Pharma Front-line Manager - Demand Generation or Sales Closing?

MEDICINMANField Force Excellence
TM
January 2016| www.medicinman.net
Since 2011
FRONTLINE MANAGERS:
SALES CLOSING OR DEMAND GENERATION?
T
oo many leaders are like travel agents – they want
to send people where they’ve never been.” -John
Maxwell
Travel agents are terrific salesmen - they sell exotic
holiday packages to gullible tourists, who discover
ramshackle accommodation and poor amenities to their
disappointment. Once the payment is made, the travel
agent is often unhelpful and the tourist is left to his own
devices to discover the destination through his own
efforts.
Indian Pharma sales team leaders (FLMs) are often like
travel agents - directing their field force to achieve sales
targets, they themselves have no clue about. Instead they
should be like veteran tour guides who take people along
with them to places, they know thoroughly.
Pharma field sales work is a really long journey of
discovery - a tough one at that; full of hurdles, challenges
and disappointments. The results are often not
commensurate with efforts and without the expertise of
FLMs, medical reps can give up quickly or become cynical.
But for those who persist and learn how the business
works, pharma sales is a rewarding career. And the single
most important factor in making this journey worthwhile
is the FLM’s character (to build trust) and his competence
(to solve problems). Character and competence together
will determine the quality of FLM’s relationship with his
team of medical reps.
EDITORIAL

Editorial
2 | MedicinMan January 2016
Yet, there are very few companies that lay
emphasis on developing FLMs as the linchpin
to successful execution of people and business
strategy. Companies that lack clear strategy end
up measuring wrong metrics like monthly closing,
instead of measuring the ability of field force to
generate demand by executing the marketing
strategy with appropriate sales tactics as suitable to
the local market.
In the current scenario, where call effectiveness
is dependent not merely on the competence of
the field force but on the inclination of the doctor
to interact with medical reps in general, pharma
companies need to focus on developing leadership
skills of FLMs. Front-line leaders who are able to
take the lead to work with the medical reps and
assess what works and what does not work in
each situation. Front-line leaders must be able to
spot opportunities, create new avenues to interact
with doctors in a way that differentiates them
from competition and connects them to doctors
meaningfully.
Are your sales team leaders, travel agents or are
you developing them to be tour guides? Are they
spending too much time with dealers (sales closing)
or are they taking time to be leaders who lead-from-
the-front (demand generation) and earn the trust
and respect of team members? M
Connect with Anup Soans on LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter
Anup Soans is an Author, Facilitator and the
Editor of MedicinMan.
Write in to him: anupsoans@medicinman.net
Meet the Editor
Indian Pharma sales
team leaders (FLMs) are
often like travel agents -
directing their field force
to achieve sales targets,
they themselves have no
clue about. Instead they
should be like veteran tour
guides who take people
along with them to places,
they know thoroughly.
”

CONTENTS
MedicinMan Volume 6 Issue 1 | January 2016
Editor and Publisher
Anup Soans
CEO
Chhaya Sankath
Chief Mentor
K. Hariram
Editorial Board
Salil Kallianpur; Prof. Vivek Hattangadi; Shashin
Bodawala; Hanno Wolfram; Renie McClay
Executive Editor
Joshua Soans
Letters to the Editor: anupsoans@medicinman.net
1. Parle-G: Still Number One ............................9
Why this 80 year old brand still has 80 percent
market share.
Vivek Hattangadi
The University of Pharma Sales ....................12
What the author learned about success and life on
his journey from Medical Representative to Group
Product Manager.
Raja Reddy
3. Nine Accountability Boosters for Frontline
Managers .........................................................14
9 habits that will inspire the confidence of your
team members in your Leadership.
K. Hariram
4. Bridging the Trust Deficit ...........................16
Indian Pharma has contributed immensely to
society but needs an image makeover to change
negative perceptions.
Satish Kota
5. Impact of Frontline Leadership on
Efficiency: A Case Study ..................................18
The actions of the Frontline Manager, more
than anything else, has a direct impact on how
employees perform.
P. S. Parameswaran
6. Cost-Effective Learning ..............................21
Using technology to make learning personalized is
both cost effective and impactful.
Gopal Kishore
7. Smart Pills ...................................................24
Are ingestible sensors the next big thing in patient
adherence?
Ramandish Arora, Mohit Kumar Bhutani,
Richa Goyal, Mahendra Kumar Rai
MEDICINMAN
WISHES ALL
OUR READERS
A HAPPY AND
PROSPEROUS
2016!

