Embracing Changes in Pharmaceutical Operations

Presented to CAPSIG April 18th 2012

The world has changed and a lot more change in coming.

There are many opportunities within this changing world – for both employees and

employers

Effects of Global Financial Crisis

Effects of the Global Financial Crisis

Deregulation and fiscal irresponsibilityCollapse of worldwide financial marketsFailure of banks and businessesIncrease in unemploymentPlummeting business and consumer confidenceGovernment policy focused on decreasing spending and increasing taxes/revenueChanges in European and US head office global policies – to save moneyEffects on Australian operations – decrease costs

Pre GFC – Change was already coming

Global restructuring of operations to focus on high growth markets eg Asia.Closure/Downsizing of Australian operationsRelocation to China, Singapore, Indonesia

Questions being asked:

“How many more plants will close?”“How many more jobs will go off-shore?”

Recognition that Australia is a significant contributor to high-tech manufacturing

Australia in the Asian Century www.asiancentury.dpmc.gov.au

Australia in the Asian Century

Medicines Australia submission

Australia has a well-established reputation in Asia for manufacturing safe and high quality medicines.Solid history of exporting pharmaceutical goods to Asia$1.7 billion in exports to 20 Asian countries in 2011.Continuing investment by some companies in manufacturing plants to supply markets in Asia.Growth area for Australia is ‘bio-manufacturing’ ie biologics – requiring highly sophisticated processes to manufacture in commercial quantities.Major investment requires government incentives eg tax breaks

Where are we today?

Some companies have closed their plants and have moved manufacturing overseas.

Other companies are increasing local manufacturing for Asian demand.

There are lots of opportunities – but these opportunities require a new skill set

Transferable Skills from Healthcare

Manufacturing/QA/Operations

those skills you already have, which can be transferred to other roles

Transferable Skills from Healthcare Manufacturing/QA/Operations

Scientific and healthcare understandingKnowledge of regulatory requirementsTechnical writing skillsCompliance and audit understandingMaterials handling and testingDocumentation and SOP experienceQuality inspection experienceComplaints managementDatabase and IT systems experience

Transferable Skills from Healthcare Manufacturing/QA/Operations

Process improvement initiatives:Reducing waste and rework

Reducing changeover times

Improving cycle times

Improving process efficiency

Improving product reliability

Improving performance

Transferable Skills from Healthcare Manufacturing/QA/Operations

Budget responsibility

People management

Team work

Good time management skills

Analytical skills

Ability to multi-task, prioritise and work within deadlines

Attention to detail and accuracy

Transferable Skills Analysis

Facilitated examination of past experience and accomplishments.

“How did you achieve this?”

“What skills did you use?”

“Where else can you use this skills?”

Adding New Skills

1. Technical Skills

2. Business Skills

Technical Skills

Refresh current skills eg GMP, ISO 13485Further tertiary qualifications eg BiotechnologyARCS coursesAusbiotech BioPro coursesMTAA coursesMasters of Drug DevelopmentCertificate in Health Economics

Attending conferences and seminars – CAPSIG, AusBiotech, ARCS, ASMI, MTAA

Develop a working knowledge of all areas (e.g. clinical research, regulatory, medical information, sales and marketing)

Business Skills

Read business magazines and newspapers eg Harvard Business Review, Financial ReviewRead business books – general business, finance, marketing, sales techniques, Watch business programmes – Business Sunday, Foxtel business channels, interviews with business leaders.Network within your company – Finance, Human Resources, Marketing, Sales

A group of 5 skills that enable people to maximize their performance

• Self-Awareness• Self-Regulation• Motivation• Empathy• Social skills

Self-Awareness, Self-Regulation, Motivation – determine how people manage themselves

Empathy, Social Skills – determine how relationships are handled

1. Self-Awareness Candidates with well-developed self-awareness know their strengths and their limitations and are open to feedback and to continuous learning. As such they are effective players in today’s economy because they embrace change. Interview questions would be:

Tell me about yourself.

How would your colleagues describe you?…tell me more

Tell me about your strengths and your limitations.

Tell me about a time when you received feedback.

Tell me about a time when you had a great success.

Tell me about a time when you made a big mistake.

2. Self-Regulation

Businesses today need to deliver results. The result is that workplace environments have become more pressured and more stressed. Candidates with fine-tuned self-regulatory skills can cope with multiple demands. Interview questions would be:

How do you handle stressful situations?

How do you relax?

Tell me about a time when you got angry. What did you do?

When do you feel most under pressure?

How do you handle multiple demands?

How do you achieve work/life balance?

3. Motivation

The core of business success is having a motivated workforce. The interview presents an excellent opportunity to assess motivation, achievement and drive with questions like:

What motivates you?

Why do you work?

How do you measure success? What results do you achieve?

Tell me about some challenging goals you have set?

How do you overcome obstacles and setbacks?

What do you do to stay up-to-date with industry developments?

4. Empathy

To work together effectively there needs to be an understanding of others’ perspectives. Empathy is therefore a necessary skill in environments where collaboration brings commercial success.

Describe a time when you had to deliver difficult news.

What do you do when someone comes to you with a problem?

Describe the people in your team and discuss what they need and how they feel.

Describe a time when understanding someone else’s perspective helped you understand them better.

What do you do to understand someone else’s behaviour?

How do you understand what your team members are feeling?

5.Social Skill Working together towards common goals requires a range of social skills like communication, rapport building, persuasion and conflict resolution. Again the interview is the time to assess the strength of a candidate’s competency prior to the hiring decision.

Tell me about a time when you needed to influence someone.

Describe a difficult issue you had to deal with.

Tell me about what you would do to gain respect as a new manager.

Tell me how you build networks within your company.

How do you develop rapport with people?

How do you build relationships with people?

Successful people have highly developed

Emotional Intelligence They have self –awareness – they know their strengths,

weaknesses, drives, values and impact on others.

They have self-regulation – they control or redirect disruptive impulses and moods.

They have motivation – they relish achievement for its own sake.

They have empathy – they understand other people’s emotional make-up.

They have social skill – they build rapport with others to move them in desired directions.

An emotionally intelligent workforce will deliver results during turbulent times

New Opportunities

Within your current company – outsourcing management; other roles

Using your transferable and newly acquired skills:

Regulatory AffairsClinical ResearchMedical InformationMedical Affairs/MSLMedical writingHealth economics/ReimbursementSales

New Opportunities

Bio-manufacturingBiomedical EngineeringMedical DevicesFoodFMCGResources – Oil/Gas/MiningUniversities/AcademiaGovernment

The world has changed and a lot more change in coming.

There are many opportunities within this changing world – and these opportunities

require a new skill set.