Cornerstone Blog

Ferrari is one of the world’s most recognizable and powerful brands. The cars are beautiful to look at but the most important component is seldom on view.  The Ferrari 12-cylinder engine – with cylinders that could fit in a teacup – was the heart of a legend which includes 16 world F1 championships and 256 race wins.

An organization’s leadership team is the Ferrari engine — not in the public eye but the core of exceptional performance.  Every part of a competitive company performs in relation to the output of the leader group.

On the track or in the Board room, competition of any kind is testing. Recognising and engaging the right executive today has become one of those failure-is-not-an-option tasks that demand high levels of knowledge, experience and technology to get right. Here are six steps to guide your success in executive search.

1. Understand the stakes

You are not filling a position. You are looking for a strategic component that will integrate with the rest of your team. Human Resources Directors today focus on impacting the company’s bottom line not just swapping in skill sets and experience.

This means taking a longer term mindset.  Ideally, it means finding a partner in the enterprise, not just contracting a recruiting specialist in a one-off support role. To achieve the best result, you must become partners with your retained executive search firm.

2. Understand the Executive Search process

Keep your briefing on who you want at a high level. What your executive search specialists are interested in is what it is you need to accomplish. They think like engineers: they need to know the desired end-state and then look at how they can get you there.

These preliminary discussions are critical. Help your recruiting partner to understand the organization and where your team wants to take it. This can influence the job parameters you started out with.

3. Know who you want

This is a double-barreled step. You start by defining the candidate you think you need, but then you should work through what kind of outside help you are looking for.

The best executive recruiters work to the “Retained Search” methodology and are members of the Association of Executive Search and Leadership. The AESC logo is a respected and reliable indication that you are choosing to do business with an expert and trustworthy organization that works to high, global standards. (Cornerstone International Group is a member)

Your due diligence should cover basics. Does your talent pool need to be global? Does the search firm have a track record in your business?  Is this a domestic position or cross-border? If the latter, who is managing it and who is benefitting from it? What is the search firm’s track record in your niche?

4. Help the candidate to know you

It is fundamental and essential that, when you arrive at the person you want, you understand each other fully. Depending on the position, the person you engage will be your peer and will have to fit in with the leadership team.

Trust is fundamental to a company’s corporate strategy. You and your colleagues must be satisfied that this is someone you can work with, someone you feel you can trust.

Remember that while you are studying the candidate, he or she is assessing both you and the opportunity. It is important that you communicate well and create a favorable impression.

This a mission-critical procedure for you and the candidate is also making a major life choice. A bad placement can have a devastating effect on a person’s career and reputation.

5. Stay with it

It’s not over at the signing and the champagne. You are in recruit/assimilate mode for at least another six months.

For some time now, it has been known that 40% of executives fail inside the first 18 months. It’s a staggering percentage and translates into equally staggering costs of failure. What has become apparent more recently is why.

To be accepted, an incoming executive will clearly have been qualified, energetic, strategic and have appeared to be a good fit with the organization.   But the weak link seems to have been a subsequent inability to understand the organization’s priorities and perhaps also its quirks that surface over time.

The standard formula onboarding doesn’t counter this. The response revolves around certified, customized coaching directed at familiarization with the new environment.

6. Next Steps

In most instances, seeking someone at the executive level will have been planned for some time. If the need does arise suddenly, all the more reason to be prepared.

A valuable exercise is to identify the information required and the steps to acquire it. The starting point is selecting that partner, a professional retained search firm, and arriving at some form of understanding.

Cornerstone International Group is such a firm. We are in 37 countries, representing critical value dealing with cross-border operations and foreign jurisdictions.  We invite you to get in touch if you would like to know more.

Today, more than ever, the topic of leadership competencies has become very important. Among them in particular is the level of vital energy (VQ or vitality quotient).

The vital energy coefficient is applicable to both an individual and an organization. Leaders who are unable to control and replenish their VQ according to circumstances will not be able to achieve high results.

And the unpredictable world of VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity ) gives us new lessons and sets new accents.

It doesn’t matter how strong your blow is, the main thing is how strong a blow can you withstand”, – the words of the legendary Mike Tyson

Which companies will resist a blow today? What qualities of a leader allow you to do this?