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16TH
(Tues)AND17TH
(Wed),FEBRUARYATTHECOURTYARDMARRIOTT,MUMBAI
Every year, MedicinMan brings together pharma's biggest thought leaders for 2 days of sharing
and deliberating on the most important issues facing the field force. The event begins with a
CEOroundtablethatsetsthetonefortherestoftheevent.Scrolltoseesomeofourpastfaculty.
THE CONVERSATION
STARTS HERE
FFE&BrandStorm2016

FORMOREINFORMATION,PLEASECONTACT:
DeepaSurti:surti.kmv@gmail.com
ChhayaSankath:chhaya@kmv.co.in

16TH
(Tues)AND17TH
AGENDA
FFE&BrandStorm2016
INDICATIVE TOPICS AT
FFE - 16 FEB 2016
1. CEO Round-table on Field Force of the
Future – Challenges and Opportunities.
Will cover topics like shrinking window
for in-clinic interactions. Rising use of
digital media and devices. Improving
quality of field force through knowledge
and skill certification.
2. Devices and NDDS in Pharmaceutical
Industry – Future Innovation and
Opportunities for Patient Satisfaction
and Profitable Growth
3. UCPMP & MCI Guidelines – Impact and
Assessment of Current Scenario and
Future Challenges.
4. Social Learning for Field Force – Can
Waiting Time be used for Learning? Case
Study and Panel Discussion.
5. Increasing Importance of HR in
Attracting, Energising and Retaining
Talent – Creating Career Progression
Plan through Systematic L & D Plans.
6. KOL Relationship Management –
Medical, Marketing & Field Force Role –
Panel Discussion
INDICATIVE TOPICS AT
BRANDSTORM 17 FEB
2016
1. What does it take to Build Strong
Sustainable Brands in the Indian Pharma
Market?
2. Case Studies and Panel Discussion:
a) Nandita Dandekar –
Marketing Manager at GSK
Seretide
b) Thambu Raj - Sr Deputy
General Manager at USV –
Glycomet
3. Unleashing the Power of Digital
Marketing – Case Study and Panel
Discussion
4. OTC Marketing – Increasing Patient
Empowerment through Patient
Centric Social Media Marketing – Panel
Discussion
5. Increasing Significance of CME in a Post
CRM Era for Physician Engagement
6. Docplexus, Lybrate, Practo, Curofy –
Future Digital Partners to Connect with
Doctors Meaningfully?

16TH
(Tues)AND17TH
PREVIOUS
CEO ROUNDTABLES
FFE&BrandStorm2016
Sanjiv Navangul
Managing Director,
Janssen India
Sujay Shetty
Partner, PwC
Shakti Chakraborty,
Group President, Lupin
Ganesh Nayak,
COO & Executive Director,
Zydus Cadila
Bhaskar Iyer
Divisional VP, Abbott
Shrihari Shidhaye
Director Sales and
Marketing, Abbott
K. Hariram
MD (retd.), Galderma
Girdhar Balwani,
Managing Director,
Invida India
Narayan Gad
CEO, Panacea Biotec

16TH
(Tues)AND17TH
PAST FACULTY
FFE&BrandStorm2016
Amlesh Ranjan
Sanofi
Satya Mahesh
Assoc. Director and
Head of SFE, Merck
Sai Kumari
Head-Center for Excel-
lence, Himalaya
Jagmohan Singh Rishi
Asso. Vice President,
Wokhardt
Pankaj Gursahani
Director, Sales Train-
ing at AstraZeneca
Deep Bhandari
Director- Marketing &
Sales Excellence at UCB
Salil Kallianpur
Brand Director, Classic
Brands Europe, GSK
Bhagwat Deora,
Manager, Risk Advisory
Services, PwC
Sunder Ramachandran
Head - Training, Pfizer
Shashank Shanbhag
Senior Director, MSD
Shiva Natarajan,
General Manager, GSK
Nandish Kumar
DGM and Head –
Marketing, FDC
Praful Akali
MD, Medulla Com-
munications
Amit Akali, Creative
Consultant, Medulla
Communications
VK Sharma
Associate Vice Pres-
ident, Unichem
Anup Soans
Editor, MedicinMan

