Design of Career Paths and integration into talent management system of Janssen Pharma

Arun Vigneswaran M
Ist Year M.A HRM&LR
Contents:

INTRODUCTION
A career path is the sequence of work positions or roles that a person holds over the span of life time..The fundamental components of a career path are a sequential list of roles, Qualifications, Critical Developmental Experiences (CDE), Competencies, Organizational perspective. The potential and promise of career paths lie in the dynamic part of career and talent management.. Career paths factor in mobility and embeddedness and to what extent they play a role in career success. In the contemporary organization concepts of boundryless careers are emerging and needs to be factored in for a comprehensive career path. A career path can be harnessed to maximize both individual and organizational potential and can be used to achieve important business outcomes by aligning with a variety of HR processes and systems. In this project we have tried to find how career paths are designed in any organization and further how it can be customized for MAF, BD division of Janssen Pharma. Career paths have become an important part of talent management and is used extensively during promotion, retention, exit, future planning. We have also tried to identify how career paths can be harnessed by the talent management team and used to solve some of the current problems like attrition, stagnation.

CONCEPTUAL DESIGN OF CAREER PATHS

In today’s War for talent scenario getting, keeping and developing talent across high potential career paths and career trajectories is crucial for HR in organizations. Career paths represent a management leverage point for flow of human capital both inside and outside of an organization. Now that we can gauge the importance and value career frameworks bring to the table it is absolutely essential to see how a career path can be designed. Career paths consist of attributes like movement, mobility, formality, expertise, connectivity. All these attributes have to balance individual navigation of the paths and the organizational need from the path. That attributes vary according to the career path chosen and must be chosen carefully according to the requirements of the organization and the individual. In Janssen Pharma Business Development (BD) division mobility was favoured by most of the employees but the POC while echoing the organization needs asked for a degree of embeddedness. In cases like these the career paths need to walk the thin line in deciding upon the attributes.
When we design career framework of on organization the most important thing which is needed is data about careers in that organization. The data can be categorized conveniently into past, present and future.
Past
HR databases can be used to extract archival information regarding recruitment, appraisals, promotions, attrition. Also labour supply, demand for labour, employee movement across sectorscan be examined from the past data. This analysis of HR databases to examine workforce dynamics is termed as Internal labour Analysis (ILM). Baker, Gibbs and Holstrom analyze the different databases to examine employee movement, career paths, and promotions. The analysis also can be done to specific jobs alone to determine percentage of people reaching a job level, percentage of people making a move at a particular job level , percentage of people leaving the company.Further quantitative analysis can be done through methods like Anova, regression analysis to identify importance of specific factors associated with promotions, recruitment and use these to study specific movement between jobs. It is also very important that we get access to the organizational black box and preferably access to the already done routine analysis.
Present
Present information can be gathered from employees of the organization using interviews, focus groups and surveys. The inputs have to be gathered from employees who are at several levels in the organization. Below are some steps to be followed when doing a focus group or an interview. * The persons to be interviewed should include all the stakeholders including the POC * Gather information on the organization’s strategic direction * Prepare a draft list of roles which need to be interviewed and prepare the relevant questions to be asked * Workshops and focus groups should be conducted to gauge the response of the participants * Use the information from the interviews along with other info regarding jobs to create a rough draft
Janssen Pharma
We did open ended interviews with the doctors of MAF division for gathering present information. We focussed upon the current talent management and organizational structure of MAF division and tried to find out where exactly the employees are facing problems. As the MAF organizational structure shows it has a total of 11 employees including the director. Then interviews were done in an open ended manner in the working space of the employees, Open ended meant we shaped the direction and flow of the interview. Some of the key points which were repeated across the employees were stagnation, no cross sector movement, lack of quality training, and no high potential identification. There was a marked difference between the requirements of an employee high in the ladder and an employee in the youth of his career. The senior employees high in the ladder were able to contribute more in terms of aligning the career path with the future and were more concerned about training, attrition.
However the employees lower in the hierarchy was more concerned about what is in it for them and how the career paths can boost their ambitions.
Future
This is building career paths by reviewing the organization’s overall strategic plan and its human strategic plan. Meeting with people who understand long term organizational vision and their implication for career paths is crucial. Usually the focus is on driving organizational change and the sources for these include corporate visionaries, workshops with industry experts.
Initially for designing a career path identifying the stakeholders is very crucial. The stakeholders are the one who initiated the project, one who benefited from it, one who has the power to make it a success or failure. The POC is the main resource who conveys the requirements of the stakeholders in detail and is the link to the organizational decision makers.
This brings us to two major questions: 1) Whether the career path emphasizes on maximising outcomes for the individual, the business unit or the whole industry? 2) Is the focus on past, present or future?
Though there might be substantial alignment among the outcome focus there will be always disparities. In one case frequent movement may be favourable to the individual but detrimental to organizational goals. If the objective is to help understand employees the existing path then the focus should be on the past. If the objective is to drive an organizational change then the focus must be on the future. A notable example is the success of SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) in transforming from a transaction based organization to a strategic HR organization was chiefly due to future focussed career paths designed by an external team. SEC wanted to expand its workforce in the challenging global environment and this needed to be driven by a strategic HR. Here SEC adopted career paths as major tool in driving organizational change for the future. Similarly worth looking at is the case of HBI. HBI wanted to attract talent to the unattractive home building industry. This required emphasis on the whole industry with a focus on the future. As mentioned before boundryless open ended career paths were designed and communicated through public channels. So we can safely deduce that once the focus and the objective is clear career paths can be leveraged for development.
Communication
Though very comprehensive career paths can be designed the challenge lies in communicating it properly to the stakeholders. In Janssen Pharma an interactive portal is being designed to communicate the various career paths available to the employees.