Resilience has become an important concept and is actively applied nowadays in the context of the resistance to stress of different countries due to unexpected changes. But being resilient to risk is important not only for countries but also for companies and top managers.

Lee Howell, Managing Partner and Head of Global Programs of the World Economic Forum, defines the concept of resilience as an element of systems thinking and the strongest competence of countries in general, organizations / enterprises and their leaders. He emphasizes that resilience to risk is just as important for companies and leaders as it is for countries.

The degree of resilience should also be adopted by recruiters and consultants who assess the top managers of a company at different stages: from attractiveness to the organization to participation in various projects that require this competence.

A system or a person possessing this resource can withstand even the most severe crises since they are capable of amortization and recovery. Energy, inner balance, the ability to define reality and move forward are preserved. This is what determines the productivity of actions in various difficult situations.

Crises and transformations are becoming an integral part of our life: in economics, politics, business, social relations.

A stable business is almost an illusion, and you must always be ready for changes or, better yet, anticipate them. If resilience in earlier days was necessary in rare critical situations (deep failures and defeats, difficult choices, qualitative life changes), today it is a mandatory competence of the leaders of companies in the modern world.

This means the ability to correctly assess whether oneself and others have the ability to quickly recover, to not lose energy and to remain balanced. In other words, the ability to be ready to accept any risk of being in a stressful situation, regardless of its origin, be it a pandemic, global economic crisis or unexpected threat to business.

For a better understanding of the assessment of this competence, you can separate the concept of resilience into components:

• As a personal skill, resilience is, first of all, adaptability. Ability to quickly accept and then reap the benefits of unexpected changes. It is important to be able to assess all these changes as positive, as new opportunities, and not just obstacles and unpleasant circumstances.
• Also, I include in the concept of resilience and stress resistance the ability to maintain a constant level of vitality, health, performance and just a good mood. More than ever in a crisis it is necessary to create additional value, which is impossible in a state of one’s own stress.
• Proactivity is the most important competence for a leader, as in the ability to act proactively when it is necessary, to engage and consciously make efforts and direct energy in the required direction. And this is a discipline.
• Resilience is also the ability to think strategically, to think “on the contrary”. In other words, to analyze and assess the existing risk not only from the angle of the present day, but also from the future, suggesting and evaluating various ways in which events might develop.

A leader with such qualities is able to create a stress-resistant environment in the company, a strong anti-crisis team and a system that can withstand stress of any complexity.

Such systems can adapt to changing conditions, withstand sudden shocks, and not only recover to the desired equilibrium, but also develop.

Please contact Anna Nesterchuk or your region’s Cornerstone Office to discuss how we can help you place your next executive with a high vitality quotient.

We found ourselves in a VUCA world – volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous – long before COVID-19 found us. But the pandemic has made change faster and more volatile, harder to predict, more uncertain, more difficult to analyze, more complex, more ambiguous and more challenging to interpret.

Nowhere more so than in the global environment of Life Sciences and Healthcare.

Last week, a webinar organized by the LS&H practice of Cornerstone International Group brought together senior industry executives from Brazil, China and India  – BRIC countries sharing exceptional growth prospects but with widely different experiences today.

“We are living on the same planet and enduring the same storm but not in the same boat,” says Gaetano Crupi, President and General Manager of Bristol Myers Squibb in Brazil.

Gaetano was joined on the panel by Stephane Mascarau, General manager, Servier in China and by Luca Visini, Managing Director India subcontinent, Eli Lilly and Company, India. The webinar was moderated by Eric Bouteiller, Head of Global Practice, Life Sciences & Healthcare.

Managing Uncertainty

Gaetano described a situation where one size does not fit all, but where basic preparations are essential to managing uncertainty. Avoiding big stock outs, quickly putting people to work without compromising safety, quickly adopting to digital transformation of processes and interactions and recognizing social workers & doctors who are putting their life on line were steps shared by these leaders.

A great culture was an important asset for all of the organizations navigating during crisis.

Human Capital

At the end of the day, leadership is about getting things done and delivering value for all stakeholders. So what does effective leadership in a crisis look like?