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I
sometimes wonder whether Parle-G is to India,
what Coca Cola is to the USA. The analogy is not
out of place. Many Indians have an emotional
attachement to the brand, just as Americans have
for Coca Cola. Recall the fracas after its taste was
changed and Coca Cola within weeks had to reintro-
duce Classic Coke?
Parle-G is one of the strongest FMCG brands India
with revenues reaching almost Rs. 6,000 crores an-
nually. Parle-G has a market share which is continu-
ously increasing, despite being the dominant brand.
Parle-G has been facing aggressive competition
from Sunfeast Glucose and Britannia Tiger. To keep
this 80 year old brand alive and interesting, it was
imperative for Parle-G to initiate some innovative
tactics.
As of February 2015, Parle still rules the roost with
a share of 80%* making the other two‘also-ran’
brands. The two major competitors however, are
armed with deep pockets; the battle is going to
become interesting in times to come.
Vivek Hattangadi
Vivek Hattangadi is a Consultant in Phar-
ma Brand Management and Sales Training
at The Enablers. He is also visiting faculty
at CIPM Calcutta (Vidyasagar University)
for their MBA course in Pharmaceutical
Management.
vivekhattangadi@theenablers.org
BRAND PARLE G:
STILL NUMBER ONE!Why this 80 year old brand still has 80 percent market share.
*These statistics are as per Praveen Kulkarni (General Manager Marketing and Sales,
Parle Products) in his statement in Business Standard of 26th February 2015
The new packaging featuring
Chhota Bheem
E

Vivek Hattangadi | Brand Parle G: Still Number One!
Let us do a SWOT Analysis of Parle-G:
The most important action-plan for Parle-G should be not
only to rejuvenate the brand, but also make it relevant to
the next generation. Facing competition from cross-cat-
egory products like cream-biscuits (Dark Fantasy, Pure
Magic, Bourbon) and cookies (Rich Butter Mom’s Magic,
Good Day) and many others, Parle-G as a brand appears
to lose its sheen and become dull and stale.
When a brand goes stale, so does the business. But proac-
tive brand management is anticipating when the brand
is likely to get stale and rejuvenating it at the right time –
and the right time has come for Parle-G.
Packaging is an integral component of a FMCG brand
and plays a significant role in its salability. Packaging is
not a mere outer covering of a product for its protection;
for FMCG products, it is significant contributing factor
for increasing its marketability. A vibrant and delightful
packaging develops a positive image about the brand in
the minds of the consumers.
To the glee of its loyal customers (like me), Parle-G has
changed its packaging, making it look vibrant, while
maintaining its true Indian flavor of being a strong
home-grown brand. Parle-G has kept its emotional value
untouched.
The mundane and stale Parle Girl is replaced by a very
Indian Chhota Bheem, a naughty, playful character from
the eponymous popular animated comedy-adventure
series. Chhota Bheem is a very strong, adventurous and
fun-loving kid.
The new packaging is relevant to the future generation of
kids who love to watch and read the Chhota Bheem com-
ic books and cartoon shows. It is also in an eco-friendly
aluminum foil as against the old plastic filmed paper.
To the glee of its loyal
customers (like me),
Parle-G has changed its
packaging, making it look
vibrant, while maintaining
its true Indian flavor of
being a strong home-
grown brand. Parle-G has
kept its emotional value
untouched.
”

Vivek Hattangadi | Brand Parle G: Still Number One!
Parle-G has kept in mind the changing needs in the
market place. It has succeeded in attracting its target
audience - kids - and holding the attention of the de-
cision-makers (parents). The new pack also increases
purchase justification for the parent as the new pack will
certainly be a magnet for the kids. It can compel the par-
ent into making an impulsive buying decision.
Another positive fall-out of the new aluminum foil
packaging – it will keep cheap imitators away, at least for
another few years. This tactic has hit two birds with one
stone.
Parle-G, it now appears will instill confidence in its loyal
customers. Rejuvenating the brand made sense as the
brand was starting to become static and stale. The new,
refreshing look will certainly strengthen Brand Parle-G. M
”
Parle-G, it now appears
will instill confidence
in its loyal customers.
Rejuvenating the brand
made sense as the brand
was starting to become
static and stale. The
new, refreshing look will
certainly strengthen Brand
Parle-G.

P
hysically, Mentally & Emotionally
Challenging.
Like any selling career, the job of a Medical
Representative is very demanding both physically and
mentally. Therefore, like all challenging professions, being
a Medical Representative provides young people many
occasions to teach oneself the ability to face adversities
and rejection, develop grit, discipline along with street
smartness which will benefit their progression as busi-
ness leaders. The day of a Medical Representative can
start at 10am and may extend up to 10pm. One has to
complete the quota of one’s sales call in a day. The grind
would be similar day after day, 6 days a week, 4 weeks
a month and 52 weeks a year and year after year. The
routine is the same be it rain or winter or the scorching
summer.
Grit & Discipline.
The demanding nature of this job drills discipline and
develops grit to carry out the routine day after day. Sit-
ting is a luxury as you wait for the sales calls most of the
times you would stand and at times you may even end
up standing on the pavements. You have to find ways to
charm the gatekeepers to get your foot inside.
Raja Reddy
Raja Reddy is Group Product Manager at
Servier India.
Connect: linkedin.com/in/rajareddy1
THE UNIVERSITY
OF PHARMA SALESWhat the author learned about success and life on his journey from
Medical Representative to Group Product Manager.
E

