At a recent meeting of the Pharmaceutical Learning and Organisational Development  network, it was agreed that a change in sales training tactics could help address the challenging market conditions by  increasing motivation and resilience for those involved in the sales process.

To address this need, Sales-Motivations have partnered with Wellards to deliver cost effective e-learning based sales performance solutions to help pharmaceutical and medtech teams maintain and grow their motivation and sales performance in these difficult times, without the cost and inconvenience of traditional training. 

To find out more, please visit www.sales-motivations.com, or for a free trial of Sales Motivations, visit www.sales-motivations.com/free1day,  or contact us on +44(0)845 531 4125.

This month’s Pharmaceutical Field looks at some of the major issues affecting UK pharma at present; the evolution of its customer-base, an increased focus on compliance, the developing training needs of medical sales professionals and pharma companies’ ongoing challenge to attract and, crucially, retain talent.

The DH’s Innovation Health and Wealth document, published at the tail end of 2011, seeks to address the most significant challenge for UK healthcare – accelerating the adoption of innovation within the NHS. There is much that pharma can do to help enable innovative medicines reach patients more quickly.

Regulatory compliance remains a key priority for pharma as recent and impending global legislation puts pharma’s engagement with customers under increased scrutiny. In the process, the changing legislative landscape is having a significant impact on the training needs of medical sales professionals in the UK. This, in turn, is having a domino-effect on the pharmaceutical employment market, where a notable ‘skills gap’ is having a huge impact on recruitment and the quality of applicants for commercial roles.

Faced with an apparent dearth of quality candidates for sales positions, companies are needing to work hard to create the best working environment to retain their most talented employees. Pf’s annual attitudinal survey of the UK sales force reveals that, in some parts of the industry, there remains much to be done to ensure that the company culture advertised in the corporate brochure matches that experienced by employees in the workplace.

Pharmaceutical companies must provide appropriate training to all employees to ensure interactions with stakeholders are ethical, according to new revisions to the industry’s international code of practice.

The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) has updated its guiding principles to ensure interactions are conducted to high ethical and professional standards at all times.

David Brennan, IFPMA President and AstraZeneca CEO, says the revised regulations provide a framework for the industry to “act with integrity and build trust”.

The emphasis placed on training by the Federation follows qualitative research (read here) by Pharmaceutical Field which found UK pharma companies are not doing enough to develop new skills needed by sales representatives to excel in the modern working environment.

The updates to the 2012 Code aim to increase transparency and increase patients’ welfare and health.

The Code says that any ‘events’ for healthcare professionals should only be organised to provide scientific or educational information, or to inform individuals about products.

Also, no company may arrange events for stakeholders that take place outside of their home country, the Code says, unless it is justified from a logistical or security point of view.

When interacting with patient organisations, pharma companies must act ethically and respect the independence of the group. They should also declare involvement from the outset with patient groups and provide written evidence. Finally, patient group meetings or events may be sponsored by companies, but only if the purpose of the meeting is “professional, educational and scientific in nature”, the Code adds.

Additional amendments to the Code include high-level guiding principles for practice and a clear distinction between gifts, promotional aids and items of medical utility. Guidance for supporting continuing medical education, a provision of disclosure of clinical trials information and guidance for filing complaints has also been updated.

Pre-approval promotional activities for pharmaceutical products, company-sponsored entertainment at events and personal gifts to healthcare professionals remain prohibited in an attempt to increase transparency.

David Brennan commented that the new amendments were “not about doing the easy thing, but the right thing”.

The amendments have been backed by the International Alliance of Patients’ Organizations (IAPO). Durhane Wong-Rieger, Chair, IAPO, commented: “The expansion of this Code of Practice is welcome and necessary to bring greater clarity to the ethical standards that should be adhered to.

“The public must have trust and confidence in all healthcare decision-making and IAPO welcomes IFPMA’s commitment to promote appropriate standards and will observe closely how well these are implemented and followed globally.”

The Federation, which represents the research-based pharmaceutical industry, requires all member companies and associations around the world to adopt and implement new aspects of the Code.

New Year’s resolutions around the country are currently been broken as employees again forget to send their CV off to one of the various internet jobs board – or even Pharmajobs.co.uk  – and apply for that new job which will make everything better in 2012. Except, in all likelihood, it won’t.

Figures recently released from the Office of National Statistics confirmed what the majority of us already know: the jobs market in the UK is extremely fragile and looks set to remain so for the foreseeable future. The risks of applying for a new position at another company and leaving behind a stable job far outweigh the benefits it would seem.

But is there another way of increasing job satisfaction without having to write a resignation letter and go through another morning of introductions and cautious welcomes by new colleagues? The answer is yes. With companies cautious to approve widespread salary increases more are turning to improving satisfaction and moral in the workplace.

Employers such as Carlsberg – probably the best – BT and The Police Service of Northern Ireland have all introduced employee well-being programmes which have resulted in driving performance levels and delivering business success. But this approach is nothing new for pharmaceutical companies.

Using Pf’s annual Company Perception, Motivation and Satisfaction Survey disgruntled medical sales staff have been venting their frustrations and revealing what they believe is the good, bad and ugly side of the pharmaceutical industry for the past ten years. The results not only give respondents the chance, behind the shield of autonomy, to have their say about what they’d change in their company, but the opportunity for employers to make the changes staff say will improve moral and satisfaction.

So, instead of building up frustrations at your company’s substandard bonus scheme or moaning religiously at an uneven work-life balance, have your say today on the topics which matter the most. It may even work in your advantage!

Available online at www.pharmasurvey.co.uk or in this month’s issue of Pharmaceutical Field, for every completed questionnaire 25p is donated to a register charity.