Critical Developmental Experiences (CDE)
One definition of CDE is the experiences that a person at a specific point i=n his career should obtain to prepare for next career step. Talent Guard defines it as difference between two jobs in a career path. The experiences may include leadership roles, global exposure, rotational roles, and developmental programs. The key developmental experiences a person should obtain at each point of career paths should be solicited from interviews. Also informal leadership roles can be looked depending upon the CDE a person has. The critical development experiences for each job role in the career path of MAF has been designed based on the job role and interviews
Competencies
Competencies are the set of knowledge, skills and abilities applied to perform a task or a job. Competencies are an integral part of career paths and every step in the career path contain the competencies that are required for reaching that particular node. Competencies can be detailed or brief depending upon the purpose for which the career paths are being discussed.For a typical purpose such as career path for workforce development detailed competency information is preferred as it seeks to provide clarity to stakeholders on what exactly is needed for one to get to that level. Competencies can be broadly classified into * Knowledge Competencies - practical or theoretical understanding of subjects. * Skill and Ability Competencies - natural or learned capacities to perform acts. * Behavioural Competencies - patterns of action or conduct.
There is a requirement to design competencies for career paths. The design can be done through competency surveys which can furnish thorough information. But surveys require immense skill and time so easier methods like tapping from existing sources of information, Job Analysis can be done. Again the interviews and workshops held to get the stakeholder input can be harnessed to build competencies too. Benchmarking also can be done with other organizations to find the competencies they attach with particular job posts. Considering the case of SAB-Miller, a leading brewery in the world today.SAB-Miller needed to create career paths for their operators for curbing widespread attrition among them. Now for designing competencies assessment centres were held where the core competencies of the operators were assessed against the already designed competency definitions. Thus the identification of high potential talent who can possibly make use of rapid career progression paths could be done. Also questions such as whether the importance of these competencies increases along the paths, whether competencies are being enhanced through CDE needs to be answered before designing competencies.
Competency framework for MAF division of Janssen Pharma has been designed keeping in mind what each job role is supposed to contribute to the organization. Please refer to appendix B for further details.