Raja Reddy | The University of Pharma Sales
The art of patience, resilience & agility.
You may wait for long hours and be told that your
customer would not meet you that day or if you are
lucky enough you could end up a minute to pitch your
product. These endless waits teach you the art of pa-
tience; the rejections you face day in day out help you to
cultivate resilience. The one minute sales calls make you
understand the necessity to choose what is important,
impactful so that it could be communicated in shortest
possible time. The unpredictable nature of the day’s work
allows you to experience how the best laid plans can go
wrong and teaches you the art of adaptability. It exposes
you to countless uncertain situations where challenges
are being thrown at a rapid pace transform an ordinary
individual into a street smart personality.
Managing multiple stake holders.
You could gain a prescription of your product but that’s
not the end of the story you need to ensure that your
product is available and sold to the end consumer.
Handling multiple stakeholders with different levels of
knowledge and needs, doctors, pharmacists, wholesalers,
retailers, nurses, receptionists and compounder’s pre-
pares you to appreciate and manage complexity in trans-
actions. A smart and successful Medical Representative
gain’s invaluable experience which if coupled with right
educational qualifications can be a great asset.
Salute the Medical Rep!!! A true hero marked by sweat
and grit. M
Handling multiple
stakeholders with
different levels of
knowledge and needs,
doctors, pharmacists,
wholesalers, retailers,
nurses, receptionists and
compounder’s, prepares
you to appreciate and
manage complexity in
transactions... which
if coupled with right
educational qualifications
can be a great asset.
”

A
s a Frontline Manager, one of the best ways to
build trust is by modelling your behaviours that
makes you RELIABLE and ACCOUNTABLE with
your team members. Simply put, it means“Model the
behaviour you desire from others.”
Try and ask a direct question to a group of FLMs:“Are you
accountable?”Most often you will find them giving an au-
tomatic answer -“Yes”; there may be an unasked question
in their minds,“Of course, why are you even asking me?”
But is that clearly the case? Many FLMs allow dilution
in accountability by following a set of behaviours that
become habits that he/she accepts as normal, but hurts
in the long run, both personally and professionally. The
team members observe these and because of the posi-
tion they are in, they appear to accept them mutely or
rebel inside.
There are simple, yet effective ACCOUNTABILITY BOOST-
ERS which, if incorporated in your day to day practice,
would largely improve the trust and add a great amount
of professional value, in the long run.
K. Hariram
9 ACCOUNTABILITY BOOSTERS
FOR FRONTLINE MANAGERS
9 habits that will inspire the confidence of your team members in your
Leadership.
K. Hariram is the former MD (retd.) at
Galderma India.
He is Chief Mentor at MedicinMan and a
regular contributor. khariram25@yahoo.com
E

K. Hariram | 9 Accountability Boosters for Frontline Managers
They are:
1. Being on time for appointments, joint field working
and meetings.
On the other hand, if you are a perpetual defaulter when
it comes to maintaining time the message it conveys is:“I
don’t value your time. I believe I’m more important than
you.”Or at the very least:“it is not important to me to
honour the agreement we made.”
2. Accepting if a mistake is made.
If it is swept under the carpet or if denying a mistake
made becomes a habit, and if your actions do come to
light, your public reputation will take two hits: one for the
original mistake and one for trying to hide it.
3. Taking responsibility for your actions.
Even if you experience unpleasant short-term conse-
quences, you’ll build an overall reputation for integrity.
4. Give due credit to your team members and others
for their performance.
All genuine performances and the concerned performers
should be projected promptly and properly.
5. Learn to give and take prompt feedback.
As Kenneth Blanchard says,“feedback is the breakfast of
the champions.”Where necessary back it up with facts. If
it is addressing an issue, focus on the issue and not on the
person.
6. When you say you will do something, stick to your
word and act.
When you fail to meet your commitments more than
once or twice, you lack accountability.
7. Remember – You are a part of Management.
Hence, do not ever say“management has decided”and
wash off your responsibility. For many things you may not
be RESPONSIBLE. But, you can certainly be RESPONSIVE.
8. Set and clarify the correct standards and expecta-
tions.
Standards have a desired effect when you as a MANAGER
practice… what you preach.
9. Be a ROLE MODEL.
In other words, WALK THE TALK.
The good news is, all these‘accountability boosters’—as
well as their‘rub off effect’can add to your reputation ,
your relationships, your career opportunities, and more.
If you’re willing to look closely and honestly at your own
behaviours. M
TailTrails the Head
Every manager including you, if you
are human (?) you will have your
shortcomings.
Your very fallibility gives you valuable
common ground with those working
with you.
They know you will make mistakes too,
but the one area where you cannot
fail, where you must be exemplary, is
your commitment to your work.
No matter how knowledgeable or
talented a manager you may be, you
will not make a good leader, if you
appear to be even slightly ambivalent
towards your work.
If the head moves fast, the tail will
keep up the same pace. If the head is
sluggish, the tail will drop.
Ref.: Lesson from AuthenticLeader:Konosuke
MatsushitaFounderofPanasonic

