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Morale in Women's Health is at an all time low!

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Anonymous

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It's a sad state of affairs in the Bayer Women's Health division. Morale is at an all time low, and senior management seems to want to turn a blind eye. Having started out with Berlex, and now Bayer I have seen a transformation that is frankly bad business. Bayer is full of some of the most amazing sales reps, but you can only push so much crap downhill until you burn people out. With the Yaz litigation, Mirena price increase, and SPP (Caremark failures), POA, after POA, and a bonus structure that is broken. Quota's are not remotely realistic, yet management keeps pushing, pushing, and pushing. The days of double digit growth are difficult to obtain. Yet the FSD's and RSM's continue to ask things of us that are truly killing the morale and motivation of this once great sales force. I find it sad, and very demotivating. I know many of the reps Southeast have stated it has gotten very bad.

I hope Bayer will put some serious thought into making the work environment better for all reps. We have good people, and none of us should be made to feel that our jobs and families are on the line everyday.
 




Personally, my region has a great attitude and outlook. Don't judge all of WHC by your distorted view. If you think moral3 is bad here, go to some of the other companies out there., ie. Wyeth.....whoops, no longer, AZ, laying off, Pfizer-intimidating and lay offs when you least expect them. Bayer WHC's fine, 2 new prods in 5 mos, and another one coming. Just do your job, quit whining and be thankful you have a job...Most people would give their eye teeth to have one this day and age. Oh yes, MEDA is laying off (latest announcement) try there if you want better morale. Also heard Teva is hiring....
 




Anonymous said:
Personally, my region has a great attitude and outlook. Don't judge all of WHC by your distorted view. If you think moral3 is bad here, go to some of the other companies out there., ie. Wyeth.....whoops, no longer, AZ, laying off, Pfizer-intimidating and lay offs when you least expect them. Bayer WHC's fine, 2 new prods in 5 mos, and another one coming. Just do your job, quit whining and be thankful you have a job...Most people would give their eye teeth to have one this day and age. Oh yes, MEDA is laying off (latest announcement) try there if you want better morale. Also heard Teva is hiring....
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AMEN!
 




I don't believe the original poster was suggesting that he/she is not thankful to have a job. Just maybe some areas are better than others with morale. I believe it all comes down to each FSD. No need to rant about how any rep that potentially speaks up about Morale should be told their view is distorted. I agree however that the poster should not have generalized, but to dismiss her/his feelings on morale because it could potentially be worse at other companies is kool aid drinking material.

I would love to see where Bayer ranks among other Pharma companies in work life balance, family, vacation, best companies to work for, benefits, compensation, etc?

I agree with both posts. Different perspectives I guess.
 




Anonymous said:
It's a sad state of affairs in the Bayer Women's Health division. Morale is at an all time low, and senior management seems to want to turn a blind eye. Having started out with Berlex, and now Bayer I have seen a transformation that is frankly bad business. Bayer is full of some of the most amazing sales reps, but you can only push so much crap downhill until you burn people out. With the Yaz litigation, Mirena price increase, and SPP (Caremark failures), POA, after POA, and a bonus structure that is broken. Quota's are not remotely realistic, yet management keeps pushing, pushing, and pushing. The days of double digit growth are difficult to obtain. Yet the FSD's and RSM's continue to ask things of us that are truly killing the morale and motivation of this once great sales force. I find it sad, and very demotivating. I know many of the reps Southeast have stated it has gotten very bad.

I hope Bayer will put some serious thought into making the work environment better for all reps. We have good people, and none of us should be made to feel that our jobs and families are on the line everyday.
Click to expand...

Yes, We have had a very challenging year and the challenges will continue. Honestly, I don't see anyone turning a blind eye. Looking forward, we all know launching products is hard work and fortunately/unfortunately we have had more than one to deal with and we have more to come. Most of your post is full of frustration, how about offering some solutions too. What would you suggest for making the work environment better? General requests don't help in working towards solutions.
 




Anonymous said:
Yes, We have had a very challenging year and the challenges will continue. Honestly, I don't see anyone turning a blind eye. Looking forward, we all know launching products is hard work and fortunately/unfortunately we have had more than one to deal with and we have more to come. Most of your post is full of frustration, how about offering some solutions too. What would you suggest for making the work environment better? General requests don't help in working towards solutions.
Click to expand...