Career Success Factors
Folk theories which talk about how to attain success in a particular assignment can be tested when we define career success factors scientifically. The extent to which the four attributes of career paths are leveraged for career success should be gauged from the employees themselves. Again the methods adopted are workshops, interviews, focus groups etc. Probably exit interviews can be analyzed to find where and why the candidate failed to succeed (if so) in the organization. The essence captured of the above methods can give a broad framework to gauge success in the organization for which career paths are being designed.

Career path as part of Talent Management
Carter, Cook, Dorsey (2009) talks about a contract which exists between an employee and an organization. But the contract is no more a legally binding contract it is more of a psychological contract which exists between the two. The shift happened in the late 1990s and this has changed the dynamics of the talent management game. The challenge is leveraging career paths to strengthen this contract in an organization. We can take up the particular case of echo star call centre.

Appendix A 1) Medical Advisor (Therapeutic Area wise)
CADRE : Executive
REPORTING TO : Director – Medical Affairs
POSITIONS REPORTING TO HIM/HER: None

JOB DESCRIPTION * Approve product promotional material received from marketing, in line with SOPs * Manage relationships with external customers (KOL management, conducting CMEs, Doctor meets, Symposia, etc.) * Handle all kinds of medical queries from external customers, marketing department & field colleagues * Provide medical inputs & support to marketing during and after new product launches * Prepare clinical study protocols in the post marketing phase, and monitoring relevant data (pertaining to the respective therapeutic area) * Training of field staff on products * Attending cycle meetings pertaining to the respective therapeutic area

AGE GROUP : 27-32 years
EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS:

Sr. No. | Degree | Institute | Essential/Preferred | 1 | MD (Pharmacology) | From a reputed Indian University | Essential – MBBSPreferred – MD (Pharmacology) |

Critical Development Experiences:

No. of years: 2-3 years
Industry: Multinational or Indian Pharma Company * All Medico Marketing Activities * Above average computer proficiency & market intelligence * Prior exposure to medico marketing including post launch clinical trials & studies; * Prior clinical experience (preferably in the concerned TA) * External & Internal Customer Management (KOLs, Doctors, Marketing department, field staff) * Writing clinical study protocols, monitoring data gathered from studies

Competencies: * Exceptional written & verbal communication skills in English * Positive and result oriented attitude. * Ability to maintain open relationships within the organization and with concerned authorities

3) Director - Medical Affairs

CADRE: Board Member – Janssen India

REPORTING TO: President & Executive Director – Janssen India
POSITIONS REPORTING TO HIM/HER: 11 (Medico Marketing, Regulatory Affairs, Pharmacovigilance & Drug Safety, Administrative Support)

JOB DESCRIPTION * Responsible for all local Medical Affairs activities * Develop local clinical trials strategy and programs * Design, develop & deploy local Medical Affairs strategy, in alignment with business strategy * Set direction for future and envision Business Development opportunities from Medical Affairs perspective for JCI * Establish rapport and manage business relationship with KOLs and other key stakeholders including Regulatory Authorities, Regional Medical Affairs, Regulatory Affairs, Pharmacovigilance & Global Clinical Trials teams * Advise Business Units on medical and scientific matters * Oversee medical and scientific training to field force * Oversee Pharmacovigilance and Drug Safety activities * Oversee the development of Regulatory Affairs strategies * Evaluate promotional material and ensure compliance * Attract, develop and retain team of medical affairs people, with focus on performance optimization

AGE GROUP : 40-45 years
EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS:

Sr. No. | Institute | Essential | Preferred | 1 | From a reputed Indian University | Degree in Medicine & MD (Pharmacology)/Post Graduation in Surgery | MBA (Marketing) |

Critical Development Experiences (CDE)

No. of years: 15-18 years
Position: Director - Medical Affairs
Industry: Prior exposure across Multinational and Indian Pharma Companies
Activities handled: All Medical Affairs Activities
Any other: Above average computer proficiency & market intelligence * Design, development & deployment of the local Medical Affairs strategy * Medical and scientific perspective to business management * External & Internal Customer Management (KOLs, Doctors, Business Unit Heads)