P
harmaceutical industry has developed
in leaps and bounds over the de-
cades and has made many significant
contributions in science, innovation and
healthcare.
Although there are many positive contribu-
tions, the negatives are the side effects of the
drugs which are not disclosed openly. Profits
have become the main motto of the pharma
industry rather than the patients. Withdrawal
of some of the high profile drugs from the
market, suppression of the drug safety data,
wrong marketing of drugs, high pricing of
drugs, poor management of recall, warnings
etc are some of the reasons why people have
lost faith and trust in the pharma industry.
This has negatively impacted its reputation
among general public.
A trust based relationship lasts longer and
it bridges the gap between the consumer
and the industry. A company’s reputation
depends on the people’s interaction and
experience with the company which forms
the majority view about the company.
Reputation building is essential for any
industry to grow and sustain its potential.
Restoring the image and increasing aware-
ness about the importance of the pharma
industry in developing innovative medicines
is the core issue to be highlighted. Negative
reputation in the industry results in not
producing new medicines for the future, not
taking risks, less investment in R&D, affecting
the entire business model of the industry.
To regain the lost lustre, there are many
constructive things that can be incorporated
in the industry.
Affordable Healthcare
Making healthcare available and affordable
to the common man is the key to build the
lost reputation. Being transparent and open
in data sharing with the public can regain
the lost trust and faith. The industry has to
be patient centric and the public has to feel
that the pharma industry really cares for
their health. Patient centric development
improves clinical trial, data quality, reduces
costs and results in better relationships.
Satish Kota
BRIDGING THE TRUST DEFICIT
Indian Pharma has contributed immensely to society but needs an image makeover
to change negative perceptions.
E

Satish Kota | Pharma Needs an Image Makeover
Social Responsiveness
Giving away medicines/vaccines for free to the poor,
helps to regain the goodwill of people. Investing in R&D
and encouraging more students to take up research as a
full time career can help in building the reputation of the
pharma industry.
Technology Driven
Pharma companies can work more on recent technolo-
gies like cloud computing to upgrade the clinical trials
and research. Research and development of new drugs is
one of the core areas of the pharma industry and a soci-
ety’s longevity depends on it. It is the responsibility of the
pharma industry to educate the public about their new
launches and the dedicated work of the researchers be-
hind the drugs. When presented in a transparent manner
it can win the confidence of the masses and build a fair
opinion about the drug industry and its products.
Corporate Social Responsibility
Pharma industry’s reputation also depends on doctors
and specialists as will be prescribing the medications
to the patients. Industries can take up corporate social
responsibility programs which not only help in improving
the health of the underprivileged but also in rebuilding
the damaged reputation.
Good reputation means increased sales, better customer
relationship, enhanced collaboration with government
agencies, stakeholders and more involvement of patients
for clinical trials. Public perception of the industry and
the profit oriented mindset within the industry must be
transformed to improve the reputation of the pharma
industry. M
The industry has to be
patient centric and the
public has to feel that
the pharma industry
really cares for their
health. Patient centric
development improves
clinical trial, data
quality, reduces costs
and results in better
relationships.
”
Satish Kota is the Creator of Revbay - a Free
Feedback/Review Management Soluion
Connect: linkedin.com/in/satishkota

F
actories involving manufacturing operations
are under constant pressure to support and
deliver bottom line growth. Macroeconomic
environment, creeping costs, competitive struggles
or just a desire to improve – the potential responses
are familiar; restructure supply chains, rethink rela-
tionships amongst sales, marketing and other support
functions, boost the efficiency of manufacturing. Such
changes start the top of the organization and demand
a relentless focus on key deliverables from leaders up
and down the line.
Manufacturing function which forms the hub of an
organization, involving men, machines and materials,
will have to disseminate changes throughout the value
stream. Senior leaders overlook the“soft skills”which
include the ability to keep the Frontline Managers and
workers engaged which comprises about 70% of the
manufacturing human capital. The frontline managers
and workers will have to be engaged thereby inspire
them to promote collaboration, break boundaries.
Employee engagement with the Frontline Managers
and workers will be a critical success factor in meeting
the raising demand.
P. S. PARAMESWARAN
IMPACT OF FRONTLINE
LEADERSHIP ON EFFICIENCY:
A CASE STUDY
The actions of the Frontline Manager, more than anything else,
has a direct impact on how employees perform.
P. S. Parameswaran is an experienced
Professional in Operations and Supply Chain -
API/Formulations/Nutrition/Medical Devices.
Email: param_psp@yahoo.co.in
E