People look to their leaders for guidance when confusion and panic ensue. Hence much of the engagement and focus which a team demonstrates is the result of the experiences their immediate leaders created.

Being visible and over-communicating during a crisis was the success mantra of all the leaders on the panel. Leading effectively  empowers teams to stay focused and aligned amid uncertainty. Measures adopted by these leaders to build bonds and reduce anxiety were summed up as follows:

“Tone and tenor of interactions, sharing pride, engagement programs and surveys, well-defined WFH practices, a strong culture and sense of belonging, patient first policy, engaging with family of employees, slowing down conferences, and work-life balance including mental health.”

Key traits these leaders look for when hiring employees and leaders were also shared:  “I would look for an agent of change, a team player with integrity, excellence, learning agility, resilience and ability to adopt digital tools.”

Diversity & Inclusion

“Building and maintaining a diverse workforce leads to better business outcomes—increased cash flow, innovation, readiness for change, and more”, according to Shannon Howard, Product Manager at Predictive Index.

There is growing significance placed on creating environments where a variety of different voices are encouraged and heard. These voices come from people who may or may not be of the same gender, race, or ethnicity.

The three leaders on the panel were unanimous in their view that a diverse workforce would not happen on its own.

“You cannot wait for inclusion to happen,“ says Luca Visini. “You have to drive it and if you don’t drive it, it will not happen.”

Panelists agreed that inclusion for them involved accepting gender, religion and different thought patterns. Building teams with diversity is extremely important for the global organizations.

Leadership Practices

For any organization to succeed, it needs to have strong leadership. People who can manage their teams effectively in order to get the most productivity out of them are essential. But what makes a great leader?

Leadership qualities are the personality traits that a leader possesses – for example, vision, tenacity, EQ, charisma, confidence, etc. Leadership practices are actions and strategies that leaders will take and implement in order to consistently help their team better themselves, and attain growth.

How do you transition from a Manager to Leader? How do you lift yourself up from the operational to the strategic? What are the secrets to providing visionary leadership? How can you inspire and lead change in your organization?

What are the practices the panelists follow and their advice to young professionals were some of the questions posed to the leaders. Following are few points which came up during discussion.

Manage Yourself First

The first step towards leadership is to manage one’s self and have an ethical moral compass. Leaders need to have healthy emotional intelligence. Get to know yourself – what gives you energy and what takes away energy? Own your mistakes as well as the good things about you.

Physical & Mental Fitness

Body and mind balance, importance of physical fitness, meditation, yoga and exercises, pursuit of hobbies – these are regularly practiced by the panelists to achieve the  right balance which gets translated to their organisation.

Wider Perspective

Leaders need to have purpose and should aim high. They should be able see things globally in a wider perspective. It is good to have experience abroad and young professionals should seek international work opportunities.

Empower People and teams

A leader alone cannot achieve everything by himself/herself. Each leader needs a team.

Building and motivating teams with common purpose, enabling people, giving feedback, spending more time, and showing the way were some of practices recommended.

View the full presentation, Human Capital in Life Sciences & Healthcare.

The slow but steady progress to achieve gender equality in business has come under serious threat from the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest annual survey of Women in the Workplace from McKinsey finds as many as two million women are considering leaving the workforce due to pressures in remote working arising from the pandemic.

The issue was a discussion point last week for 900+ people attending a global webinar co-sponsored by Cornerstone and the Alumni Association of P&G. Cornerstone Chairman Simon Wan and global coaching chair Laurie O’Donnell joined three senior members of the alumni in discussing the Future of Talent.

”Women are always asking for flexibility to enable their careers and right now you would think they are thriving,” said P&G alumna Graciela Monteaugudo, an independent Board Director. “But not if there are children. One in four mothers is thinking of leaving. They are overwhelmed.”

Ironically, equality at work and equality at home are two different issues. Caretaking at home creates additional demands that usually are not being shouldered equally.

“Women are at a huge disadvantage working at home, especially if they have children,” says Laurie O’Donnell. “Kids bursting in on a zoom conference are cute the first time but not when you get to Month Three. There is phenomenal stress.”