Competencies: * Exceptional written & verbal communication skills in English * Positive and result oriented attitude. * Ability to maintain open relationships within the organization and with external authorities. * Strong leadership qualities * People development and team building skills

3) Senior Medical Advisor (Therapeutic Area wise)

CADRE : Executive

REPORTING TO : Director – Medical Affairs
POSITIONS REPORTING TO HIM/HER: May entail 1-2 Medical Advisors reporting

JOB DESCRIPTION * Approve product promotional material received from marketing, in line with SOPs * Manage relationships with external customers (KOL management, conducting CMEs, Doctor Meets, Symposia, etc.) * Handle all kinds of medical queries from external customers, marketing department & field colleagues * Provide medical inputs & support to marketing during and after new product launches * Prepare clinical study protocols in the post marketing phase, and monitoring relevant data (pertaining to the respective therapeutic area) * Training of field staff on products * Attending cycle meetings pertaining to the respective therapeutic area

AGE GROUP : 30-34 years
EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS:

Sr. No. | Degree | Institute | Essential/Preferred | 1 | MD (Pharmacology) | From a reputed Indian University | Essential – MBBSPreferred – MD (Pharmacology) |

Critical Development Experiences (CDE)

No. of years: 4-6 years
Position: Senior Medical Advisor
Industry: Multinational or Indian Pharma Company * All Medico Marketing Activities * Above average computer proficiency & market intelligence * Prior exposure to medico marketing including post launch clinical trials & studies * prior clinical experience (preferably in the concerned TA) * External & Internal Customer Management (KOLs, Doctors, Marketing department, field staff) * Writing clinical study protocols, monitoring data gathered from studies

Competencies: * Exceptional written & verbal communication skills in English * Positive and result oriented attitude. * Ability to maintain open relationships within the organization and with concerned authorities

4) Medical Scientific Liaison (MSL)
Job Responsibilities * Maximize the value of company products through high scientific quality communication with Leading Specialists on a peer-to-peer basis, by undertaking activities in line with the Medical Affairs Plan * Keep abreast of medical and scientific knowledge * Develop and maintain contact network with Leading Specialists * Communicate actively and reactively with Leading Specialists on medical scientific data * Cooperate and participate in Medical Education activities * Organize and participate in Advisory Boards in cooperation with Medical Advisor/Medical Director * Provide scientific support to company Sales Representatives * Support Medical Affairs study execution * Gain valuable insight into treatment pattern, and scientific activities in the therapeutic area and provide input to the company Medical Affairs Plan / business decision making through scientific interactions * Champion medical benefits of products and contribute to foster innovative therapeutic approaches to benefit patients through scientific interactions with Leading Specialists
Critical Developmental Experiences (CDE) * Field based role, involving extensive Leading Specialists interactions * Should be open to working in a new therapeutic focus area * Scientific acumen and communication skills, strength in research and interpretation of medical data * Customer orientation and ability to coordinate and drive a complex and changing environment * Strong adherence to Policies, processes and medical guidelines

APPENDIX B
Questionnaire
CAREER FRAMEWORK- BD 1. What are the various career paths that currently exist for BD?

2. What are the steps, experiences and a broad time-frame required for a Managerto reach a senior manager position?

3. Do you follow a Competency framework on which the movement of an employee depends and what are the assessment methods used to qualify a person for promotion?

4. How is it different for high performers and average performers?

5. What are the sources of your key talent? What are the career growth opportunities that you provide to them?

6. What are the developmental activities that are provided to the BD team – exposures, action learning, on-the-job learning, T &D program?

7. For cross function movements, do employees need to essentially be in the role for some time, are they promoted to the next band or the similar one?