P. S. Parameswaran | Impact of Frontline Leadership on Efficiency: A Case Study
An example of the Frontline Leadership. Boosting
Yields at a factory.
A Plant Manager needed to boost the Yields to support
the bottom line growth and improve the CGM. The usual
methodology adopted is to initiate an excellence pro-
gram using some tools from Lean and Six Sigma, desig-
nate an Industrial Engineer, to collect data, review the
same and the Plant Manager will send a communication
to plant employees to implement the program while he
gauged the results, a method consistent with his own
approach and command.
But Plant Manager was quick to realize the traditional
method would not succeed, only the employees who
did the work could identify the full range of efficiency
improvements necessary to meet the operational targets,
and no attempt to get them to do so would be taken seri-
ously unless the Plant Manager and the frontline leaders
were more collaborative.
Frontline Managers and workers were skeptical and they
had some element of mistrust with the Plant Manager.
The plant also had no means to increase salary or pay
overtime to boost the morale of the employees, due to
cost pressures.
Plant Manager employee engagement training gave him
the insights to reflect on the situation and provide simple
steps he could take to improve it.
He began by getting out of his office, visiting the shop
floor and really listening to the workers and the frontline
managers talk about their day to day experiences, their
workflows, how their machines functioned and where
things went wrong. He made a point of by starting meet-
ings in shop floor, by inviting Frontline managers, workers
those present to speak, in part to encourage the group to
find collective solutions to problems.
This encouragement to Frontline Leaders and workers
demonstrated a step change in the Plant working con-
dition. The more open and transparent communication
amongst all was a great enabler to solve the problems.
As the new atmosphere of employee engagement took
hold, the frontline managers and workers started to iden-
tify minor problems and fix it then and there as well they
identified more opportunities for improvement.
This lead to a Yield improvement from 87% to 91%.
Far too often Leaders ask everyone to change, but in
reality this usually is not possible until they first change
themselves.
According to Stephen Covey,“If you can hire people
whose passion intersects with the job, they won’t require
Far too often Leaders
ask everyone to change,
but in reality this
usually is not possible
until they first change
themselves.
”

P. S. Parameswaran | Impact of Frontline Leadership on Efficiency: A Case Study
any supervision at all. They will manage themselves
better than anyone could ever manage them. Their fire
comes from within, not from without.”
The Plant Manager took a deep insight of within himself
to find methods to drive improvements and started to see
the change. Similarly, the Frontline Managers and workers
who had a mistrust developed a rapport and trust with
the Plant Manager. The Employee Engagement strikes the
chord for connecting People and knowing their minds. As
Akio Morita, the founder of Sony Corporation said,“ I am
dealing not just with my employees but with the Minds of
my employees.”
Therefore, it is important to understand the employees
and their minds at every level to ensure better productiv-
ity from each one of them.
If is often said success of an Organization achieving its
goals largely depends on its internal structure. The Plant
Manager stepped up to drive the change by relooking at
the structure of just not a top down approach by assign-
ing the tasks instead aligned the Processes, People to-
wards the common goal of Yield improvement to support
the bottom line growth and improve the CGM. The Plant
Manager focused on the right people with appropriate
responsibilities and skills affirm the achievements.
The manufacturing function as it evolves, it is imperative
to maximize the value of such employee engagements
made across strategic priorities by building a set of
distinctive capabilities for themselves. This is support in
achieving a balanced bottom line growth. M
According to Stephen
Covey, “If you can hire
people whose passion
intersects with the job,
they won’t require any
supervision at all. They
will manage themselves
better than anyone
could ever manage
them. Their fire comes
from within, not from
without.”
”

