layoff criteria

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Anonymous said:
I know for sure that the AZ lawyers strategically \"measure and analyze\" how potential layoffs affect the liability risk of AZ. For example, the minority layoff is much higher than a caucasian. This is fact. The conference room full of attorneys will slice and dice all of the reps but performance is only one part of it. The attorneys and HR get paid to limit the risk of AZ getting sued. The package for displaced employees can get sweeter with higher risk layed off employees. AZ forces you to sign the legal forms to forfeit any litigation in order to get your severance and benefits. If you sign, they mail check.

Also, there is a VERY VERY big focus on base pay right now with AZ and big pharma. They sort the reps by base salary and those making like $80k and up are certainly at risk. The entire goal of this process is to save money. Base salaries are a red flag nowadays cause AZ has profiled the new PSS as 25 year old making $55k a year plus $14k target. This is not my opinion, this is a fact. And the bad news for us PSS and DSM\'s ? If we make the cut on 12/1/11 then guess what will happen next year during the holidays? It will start all over again ! Trust me. IT will happen every year.
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You say AZ and big pharma are looking at base salaries and state 80K is associated with risk. Then go on to talk about specific age and salary bases and again state it as fact, not opinion. You also say that minorities are laid off disproportionately to Caucasians. Trust you? To be fair, where do you get your \"facts\"?
 








Anonymous said:
I know for sure that the AZ lawyers strategically "measure and analyze" how potential layoffs affect the liability risk of AZ. For example, the minority layoff is much higher than a caucasian. This is fact. The conference room full of attorneys will slice and dice all of the reps but performance is only one part of it. The attorneys and HR get paid to limit the risk of AZ getting sued. The package for displaced employees can get sweeter with higher risk layed off employees. AZ forces you to sign the legal forms to forfeit any litigation in order to get your severance and benefits. If you sign, they mail check.

Also, there is a VERY VERY big focus on base pay right now with AZ and big pharma. They sort the reps by base salary and those making like $80k and up are certainly at risk. The entire goal of this process is to save money. Base salaries are a red flag nowadays cause AZ has profiled the new PSS as 25 year old making $55k a year plus $14k target. This is not my opinion, this is a fact. And the bad news for us PSS and DSM's ? If we make the cut on 12/1/11 then guess what will happen next year during the holidays? It will start all over again ! Trust me. IT will happen every year.
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I am a CSA and make over $70,000. Should I be safe?
 




Anonymous said:
DSM's have input. If DSM is nervous, their RSD suck-up skills have lagged other districts. DSM's influence with their RSD's plays a critical role in PSS's future employment. Once your 2012 RSD has landed, it becomes a battle for RSD's to keep the people they want based on the numbers given to "grow share". Product mix, ethnicity, rankings, geography, and reviews fit the equation, so you are correct. Suck-up skills and teaming issues will weigh heavily on the minds of the decision makers too. It is not an exercise the majority of RSD's look forward to implementing. "Stepping-down" will be an option for a minority of displaced leaders.
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OMG, is this true?
 




I do not work for AZ but another pharma company. I like to keep up on things and stumbled across your thread. I am sorry to hear about the impending layoffs. I f you have not been through one, this is a very stressful time. I have been through 3 layoffs with pharma in the last 6 years. Maybe I can provide some valuable insight. I will tell you the truth on how they layoffs will be done, and you may either believe me or not. It is up to you.

ZS is the company that specializes in doing these layoffs.AZ has hired them to do the analysis. AZ has given them some parameters to go by such as a general of the size of sales force they will need going forward and how much money each reps area needs to produce. Due to legal circumstances neither AZ home office, RD's or DM's will have ANY input. ZS then takes all sales data and general information given to them and inputs it into a computer algorithm. The computer then generates the territories and tells ZS how many reps should be in each territory.

ZS then takes that information and inputs EVERY rep name for the whole country into the computer ALONG with their geographical location. The computer then analyzes reps geographical location to the territory available. And whalla, out comes reps names and territory they will be given.

ZS then gives that information to AZ. Again, due to legal circumstances, AZ is not allowed to make ANY changes to reps or territories.

A few weeks later, all of you will receive a call by the current DM, or the new DM or the RD if there is now no DM. This person will say either congratulations you still have a job or read you a PREPARED script saying how you have been eliminated.

So that is how it works. GOOD LUCK to ALL!
Hope this helps
 




Anonymous said:
I do not work for AZ but another pharma company. I like to keep up on things and stumbled across your thread. I am sorry to hear about the impending layoffs. I f you have not been through one, this is a very stressful time. I have been through 3 layoffs with pharma in the last 6 years. Maybe I can provide some valuable insight. I will tell you the truth on how they layoffs will be done, and you may either believe me or not. It is up to you.

ZS is the company that specializes in doing these layoffs.AZ has hired them to do the analysis. AZ has given them some parameters to go by such as a general of the size of sales force they will need going forward and how much money each reps area needs to produce. Due to legal circumstances neither AZ home office, RD's or DM's will have ANY input. ZS then takes all sales data and general information given to them and inputs it into a computer algorithm. The computer then generates the territories and tells ZS how many reps should be in each territory.

ZS then takes that information and inputs EVERY rep name for the whole country into the computer ALONG with their geographical location. The computer then analyzes reps geographical location to the territory available. And whalla, out comes reps names and territory they will be given.

ZS then gives that information to AZ. Again, due to legal circumstances, AZ is not allowed to make ANY changes to reps or territories.

A few weeks later, all of you will receive a call by the current DM, or the new DM or the RD if there is now no DM. This person will say either congratulations you still have a job or read you a PREPARED script saying how you have been eliminated.

