly. Indeed, an American consultant, Bradford Smith, noted that from a study of 54 US companies the average managerial ‘mis-hire’ actually costs a company 24 times the individual’s base salary.

As a result, we at Apodi recently studied the success or otherwise of recruitment activity within Apodi and our client organisations to try to understand what the key drivers of success are. The aim was to develop an assessment process that is comprehensive enough to ensure a significant improvement in the success rate of recruitment activity.

The research
First of all, we systematically reviewed the success or failure of all our recruitment activity within the last 36 months and identified the reasons for it. At the same time we undertook detailed desk research to benchmark our experiences against the recruitment activity of a number of both UK and overseas based organisations.

The research made it clear to us that there appeared to be four main reasons for success or failure. For consistent high performance to follow, we identified that each successful candidate must:

• Have the innate talents suited to the role in question
• Have the skills and knowledge (competencies) to meet the demands of the role
• Fit culturally into the organisation
• Have the mental toughness to succeed, particularly when the pressure is on

The research also showed that even if candidates had three out of the four qualities above, the absence of just one could lead to underperformance and, ultimately, to failure. Furthermore, our research found that the ability of organisations to change individuals through training and development interventions is limited. Innate talents are just that and cultural attitudes and levels of mental toughness can take significant time to change. It is only in the area of skills and knowledge that training and development can make a more immediate impact.

The guiding principles
This research, together with our own experiences, provided the focus for us to develop some guiding principles. These can be summarised as follows:
A person CANNOT be anything they want to be – even if they try hard.
As was noted in the previous article in this series, recruiting for strengths/talents to select individuals whose innate qualities most closely fit the role requirements is key. Effort alone without the appropriate talents for a role is not enough to drive high performance.

Most people think they know what they are good at. However, they are usually wrong.
Asking people what they are good at is simply not enough. It is imperative therefore that systematic testing for talent is vigorously and rigorously undertaken in the assessment process.

Whilst some people are impressive on paper and during the one-on-one interviewing stage, their style, approach and behaviour may simply be inconsistent with the values and expectations of the organisation.
Even those individuals who may reasonably be expected to perform may not do so in their new environment. Therefore, systematically testing for cultural fit is important in the assessment process.

Whilst talent can be a good indicator of future performance, the world is awash with talented people who never achieve their full potential. This is normally due to a lack of ‘mental toughness’.
Without the drive and ability to overcome obstacles, many individuals fail to reach the levels of success that their talent might otherwise indicate. Therefore, the assessment process should include a significant element of testing for mental toughness.

Much can be done to improve the effectiveness of pre-employment assessment. However, the best recruitment processes also include early post-selection review to assess each candidate again, but this time in action in the field.
The practical application of competencies and mental toughness must be investigated and reviewed to ensure that ongoing success is to be achieved.

The methodology
The Apodi methodology is a multi-stage approach which encompasses our experience and findings. This integrated model is detailed below.

Step 1 – Integrated Pre-Employment Assessment

• A candidate search and engagement programme
• A comprehensive pre-screening and filter process
• Interviewing and diagnostic processes focused on:
  –  Talent
  –  Competencies (skills and knowledge)
  –  Cultural fit
  –  Mental toughness
• Candidate alignment profiling and prediction of future high performance

Step 2 – Post-Employment Assessment
A systematic process is implemented immediately on employment where management reassesses successful candidates in the four key areas of talent, competencies, cultural fit and mental toughness. This is mainly undertaken in the field and can involve specialist coaches where necessary. The role of management is to ensure that the conclusions reached in the pre-employment assessment were correct, that the candidate should be successful in the future and, if so, what training and development can be put in place to accelerate the journey to high performance.

Step 3 – Measurement of the Assessment Process
To help ensure its ongoing success, key measures need to be in place to review the effectiveness of the assessment process. This step in the model will be discussed at greater length in later articles.

Conclusion
A comprehensive and effective assessment process drives just about everything that is good in an organisation – including high performance, employee engagement and quality of life for each and every one involved. Selecting people for the wrong job can lead to untold misery for them, their families and work colleagues. It is for this, and other reasons, that a quality assessment process should be at the top of every management’s agenda.

