field force motivation

Driving Operational Change Whilst Maintaining Field Force Motivation

Damian Colehan

Julian Snape

Nick Merryfield

2 Company Confidential© 2007 Abbott

Agenda

The Abbott journey – implementing change and improving productivity

Monitoring success – what measures can be used?

Measuring motivation and satisfaction

Reflective leadership


Environment & ObjectivesThe industry’s sales forces are facing unprecedented change:

- Key account management

- Reduction in size

- New roles

- Fragmentation of NHS decision making

- Evolution from primary care to secondary care focus

Describe journey of sales force optimisation & effectiveness in Abbott from 2001 – 2007

Share examples of methods to achieve the maintenance & improvement of morale during change

Create discussion and key learnings through Q&A


Sales force optimisation - 6 main elements

Optimisation

Resource Optimisation

Size, structure, roles and focus of salesforce activity [targeting, frequency & coverage]

Segmentation and Targeting

Ability of salesforce to get the company message delivered effectively. Coaching and competencies.

Ability to monitor salesforce metrics and make tactical decisions

Measurement

Training and Competencies

Customer targets, prescribers and influencers defined by value

Salesforce Planning

Ability and tools of salesforce to effectively plan at a territory and customer level

Incentives

Salesforce and management incentive scheme modelling and sales target forecasting

Field ForceMotivation & Satisfaction


• Refocused linear

primary care team

• Expanded secondary care capability

• Expanded HCD team

• Invest in 1st line manager development

• Integrated Knoll Ltd

• 4 primary care teams

• 1 hospital team

• Small HCD team

• Account management

• Account based targeting

• Local business planning

• Personal development planning

• Performance management

The Abbott journey…….

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 20062007…

- Teams operating in clusters of isolation

- Low accountability

- Focus on integration

- Introduction of individual performance

management metrics and performance rankings

- Portfolio changes

- Acceleration of specialist products

- 65 Primary care representatives

- 100 secondary care and NHS liaison specialists


Abbott Case Study - Review Optimisation Elements

Abbott recognised the need to benchmark sales force productivity in order to run a continual improvement programme

This project commenced with a benchmarking project of the productivity elements through internal interviews and salesforce metric analysis

An ongoing development programme

was developed commencing

with resource deployment


• Refocused linear

• primary care team

• Expanded secondary care capability

• Expanded HCD team

• Invest in 1st line manager development

• Integrated Knoll Ltd

• 4 primary care teams

• 1 hospital team

• Small HCD team

• Account management

• Account based targeting

• Local business planning

• Personal development planning

• Performance management

The Abbott journey…….

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 20062007…

- Teams operating in clusters of isolation

- Low accountability

- Focus on integration

- Introduction of individual performance

management metrics and performance rankings

- Portfolio changes

- Acceleration of specialist products

- 65 Primary care representatives

- 100 secondary care and NHS liaison specialists


• Design a sales force structure that would deliver the financial target!!

• Headcount constraints

• No redundancy policy

• Future proof

• Flexible resource if necessary

Resource Levels – outcomes from strategic planning process


Resource Levels – Analysis

• There was an existing salesforce consisting of 2 mirrored teams, these were believed to be over resourced for product portfolio expectations

• Project used a mixture of key personnel meetings, analysis and resource modelling.

Resource Issues

Retain Best People

Impact ofNHS Change

Resource LevelToo high

Minimise Disruption

Product portfolio impact of high market pressure and patent expiry

Manage motivation, satisfaction & loyalty

Product portfolio near term targets challenging

Unknown impact of changes to PCOs and emerging local changes


What is the right deployment of resource?

