Message to Lynelle Hoch

[Anonymous]

It would be nice if one of the "plans" included making some attempt to keep the quality reps. Why are people leaving.....because of this kind of shit. If BMS shows no loyalty to at least their top reps then why pray tell do you think they would have loyalty to BMS?

Loyalty!? What the hell does it take to wake you up? Loyalty to 1. exec compensation, 2. Shareholder value - in that order. Employees are commodities, totally replaceable.

 

[Anonymous]

It wasn't 6 percent.....there may be 6 percent fewer spots but a higher percent were let go between so bad bms....more like 15 percent is my guess

The graph said 463 reps now and after the cuts we would have 440. That is 23 reps or 4.9%. That might be an accurate number after all the spots are filled with those who were displaced and given a chance to post for the open positions created when some territories were dissolved. Do you know more than 23 reps displaced?

Now I would agree with you if you were complaining about the words "minimal changes". I think most people (85%+) had changes. That was undersold!

 

[Anonymous]

The graph said 463 reps now and after the cuts we would have 440. That is 23 reps or 4.9%. That might be an accurate number after all the spots are filled with those who were displaced and given a chance to post for the open positions created when some territories were dissolved. Do you know more than 23 reps displaced?

Now I would agree with you if you were complaining about the words "minimal changes". I think most people (85%+) had changes. That was undersold!

Get the numbers straight....your 100 off in the before and after scenario!

 

[Anonymous]

Well, this round of layoffs is in the books with another claim that this will take BMS Oncology through the next several years. How is this different than what Derek Dawid told us 13 months ago? Over the last 10 -12 years this has happened 7 or 8 times and somebody has to recognize that even the most positive person has a breaking point where apathy sets in. I think this is a reasonable b'ness model, certainly less complicated for our customers to understand. That raises another good observation, how many times can we make changes in who calls on a practice before the doctors and nurses stop trying to get to know the rep or stop coming to L and Ls? Now apathy has spilled over into our accounts.

But here's the deal LH, the changes make sense but are not significantly different than what the older reps have been saying for years should happen. BMS spent a lot of money to put together something that tenured reps have been screaming about for years. You should listen to them, might save BMS some money.

I was impressed with the talkpoint you lead leading up to the slaughter. I was particularly impressed when you said your vision for the division changed after you were in it for awhile. I'm not sure the changes were minimal though. I haven't talked to anybody that didn't have some change. Six percent layoffs by definition might be minimal but adding up everything doesn't come across as minimal.

Things will get better they always have but this time the low is about as low as I have ever seen. There are lots of things that can't change or that BMS can't change because of all the regulations but there are lots of things that can change to bring back a positive attitude to those in the sales force. I think that's the key here, you need to get the reps to want to thrive in this environment and do something to overcome the apathy which may be the biggest expense we have going right now.

Good luck and I mean that sincerely

Indeed, it was a slaughter. You took very talented reps and threw them under the bus. You then dissemated the rest of the good sales force left standing with incredibly low moral.

A bad situation made incredibly worse. Lynelle you just invited our competition to come and swoop up those gone. The good reps who are left and with any energy will start again with a new company. You just gave talent to our competition.

For those left, there is grass greener on the other side. Please take care of yourself and consider your options.

 

[Anonymous]

Get the numbers straight....your 100 off in the before and after scenario!

then the % is even lower

 

[Anonymous]

Indeed, it was a slaughter. You took very talented reps and threw them under the bus. You then dissemated the rest of the good sales force left standing with incredibly low moral.

A bad situation made incredibly worse. Lynelle you just invited our competition to come and swoop up those gone. The good reps who are left and with any energy will start again with a new company. You just gave talent to our competition.

For those left, there is grass greener on the other side. Please take care of yourself and consider your options.

I listened to Lynelle's talkpoint very carefully as she poke of concern of the competition taking advantage when we were going through a vulnerable time with the "reorganization", yes that is the word she used.

I don't believe she , or the ones' who are truely responsible for the cluster that took place on Wednesday realize what they have just created. I fear they desperately underestimated the spirit of the true oncology warrior.......our own have been injured, territories are a mess, there has been NO reduction in redundancy.....what were they trying to sell us? They better be able to close this deal and beg for a committment or it will be more than the 4.9% that were "displaced" updating their resume to work for the competition.

