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Our client, a large pharmaceutical company, was thriving and sales leaders recognized there was an untapped resource that could help support their growth: smart, industrious workers with sales potential but without previous industry experience. They wanted to recruit new talent into the organization and build their bench through an innovative New Hire Program.
Our client’s current New Hire Program was designed to create a pool of highly mobile and agile Account Managers to fill short-term vacancies across the country for up to 18 months, with an eye toward hiring them permanently as positions were open. These Account Managers provided coverage for the company’s sophisticated products.
“Because most candidates for this program have never had a job in the industry, they needed to gain a solid understanding of healthcare and pharma before their product training,” said a Manager from our client company.
Prior efforts to train the Account Managers were in place but leaders knew improvements would further elevate performance. Field leaders needed to revise the curriculum to include more training to build account managers’ clinical and business acumen.
In order to make this happen, the company’s training leaders turned to CMR Institute to help them create a New Hire Training Program using a library of customizable eModules and other resources that would meet their training needs.
CMR interviewed field managers, identified knowledge gaps within their program and determined that content should be mapped to their six core account manager competencies.
The team at CMR Institute worked with Training Leaders to develop a curriculum that would build on these six core competencies —all on a limited budget.
“Working with a reputable company like CMR and pulling material that they have already built and tweaking the materials as needed is a lot easier and more cost-effective than trying to build an eLearning module from scratch,” stated one of the training leaders.
The client and CMR team decided on a phased approach that would be integrated into their home study and onboarding training. The first phase was completed during a week of home study prior to home office sales training and product training.
CMR’s content covered a wide range of industry topics including hospital and managed care formularies, evidence-based medicine, and an introduction to the language of medicine.
Approximately three or four months after joining the program and spending time in the field, the new hires are enrolled in the second phase of at-home courses developed by CMR Institute.
Designed to advance industry knowledge and improve performance in the field, these courses covered a spectrum of clinical and business topics, such as the drug development process, business planning, project management, and partnering opportunities. This at-home study is followed by additional in-house sales training.
A district manager who works with these new hires agreed that the two-phase training program utilizing customizable content helped bring Account Managers up to speed quickly. “It helps them get the tools and foundational pillars that are necessary to be able to sell effectively in our industry,” they added. “Regardless of where they came from, it does a nice job of giving consistency across the board to each cohort.”
Overall, nearly half of available new hires from this program have been hired by district managers into their own sales positions. Four have been promoted to home office positions—one in training, two in marketing, and one in patient support. In addition, this program has produced some of the company’s top sales performers.
CMR Institute sets the global standard for unbiased, expert training to help sales teams adapt and excel. With relevant and always up-to-date industry information, our content increases knowledge and understanding of the issues affecting healthcare today.
CMR Institute’s training resources provide real-world wisdom and relevant knowledge because they are created with healthcare executives, clinicians, and thought leaders from the nation’s most respected institutions.
800-328-2615 solutions@CMRinstitute.org CMRinstitute.org