Key methods of sales force configuration

Maintaining customer relationships

Motivation

Retaining quality

Delivering the numbers

Implementing brand strategy


Required share of voice, frequency and coverage,

disease management,

KOL development and complexity of the sales model

Product Strategies

Customer Value ConstraintsSkills and Structure

Required Prescribers and

influencers,future opportunity value, profitability, sales sensitivity,

optimum customer list size

Corporate headcount,

employee issues, management

structure, territory sizes, call capacity,

geography

Suitable skills for different selling

environments and customer types, territory size and

structure

Resource Optimisation ModelNumber of FTEs - Skills, Customer Groups, Team Structure, Territory Boundaries

Model created scenarios including FTE workload index, then analysed disruption

Resource Optimisation Model - Drivers


Required share of voice, frequency and coverage,

disease management,

KOL development and complexity of the sales model

Product Strategies

Customer Value ConstraintsSkills and Structure

Required Prescribers and

influencers,future opportunity value, profitability, sales sensitivity,

optimum customer list size

Corporate headcount,

employee issues, management

structure, territory sizes, call capacity,

geography

Suitable skills for different selling

environments and customer types, territory size and

structure

Optimum Salesforce Resource Deployment

Number of FTEs - Skills, Customer Groups, Team Structure, Territory Boundaries

Resource Optimisation ModelNumber of FTEs - Skills, Customer Groups, Team Structure, Territory Boundaries

Resource Optimisation Model - Drivers


Business Value Concentration – ground up

Business Value Index Concentration

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Busi

ness

Valu

e

Accounts


Recommendation was to move to a single team structure with a FTE reduction of nearly 30%

Most customer relationships maintained -customer disruption of 29%

Clear customer focused sales force structure able to deliver new strategies

- account management

- local business planning

This would require the development of new KPIs centred around target customers target nurses with activity targets that were within the capacity

Resource Levels - Implementation


Key Account Management


Key Account Level Targeting

Already recognised as a new area, it now needed immediate attention to push business forward

Changing Customer Base

Changing Product Adoption Process

Address PortfolioChanges

NHS Liaison Support

Account Strategy


This encompassed a number of elements:

Key Account Based Segmentation and Targeting

Segmentation and Targeting

How is targeting implementation

measured ?

What elements describe a target customer or account

?

How will buy-in be achieved in the

salesforce ?

What data sources should be used to value

customers/accounts ?

What mix of influencers and prescribers ?


Calculating True Value

Each account was valued for the relevant portfolio using 2 elements;

Account Value

Degree of LIKELIHOOD of increase in future prescribing, influence or referral for the brand

PROPENSITYPOTENTIAL

Volume of OPPORTUNITY to prescribe or refer brand specific disease treatments


Customer Value

Degree of LIKELIHOOD of increase in future prescribing, influence or referral for the brand

PROPENSITYPOTENTIAL

Volume of OPPORTUNITY to prescribe or refer brand specific disease treatments

•Own product sales – growth/volume/market share

•Specific competitor usage profile•Attitudinal data – adoption, attitude to

treatment of disease•PCT influence – formularies, protocols,

guideline•PBC status and influence•Customer typology (qualification, special

interest etc)•Disease management structure•Hospital formularies and protocols•Funding•KOL•Sophistication of structure to treat

•Market sales•Volume of patients by disease profile – e.g

age, ethnicity, socio economic etc•Practice size – number of GPs, nurses, list

size•Disease prevalence•QOF data •Disease management clinics/mechanisms for

generating patients•Number of beds/treatment capability by

disease*•Patient treatments/admissions by disease*•Hospital spend on disease area*•PCT funding/financial data•Size of catchment / referral areas*

Value Measurements

* Typically Secondary Care measurements


SaboteurSaboteur

LodgerLodger

Raving Raving FanFan

LoyalLoyal

LoyalLoyalLostLost

LostLost

LookingLooking

LookingLooking

Sophisticated Value in Clear Segments

The accounts were grouped into suitable segments relative to the brand strategy and communication channel to be used.

They were combined to determine a portfolio value.

The salesforce targets were crossed with accessibility to ensure a successful salesforce implementation

POTENTIAL

PR

OP

EN

SIT

Y

AB


Did it Work????