Gopal Kishore is the Experiential Learning
Evangelist at KNOLSKAPE. He has over nine years
of experience in the industry and his articles have
been published in some of the world’s leading HR
and IT publications.
Connect: in.linkedin.com/in/gopalkishore
COST-EFFECTIVE LEARNING
Using technology to make learning personalized is both cost effective and impactful.
Gopal Kishore
M
any organizations view learning programs
as something that is difficult to justify. Then
there is a question on demonstrating a Re-
turn on Investment. Some Learning and Development
(L&D) professionals quip that the cost of not having
a learning program is higher than the cost of having
one. They rightly justify this argument by outlining the
various setbacks that can result from lack of learn-
ing programs. These include a loss of morale in the
organization, an inability to develop new skills, and an
increase in attrition.
There are usually three big hindrances that organiza-
tions face when they prepare to implement a learning
program in their organization. They are Budgets, Time
and Motivation. In this feature, we are going to discuss
how the L&D team can address the issues revolving
around budgetary constraints, and how technology
can be the biggest enabler to achieve this.
Key Trends In The Learning And Develop-
ment Space
One comforting fact is that organizations across the
globe are witnessing an urgent need to reshape their
learning programs and you are not alone.
E

Gopal Kishore | Cost-effective Learning
”
... where it is understood
that learning programs
are important, how does
the L&D team focus
on creating programs
and yet stay within the
budget? The answer is
to be creative and design
innovative learning
programs, and making
technology your friend.
According to a recent survey by Deloitte, Learning
and Development issues catapulted from the No. 8
to the No. 3 most important talent challenge in this
year’s study, with 85 percent of survey participants
rating learning as a“very important”or“import-
ant”problem. Despite this demand, capabilities in
learning dropped significantly; the gap between
importance and readiness was more than three times
worse in 2015 than in 2014. They also found that
Companies that transform their learning and devel-
opment organizations are not only able to accelerate
skills development, but also can dramatically improve
employee engagement and retention—one of the
biggest challenges cited by this year’s respondents.
It is strongly recommend that you read the complete
survey on Learning and Development.
In this scenario, where it is understood that learning
programs are important, how does the L&D team
focus on creating programs and yet stay within the
budget? The answer is to be creative and design in-
novative learning programs, and making technology
your friend.
Most traditional classroom learning programs in-
volves getting everyone in the same room. This can
include travel and stay costs, loss of man-hours and
setting up the venue. These factors contribute to
bloating the cost of the learning program significant-
ly. Ask yourself, if these costs can be reduced or even
eliminated completely by using an online platform
and conduct the entire learning program without
worrying about the logistics. You have to make sure
that the program delivers on the experience without
compromising on the core philosophy of the learning
program. Some unique training concepts, which are
backed by technology, include Web based training,
Simulations, Videos, e-learning modules and social
media.
Webinar based Learning Programs:
Learning Programs delivered using an online platform
have been the traditional alternative to classroom
learning programs. However, the L&D team needs to
ensure that it is not an exact replica of a usual class-
room-learning program. They need to focus on how
the platform can be used to differentiate and make
the learning program more interactive and collabora-
tive, and create an on-demand version of the webinar
to enable anytime learning.

Gopal Kishore | Cost-effective Learning
”
It is important to
remember that technology
can only provide the tool
to overcome budgetary
constraints. The real
success of the learning
program is only when the
tools are used creatively
to ensure the participants
learn and spread the word.
Simulations based Learning Programs:
This is the new kid on the block when it comes to
new-age learning programs, and many consider this
as the future of learning. By creating a real-life chal-
lenge in a virtual environment, participants learn by
identifying with the simulation, making mistakes and
learning from them. These simulations based learning
programs are extremely interactive, highly engaging
and provide detailed reports on the participant’s
actions. The icing on the cake: combine simulations
with web based learning and you have a winner on
your hands.
Video based Learning Programs:
By many estimates, online video has overtaken social
media when it comes to the number of minutes spent
on the platform. This is a no-brainer, as most partic-
ipants tend to learn visually. Video based learning
also provides a long-term return on investment as
they can be reused on demand and for as long as the
content is relevant.
e-learning based Learning Programs:
Most learning programs vary in terms of duration of
the program and are designed accordingly. However,
creating a repository of learning modules based on
the core competencies of your organization can be
a boon for those employees who are self motivated.
The L&D team can ensure that they are hosted on the
right platform to guarantee that the delivery is flaw-
less and the learner experience is not sacrificed.
Social Media based Learning Programs:
While social media may not be a learning platform
by itself, the L&D team needs to ensure that learn-
ing programs have embraced the key traits of social
media. These include enabling conversations, con-
necting with fellow participants, building personal
profiles of the participant if possible, and sharing
learning goals and accomplishments.
It is important to remember that technology can only
provide the tool to overcome budgetary constraints.
The real success of the learning program is only when
the tools are used creatively to ensure the partici-
pants learn and spread the word. M