Jan Cox is the Resourcing Director at Apodi and can be reached on jan.cox@apodi.co.uk.

Roche has appointed Pamela Carroll as its new Global Head of Pathways Biology within in Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development unit.

She will also act as oncology discovery site head at the company’s research facility in Nutley, New Jersey.

Mike Burgess, Global Head Oncology, Discovery and Translational Area, and head, large molecule research at Roche, says Pam “has built a reputation for scientific excellence and leadership in the field”.

She first entered the pharmaceutical industry in 1999 with Bristol-Myers Squibb before joining Merck. Two years ago, she moved to the Belfer Institute of Applied Cancer Sciences at Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School.

“Her broad knowledge and successful history in leading oncology drug discovery efforts make her is an ideal fit for this position,” Mr Burgess added.

The NHS faces financial risks and worries over organisational success due to the lack of female leaders on Clinical Commissioning Groups, a new report has warned.

Releasing Potential: Women doctors and clinical leadership found women had experienced difficulties joining CCG leadership committees despite evidence showing gender diverse boards improve financial performance.

GP Penny Newman, report author, says the lack of diversity presents “a risk to developing the collaborative and inclusive leadership behaviour needed for organisations to succeed in a complex system”.

The report, funded by the National Leadership Council, was based on in-depth interviews with 26 leading female GPs and consultants with the outcomes tested on a further National Leadership Council workshop which included 43 female medical leaders and other experts.

Several interviewees said they had signalled an intention to take a senior role within CCGs but had experienced issues in joining. Previously, claims had been made of a ‘jobs for boys’ culture from female GPs following a similar study by Pulse. One interviewee even described one leadership committee as consisting of “clubs, gangs and mafia”, insisting there was “exclusion, inequity and disengagement of the rest of the profession”.

Research from the report said that female GPs were more likely to work with marginalised and vulnerable communities and were found to have qualities such as empathy, being able to question and admit vulnerability and offering support and development to others.

“While the number of female doctors continues to rise, there remains an unacceptably small proportion in leadership positions within the NHS,” said Dr Newman.

“Female doctors represent a valuable resource to the health service, both in terms of the style of working and individual talent.

“The NHS needs to enable them to achieve leadership positions through more flexible working and other initiatives to maximise the potential of the workforce and ultimately provide a better service for patients.”

The report follows an investigation by HSJ which revealed that 85% of CCGs were led by men.

Novartis has appointed Dr Timothy Wright as its new Global Head of Development.

Dr Wright joined the pharmaceutical company in 2004 and most recently served as Senior Vice President and Global Head of Translational Sciences at Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR).

His previous positions include exploratory therapy area leader for Inflammation at Pfizer and chief of the Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology at the University of Pittsburgh.

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.

With financial experts warning of another global recession it’s a worrying time for both healthcare professionals and those currently without a job.

The Government in its ultimate wisdom last week revealed plans to eliminate certain discrimination laws in an attempt to make it easier for employers to do away with unproductive workers and replace those with a willingness to work.

But while the principle may sound simplistic, one boss’ judge of a productive medical representative doing their upmost to sell a dated product may be different to the person struggling to succeed in a crowded and competitive marketplace.

Instead of casting aside one unproductive worker for another, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has called for the Government to scrap its intention to remove certain discrimination laws and instead focus on those with healthcare jobs, for example, to increase their skill set to improve productivity.

The CIPD’s calls aren’t exactly rocket science – yet they do make sense. Questions have to be raised why so many employees are unhappy with the level of productivity of their workforce. The reason may be closer to home.

More than a third of the workforce in the UK has managerial responsibilities. But how many of those dedicate time to improving the skill sets of their staff? Whilst training days or programmes may not provide immediate results the long term skills gain can yield rewards for years to come.

The key to unlocking productivity levels may not be with those set for the axe, but those wielding it in the first place.

Lundbeck has appointed Jens Peter Balling and Iman Barilero as vice presidents in its R&D organisation.

The new appointments follow Lundbeck’s recent consolidation of its R&D activities into one organisation, creating a new unit.