8. What are the cross functional roles employees in BD are aspiring for and what are the additional competencies needed?

9. What are the roles outside BD the employees are aspiring for?

10. How do you communicate your career growth opportunities to your employees?

11. How was the BD structure in previous organizations?

12. Is there cross movement between Sales, Marketing and BD currently? If so then what are the extra competencies needed and what are the similar roles?

CAREER FRAMEWORK- BD 1. What are the various career paths that currently exist for BD?

2. What are the steps, experiences and a broad time-frame required for a Managerto reach a senior manager position?

3. Do you follow a Competency framework on which the movement of an employee depends and what are the assessment methods used to qualify a person for promotion?

4. How is it different for high performers and average performers?

5. What are the sources of your key talent? What are the career growth opportunities that you provide to them?

6. What are the developmental activities that are provided to the BD team – exposures, action learning, on-the-job learning, T &D program?

7. For cross function movements, do employees need to essentially be in the role for some time, are they promoted to the next band or the similar one?

8. What are the cross functional roles employees in BD are aspiring for and what are the additional competencies needed?

9. What are the roles outside BD the employees are aspiring for?

10. How do you communicate your career growth opportunities to your employees?

11. How was the BD structure in previous organizations?

12. Is there cross movement between Sales, Marketing and BD currently? If so then what are the extra competencies needed and what are the similar roles?

Interviews:
Interviewee : Dr .Suyog Mehta, MD
Interview Place: J&J Corporate office
Interviewee : Profile in Organization: General MAF Manager
Interviewer : Arun Vigneswaran M, TISS

An open ended interview was conducted by me to get his views on how the current career framework can be revamped in order to curb attrition and attract new talent. Overall the interview was very smooth and he gave lot of inputs regarding the changes that can be done from his rich experience in MAF.

Key Inputs from the interview 1) Increase the chain of hierarchy further by adding new positions with new responsibilities 2) Integrate the dynamic part of Pharma Covigilance and regulatory into the job profiles of MAF as additional responsibilities 3) There must be an identification of talent(High performance , Average performance) while giving addition responsibilities 4) Cross therapeutic transfer can be initiated as long as there is a vacancy and matches the area of interest of the candidate * Usually there is a huge preference for Oncology , Neurology * Dermatology is preferred less 5) For meritorious employees a 2yrs stint can be shortened to a 18 month stint so that their career path can be reduced 6) There is an aspiration among the MAF employees for J&J medical devices. A role which involves a strategic angle to J&J Medical devices is preferred 7) Currently recruitment is done through referrals, interviews, Pharma consultants. Recruitment from top colleges offering MD Pharmacology also can be looked at as an option 8) More training need to be arranged for areas covering behavioural management, communication skill. 9) MSLs can be made to report to Senior managers MAF instead of reporting to Director , MAF 10) A creation of a separate structure based on therapy areas which encompasses MAF , Pharma Covigilance ,regulatory under one therapy
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Interviewee : Dr .Nivedita, MD
Interview Place: J&J Corporate office
Interviewee : Profile in Organization: Senior MAF mgr.(Immunology + Med education)
Interviewer : Arun Vigneswaran M, TISS
Key Inputs: 1) The main input was that there is a need of MSLs for speciality care too therapy wise. 2) The chief reason for the above requirement is that the Medical Advisor who is currently taking care of the responsibilities is over loaded. 3) Proposed a new structure (Similar to MSD structure) where every therapy area has a Head and MA, MSL under him. 4) Cross therapeutic movement should happen only in case of a vacancy 5) Movement to J&J Medical is aspirational 6) Movement to Sales & Marketing division should be based on interest and qualification of aspirational employee. 7) More training needs to be given to bridge the competency gaps

Appendix C

Business Development (BD) Organizational Structure

August 2011
August 2009
Sr Manager Sunil Sethi
Manager
Mihir Deshpande
Sr Regional Manager Anand Rishi*
Director – Business Development
Rachit Garg

Medical Affairs Division (MAF) Organizational Structure

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