W
hat is medication adherence?
Medication adherence is defined as the
extent to which a patients take medications
as prescribed by their health care providers. It has been
divided into two components, namely, compliance and
persistence. Although conceptually similar, compliance
refers to the intensity of drug consumption during the
duration of therapy, whereas persistence refers to the
overall duration of drug therapy.
Importance of Drug adherence
Poor adherence and persistence are serious issues, par-
ticularly in the management of chronic conditions like di-
abetes, hypertension etc. As a consequence, non-adher-
ence leads to an increase in health care cost, majority of
which is attributed to progression of controllable disease.
The disease progression in turn, results in an increase in
health service utilization, avoidable pharmacy costs and
diagnostic testing that can be avoided by controlling the
primary disease. The measurement of adherence and
persistence is important as it provides accurate assess-
ment of:
ØØ Cost-effectiveness of therapy
ØØ Identifying appropriate medication for patients
ØØ Assessing clinical outcomes of therapy
ØØ Drug utilization pattern for formulary development
Ramandish Arora, Mohit Kumar
Bhutani, Richa Goyal, Mahendra
Kumar Rai
SMART PILLSAre ingestible sensors the next big thing in
patient adherence?
The authors are at Tata Consultancy Services,
Mumbai
E

Smart Pills | Ramandish Arora, Mohit Kumar Bhutani, Richa Goyal, Mahendra Kumar Rai
Factors contributing to non-adherence
The factors responsible for non-adherence can be cate-
gorized into behavioral and system barriers. Behavioral
barriers include social support, cognition, and personal
beliefs (e.g., regarding health) whereas system barriers
include treatment complexity, system complexity (multi-
ple health care providers), and medication cost. Owing to
these barriers, patients do not take medicines as recom-
mended by care provider.
Methods of measuring medication adher-
ence and their limitations
The medication adherence and persistence can be mea-
sured by variety of direct and indirect methods including
Pill count, Medication Possession Ratio (MPR), Day be-
tween Fills Adherence Rate (DBR), Compliance Rate (CR),
Proportion of Days covered, Minimum Refills model, Refill
sequence model, and Anniversary Model.
Majority of these measures rely on pharmacy and/or in-
surance claims data. The pharmacy claims do not account
for the use of free drug samples, is insensitive to therapy
changes, and can miss coverage through a different insur-
ance plans. Also, insurance claims do not assess whether
patients took medicine on time (time doses). These proto-
cols are important, particularly in diseases like COPD and
asthma.
In clinical practice, adherence may be assessed indirectly
using patient’s recall. As patients may significantly am-
plify adherence during self-reports, it is combined with a
validated questionnaire to have more effective interpre-
tation. Further, pharmacy claims data are not a good data
source for measuring adherence with all drug therapies
e.g. diphenhydramine, because this product is readily
available over the counter. Additionally, prescription
claims data is not a good choice when the days-supply
figure is unreliable or the measures are not appropriately
interpreted.
Smart pill-a smart way of measuring drug
adherence
The technology comprises of a sensor patch and a smart
pill to which another tiny ingestible sensor is attached.
Upon swallowing, the sensor is activated by electrolytes
within the body and then transmits a signal to a small,
battery-powered patch worn on the patient’s torso. The
patch then uses its built-in Bluetooth antenna to share
when every pill was swallowed with the matching smart-
phone app, which in turn passes the readings to family,
caretakers, and/or the patient’s physician.
”
The technology comprises
of a sensor patch and
a smart pill to which
another tiny ingestible
sensor is attached. Upon
swallowing, the sensor is
activated by electrolytes
within the body and then
transmits a signal to a
small, battery-powered
patch worn on the
patient’s torso.

Smart Pills | Ramandish Arora, Mohit Kumar Bhutani, Richa Goyal, Mahendra Kumar Rai
The smart adherence monitoring systems are easy to han-
dle and generate customizable alerts using automated
phone calls and text messages, when patients miss any
medication dose. It captures the patient’s performance
in Real time and can tracks both dose and time thereby,
allow health care personnel to understand and manage
population’s adherence challenges, leading to better
clinical outcomes and reduced costs.
Considering the potential of this technology, Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) has recently sanctioned a
claim for a device that measures medication adherence.
The adherence monitoring system can reduce healthcare
costs by empowering the Managed Care Organizations
through creation of patient adherence records. A defini-
tive record of patient adherence will allow the physician
to provide better care and make more informed decisions
pertaining to increase in drug dosage or adding another
drug to the current treatment regimen.
”
The smart adherence
monitoring systems
are easy to handle and
generate customizable
alerts using automated
phone calls and text
messages, when patients
miss any medication dose.

Pharma Front-line Manager - Demand Generation or Sales Closing?

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