Results - targeted activity

Activity is more focused on the productive targets at the right frequency

GP Target Frequency

27%

11%

18%

11%

13%

11%

11%

10%

31%

58%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Nov 02 MAT Nov 03 MAT

Target Freq x4+

Target Freq x3

Target Freq x2

Target Freq x1

Target Freq x0

2003 2006

Target coverage up from

73% to 89%

Increased size of productive frequency segment from

31% to 58%


Results – Financial : sales growth, main brand

Sales increase of 22% Market Share increase of 7%

0

200000

400000

600000

800000

1000000

1200000

1400000


What else changed?

•Change in behaviour – account based targeting

•Local business planning

•Change in measurement – clearly defined personal KPIs

•Change in incentives and rewards

•Introduction of finely managed coaching system

•Introduction of personal development plans

•Increased days on road – 165 rose to 180 per rep

• RM coaching days increased by 30%

•Sickness reduced by 18%

•Turnover reduced from 13% to 4%

How Satisfied and Motivated Is Your Salesforce and How Do You Measure It?

Damian Colehan

Nick Merryfield


Session Objectives

1. Demonstrate positive effect of benchmarking motivation through field force change

• Limitations of relying on internal surveys for climate checking

2. Show six year trends relating to industry motivation & SFE

• Real life examples of creating the right and wrong environment

3. Abbott initiatives taken to assist in developing motivation

4. Challenge whether your field force is motivated to embrace SFE and continuous improvement initiatives


Questions

• Do you:

– Know the level of motivation in your salesforce compared to the industry?

– Know what motivational factors are important to them?

– REALLY consider their motivation through change

– Impact on:– Sales

– Activity

– Customer perception of the company

• Abbott very keen to know during period of change ~ 2004-07

Measuring Your Field Force’s Fitness to Take On Sales Force Effectiveness?

The Pf Company Perception,

Motivation and Satisfaction Survey

1. Survey Background

2. 6 Year Industry Trends

3. Real life examples of good & bad environments


The Pf Company Perception, Motivation and Satisfaction Survey - Background

• Pharmaceutical Field Magazine:

• 2001 to 2007

• 12,000 responses

• 2,300 in 2007

• Over 75 companies

• Mix of primary, secondary, hospital, HDM, RBM, NSM responses

• Expert Partner

• Royal Statistical Society at the Nottingham Trent University


The Pf Company Perception, Motivation and Satisfaction Survey - 6 Survey Aims

• In relation to the field force:

1. What MOTIVATES them

2. How SATISFIED are they with motivational factors

3. RETENTION & RECRUITMENT

4. Who are EMPLOYERS of CHOICE

5. How do they use ETMS

6. Actual REMUNERATION packages


Survey Method

• Different from internal company surveys by:

– Benchmarking against:• The Industry• Competitors (minimum of 4)

– Sub analyse by infinite parameters via an ‘interrogation tool’:• Job Role• Length of time in role & industry & # of companies worked for• Sales performance• Geography• Full time / part time• Contract / head count

CATEGORY 1:

Motivating Factorsof the Field Force

Q. Responders were asked to rank their Top 7 most important work factors from a list of 16 options.


Change in Important Work Factors2002 to 2007

PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY

TOP 7 IMPORTANT WORK FACTORS

Rank 2002 2007 Change 07 to 02

1 Salary Salary =

2 Personal Development Rel with Manager Up 1

3 Rel with Manager Company Culture Up 6

4 Bonus (Down 5 in 07) Belief in Products Up 2

5 Success Recognition Job Security Up 2

6 Belief in Product Success Recognition Down 1

7 Job Security Personal Development Down 5

Rel with Manager = Relationship with Manager

CATEGORY 2:

How Satisfied are the Field Force

Q. Responders were asked to score their satisfaction with each motivational factor:

Very Satisfied +2

Satisfied+1

Average/No Opinion 0

Dissatisfied -1

Very Dissatisfied -2


Satisfaction

SCALE CONVERSION Very Satisfied 100

Satisfied 50

Average 0

Dissatisfied -50



Change in SatisfactionVery Satisfied 100

Satisfied 50

Average 0

Dissatisfied -50


Change in Average Level of Satisfaction With Top 7 Motivational Factors 02 to 06

2002 2006 % Change 02 to 06

All Responders 30 35 14%

Highest Sales Reps 38 33 -17%

In 2007

– All Responders Average Satisfaction Remained at 35

– Highest Sales Performers Increased to Average 37

The Power of the Survey

Real Life Example

Top 10 Pharmaceutical Co.