Details of the Women in the Workplace report show the heaviest impact falling on senior level women who top the charts at over 50% reporting burn-out. With current estimates of 25-30% of the workforce working remotely by the end of 2021, the challenges for women working at home are a serious impediment to diversity.

The financial consequences could be significant. Research shows that company profits and share performance can be close to 50% higher when women are well represented at the top.

Panelists at the webinar placed responsibility squarely on the leadership of an organization to bring about improvement.

“A lot more communications now has to be done directly at the top level,” says Chairman Wan. “In order to attract and retain top talent it is very important to have a clear purpose of the company.

“And that needs to come from the top. It becomes a culture of the company and the leader has to be visible when you talk about the purpose and culture of the company.”

A new requirement of leadership has devolved upon managers at a lower level, resulting in what coaching chair O’Donnell describes as a democratization of coaching.

“Executive coaching originally was prescriptive and basically for the C-suite but that’s changing,” she says. “The people at the mid-level are on catch-up and it’s a steep learning curve. It’s a demand of humanity, a demand of empathy and understanding to manage all these people working remotely at home.”

The video recording of the Future of Talent webinar can be viewed here.

The P&G Alumni Network is a non-profit organization comprised of 35,000+ Procter & Gamble alumni around the globe. Its mission is to connect alumni to each other, provide shared learning and give back to local communities via philanthropic efforts.

ATLANTA, Ga. October 26, 2020  — A resurgent pandemic is placing massive stress on leaders around the world, according to an international panel of experts.  With the majority of an organization’s workforce working outside the office, managers face new priorities ensuring the welfare of their human capital.

Such were the findings of a recent global webinar on the Future of Talent co-sponsored by the P&G Alumni Network and Cornerstone International Group, an executive search and leadership consultancy.

Current data indicates over 42% of the U.S. workforce is now working from home, a stupendous shift in work and human relationships in less than eight months. No burden appears heavier than that borne by the direct lines of hands-on managers

“We are placing a tremendous amount of responsibility on our lower management, the individuals who are interfacing with our scattered working populations,“ says Laurie O’Donnell, Cornerstone’s head of coaching who manages over 100+ certified coaches worldwide.

They are struggling to cope with their own lives but they must also address the social needs of their people. How are they doing? What do they need for working at home? It’s a demand of empathy and understanding and they are ill-prepared for it.”

Historically better prepared, the CEO is also in unfamiliar surroundings. Facing a premium on trust, it is the CEO who steps into a frontline position once the prerogative of HR.

”Trust has become extremely important in the last eight months and the CEO has to take over,” says Cornerstone Chairman Simon Wan. “Culture and humanity is set at the top and these days, the CEO has to be more visible and show his or her humanity. Almost overnight, empathy has become a key attribute.”

Also participating in the discussion were three senior members of the P&G Alumni:  Ranu Gupta, Graciela Ivonne Monteagudo, and Robert Duque. The webinar was attended by over 900 viewers around the world and a recording can be viewed at https://www.cornerstone-group.com/2020-webinar-future-of-talent/

Cornerstone International Group has been a leading executive search and leadership development organization for over 30 years. It has 60 offices in 40 countries. More information is available at www.cornerstone-group.com

Information

Diego Cubas
Global Marketing Chair
Cornerstone International Group
diego-cubas@cornerstone-group.com

Third in a series by Steve Manning – Head of Financial Services / PE and Family Office Search Practice – Asia, Cornerstone Singapore

The bar is set high. Dynamics at Private Equity firms is fast, aggressive, all conquering, and as the investor leader you’re thrust into that all too familiar position of tackling senior leadership management issues at a newly acquired portfolio firm.

Part One and Two of this series looked at the essential and unique constituents of an ideal leadership candidate’s profile both in terms of hard and soft credentials.

Now we look at the challenge of finding a ‘pink giraffe’ to lead your portfolio invested company, why this is a difficult search, and surface compromise as an essential dynamic. The ideal of openness will be explored, and justification for a rationale of compromise; and how these impact the successful conclusion of senior executive hiring.

In Part Four we will later explore a balance between needs and compromises, and float tangential opportunity to expand horizons. We will also extricate ourselves from the myopia that accompanies the search for that elusive ‘pink giraffe’ management candidate.