I see something in front of me and it is not BMS at the top again. That pipe dream was written off on Wednesday!

 

[Anonymous]

I listened to Lynelle's talkpoint very carefully as she poke of concern of the competition taking advantage when we were going through a vulnerable time with the "reorganization", yes that is the word she used.

I don't believe she , or the ones' who are truely responsible for the cluster that took place on Wednesday realize what they have just created. I fear they desperately underestimated the spirit of the true oncology warrior.......our own have been injured, territories are a mess, there has been NO reduction in redundancy.....what were they trying to sell us? They better be able to close this deal and beg for a committment or it will be more than the 4.9% that were "displaced" updating their resume to work for the competition.

I see something in front of me and it is not BMS at the top again. That pipe dream was written off on Wednesday!

If you are a good onc rep, and many here are, you are wanted by other onc companies, with pipelines, pensions and respect for great reps. WHY stay here? Interview and go.

 

[Anonymous]

I listened to Lynelle's talkpoint very carefully as she poke of concern of the competition taking advantage when we were going through a vulnerable time with the "reorganization", yes that is the word she used.

I don't believe she , or the ones' who are truely responsible for the cluster that took place on Wednesday realize what they have just created. I fear they desperately underestimated the spirit of the true oncology warrior.......our own have been injured, territories are a mess, there has been NO reduction in redundancy.....what were they trying to sell us? They better be able to close this deal and beg for a committment or it will be more than the 4.9% that were "displaced" updating their resume to work for the competition.

I see something in front of me and it is not BMS at the top again. That pipe dream was written off on Wednesday!

Prior to reorg I was committed to stay..now I want to go. Things are more complicated now than with prior structure.

 

[Anonymous]

The graph said 463 reps now and after the cuts we would have 440. That is 23 reps or 4.9%. That might be an accurate number after all the spots are filled with those who were displaced and given a chance to post for the open positions created when some territories were dissolved. Do you know more than 23 reps displaced?

Now I would agree with you if you were complaining about the words "minimal changes". I think most people (85%+) had changes. That was undersold!

For those of us left, go the bms/careers. Look at all the jobs listings for oncology. "Massive changes" is the true story. LH did not "spin" this well.

 

[Jackie Witter]

Today I came home after a few days at the rehab center where my 19 year old daughter is staying. She is in rehab due to a relapse caused by her fathers death on March 24th 2012 from brain cancer. On January 26th 2012 her aunt,my beloved sister died of small cell lung cancer. I came home to my 2011 Best Performer plague and a lay off notice!! This year has been difficult to say the least on me and my family but I kept it together for the company,my docs supported me like cazy and I thought I would be ok. I have won 6 Best performers with BMS and have 20 years of loyal service...I know stupid me!! I cant tell you what I am feeling other than complete disbelief... Shame on you Lynelle,shame on you Murdo shame on you BMS. These boards are always so icky, for lack of better words. People complaining,swearing ,acting like children sometimes..but I guess I wanted people to know who and what they are working for in BMS Oncology. The lack of human compassion is amazing..they have lost sight of the patient in chase of the almighty dollar not realizing that will be their undoing. I have amazing friends within the BMS organization. Friends who kept me going through the most difficult times of my life. I want to publically thank: Tami..you are so special,Bill my wing man,Ava who always had my back,Brian-what a ride,Kelly you make me laugh,John,Ron,Rick..too many to count. You all are the reason that BMS was special. You all are the reason I am still here. I love you.I encourage all of you to remember one thing and one thing only...The patient who is battling cancer! If you always do whats right for them and their families you will always be successfull...no matter what Murdo says.