Satisfaction with Top 7 Motivational Factors


Comp X - Satisfaction With Top 7 Factors

-0.5

0

0.5

1

1.5

Satis

fact

ion

Comp X

Scale:Very Satisfied

+2Satisfied +1Average/No Opinion 0Dissatisfied

-1Very Dissatisfied -2


Satisfaction with Top 7 Factors

-0.5

0

0.5

1

1.5

Sat

isfa

ctio

n

Comp XIndustry

Scale:Very Satisfied




-0.5

0

0.5

1

1.5

Sat

isfa

ctio

n

Comp XIndustryCompetitors

Satisfaction With Top 7 FactorsVery Satisfied




-0.5

0

0.5

1

1.5

Sat

isfa

ctio

n

Comp XIndustryCompetitors

Satisfaction of Top 7 Factors

Averaging all satisfaction scores identifies real problems:

•Industry employees are twice as satisfied compared to Comp. X

•Competitor employees are nearly three times more satisfied

Very Satisfied+2

Satisfied +1Average/No Opinion 0Dissatisfied


Example of a High Performing Companies

Comp A

Comp B


0

0.5

1

1.5

Salary

Rel With M

anager

Belief in Products

Company Culture

Success Recognition

Job Security

Personal Development

Sa

tis

fac

tio

n

Industry

Comp A

Comp B

CATEGORY 3

Attrition

Do theyWant to Stay or Go?


Attrition

Q. Do you intend to move from your present employer

in the next 12 months?

• 2007 = 14% said YES

• 2002 = 24% said YES

• Change in 6 years = -35%

• Comp X, A&B = 23%, <5%

CATEGORY 4

Use of Electronic Territory Management Systems

Series of Questions to Establish Whether Field Forces Actually Use ETMS


Summary of ETMS Use

• Only 50% will take a system with them most days

• Only 30% will definitely set a pre call objective every call

• 40% may not bother with a post call report

• 20% of 1:1 calls may be dishonestly recorded

• 40% of meeting calls may be dishonest

• And 50% of key messages may be made up

• Conclusion:

• Choose your ETMS provider carefully – home grown maybe best!

• Interpret your post marketing research with caution

• Engage your field force to get a quick win over the competition

CATEGORY 5

Employer of Choice

Is Your Organisation Capable of Attracting the Best Talent?


Employers of Choice 2002Went With Company £Turnover

Company Rank 2002

GlaxoSmithKline 1

Pfizer 2

Merck Sharp & Dohme 3

Janssen-Cilag 4

Eli Lilly & Company 5

Wyeth 6

Roche 7

Schering Plough 8


Employers of Choice 2007All Change

Company Rank 2007

Roche 1

Boehringer Ingelheim 2

Eli Lilly & Company 3

Sanofi-Aventis 4

Schering Plough 5

Janssen-Cilag 6

Schering 7

Novartis 8

Wyeth 9

Proctor & Gamble 10


Summary

• The survey will answer:

1. What Motivates the different groups of reps

2. How Satisfied these groups are

3. Whether they want leave you

4. Do they use your ETMS

5. Can you attract the best talent

6. Are you paying competitive remuneration packages

• Back to Damian Colehan

The Abbott Story

A Tale of Two Halves


The Abbott Story

First Half

2001 – 2003

• Knoll integration 2001.

• Small Pharma business to midsize in six months.

• Merging of two cultures and systems.

• Focus on cultural integration.

• ETMS launch.


2001 - 2003

2001 – 2003 cont.

• Realignment of salesforce evaluation of larger Secondary Care business.

• Salesforce re-alignment.

• Development of five year strategic plan.