Peter Balling (pictured, right) has been appointed as Vice President of the new unit, which will focus on regulatory product support, patient safety and quality assurance of clinical research.

Barilero (pictured, below) will be responsible for increasing Lundbeck's strategic efforts to build and maintain constructive cooperation and dialogue with national and international regulatory authorities.

Anders Gersel Pedersen, Executive Vice President of R&D at Lundbeck, said: “The regulatory and safety areas are an increasingly important prerequisite for this. The creation of one new unit and the increased focus on the other gives us a strong position in these areas.”

Peter Balling joined Lundbeck in 2006 as divisional director of global pharmacovigilance, previously working at Novo Nordisk and Nycomed.

Barilero began work for Lundbeck in 2007, when she served divisional director of regulatory development, strategy and policy, with previous experience at Hoffmann-La Roche and Johnson & Johnson.

Search for careers at Lundbeck.

If you’ve been keeping up to date with the appalling job statistics lately, you’ll be aware of the recent unemployment figure reaching a 17-year high, with more than 2.5 million people in Britain out of work. So what next?

As much as we know there are few jobs, it’s now become even more important to manifest our skills in the most effective way to attract a potential employer’s attention.

You may have noticed that Radio 1 and BBC3 are getting in on the act here. They’re currently running ‘Up for hire’, a scheme to encourage young people to manifest their skills in the right way, editing their CVs and lending interview tips.

And the whole initiative is to make the best of what you’ve got and getting this across to the potential employer.

The job market is essentially at its highest in terms of competition for work, so you need to show ‘em what you’ve got.

And if you think about it, in such a bad economy, people lucky enough and talented enough to be employed, are staying right where they are.

At the end of the day, we’re all shaking in our boots, and even if we would like to change positions, many have decided to stay put until everything becomes a bit more certain and easier in the world of work.

If you’re applying for work or thinking of moving positions, check out our tips on how to write a sales CV to get you started.

Nycomed, a Takeda company, has appointed Jostein Davidsen as its new Head of Emerging Markets.

Mr Davidsen will take on the post in addition to his current role as Area Head of Russia/CIS, reporting to Frank Morich, EVP, International Operations at Takeda Pharmaceuticals International, and CEO of Nycomed.

“Jostein's strong track record of leading Russia/CIS over the past 17 years makes him an ideal candidate for this position,” said Mr Morich.

“His extensive knowledge of the industry, combined with vision and tenacity, has propelled Russia/CIS to become one of Nycomed's top revenue contributors.”

Takeda’s acquisition of Nycomed in September 2011 was driven by Nycomed’s presence in Emerging Markets in Russia/CIS, Latin America, Middle East-Turkey-Africa and South Asia.

Takeda is a research-based global company with a main focus on pharmaceuticals. The combined company has an active commercial presence in the therapeutic areas of metabolic diseases, gastroenterology, oncology, cardiovascular health, CNS diseases, inflammatory and immune disorders, respiratory diseases and pain management.

Andrew Lansley has selected Professor Malcolm Grant CBE as his preferred choice to become the chair of the NHS Commissioning Board.

The New Zealander barrister, academic and former government advisor currently holds the post of President and Provost of UCL (University College London).

The Health Secretary says that Professor Grant is “outstandingly capable and has excellent leadership skills” and he “shares the public sector ethos and values of the NHS”.

Professor Grant, who has also served as a UK business ambassador, is expected to take the post at the end of October, following a pre-appointment scrutiny hearing in front of the Health Select Committee. It will be his first role in the health sector.

In the past ten years, Professor Grant has held a number of high profile positions including the pro vice chancellor of Cambridge University, chair of the local government commission, chair of the Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission.

His role as the head of the NHS Commissioning Board will be to provide strategic leadership and vision for commissioning.

“I am honoured to be named the preferred choice for this vital role,” said Professor Grant. “I am passionate about the NHS and see the Commissioning Board as playing a key part in delivering a service which meets the future needs of patients and of the nation.

“We need to build on the very best NHS qualities of dedicated public service, professionalism and pride, and seize the opportunity to create long-term stability and focus on getting constant improvement in quality and openness to innovation.”