Abstract
Abstract
Study Background
Internal communication can make or break the productivity of a direct sales
force. If properly used, email and voicemail can quickly disseminate
educational, tactical and motivational information. However, when district
managers and sales reps find their email and voicemail boxes filled with
poorly prioritized or even unnecessary communication, personal productivity
and work-life balance suffer. More than any other industry, sales reps and
managers in the pharma industry often experience the highest levels of
internal communication. Reps not only work in highly matrixed environments
with internal and external copromote partners, they also have to stay
abreastof regulatory changes and scientific developments for drugs in and out
of themarket. Although much of this communication is necessary, reps and
managers also experience a significant level of "noise" as colleagues in the
field or at corporate send communications that are poorly targeted, redundant
or inappropriately timed. When managers become overwhelmed with internal
communication, they often reduce the amount of time they spend coaching in the
field in order to keep up with all of the communication they receive that is
self-labeled "high priority."
When reps receive high levels of unnecessary communication, one of the
following three effects often occurs:
- 1. Reps reduce the time spent in the field with physicians in order to
keep up with internal communication received.
- 2. Reps put in extra hours in the evenings or over the weekend in order to
manage communication, cutting into their work-life balance and potentially
leading to a fast burnout.
- 3. Reps begin to self-select the communications they wish to read,
oftentimes ignoring critical information because it cannot be distinguished
from non-critical information.
Study Objective
Best Practices, LLC launched this research study exclusively for the
pharmaceutical industry to help companies build more effective communication
practices in the sales force.
Industries Profiled:
Pharmaceutical; Biotech; Health Care
Companies Profiled:
Pfizer; Sanofi-Aventis; Purdue Pharma; Janssen; Merck; Lilly; Johnson &
Johnson; Ortho-McNeil; Genentech; Allergan
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