Promo-Med gives preference to internal applicants for leading positions

Promo-Med gives preference to internal applicants for leading positions,

says Ekaterina Drozhzhina, Promo-Med area manager for Moscow, Central Federal District and Northwestern Federal District, candidate of pharmaceutical sciences, МВА. Read this interview and you will learn how to become regional manager at your 23, why good team is so important, what is so interesting in Promo-Med s goals in the new season.

Medpred.ru: What is the responsibility of the territorial manager?

Ekaterina Drozhzhina: The purpose of the territorial manager: To achieve those sales, which the company has planned in these regions. Regional manager must predict sales, control the execution of sales plan, to understand why in a city we can provide that amount, and in other - more or less, control accounting and advance accounting of medical representatives.

Medpred.ru: Don t you delegate powers related with all communications with medical representatives to regional managers?

Ekaterina Drozhzhina: Well, you see, some districts are huge and difficult, like, for example, Saint-Petersburg or Moscow. Every mentioned city has its own several medical representatives of Promo-Med headed by an area manager; there are also smaller towns where only 1 employee – regional representative – represents the company, and in this case he reports to me directly. But on the other hand my employment duties include – how to put it –   showing interest   to medical representatives as well. There is a practice of   triple visits   adopted in Promo-Med when we come to a meeting both with medical representative and regional representative. Thus I can see and control if the regional manager made it right to teach his charge to arrange the visit, to make the key message clear to the doctor.

Medpred.ru: What should know and what must be able to territorial manager?

Ekaterina Drozhzhina: Well, every manager must know the basics of psychology, because the way you deal with your subordinates deeply affects what you get in the final outcome. And we have quite diverse people working in the company. For example, Saint-Petersburg Promo-Med team is pretty aged (average age > 30), while Moscow team is very young (up to 30), and Moscow regional manager is quite young. He is just 23. Naturally, people of different ages are differently motivated, they need different approaches, and the manager if he knows psychology, must take all of that into account, speak to them in a different way, set objectives differently but at the same time such diverse people must produce equally successful results.

Area manager must also know very well the areas he is responsible for: what is the market size in each area, how many medical treatment facilities there are in the area, how the market changed in course of a number of years, why these of those groups of medications prevail in a certain area, he must also analyze competitors  activities. Area manager must be able to predict the amount of sales in each specific area.

But on the other hand, the manager must know in deep detail the work of a medical representative, know very well what a medical representative should do and what he should not do, and why it is like that and not vice versa, just like a medical representative thinks.

Medpred.ru: What about downsides – are there any in managerial process?

Ekaterina Drozhzhina: It is always hard for me to fire people. It is quite distressing to part with those who you   tamed  , if I may use this word. When I took my classes at an American school (managerial courses), and when I later worked as a teacher I learnt quite well that if a person who you wanted to make a certain message clear to, does not understand you, does something wrong – then in this case the share of your responsibility is so huge.

Medpred.ru: What do you appreciate most in your colleagues?

Ekaterina Drozhzhina: I ve got very comfortable colleagues, simply ideal regional managers. It was me who promoted Saint-Petersburg regional manager from the number of medical representatives, while Moscow regional manager grew up very fast from medical representatives.

The thing that I value most in my colleagues in Promo-Med - is that with their help we create the atmosphere of respect in our company. You know, people say:   If you don t respect people you ll have to work with then you better quit and don t work with them  . All our communication at Promo-Med is filled with respect of everyone to everyone. We pay much attention to all offers and all questions of each other.

I also appreciate in my colleagues  sociability, honesty and their wish to come to each other s help.

Medpred.ru: And what s the thing you appreciate most in the company s headship?

Ekaterina Drozhzhina: I like the quite comfortable way of decision making in Promo-Med: decisions are made fast, without any delays. Even at the request of personnel decisions can be taken up prior to working with each individual doctor.

I like the fact that promises are always kept. If the headship promises something then it will definitely keep its promise, and if I promise something to my colleagues then by all means I keep my promise.

Another thing that I appreciate in Promo-Med headship is the wish to promote its own employees to key positions. I ve been working for other local companies and they often attract people for managerial positions from outside, from another company. In a certain sense this attitude has its pros: thus there is no one offended among the colleagues who probably thought they could better suit the managerial position. But on the other hand the company thus limits career growth of its employees, shuts the ways of development. The thing I like in Promo-Med is that the company always tries to promote its own employees to leading positions: I became regional manager and then turned into area manager from medical representatives, in Saint-Petersburg regional manager and КАМ developed from medical representatives, Moscow regional manager grew from medical representatives.