So that is how it works. GOOD LUCK to ALL!
Hope this helps
Click to expand...

The consultants sell it as sales force effectiveness
http://www.zsassociates.com/industries/pharmaceuticals-and-biotech.aspx
 




above poster. That sounds about right. I too have been through one of these layoffs. 7 of the top 10 reps were fired. AZ people need to realize that it will have nothing to do with numbers or if you are best friends with your DM.

With all the lawsuits currently going on againest pharma companies, AZ will be even more cautious.
 




Anonymous said:
It will NOT all come down to rankings. Rankings will be part of it. It will come down to lawyer's criteria that will minimize company exposure to lawsuits. Plain and simple. You can speculate all day what the criteria will be. Nobody will reveal what it is. Smart people will be prepared with a plan. The Kool Aid drinkers will be hurt the worst. Not fun times my brothers and sisters.
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Let me try to explain this like I would to an eight year old.

First, I have been through this twice before. I saw how the system worked from the inside.

I did not say it would all come down to rankings, but they will be the most important factor.

Each DSM will rank his district members from 1 to 10 (or whatever number of PSS's). based on the AZ PSS Success Factors. Ranking will be based on rep behaviors observed for each success factor. The more evidence (behaviors) associated with each success factor, the higher your rank.

They will use the ranking as described in my previous post.

Contrary to what some have said, this process is the most defensible from a legal stand point. AZ will claim that factors like race, gender, age, etc. played no part in decision making. Decisions were made solely on the basis of performance as objectively measured against known, established, equally applied criteria, i.e. the PSS Success Factors. You might consider this to be BS, but you will have to prove it.
 




Anonymous said:
DSM's have input. If DSM is nervous, their RSD suck-up skills have lagged other districts. DSM's influence with their RSD's plays a critical role in PSS's future employment. Once your 2012 RSD has landed, it becomes a battle for RSD's to keep the people they want based on the numbers given to "grow share". Product mix, ethnicity, rankings, geography, and reviews fit the equation, so you are correct. Suck-up skills and teaming issues will weigh heavily on the minds of the decision makers too. It is not an exercise the majority of RSD's look forward to implementing. "Stepping-down" will be an option for a minority of displaced leaders.
Click to expand...

Add subjective measures of performance factors to the overall mix.
 




Anonymous said:
Let me try to explain this like I would to an eight year old.

First, I have been through this twice before. I saw how the system worked from the inside.

I did not say it would all come down to rankings, but they will be the most important factor.

Each DSM will rank his district members from 1 to 10 (or whatever number of PSS's). based on the AZ PSS Success Factors. Ranking will be based on rep behaviors observed for each success factor. The more evidence (behaviors) associated with each success factor, the higher your rank.

They will use the ranking as described in my previous post.

Contrary to what some have said, this process is the most defensible from a legal stand point. AZ will claim that factors like race, gender, age, etc. played no part in decision making. Decisions were made solely on the basis of performance as objectively measured against known, established, equally applied criteria, i.e. the PSS Success Factors. You might consider this to be BS, but you will have to prove it.
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you are SO WRONG about rankings. DUE TO LEGAL NO RANKINGS will be included!
 
















Anonymous said:
Yes these posts are correct. You will never find out the criteria used for layoffs. They are designed to minimize AZ lawsuits. Great reps will be out....losers will stay. It's a fact. You can't figure it out so don't agonize over it. Plan now for your future.
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How many ways can this be said? These layoffs are going to be so massive that you will have a 50-50 chance of staying under the best scenario. And even if you win this lottery, is this really the way you want to live your life with no future and wondering when the ax will finally land on you. Even ASDs, RSDs, and DSMs face the same fate as the rest of us. Look at what is happening in HQ right now and soon in Managed Care. Unemployment playing at a theatre near you.
 




Anonymous said:
How many ways can this be said? These layoffs are going to be so massive that you will have a 50-50 chance of staying under the best scenario. And even if you win this lottery, is this really the way you want to live your life with no future and wondering when the ax will finally land on you. Even ASDs, RSDs, and DSMs face the same fate as the rest of us. Look at what is happening in HQ right now and soon in Managed Care. Unemployment playing at a theatre near you.
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I am friends with my DSM. We are really tight. He is shaling in his boots. He cannot tell me that I am safe cause he is very unsure if he will be here. This is awful right now. I want out of AZ cause this will happen every year around Thanksgiving.
 




Anonymous said:
I am friends with my DSM. We are really tight. He is shaling in his boots. He cannot tell me that I am safe cause he is very unsure if he will be here. This is awful right now. I want out of AZ cause this will happen every year around Thanksgiving.
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Your DSM is right to be scared. But you can either live in fear for the rest of your working life or start changing your situation by interviewing now to get the hell out of this cesspool. I have been in the process for six months and have not found anything yet but at least I am not sitting around letting someone else totally dictate my outcome. It is all that keeps me going. I have to admit though that there will be some satisfaction is seeing some of the arrogant and incompetent RSDs and ASDs hit the unemployment line.
 




The criteria is managed by a series of filters:

1)Has the person ever appeared on the radar for any less that positive reason?
2)How much money do the people who survived filter 1 make?


Then the RSDs get to filter out, and they ask their DSMs who (which PSSs) should survive the final cut. If it's the DSMs getting targeted, the identical criteria apply, but replace PSS with DSM and Add ASD above RSD to the filters above.


The company does things this way because the company puts people first in its internal affairs, just like the company puts patients first in its external affairs.

Have a nice day.
 




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