Hi there, I read some negative reviews about the manager, but then it said he was gone Is this a good position? How is the manager? Benefits/ vacation policy What does the Skype monitoring mean?
Stay far away. Cali has turned over 3 times in less than 3 years. This new manager just cleaned house and it won't be the end. No warnings just fired. One rep didn't even last a full quarter. The culture led by Tony is rule by fear and micromanagement or else! Mike is a joke of an AD. Never seen such low morale heading into a launch.
^^^^ Yes. That is the LEAST stable region in the country and the head chopping isn’t over. Being “new” means nothing. The only way you want a spot in that region is if you don’t have a job (and keep looking if you take it)
As a former Keryx rep, I know these posts to be accurate. These are not trolls blowing smoke. There is, and has been, a serious culture problem at Keryx since they launched Auryxia in late 2014. They have experienced a lot of turnover in the sales force, reps as well as management, since almost the beginning. During Spring 2015, under the direction of the original VP of Sales, numerous reps throughout the country were pressured and many placed on PIPs (remember this was within 6 months of product launch and, if you've worked the renal space, you know it's a tough nut to crack and can take some time to gain traction, but Keryx doesn't care). Also, for the most part, Keryx recruited top talent. Generally, these reps were seasoned, very professional, and had a lot of industry and renal-specific sales experience, and some were former renal dietitians. These were among the best reps I have worked with in the industry and Keryx had an excellent sales force. Keryx also provided for above-average compensation and benefits. Now getting back to Spring 2015, many reps throughout the country were under pressure and many had been placed on PIPs. A number of reps secured new jobs and resigned. Some reps were fired, and a small number of reps who were on PIPs survived after hitting their sales goals the following quarter. In the Fall of 2015, the original VP of Sales was ousted and after a couple of months without a VP of Sales a new VP of Sales was hired ("TC"). TC did not come from the Pharma industry. He had a medical device background and had been doing some consulting work for Keryx prior to being offered the VP of Sales position. His thinking and management style were very different from that of a typical Pharma VP of Sales. In fact, in all my years in the industry, I have never experienced a VP of Sales who operates like him. I could go on, but suffice to say that the general consensus is that TC is responsible for the terrible company culture. He will even over-step Area Directors and Regional Managers to micromanage individual reps. Things were quiet for the last few months of 2015, and in 2016 a sales force expansion occurred with many new reps being brought on board. Early 2016 was a time of optimism in the sales force, as the focus was on the expansion, Auryxia sales were finally increasing, and there was hope for a better company culture under the new VP of Sales. This was short-lived! By late Spring 2016, almost a year after the Great Purge of 2015, the pressure was on once again and more than a few reps were placed on "Coaching Plans". These were not true PIPs with HR involved, but reps were lead to believe that these plans could become PIPs should a rep miss quota the next quarter. Also, this time around the pressure, intimidation, and plans seemed to be focused in the West Area. The East Area saw very little of this during Spring 2016. By the first week of August 2016 there was a supply interruption and Auryxia was off the market until mid-November 2016. The sales force was retained and this was a confusing, but generally quiet time for the sales force who were not allowed to promote the product during the interruption. A few reps resigned during this time. When Auryxia was re-launched in mid-November 2016 the pressure was on once again. Again, the West received the most scrutiny and pressure. And again, some reps were pressured out and quit and a few others were terminated. The Southern California region was, and continues to be, the epicenter of the pressure, resignations, and terminations (reps and managers). In many cases, Keryx just does not give their reps the time needed to make a significant impact in their territories. I've heard stories of some reps in the East not hitting quota for 3 consecutive quarters or more and they were still retained. Yet some reps in the West were only given a quarter or two to hit their goals. And these reps were under pressure the entire time and fearing for their jobs. As recently as 6 weeks ago, 3 reps from the Southern California region, all basically new hires (in their jobs less than a year) were terminated without notice (an L.A.-based rep, an Orange County-based rep, and a San Diego county-based rep). And their new manager had only been on the job a few months. She replaced the former manager who was fired after only being with the company for a little over a year. The time I spent working at Keryx was the most stressful of my career and I would not recommend Keryx to anyone. Stay away it ain't worth it!
Keryx is the worst corporate culture ever in pharma however please be respectful of those who have been let go. I’m sure they are not sharing that information during their interviews. People do get background checked. If you care about the people let go you should edit your post.
The poster did not mention any names, but did a good job describing the problematic history of Keryx since the launch of Auryxia.
it didn’t mention names but stated specific territories. It’s bad enough these people were let go. You should edit your posts and take the names of the territories out for those who were let go. The damage home Office has done to so many careers is bad enough.
There was a large number of reps who needed to go. I know you don't want to hear this but it was needed. I'm sure there are others who are still here. There were also a few people who were unjustly terminated which is sad. This is the culture of Keryx. Most plans are pushed by TC and his minion ADs. In the case of the most recent terminations, plans were never executed. These people were simply fired without warning. Let this be a warning to anyone joining this company especially if you are joining the California region or West area. MB is moron and his managers will fire you on the spot. You couldn't pay me enough to join that team or that area. Complete circus.
I got a f2f coming up. The recruiter beat me up on rankings and stuff. What is the base and comission structure like? Average Yearly Comp? Car?
First, do read the posts on the Keryx board as there is much truth to be gleaned from the posts. Do your homework and make an informed decision before accepting an offer from this company. Know that once hired, you will be joining an organization with a very dysfunctional culture, one of the worst in the industry. And, if you're joining the SoCal team, you're joining a team that has experienced the most turnover of any region in the company in the last couple of years. More than a couple reps have been terminated, many without warning. This is a pressure cooker environment. A couple quarters of not hitting goal and you will be targeted. The company has a terrible reputation in the renal space and most experienced renal reps are aware of this and will avoid. If you are inexperienced or desperate, perhaps you need this job and that's understandable, but know what you are getting into. That said, you will be well-compensated while you last.
The beating you took from the recruiter will seem mild compared to the beating you will take from your manager within a couple quarters of joining this dysfunctional excuse for a company. That stated, the compensation is decent and you get a car allowance. Enjoy!
