Speed to Performance
"[That's the] quickest I’ve ever gotten anyone to her personal goals."
- Regional Business Director, Veteran Manager, Program Pilot Participant
Bausch + Lomb Vision Care
Challenge
Though the Bausch + Lomb sales management team requested and supported the initiative, there were two constraints:
- First-level managers could be involved, but their time and effort in implementing the program must be minimized.
- Participants were to remain in the field; they needed to be productive.
We received a challenge from the training manager of Bausch + Lomb North America Vision Care:
“The four-level new hire training program we have for sales reps is good, but not good enough. It takes 18 months for a new hire to get to proficiency and quota. That’s too long, especially when a territory may be open for months before we even find someone. We need to get the time to proficiency to less than 12 months—and that includes the formal new hire four training levels.”
Our Approach
Using Bausch + Lomb’s identified competencies that correlated with sales representative success, we created a field-based program that used actual job tasks and requirements to develop skills that support the top nine competencies. Participants started this six-month program, called Phase 5, immediately following their formal new hire program, approximately four to five months post-hire.
Key Program Elements
On-the-job activities plus focused and guided skill development
New sales representatives are consumed and often overwhelmed with learning their business and trying to make sales. To minimize the time required for skill development and still maximize the effectiveness of training efforts, we devised training activities to integrate into the tasks the reps already needed to do. We then supported those activities with supplemental information for those who wanted to learn more, guided self-evaluations, and guided bi-monthly discussions with their managers. The discussions enabled managers to monitor and focus skill development efforts and results. The self-evaluation activities helped participants establish the life-long skill and habit of managing their own development and results.
Target customer goals
With the help of his or her manager, each participant identifies a specific customer he or she wants to develop during the six-month program and specific goals for the customer. These real job goals helped frame and focus the specific skill development activities—and achieve meaningful sales results.
Competency assessment and ongoing development
Each participant and the participants’ managers complete an assessment of the participants’ competencies at the beginning and end of the program. The results are used by the participant and his or her manager to monitor development and identify specific development goals. (Note: This information was used during the program pilot to assess the effectiveness of the program.)
Results
All nine targeted core job competencies improved as a result of the six-month field-based program we developed for and in conjunction with the Bausch + Lomb North America Vision Care Learning + Development Team and individual participants provided personal sales success results. As a result of this success, the program was then expanded and repeated for the Surgical Sales division.
How We Can Help You
Are you ready to find out how Gillespie Associates can help your employees and team members reach and exceed your goals?
Contact us today!