I d also like to point out the following thing: I have an MBA degree, and when I attended classes I realized happily that all those things we were taught in theory are very well transferred into practice in Promo-Med. This means that the management system, the corporate culture in Promo-Med is almost a model. We have everything done just like it s described in western management books.

Medpred.ru: Is there any way to give a   hint   to your headship that you have enough knowledge to pass from a medical representative to a managerial position?

Ekaterina Drozhzhina: A guidance system is widely used in Promo-Med. When a new employee comes someone from more experienced medical representatives starts helping him in his work, explains business procedures adopted in Promo-Med, answers his questions, gives consultations. Viktor Sergienko who is just 23 years old and who was able to become regional manager being so young, was firstly the best medical representative in Moscow and this meant the highest professional level, and secondly – everyone could see what a wonderful guide he was, everyone noticed the way he communicated with newcomers, the way he helped them; and thirdly, he is the one to possess the charisma of a leader.

Also when Promo-Med just has an open leading position, all employees are informed about that fact, and just EVERYONE can submit his application for this position. In this case we use the method called Assessment Centre.  At Promo-Med it is a management game that takes two days and during which applicants for this position (applicants from outside being among them as well) handle business tasks, both individually and within a team and then they explain their decisions. An independent commission consisting of Promo-Med s managers and of attracted experts evaluates each applicant. If an external and an internal applicants gain same number of points then the internal applicant is preferred.

Medpred.ru: What motivates Promo-Med employees: salaries, team or products?

Ekaterina Drozhzhina: Promo-Med offers good salaries, they are not only adjusted, they just grow, but it s well-known that a person may be motivated with the help of money for quite a short period of time: today the wages were increased and the employee feels happy but in a month he already wants another increase. Promo-Med offers such level of wages that allows people not only survive from wage to another wage but they ensure a considerable level of freedom. Material stimulation is more important for younger people: it s quite evident as they want to live independently. But young people also want so much to get new experience, such chance is quite important for them. They also see that Viktor Sergienko being so young has become regional manager and this fact means that all paths for development are open at Promo-Med, Viktor is himself a living motivation for his colleagues.

Elder people need other motivators. I think the most important thing at work is whether it s comfortable to work with certain people or not. Because you spend 80 % of working time among your colleagues and if you feel uncomfortable you distract from work to such thoughts and thus you can t dedicate your work time to the work itself. It is very comfortable to work in Promo-Med. Elder employees of Promo-Med appreciate the respect they are treated with, the interest shown to their ideas, chance for personal and professional growth, stability and confidence in the headship.

Medpred.ru: How is important the confidence for employees in the products which they will work with?

Ekaterina Drozhzhina: Well, of course, products are quite important. I have been working for Promo-Med since the very beginning and from those times till present day there have been no single reclamation from doctors and patients. It is very important. Everyone points out the very well thought-out approach of Promo-Med to its medications: as a rule our medications are first copies of original medications but apart from that Promo-Med improves them – we add such components that let us make those medications more safe and thus broaden our target audience. These medications are always highly demanded at the market. Promo-Med sells the already promoted and well-known medications, like Neosmektin – this product is now promoted by another company and it means that it s a product of high potential.

Medpred.ru: Can you tell us a few words about the new Promo-Med project?

Ekaterina Drozhzhina: New project is a serious step for the company into the segment which is new to us. New medications are highly innovative; our clients will be very difficult. But this is a very interesting task. But there is a new medication and ОТС.

Medpred.ru: Will you offer any strong creative steps?

Ekaterina Drozhzhina: Product managers of Promo-Med always work out amazing marketing mixes combining traditional promotion instruments with unusual tricks. I m pretty sure that these launches will as well face some original instruments.

Medpred.ru: What is the most valuable in the working experience that you gained at your leading position?

Ekaterina Drozhzhina: Confidence. If previously there were times when someone could convince me that I can t do this or that, then now after having gained all that experience I know very well what I m strong in.

We had a cycle conference in Turkey where we all took part in a big training course which was a game model of a real situation at the pharmaceutical market: Promo-Med guys were divided into groups of market players: MPI, drugstores, pharmaceutical companies. We had our own game money. I was head of a team and my team won the game: we raised more money.

After that event nobody ever questioned my professionalism and I was promoted from regional manager to the position of an area manager.

I also like the fact that the headship of Promo-Med allows us to make our own decisions, bearing in mind that such decision-maker is fully responsible for the consequences of such decision. It so happened that I made my own decision to appoint a certain medical representative to the position of regional manager in Saint-Petersburg. I had an agreement with Promo-Med headship that I d be responsible for this appointment and I never regretted this decision later on.

This confidence appears when the headship lets you make decisions by yourself.

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