1. Then There is the Challenge – Take a Look Into the Fight Ring.

At the start of this series, we examined the necessary hard and soft credentials and particularly unique requirements demanded from a portfolio company executive. There are two big fences to jump in order to secure that ‘pink giraffe”:  the pure credentials fit and the interest and motivation of a candidate to join your portfolio company.

Depth of talent in a newly acquired portfolio company often tends to be far from what was promised during deal negotiations. Key functional areas might have no leader, resources are limited, and perhaps there are too many non-performers who had ridden on the previous owner’s shirt tails.

CEOs have to quickly plug gaps, and deal with the impact of change. But who has had this change experience – other than a CEO with portfolio company experience?

CxO candidates might possess extensive credentials managing a multibillion dollar division, but when faced with a few hundred million dollar firm they may not fare well when required to ‘hands on’ manage most aspects of the business.

A large MNC divisional CxO could well have been surfing long term curves, and delivered only small incremental change — part of a bigger universe of decision making. Private equity, on the other hand, requires that they make decisions that will truly have a material impact on their business.

Coincidentally, these are good reasons why candidates might turn down what they’d see as a risky step in the first place. At the other end of the scale, a small enterprise leader’s depth of experience, even a tech founder, likely won’t measure up to the expectations of a private equity company with big growth designs.

Also, does the old asset-strip style and reputation still permeate people’s thinking of private equity? It’s uncertain, but without doubt the reputation of the industry still points towards a higher risk environment.

It is desirable to get these subjects out on the table from the onset. The right candidate will be interested in taking on a challenge and rewards through different motivators, and should not be fazed by such uncertainties.

Interest and motivation can be tested early in the search phase and agendas matched. The hiring team has to square with a candidate on what its expectations are, but a search firm can go deeper and evaluate responses to various scenario plays. Consultants can test a candidate’s response to how the role may play out, the personalities of the hirer, and how green the grass really is.

Challenges are clearly in abundance.

2. Making Concessions Without Compromise

When searching for your portfolio company executive, start with a true assessment of the challenge ahead. Make an honest evaluation of search parameters that will be out of bounds, and those that can be adjusted or compromised. This is not simply about eliminating the ‘like to have’ or ‘preferred’, it’s about how to open the search field, and compensate with other talent credentials to guarantee a timely, successful search and on-boarding.

• First, Agree Where to Compromise

Sticking obstinately to a wants list with your search partner often wastes time and effort. An overly assertive hiring manager lays down the profile, culture and must-haves; a job description is shared and honed; and the search firm charges ahead having carefully understood all the written and spoken nuances for the role.

The search consultant may realise there will be a challenge, but regardless heads into the process without disclosing real concerns, or red flags from the onset.  There is sometimes a fear that by exhibiting anything less than effusive agreement they may lose the search mandate.

After two or three months have dragged by, the pink giraffe has not been found. There’s then typically a discussion about compromises such as  ‘does the  candidate have to come from this type of competitor’, or ‘do they have to have this level of seniority’.

This usually ends with ‘well, let’s open up the field to…’  And now your search consultant will have to revisit the potential list, or start again with a few new, or previously eliminated, parameters.

You want to short-circuit this painful scenario, and have a frank discussion at kick-off as to what might be viewed as overly inflated credentials or elements that were cut and pasted in without thought.

It is a known fact that searching for the portfolio company head is difficult.  It is not like the process required for regular hiring.  In the world of the private equity company, making concessions might require setting aside certain egos and bravado, but it is important to filter the wish list and give reality plenty of air.

• Portfolio Company Experience

The quintessential first question on compromise will be this: whether or not to insist on past private equity portfolio company experience. Is it essential, or what compensating factors might there be? After you have looked at some core tenants for the role, certainly there is going to be a candidate demonstrating a huge capacity for building, transformation, adaptability, communication and resilience.

Facing a long and difficult search to find also specific, unique experience, square away with your search partner on the need for past portfolio experience from the outset. Avoid being obstinate just to trawl vainly for the elusive catch.

If a candidate doesn’t have a past portfolio company feather in his or her cap, look for personality attributes that indicate they will learn fast, and absorb this whole new world of Private Equity owned business.

