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There’s no denying that changes in the world economy are having an effect on every industry. And the Life Sciences industry is feeling the effect like everybody else. As budgets for learning and development get battered from all sides, the savviest Life Sciences learning organizations have realized a simple truth: it isn’t about doing more with less, it’s about fundamentally rethinking the way learning and development gets done.

_{Stott & Mesch, 2015}

PDG’s Ann Stott and Rich Mesch recently published an article in Focus Magazine, the journal of the Life Sciences Training & Educators Network. Titled Learning in Changing Times: 5 Trends in Life Sciences Learning, the article focuses on how changes in the Life Sciences industry are changing the requirements of an effective learning function. The learning trends covered include:

1. Rethinking Product Launches

2. A Return to Shared Services

3. Demand Planning and Flexible Learning Resources

4. Building Long-Term Sales Team Success

5. Increased Focus on Informal Learning

Click here to read the article for free online. For more insight into the changing world of Life Sciences learning, read Ann Stott’s series on The Changing Face of Life Science Product Launch:

The Changing Face of Life Science Product Launch

The Changing Face of Life Science Product Launch, Part 2: The Launch Toolkit

The Changing Face of Life Science Product Launch, Part 3: The Role of the Learning Team

Ann Stott is the Vice President, Global Accounts at Performance Development Group. She leads the life sciences practices, focusing on pharmaceuticals, health care, biotechnology, and medical devices. Her extensive consulting experience is used to grow the PDG advisory services capabilities. Ann is an accomplished, respected, and energetic leader with more than twenty years of experience in the corporate training environment.

Rich Mesch is Vice President, Customer Engagement at Performance Development Group. A frequent contributor to industry events and publications, his most recent article was Taming the Learning Demand Curve: Using Supply Chain Methods to Manage Your Learning Function for Training Industry's online magazine.

In this series, PDG’s Ann Stott, a 20+ year veteran of the Life Science industry, shares her perspective on how to become more strategic in product launch planning. In the previous installment, Ann discussed how a Launch Toolkit can drive success in managing a product launch portfolio. In this final entry, Ann talks about the role of the Learning Team in product launch.

Q: How are learning teams responding to the changes in life science product launches?

AS: What we have started to see from our clients are requests for Launch Toolkits. A launch toolkit puts a step by step process in place for product launches. This gives consistency to the product launch process. You can use the Launch Toolkit to capture a history of product launches so that the process is in place for new employees to the department. 

I think it’s a great first step. Learning teams are also starting to look at their entire launch portfolio over a longer time period, and doing strategic resource planning. They look at their product launch portfolio for 18 months to three years to determine how to distribute their resources over multiple launches. I see the requests coming in from our clients to look at that broader portfolio. This is smart, as with a greater number of product launches the dynamic has changed.

Q: How do successful learning teams support product launch?

AS: To support a successful launch I think it is important to take an overall look at how you deliver the training pieces as well as review how your representatives are best able to learn and access information. Then assess how you are currently providing launch support. Revisit how you deliver your training and ask questions. How accessible is training to staff in the field? Can they find information quickly? Would it be beneficial to create smaller pieces of information that can be used on your sales staff’s mobile devices? Is social learning appropriate for your organization?

Q: What else have you found helpful in developing product launch training?

At PDG we use a diagnostic tool to help our clients prepare for upcoming product launches.  This tool helps us to identify the key strategic drivers. We gather preliminary information and then bring the sales and marketing teams together for a one-day workshop to walk through the diagnostic tool and gain consensus. Then we can determine the type of launches for each individual product and develop a launch strategy, launch template, and a repeatable process for the client that can be used over multiple launches.

Q: What is important to keep in mind when developing product launches?

One size does not fit all! You can’t do the same launch for all products, and doing so could be a costly mistake. It is wiser to look at each product individually and customize a launch plan appropriate to the product.  By being more strategic about product launch planning, organizations can have more effective learning for each product and set their sales team up for success.

For more information about PDG's Life Science offerings click here. 

Ann Stott is the Vice President, Advisory Services at Performance Development Group. She leads the life sciences practices, focusing on pharmaceuticals, health care, biotechnology, and medical devices. Her extensive consulting experience is used to grow the PDG advisory services capabilities. Ann is an accomplished, respected, and energetic leader with more than twenty years of experience in the corporate training environment.

In this series, PDG’s Ann Stott, a 20+ year veteran of the Life Science industry, shares her perspective on how to become more strategic in product launch planning. In the first installment, Ann discussed how Life Science Product Launch had changed; in this post, she shares strategies for succeeding in the new environment.

Q: What are some tips for thriving in this new product launch environment?

Ann Stott: It is beneficial to take a portfolio view, looking at all product launches over a three-year period. Not only do you create a launch plan for each product but you create an overall launch portfolio plan for all of your products. A launch portfolio plan helps to optimize your events and balances activities across all launches. It helps to maximize messages to your audiences and minimizes the time your sales representatives have out of the field. Launch portfolio optimization helps ensure adequate funding, supports a better commercial strategy, and can help get launch events to market more quickly.

Q: What is a Launch Toolkit, and how does it help manage the launch portfolio?

AS: The loss of intellectual and organizational knowledge is a common challenge in the life science field. As people move on or get promoted to different positions, companies lose knowledge of past product launches. To gain continuity, they need to retain information from employees about previous launches.

Creating a Launch Toolkit is a big help in retaining knowledge. A Launch Toolkit describes the process of a product launch and captures information when the launch is complete.

Another way to combat knowledge loss is to develop a Launch University. The Launch University can be a one-day meeting or a virtual meeting. It is a time where you bring people together who have done product launches within the past three to four years.  The Launch University is a venue to discuss what went well what didn’t go well and get the expertise of lessons learned from previous launches. You can pull that knowledge from employees who have moved on to other positions in the organization. Experience is the best teacher, but that information needs to be shared to make a difference!

Q: Are there any additional challenges you would like to highlight?

AS: Another challenge in product launch training is the tendency to view a product launch as a one-time event.  I think successful launches involve continuous training; there needs to be pull-through and post-launch guidance. It is also helpful to capture objections that reps hear in the field; this can give you new material on how to handle objections about the product.  Often times training falls off once the initial launch is complete, and pull-through and performance support are not provided. Continuous learning helps to keep people engaged and sharpen their skills.

In the next entry in this series, Ann will cover the role of the Learning Team in product launch. For more information about PDG's Life Science offerings click here. 

Ann Stott is the Vice President, Advisory Services at Performance Development Group. She leads the life sciences practices, focusing on pharmaceuticals, health care, biotechnology, and medical devices. Her extensive consulting experience is used to grow the PDG advisory services capabilities. Ann is an accomplished, respected, and energetic leader with more than twenty years of experience in the corporate training environment.