Regional meetings

Honest assessment of regional meeting?

 

It was good. Think the company is headed in the right direction.

 

Is there anything where could improve?

 

Yeah I thought they were pretty solid too honestly. Good to see

 

Love the company but I can't say the meeting was great. If you are going to pull reps out of the field for 3 days, training needs to step up their game. Flip charting a bunch of mumbo jumbo isn't cutting it. You do this only once a year so surely you could bring in special speakers...ie surgeons discussing their perspective.

Seems like there are many creative and new things training could do. But hey, it's easier to make the reps do all the work and report out. Just senseless

 

The food was delicious.

 

You can't satisfy everyone.

 

The after hours hospitality was outstanding! Amazing hiring practices must be in place here.

 

I can honestly say it was the best meeting in years. I got laid awards night!!!

 

I couldn't agree more. These meetings are not set up properly and simply no effort is made to provide useful content that will help this company grow. We meet on average 3 times a year and it's now within our region. That's the first mistake in my opinion. I understand that airline tickets are saved but hotel costs are a wash. Bring in speakers, surgeons, etc to provide content that will help reps in the field! Bring us all together to hear this.

For example, we have these selling skills meetings that regions are attending. This is exactly the kind of nonsense that we are talking about. Once again, you take an entire sales force out of territory for 3 days! For what?! What a waste of time. I think we all agree that the point is about growing sales. Can you honestly say something like that will help grow sales. It's ridiculous. We know how to sell. However, we don't know near what we should in regards to product knowledge, procedure, and anatomy. Whenever review that type of stuff!! It's insane.
Instead, let's flipchart some obscure scenario, take 5 minutes to prepare and report out. My god we are bafoons

 

What puzzled me, the survey showed 4.5/5.0 score that the FSO favors the meeting. Where are the discrepancies? Are we better off with one big national meeting instead of regional meeting?

 

Thank you to whomever posted this. Our training has become pathetic. Reps getting hired that have never set foot in a OR. Trained via skype by FSLMs who were just trained on the products themselves and have never see it used in a case. Supported by newly hired marketers from non-medical industries. Its sad that our training went from being the best in the industry to a cheap ineffective correspondence course. Its an embarrassment to Ethicon how poorly trained our reps are when they hit he field.

Training meetings used to be about learning, connecting with your co-workers and having fun. Now they are for managers and those who want to be managers to try to one up the next person by asking redundant questions to show that they are somehow engaged or so they dont look bad for not paticipating?

Think about the agenda at the regional meetings; what was valuable (in the real world) for us?
- SWOT exercises?
- Listen to a SAD speak for an hour about how things are changing and how tough they want you to think their job is?
- Account Centricity Workshop?
- Breakout in teams to flipchart/teachback to the group an unrealistic scenerio.

I understand that budgets are tight. I dont want to bitch without providing a solution. Next time please consider using the money you spend on DMs, RSD, SAD, CAD and and half of the FSLMs to hire some KOL experts to come in to train us. Maybe have the reps select one or two of the managers in the region and possibly one of the FSLMs and use the rest of the money to have a KOL come in.

 

Yes, I am sorry to say that you are too smart and above the collective leadership and intellect of your peers. It is best for you to find a better fit with a culture and company that better mirrors your ambition and desire to be better personally and with a company that has drive and acumen to compete in this rapidly changing healthcare environment.

 

I do not see how was this person saying they were above the collective leadership and too smart for their peers? I can't speak for the "collective leadership" but as a "peer" I think there is a point to the feedback given regarding training. There's no need to take it so personal if you do not agree.

 

Just wanted to add my 2 cents. I agree with almost everything you said. Been here 7 years and the training started getting worse about 4 years ago. Anytime we have a meeting, all we end up doing is flip charting a bunch of nonsense and the reps do all the work. It's a waste of time. You would think the couple times a year we get together, training would be able to provide useful informations and presentations to the reps. When I say it's a waste of time in not kidding!!

 

Here's the thing..has training changed? Yes! Are reps coming into the field with the same amount of knowledge we did? No!
However, is the level of clinical expertise many of us have really necessary or required in today's medical device model? There is a good argument for no...
Our reps need to be better trained on how to manage a territory I will agree. However, the days of having to be a clinical expert on everything are gone.
There is a reason why presidents club or winners circle or whatever it's called is half full of reps who have been with the company only 2 or 3 years

 

I kind of agree. However, the more you know the more confident you are selling. If you know your stuff, then everything is fairly easy from that point on.

As far as training goes, I agree with most. I go to my regional training next week. It amazes me that we aren't taught anything. Usual scenario is a RSS, DM, or CAD will kick off a segment talk for 5 minutes than turn it over to the reps to report out or flip chart for the majority of the time. In my eyes, thats not "training" anyone. That is being lazy and not doing your job as a trainer and or a manager. We have all had enough with our time being wasted and I for one will start calling it like i see it on the next survey about meetings.

Why couldn't a guy like DR Chekan (spelling?) from DeltaV join us for these meetings. He is on staff anyway and we all could use the help with anatomy and procedure!! That would be so worthwhile!!!

 

Chekan was let go

 

The reason the presidents club or winners circle is 25% reps who have been with the company for only 2 - 3 year is because 2/3 of the sales force has been with the company 2 - 3 years.

I agree that the Ethicon feels the we no longer need a clinical expert. We are becoming like Applied in terms of "expertise". Unfortunately Medtronic is has taken the opposite approach. Regardless, flip charting and teach backs are not helping us become better clinically or at managing our territory.

 

Looks like nothing has changed in 2016. I just opened the agenda for the upcoming regional meetings and I couldn't believe it! It's going to be another 3 days of nonsense. These trainers and dsm's that put these agenda together are either dumb or lazy. I think its more of the latter. my god its once per year and a great opportunity to retrain reps in new and creative ways on procedure and anatomy. Better yet, bring speakers in! I can think of 10 things that would be so great but that would require a little effort.

Much easier for the trainers to read some obscure scenario and have everyone else flip chart or heaven forbid role play. We all need to give an honest review in these surveys about the complete lack of effort by these trainers at the regional meeting. If you signed up to be a trainer, then act like one and provide useful content. Hell its the only thing you really do all year anyway