Work is never better.
 








Hey there Women's Health Sales Force. I have been reading many of your posts and I frankly feel terrible. You are a very fine group of Sales Consultants. I trained many of you out there as a Sales Training Manager in one way or another. Though I am not with Bayer any longer I do feel a sense of camaraderie and a dedication to those I trained and put a full effort into.

I realize times are tough. I work with that everyday as I train disabled veterans for the job market. I want you to remember what your primary function is before you go down the road of discontent. Your job as a Sales Consultant is to figure out the customers true needs. That is a tough thing to do. The doctors are busy, I get that. You have situations out of your control with products and it can be frustrating. Your job is to talk to people and remember it is about the customer and their needs and not yours. Find out their Clinical, Financial and Organizational needs. Then figure out how you can fulfill those needs. When you do that you bring credibility to yourself and help to the doctor.

I know there maybe some that will say this is pie in the sky thinking and Wally you have no clue. I do have a clue. I have the same issues working with the V.A. everyday because of sequestration. Every time I make a call on the V.A. it is not a sure thing. I have a 71% success rate on my vets securing a career upon graduating from my course. In this economy that is an incredible number, yet I have to go back every time to V.A. counselors and remind them what my product brings to the table to help their needs, in the case of the V.A. it is Business needs, Financial needs and organizational needs. It can be frustrating and they throw smoke screens in my face like Price and takes too long to find the right candidate. I say big deal, that is my job. I really use the sales techniques I taught at Bayer to all of you and they really do work. You just need to go back to the basics. Pre-pare for the call (Know why you are going in there) Prepare a good opening statement that has a frame of reference that can put a picture in their head and ask a smart well constructed question that will resonate with them that includes that frame of reference. If you get a barrier thrown in your face, take a step back and use those reflective listening skills you were taught. Ask to qualify the question they have or quantify it. Listen to what they say and then provide a solution. Remember you want to find out what problems they face (Their opinion) then talk about the implications to the problem and how to solve it. Make them follow the rules of communication you learned. They need to believe it first. Example:

Say I sell fork lifts to warehouse owners or managers or businesses that require fork lifts. In this economy people are reticent to spend money unless it has a payoff for them and will only add to their business. I might go in and introduce myself to the customer and then ask "Tell me about the current fork lifts you use in this warehouse. What is it you like about them and also what are some things you wish your fork lift could do better and just don't?" That question has meaning to them now. The customer is forced to give an opinion and you will learn from it.

What I am saying is this. The only thing you have control of is your piece of the pie. Go out and sell the right way. It is hard but if you talk and listen and fulfill their needs you may find things begin to pick up. Imagine if you were just 10% more effective in your job and that went across the entire Sales Force. That would change the entire scope of the situation.

Go out and do the jobs we learned together. Weather you know it or not I am with many of you in spirit and know you can do it. Go back to the basics and some of your level 2 information and things will change. You really have to be positive. I know this because I go through it every day with the V.A. and sequestration.

Good luck to all of you fine people - Wally Ward
 




Thanks Wally for the positives.....we need it for sure. It has just been a long dry season where the home office is concerned. Your message is more than we have gotten from our own leadership though. Some of the FSD's have cared enough about their people to have some great dialog, share what they can and at least communicate. Other FSD's have been towing the line and share nothing. It is extremely hard to stay focused when behind the scenes your employment fate is being determined. Most of us want to work, are hard workers and want to also do a good job. The only thing any of us can control is what we go out and do each day and for today, there is a job.
 




I agree with the last post. Thanks Wally for your thoughts as I believe you are still trying to motivate. However, our sales skills are not the issue here. We are focused and ready to work. It seems you found the perfect fit for yourself. Good luck!
 








Thanks Wally! Appreciate your support. I am in the NE and it is sad when we haven't heard from our FSD all year, she didn't even attend the spring area POA. We are in the middle of a restructuring for the third year and are fearfull of losing our jobs again. There hasn't been a publication of a bonus report since 1st quarter and its August. There is no transparency to say the least. Most of us are focusing on what we can control, which includes finding new employment that values loyalty and work ethic. Thanks again!
 




















Just incredible that she couldn't even reach out to the people who lined her pockets for the last two years during her "rotation" . It looks like karma took care of her.
 
















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