• Introduction of European SFE programme.

• Market share based incentives (limited bonus).

• Investment in Regional Manager training.– Performance management

• Little consideration on field force motivation


2003 The Results - Levels of Satisfaction

Average work factor satisfaction score ( profile scenario 1 )

-1

-0.5

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

Rel'sh

ip w

ith d

irect

man

ager

Job

secu

rity

Belief

in p

rese

nt p

rodu

cts

Share

sch

eme

Additio

nal r

espo

nsibi

lit ies

Struct

. app

raisa

l sys

tem

Recog

. of y

our s

ucce

ss

Perso

nal d

evel

opm

ent

Auton

omy

Accou

nata

bility

for s

ales

Compa

ny c

ultur

e

Salar

y

Car P

olicy

Bonus

Futur

e pr

oduc

t pipe

line

The Abbott Story

Second Half ~ 2004 to 2006 and beyond


2004 / 2006

• More change expected BUT

• High consideration of FF motivation:

– Sales management restructure.

– Embed strategic plan – new sense of purpose and direction.

– Open honest communication.

– Second restructure of Primary Care (no redundancies).

– Focus on local SFE priorities.

– New company car scheme.

– Sales incentives volume growth based.

– Salary benchmarking.

– Re-introduction of overseas conference.

– Greater FF involvement in customer targeting.• Evolution to key account management

.


Top 5 Important Work Factorsfor Abbott Personnel

1. Salary

2. Job Security

3. Company Culture

4. Relationship with Manager

5. Bonus

Of the 16 motivational factors available to choose from, Abbott ranked the following five as the most important


Satisfaction With Motivational Factors 2006

Average satisfaction scores for all work factors

-0.5

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

Abbott Laboratories

Profile

Company Selection


Do People Want to Stay or Go in 2006?

Career progression in the next 12 months

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

SelectedCompanies

Profile

AbbottLaboratories

Move comp

Move pos

Remain

Other


Company Culture

Satisfied with company culture

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Selection ( 51 )

Profile

Abbott Laboratories

dissatisf ied

no opinion

satisf ied

Satisfied with company culture

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

SelectedCompanies

Profile

AbbottLaboratories

Dissatisf ied

No Opinion

Satisf ied

2003

2006

In 2006:

19% greater than industry

20% greater than in Abbott three years ago


Summary

Comparing the 2003 satisfaction results against 2006, for the same 7 factors for the Highest Performers:

Abbott Industry

2003 +0.88 +0.38

2006 +1.44 +0.33

The industry’s average satisfaction had dropped by 17%

Abbott’s average satisfaction had increased by 63%

The Abbott Story

And Beyond –

Satisfaction Levels this Year ~ 2007


And Beyond – Satisfaction Levels 2007

Average satisfaction scores for all work factors

-0.4

-0.2

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1.6

Rel'sh

ip with

dire

ct m

anag

er

Pensio

n sc

hem

e

Compa

ny c

ultur

e

Belief

in p

rese

nt p

rodu

cts

Auton

omy

Job

secu

rity

Accou

ntabil

ity fo

r sale

s

Perso

nal d

evel

opm

ent

Additio

nal r

espo

nsibilit

ies

Recog

. of y

our s

ucce

ss

Struct.

App

raisa

l sys

tem

Share

schem

e

Car p

olicy

Salary

Bonus

Futu

re p

rodu

ct pi

pelin

e

Abbott Laboratories

Profile

Company Selection


Reflective Leadership


Reflective Leadership• Engage all the stakeholders – MD/CEO, Board, Sales & Marketing etc

• Have clear focus with end results explicitly defined

• Have detailed planning with contingencies

• Make the difficult decisions at the right time – do not delay

• Have constant communication

• Ensure the sales force is trained to operate in the new environment

• Monitor performance through pro-active use of KPIs and external benchmarking data

• Find the right supplier – build trust and understanding & brief them clearly Listen and be open to feedback

• Operate a continuous improvement culture – review regularly


THANK YOU

Questions?