You might also consider whether portfolio company experience in whatever position might not be a panacea in your own company. A unique type of business, for instance, may prioritise specific product/service knowledge over a portfolio company background – think tech firms playing a new game.

With or without portfolio company experience, a candidate must demonstrate clear cognisance of private equity company investment and divestment decision making; the dynamics of turning a strategy into practice; and how to interface between employees, private equity company management, and boards. They must understand how this clock ticks, and how a private equity company looks at business in its entirety.

In a high stakes, high expectations, fast moving portfolio company environments, is it realistic to settle for a humble consensus leader whose character likely doesn’t match your stereotype?

As with any tangential candidate your assessment must place all traits on the scales. The final decision will be heavily influenced by personality compatibility with you and your private equity company management team.

Part Four will identify means to extricate from a fixed mind-set, to think tangentially, and bring a search to a successful conclusion.

SHANGHAI, CN October 19, 2020 – Cornerstone International Group, a global talent management firm, has introduced a new executive search and leader advisory team in the Middle East.

Managing Partner and founder of Cornerstone Dubai is Stelios Pigadiotis, an experienced professional in enabling leaders and organizations to grow and reach their true potential.

He has more than 25 years of expertise in Executive Search, Executive Assessment, Leadership Advisory, HR Consulting, Executive Coaching and Leadership & Development.

“We are delighted to welcome Stelios to Cornerstone International Group,” says Chairman Simon Wan. “Stelios is widely known and respected in the Middle East and has a comprehensive background of experience also in North America, Europe, and Asia.”:

“He is a great addition to the team.”

From a base in United Arab Emirates, Cornerstone Dubai will serve clients in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.

Dubai is the capital city of the Emirate of Dubai and a busy regional business hub residing in the intersection between Middle East, Africa and Asia.  It has been a centre for regional and international trade since the early 20th century.

Cornerstone International Group is a leader in executive search and leadership development services in 37 countries.  It has head offices in Shanghai and in the United States in Atlanta, Georgia.

“I am delighted to be joining Cornerstone,” says Stelios. “I have spent many years in the industry and admire the way they conduct business and add value to their clients. I am looking forward to working with my new colleagues from around the world and joining the Cornerstone family.”

Cornerstone last year marked its 30th anniversary. To learn more, visit the global website at www.cornerstone-group.com

For Information
Stelios Pigadiotis
Managing Partner
Cornerstone Dubai
Middle East Region
Tel: +971 50 9722717 | +971 4 553 4742
Email: stelios-pigadiotis@cornerstone-group.com

The T-word is everywhere. Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, Future of Talent,  Talent Strategy.  Are we just trying to put a classier label on the old HR?

Not at all.  Talent Management (to pick one) is everywhere because it is destined to be possibly the most comprehensive reset of the modern business organization.

For at least two decades we have been saying that people are a firm’s greatest asset. But the “and so what” has been hard to answer. How do you “manage” such a dynamic asset in ways to improve the overall performance?

Leaps in technology have revolutionized, sales, marketing, supply chain and logistics. But how do you measure and assess the contribution of an asset made up of hundreds or thousands of volatile, individual units?

Let’s go back to the beginning. A job  came open. HR made a requisition. The recruiters (in or out) found the candidate, the machine was made whole again and God was in his heaven.

Recruiting is still a big part of Talent Management, but with a big difference.  Recruiting no longer stops at replicating the functions of the old job as the search criteria. TM now sits at the top table. It works with the organization’s leadership to understand the corporate strategy, identify the human capital needed to deliver it, acquire that capital, train, develop and monitor it.

So far, that is on a selective basis and tied primarily to recruiting.  But with amazingly sophisticated advances in technology, especially AI, would not a logical goal be the analysis and fine-tuning of every job in the organization relative to its contribution to the corporate strategy?

(Don’t miss a Cornerstone webinar next Monday, Oct 20th, when global leaders discuss The Future of Talent)

The field of operation is no longer one position, it is all positions and their cumulative efficiency.  The review period is no longer 90 days, it is ongoing. The success metric is no longer individual performance, it is the bottom line.

