So the question was, “why are people leaving”. People always leave but the real question is why are so many people leaving? Some reasons were given that were pretty weak like our cars and metrics but those are just symptoms of the real issues.
I personally don’t think it is cars, metrics and pay although the once mighty BMS is now on the bottom as far as these go. I think reps are leaving because they think they are not appreciated. I personally talked to a former RBD that told me reps were not dedicated to their jobs, a comment I took great offense to. I took offense to it because I know what I do, the sacrifices I make and have been around long enough to know many others that don’t think twice about taking the extra step to get a sale or arranging their vacation around a hard to get appointment. That RBM had no idea and at the time no oncology experience and at that point my sacrifices changed. I started to work to the standards that RBD believes.
To further substantiate that point over the years our pay has gone from near the top to near the bottom. Our benefits have been made “more competitive” which when you have come from the top means we are cutting your benefits to what other companies are offering.
I picked up a new computer at a meeting less than a year ago. During the first weeks with it a NP in an office gasped and asked how old the computer was. I didn’t bother to tell her a couple days but it made me pay attention and discovered the computers are not anywhere close to new. Another cut? Another show of cheap? Another show of we don’t care about you?
When Tony Hopper was around he would nearly flaunt the success of BMS and compare it to fortune 100 companies and take full credit for it and rarely recognized the efforts of the sales people that sold the products. Further evidence of no appreciation was the rather large pay increases upper management gave themselves during a time when the sales team was getting nothing (except cuts) or very little (1-2%). Didn’t Lamberto recently get a 27 million dollar pay increase on top of the more than doubling of his income when he took the job a couple years ago? How do you think that made reps feel?
The metrics just simply frustrate any intelligent and informed person. Questions about the number of CRC, CML, H&N or melanoma patients a physician treats are ridiculous. How in the world would we know that information? For that matter how in the world or why in the world would a doctor know the answer to those questions? So we give bogus answers and watch management run a multibillion dollar company based on those answers. Reps watch management spend crazy amounts of time, money and energy tracking calls and making call plans but can’t seem to do anything to track our efforts (Sales) accurately. Then tell us that we can’t ask for invoices to prove sales because they are proprietary, but no less proprietary than what insurance companies a practice works with or how many patients a doctor sees. This is another example of what tells us that management doesn’t care about us.
Another question was asked once or maybe it was a statement, “Oncology reps have a sense of entitlement”. Lynelle, you made this statement! Not really a statement the screams we care. Let me ask you a question, what is it that you think we think we are entitled to that isn’t reasonable? Honesty from management? Experienced Oncology managers? More product clinical trials? Competitive pay? Respecting our experience? To be listened to? I’m curious what your point was.
I am trying to be helpful and honest as I answer this question and only hiding behind CP because of an atmosphere at BMS that doesn’t encourage it. I work for a manager who can’t or refuses to talk about anything that doesn’t start with a statement relating to how “great” everything is. The mere suggestion of something else sends my manager into a defensive posture that is frustrating to me and screams “I don’t care what you think”. It also tells me that my manager is afraid of something or somebody and it tells me that they don’t care about me, my opinions or my feelings.
If you really want to know “why” I would suggest a conference call with some reps that have been around a while and who are known to be willing to speak up. I can think of several off the top of my head that are not SLS. Let’s face it we are inducted into SLS in part because we tow the line and don’t make waves.
Now, the CP tramps might read this and start spewing venom, I hope not. I really do want to help and bring the BMS I used to bleed for back from the depths.
I personally don’t think it is cars, metrics and pay although the once mighty BMS is now on the bottom as far as these go. I think reps are leaving because they think they are not appreciated. I personally talked to a former RBD that told me reps were not dedicated to their jobs, a comment I took great offense to. I took offense to it because I know what I do, the sacrifices I make and have been around long enough to know many others that don’t think twice about taking the extra step to get a sale or arranging their vacation around a hard to get appointment. That RBM had no idea and at the time no oncology experience and at that point my sacrifices changed. I started to work to the standards that RBD believes.
To further substantiate that point over the years our pay has gone from near the top to near the bottom. Our benefits have been made “more competitive” which when you have come from the top means we are cutting your benefits to what other companies are offering.
I picked up a new computer at a meeting less than a year ago. During the first weeks with it a NP in an office gasped and asked how old the computer was. I didn’t bother to tell her a couple days but it made me pay attention and discovered the computers are not anywhere close to new. Another cut? Another show of cheap? Another show of we don’t care about you?
When Tony Hopper was around he would nearly flaunt the success of BMS and compare it to fortune 100 companies and take full credit for it and rarely recognized the efforts of the sales people that sold the products. Further evidence of no appreciation was the rather large pay increases upper management gave themselves during a time when the sales team was getting nothing (except cuts) or very little (1-2%). Didn’t Lamberto recently get a 27 million dollar pay increase on top of the more than doubling of his income when he took the job a couple years ago? How do you think that made reps feel?
The metrics just simply frustrate any intelligent and informed person. Questions about the number of CRC, CML, H&N or melanoma patients a physician treats are ridiculous. How in the world would we know that information? For that matter how in the world or why in the world would a doctor know the answer to those questions? So we give bogus answers and watch management run a multibillion dollar company based on those answers. Reps watch management spend crazy amounts of time, money and energy tracking calls and making call plans but can’t seem to do anything to track our efforts (Sales) accurately. Then tell us that we can’t ask for invoices to prove sales because they are proprietary, but no less proprietary than what insurance companies a practice works with or how many patients a doctor sees. This is another example of what tells us that management doesn’t care about us.
Another question was asked once or maybe it was a statement, “Oncology reps have a sense of entitlement”. Lynelle, you made this statement! Not really a statement the screams we care. Let me ask you a question, what is it that you think we think we are entitled to that isn’t reasonable? Honesty from management? Experienced Oncology managers? More product clinical trials? Competitive pay? Respecting our experience? To be listened to? I’m curious what your point was.
I am trying to be helpful and honest as I answer this question and only hiding behind CP because of an atmosphere at BMS that doesn’t encourage it. I work for a manager who can’t or refuses to talk about anything that doesn’t start with a statement relating to how “great” everything is. The mere suggestion of something else sends my manager into a defensive posture that is frustrating to me and screams “I don’t care what you think”. It also tells me that my manager is afraid of something or somebody and it tells me that they don’t care about me, my opinions or my feelings.
If you really want to know “why” I would suggest a conference call with some reps that have been around a while and who are known to be willing to speak up. I can think of several off the top of my head that are not SLS. Let’s face it we are inducted into SLS in part because we tow the line and don’t make waves.
Now, the CP tramps might read this and start spewing venom, I hope not. I really do want to help and bring the BMS I used to bleed for back from the depths.