PIP

PIP seems to have become a popular tool to the new generation middle managers for the purpose of a "homogeneous team". That is, PIP has become an acceptable and common practice to get rid of the "black horse" employee that is typically high-skilled and highly productive, thus at odds with a team of mostly mediocre members (including the manager) and hard to terminate based on pure work performance.

 

This is so true. I was put on a PIP and my shitty manager took the "number" component OUT of it! Because my numbers weren't bad. Have you ever heard of a sales rep on a PIP that had nothing to do with numbers? Regional was crawling all over her and she was trying to look tough. I just left, which is exactly what they wanted. But, I'm in a much better place.

 

I work alongside a GI DM who has to be one of the most arrogant, self-serving, selfish persons I have ever met. This guy has one thing going for him: He can kiss a** with the best of them. Loves to tell MH and DF and his regional how great they are. Example: MH comes into a regional breakout room and says something like, "We need to establish with the doctors that Remicade is the gold standard biologic therapy."
The DM nods enthusiastically. Then he raises his hand, stands so everyone can see him, and announces: "I agree with Marti. She is totally right. In other words, we need to establish with our health care providers that Remicade is the gold standard biologic therapy when it comes to their patients."
He then turns to Marti and says, "I hope you didn't mind me putting my own variation on that."
"Of course not," she answers. "I like the way you put it."
The abm beams. He sits and looks at his team. "Did you hear that?" he asks, "Marti likes the way I put it."
His team nods, but their minds are miles away. They're thinking about their chest routine to be worked out in the hotel fitness center later, as their DM crosses his arms and looks forward and thinks, "Someday, I'M going to be a R-B-D. And THEN won't people respect me. Especially that wife of mine who goes on and on about that rep I hate that she ogled at P club."

 

I find it humorous and interesting that he has a team of great and capable and proven reps and the only one that ever got promoted was a woman who joined his team for just a few months, who made P club one year based on the numbers of her teammates, and who has a history of becoming the "unofficial assistant manager" on every team she ever joins, albeit for a little time (ABS, Academic, GI, Rheum.)
Essentially, this DM can't even get his reps promoted, despite some of their proven successes. The only reason this female rep was promoted was because she was on the team to check off a box.
Eddie, I don't think you're going anywhere. The worst of your reps is more competent and capable as you are. You made p club one year because you were teamed with one of the most successful and powerful reps in the country and you were dragged in on his coattails.
Keep brown-nosing though, and maybe you'll get some rewards points for that. Loser.

 

To the OP and the rest of the folks that click on this... Yes, PIP is used everywhere here and in other companies. It is part of the documentation process to manage people out of an organization and limit liability. At J&J, it appears as the current trend is away from objective data and more towards subjective "behaviors" ratings. Makes it easy for a loser DM to write an FCR that "documents" poor performance without really knowing the true contribution an employee makes. Sucks, but it's how these little losers justify their existence.

 

I thought PIP stood for Pete's Idiotic Plans.

 

I worked at another large pharma company for over 30 years, and that is exactly what happened to me. The manager depictions and situations described earlier in this thread are eerily similar to my experience. Put on a PIP, but the numbers turned around and he had to take me off of it. Since I never really kissed his ass, he made up for it by totally trashing me on values & behaviors. Never in my long career had anyone written the kind of stuff he did. I just shredded my copy of it. Was laid off the following Spring. However, I got a new job within 6 weeks with another company making about the same $.

 

No matter what, my tight-curled Angel-baby calls the shots.

 

My buddy told me it stands for:
Pete's Insatiable Partner
Parading In Presidents Club
Playfully Inspiring Partying.

Now THAT's a bash!

 

Re: PIP and bad DMs

My Janssen (PriCara) DM wr0te up a FCM report with events that never happened, claiming he worked a full day w/ me and that we saw 7 docs -- when in fact, he left early to go pick up his kids and work-out his SAC gym. I went to the RBD and he talked me into letting it go. (Same married, arrogant DM also had a history of having an affair w/ a pretty Rep who was engaged to a National Canadian Hockey Player. Again, RBD didn't do anything but hoped the pretty Rep would leave when she married Hockey guy and problem would go away. Very crazy place to work. One would think that J&J Pharma would be above board. Not so but a long shot.

 

Re: PIP and bad DMs

Same thing at my OC. One director leased a non-company-issued high-performance foreign vehicle for a young female rep with million-dollar legs. He claimed that it was for "special projects" she had worked on for him. In the meantime his wife chases around a couple of muscle dudes that go her house to "work as personal trainers" on company time. He allows the guys hours of time in the gym just to stay super buff for his wife.
We sure work for one kinky company!