Getting here was no surprise. The talent pool continues to become much more competitive and individual capability much more varied and sophisticated.  The Conference Board, which surveys CEOs annually, reports their number one concern in 2020 is not being able to assemble the right talent needed to execute on their vision.

It is a shared nightmare in part because delivering the vision today is a lot more complicated. More moving parts. In  2016, only 57% of HROs aimed to make a measurable impact on business performance. Today, that’s 83%.

That requires understanding of the human capital contribution to a very granular level, the systems to measure it, the understanding of why and the the knowledge of how to improve on it.

Articles on TA in North America often offer the comparison with NFL football. You need the wise coach who sees the big picture, defensive and offensive units and special teams for those niche challenges.

There’s a certain logic there. But there is also a caution flag. Notwithstanding the new complexity of obtaining and maximizing that ‘greatest asset’, human capital, you don’t want to overthink this.

Talent management comes down to building and retaining a workforce of great employees to achieve organizational goals.

That hasn’t changed.  It’s just got harder – a lot harder – to do.

The rapid development of the healthcare industry in China has accelerated efforts to communicate between the various factions within the sector.  An example earlier this year was a customized training program undertaken by Cornerstone in Taiwan.

The client was a large pharma company and the task was to enable scientific exchange between company personnel and the medical / scientific community.

“The client needed to conduct effective customer engagement” explains Frances Lee, Director at Cornerstone Taipei.  “They wanted to be able to address important medical and scientific issues leading to improve patient outcomes.”

Participants were senior members from three departments of the pharmaceutical company:

1. The Medical Team
2. The Clinical Operations Team
3. The Regulatory Affairs Team

The classroom training was held face-to-face earlier this year, just before the onset of Covid-19.

Post-event interviews with the participants identified five key learnings from the training.

1. Participants learned how to gain customer insight through asking insightful questions with probing skills.
2. They understood how to do pre-visit planning and prepare for a successful visit.
3. They learned to engage in professional relationship building and networking.
4. They became able to handle complex issues through problem solving and building mutual trust.
5. They became at ease creating two-way conversations and uncovering pain points.

“The client was very satisfied with the customized approach of the training and the outcome,” says Lee.  “A second training session was planned for July but was tentatively deferred to Q4 this year because of the pandemic.”

 

Each participant gave concentrated attention to the speaker’s topic. From the post-training evaluation, client had a high degree of satisfaction. Participants gained a lot through role play during this workshop.

The Life Sciences & Healthcare industry is at a fantastic period with unprecedented improvement of health thanks to innovation.

Products are developed under market forces. But as the Covid-19 pandemic demonstrates, when there is an urgent, public health need authorities have to intervene to ensure sufficient financing and reduce commercial risk to the companies.

Covid-19 has accelerated cooperation between the authorities and the industry at a level not seen before. A major facilitator is the Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturer’s of America (PhRMA) which represents innovative biopharmaceutical research and discovery companies and is based in Washington.

Brian Toohey, Senior Vice President for International Advocacy of PhRMA, was the guest speaker at a recent Cornerstone International Group webinar.

“We are seeing a wonderful transformation in science,“ said Toohey. ”The industry is moving from treatments to cures with great breakthroughs in oncology and many other fields.”

PhRMA is devoted to advancing public policies in the U.S. and around the world that support innovative medical research, yield progress for patients today and provide hope for the treatments and cures of tomorrow.

Toohey identified three pillars on which innovation in Life Sciences and Healthcare depends:

1. Market access
2. Intellectual Property (IP) – the battleground for continued investment in biopharmaceutical research, and
3. Global trade

With costs of $2.8 billion to get a new medicine to market all three pillars are essential for continuing innovation, says Toohey. Also essential is the support and vision of regulatory authorities and governments as displayed in the current pandemic. Authorities have initiated policies to mitigate the risk borne by the discovery companies under the pressure to create a vaccine.

Addressing the challenge of the strong development of Market Access as a job across the whole industry, Toohey advocates first building a strong academic foundation in top universities. Pricing and assessing medicines are a science, he says, and education should be thorough. Then candidates should join companies and probably enter product development groups, in order to get the business discipline.

For more information on Cornerstone’s Life Sciences and Healthcare group, contact eric-bouteiller@cornerstone-group.com