 

[Anonymous]

Today I came home after a few days at the rehab center where my 19 year old daughter is staying. She is in rehab due to a relapse caused by her fathers death on March 24th 2012 from brain cancer. On January 26th 2012 her aunt,my beloved sister died of small cell lung cancer. I came home to my 2011 Best Performer plague and a lay off notice!! This year has been difficult to say the least on me and my family but I kept it together for the company,my docs supported me like cazy and I thought I would be ok. I have won 6 Best performers with BMS and have 20 years of loyal service...I know stupid me!! I cant tell you what I am feeling other than complete disbelief... Shame on you Lynelle,shame on you Murdo shame on you BMS. These boards are always so icky, for lack of better words. People complaining,swearing ,acting like children sometimes..but I guess I wanted people to know who and what they are working for in BMS Oncology. The lack of human compassion is amazing..they have lost sight of the patient in chase of the almighty dollar not realizing that will be their undoing. I have amazing friends within the BMS organization. Friends who kept me going through the most difficult times of my life. I want to publically thank: Tami..you are so special,Bill my wing man,Ava who always had my back,Brian-what a ride,Kelly you make me laugh,John,Ron,Rick..too many to count. You all are the reason that BMS was special. You all are the reason I am still here. I love you.I encourage all of you to remember one thing and one thing only...The patient who is battling cancer! If you always do whats right for them and their families you will always be successfull...no matter what Murdo says.

You have been impacted by a group of "leaders" that worship the almighty dollar. There is never a thought for the patient, much less the employees of BMS any longer, any attempt to even pretend there is, is finally gone. Those of us that have been here for a long time have witnessed the death of any sense of corporate mission other than profit. Very, very sad.

 

[Anonymous]

Sincerity, it's all about the sincerity - and it just isn't there. If you only knew. You don't know the real facts or the contingency plans for the next five years, but it is not pretty.

Tell us more about the contingency plans. Many of us are trying to decide whether to tough it out or pack it up now.

 

[Anonymous]

I listened to Lynelle's talkpoint very carefully as she poke of concern of the competition taking advantage when we were going through a vulnerable time with the "reorganization", yes that is the word she used.

I don't believe she , or the ones' who are truely responsible for the cluster that took place on Wednesday realize what they have just created. I fear they desperately underestimated the spirit of the true oncology warrior.......our own have been injured, territories are a mess, there has been NO reduction in redundancy.....what were they trying to sell us? They better be able to close this deal and beg for a committment or it will be more than the 4.9% that were "displaced" updating their resume to work for the competition.

I see something in front of me and it is not BMS at the top again. That pipe dream was written off on Wednesday!

Well said. This company will never achieve a top position again -- not with this mindset. Slowly but surely and painfully we see a once great company turn into a pile of mediocrity.

 

[Anonymous]

Happy Thanksgiving Lynelle!

 

[Anonymous]

Well said. This company will never achieve a top position again -- not with this mindset. Slowly but surely and painfully we see a once great company turn into a pile of mediocrity.

I take it you are not impressed with the leadership you inherited from Primary Care? It's a pathetic joke.

 

[Anonymous]

Well said. This company will never achieve a top position again -- not with this mindset. Slowly but surely and painfully we see a once great company turn into a pile of mediocrity.

number one again would be nice but since it is a position voted on by our customers it can't be attained by somebody at BMS continuously telling us we are number 1

 

[Anonymous]

Well, this round of layoffs is in the books with another claim that this will take BMS Oncology through the next several years. How is this different than what Derek Dawid told us 13 months ago? Over the last 10 -12 years this has happened 7 or 8 times and somebody has to recognize that even the most positive person has a breaking point where apathy sets in. I think this is a reasonable b'ness model, certainly less complicated for our customers to understand. That raises another good observation, how many times can we make changes in who calls on a practice before the doctors and nurses stop trying to get to know the rep or stop coming to L and Ls? Now apathy has spilled over into our accounts.

But here's the deal LH, the changes make sense but are not significantly different than what the older reps have been saying for years should happen. BMS spent a lot of money to put together something that tenured reps have been screaming about for years. You should listen to them, might save BMS some money.

I was impressed with the talkpoint you lead leading up to the slaughter. I was particularly impressed when you said your vision for the division changed after you were in it for awhile. I'm not sure the changes were minimal though. I haven't talked to anybody that didn't have some change. Six percent layoffs by definition might be minimal but adding up everything doesn't come across as minimal.

Things will get better they always have but this time the low is about as low as I have ever seen. There are lots of things that can't change or that BMS can't change because of all the regulations but there are lots of things that can change to bring back a positive attitude to those in the sales force. I think that's the key here, you need to get the reps to want to thrive in this environment and do something to overcome the apathy which may be the biggest expense we have going right now.