 

It is easier to run a person off by using subjective measurements. After years of positive reviews, management can flip the switch and make the assertion that a rep does meet the job competencies required. Good numbers cannot save a rep once the DM has their sights set on getting rid of someone. Very brutal process, and it can shake one's self confidence, but remember it's just their BS way of lowering cost by pushing out older reps and not any truth in their accusations of non competence. Maybe karma will get their butts one day...

 

Karma worked for one of my buddies in this situation. His RBDs wife made a fool of her husband going crazy over my friend in front of half the company at a P Club, and there is strong rumor which my friend will not confirm but only grin about that his DM's wife gave him a "special" gift at a POA.

 

Women like that know that their husbands are puppets so to shove it in their face they go after the help. True dat.

 

I remember when that happened. My husband told me that if I ever embarrassed him in front of a crowd of people like that, he would divorce me the next day. I felt sorry for the rep (who is a really good guy.) He was trying to be as polite as possible but the other wife would not let it go. She was really gaga over the guy. I think she did it another year after that, too.

 

When we hire children we shouldn't be surprised by these types of childish statements. Continually!

 

Hey, it's not my fault I'm younger and more handsome than the RBD! His wife probably hadn't encountered a real man before, and she had a few drinks in her and couldn't contain herself.

He's just lucky that I have high standards, or his "missus" would be "missing" for the night, if you get the hint and I'm sure you do.

 

I plan on being at more President Circle trips in the future so these guys should get used to their women checking me out. One nice benefit of this job is that you work smarter, not harder, and that gets me some serious gym time. I consider it doing something nice for the ladies, especially the RBD's wives. Most of these guys are bald and paunchy. The wives get a few days to ogle at some buff bod. It's like Magic Mike but in person!

 

This one is not alone. Most of the DMs get where they are (if you could call that a position of prestige--none for me, thanks) by kissing a** and brown-nosing. Ed's got some of the best reps in the company working on that team; a truly good manager would be winning year after year with them. Say what you want about CC, but the guy knows his stuff. Any district would love to have him. A lot of his iam team have gone to P club because of him and any one of them you ask will confirm it.
But Ed is just one of the examples of how management doesn't know what they are doing. I won't say "incompetent" because Ed might be good at doing something else, like a big pharma sampling gig. He's in over his head like a lot of the managers and a lot of the RBDs, because the people who work under them know the market way better than they do. And that goes for the upper management types too. Marti is always talking about closing the customer. Then why doesn't she get up in front of everyone and demonstrate it? Fabs too? Habig could do it without batting an eye. Most of the old managers and RBDs could too.
So don't blame Ed. Yes, he might be cocky, but he's cocky because someone told him he's great, even though he doesn't have the track record to prove it. He has the tools--a bunch of great tenured reps--and he can't work it.
Look at some of the other recent DM hires. JS. She's a politician, not a leader. Got lucky to be teamed with BT up in Boston--a true and excellent salesman--and skirted to P club on his coat tails. She fizzles out when left to her own on the Academic team, then gets chosen over BT who has a much stronger skill set than she does. Hey, it's not that I don't like her--I don't even know her that well, as she always seemed to spend more time cozying up to her "superiors" than her peers. But I know from friends in that region that they have a big group of gossipy women up there whose favorite sport is destroying other people's reputations. You see them in meetings though, and where's the shine? Nothing. They got nothing.

So get used to this management style. Any rep in the country who knows BT would gladly work and give their all for this guy. But the others, and not just the two mentioned here--no way. It's much easier to dance around and pretend you're working and playing these "managers" because they're too wrapped up in themselves to notice.

Don't pick on Ed. He's not the problem. Just the wrong too to fix it with.

 

This might be the greatest assessment of a company problem that I've ever read on here, and one of the reasons for that is that you didn't slander people. I know some of the people mentioned in this post and you were actually being kind to them. Many others have a much harsher opinion.
If management ever had to read a post and take it to heart, it's this one. The "closing" example is great. They tell us to close, close, close, and then criticize us for not doing it. A true teacher and leader would not criticize without providing instruction. Someone like Marti or Dave F. would earn the respect they desire if they stood up and played rep to another person's doctor in a role play, and then CLOSED THEM.
Instead, they just play a shell game with the sales force. "Focus no this. No, that! No, over here instead! YOU LOSE!!!"
It's not about "Who's right," but "What's right." And until they let up on the ego part, that won't change. You can switch out the whole body (field sales force) for another, but unless the head changes, everything will stay the same.
Also, good job giving some credit to Carlo. He's carried that team for a long time, and if wasn't for him Ed would have not make the Pres Club trip one time. Sales leadership believes that P Club wins are a true measure of greatness. You do the math.