Good luck and I mean that sincerely

This is the best reply on this thread. I think this hits the nail on the head. I have turned down opportunities to interview with competitive (better) companies because I saw the tenure we had at BMS. It's not the case anymore. This last round of layoffs has rocked the sales force to the core. We have seen great reps get fired for no good reason. Lose people through attrition not by firing.
I fear that we will have a mass exodus from BMSO in the next year. I know that I was offered a position earlier this year that I turned down. They contacted me 2 months later asking me to reconsider. Dumb ass me didn't do it because I was loyal to Bristol. I loved my team, the atmosphere, and the management up until the last round of layoffs.
Lynelle- please have the courage to dig into why morale is low. You will find that the primary care sales atmosphere and the constant threat of "reorganization" is creating an environment that skilled representatives are not used to, and we refuse to see this as the new normal.
This economy sucks, and its harder to find good onc jobs like the past, but I think that recruiting firms will be targeting BMS reps now knowing the discontent we are experiencing. I have talked with people who were crying about what happened on that Wednesday, and not just the ones who lost their jobs. This can no longer happen here if you want to retain your talent. Please stick to one plan and keep the reps in their geographies, and the customers happy that they don't have a revolving door rep.

I would love to stay here at BMS but I know that it's smarter to be proactive than reactive when looking for a job. How many times can one dodge a bullet?

 

[Anonymous]

This is the best reply on this thread. I think this hits the nail on the head. I have turned down opportunities to interview with competitive (better) companies because I saw the tenure we had at BMS. It's not the case anymore. This last round of layoffs has rocked the sales force to the core. We have seen great reps get fired for no good reason. Lose people through attrition not by firing.
I fear that we will have a mass exodus from BMSO in the next year. I know that I was offered a position earlier this year that I turned down. They contacted me 2 months later asking me to reconsider. Dumb ass me didn't do it because I was loyal to Bristol. I loved my team, the atmosphere, and the management up until the last round of layoffs.
Lynelle- please have the courage to dig into why morale is low. You will find that the primary care sales atmosphere and the constant threat of "reorganization" is creating an environment that skilled representatives are not used to, and we refuse to see this as the new normal.
This economy sucks, and its harder to find good onc jobs like the past, but I think that recruiting firms will be targeting BMS reps now knowing the discontent we are experiencing. I have talked with people who were crying about what happened on that Wednesday, and not just the ones who lost their jobs. This can no longer happen here if you want to retain your talent. Please stick to one plan and keep the reps in their geographies, and the customers happy that they don't have a revolving door rep.

I would love to stay here at BMS but I know that it's smarter to be proactive than reactive when looking for a job. How many times can one dodge a bullet?

This reorg was a total joke. We are all set up for another layoff in 24 months because they didn't cut deep enough. I hate to say it but they should have canned more folks because we are still tripping over one another for access and many if not most of the community reps in major metro areas saw their geographies shrink! Now everyone is fighting over who gets to keep this account or that zip code as we backstab one another....pathetic and typical BMS!

 

[Anonymous]

This reorg was a total joke. We are all set up for another layoff in 24 months because they didn't cut deep enough. I hate to say it but they should have canned more folks because we are still tripping over one another for access and many if not most of the community reps in major metro areas saw their geographies shrink! Now everyone is fighting over who gets to keep this account or that zip code as we backstab one another....pathetic and typical BMS!

Exactly, this reorg created the PCP scenario, now onc reps will fight for who "owns" certain accounts. Sales people think ownership, not shared ownership. Yes there are still too many reps in onc, 24 months? Maybe, more likely 12-18 for another change. For those who think Lynelle actually cares or seems concerned or admires the onc force - wake up. That is all Plainsboro clap trap to make you think you're loved. EVERY rep is expendable, don't kid yourself. There will be some top quality reps that stay because they fear the job market, but there will be many that leave. IF YOU ARE A SOLID ONCOLOGY REP, THERE ARE OPENINGS AVAILABLE WITH GOOD COMPANIES THAT HAVE EQUAL OR BETTER PAY, BETTER BENEFITS AND MANY WITH STOCK OPTIONS. At least do yourself a favor and interview, you don't have to take the job if offered, but you should. But find out what you are worth in the marketplace! Believe in yourself, not the faux leadership in BMS.

 

[Anonymous]

Heard the sales leadership society conference call was interesting with lynelle.
Any details to share?