THE ROADMAP TO HIGH PERFORMING MARKETERS

1. Be results-oriented and highly customized to the healthcare business of our clients
2. Accelerate learning by employing LEAN and engineered, experiential learning principles
3. Ensure learning is able to be immediately applied on the job by using certain design methodologies

In the Best Practices study, Marketing Career Path Excellence: Best Practices for Training and Developing High-Impact Healthcare Marketers, healthcare executives, directors, and managers from 18 leading biopharma organizations shared what they considered core skills and competencies, and who gets trained when, what and how. No surprise to us, a clear message comes out from this study: that learning, to be effective in developing high performing marketers, needs to be experiential.

To develop high performing marketers, Innovara recommends that four things be in place:

1. A practical marketing competency model translating core competencies into functional skills and tasks that are observable and describable, the outputs and impact of which collectively represent what is of value to the company. Skills and tasks must be reasonable, realistic, and achievable at each level in specific functions, but still allow for variance depending upon the actual job. The model also lays the foundation for common terminology, tools, and processes at all levels of competency.
2. A functional development needs assessment process aligned to the competency model. This allows for development need prioritization and allocation of resources for continuous formal training, experiential and on-the-job learning, and self-development. This assessment should be able to evaluate more than marketing knowledge. It should also be able to assess the application of skills and sound judgement. The process is repeated across the organization so that development needs of both individuals and groups are identified, prioritized, and aligned to achieving business goals.
3. An up-to-date marketing development roadmap that is accessible to every marketer. Planning the development of high performing marketers should not be ad hoc. In most companies, it appears to be exactly that. The realization of this by companies sometimes results in an over-correction by building a plethora of curricula. Instead, it is better to build a “development toolbox” to support the roadmap. It would include a targeted and complementary mix of learning and development resources to adapt to both individual and group development needs. These resources blend formal training, job rotations, coaching and mentoring on the job, and special projects designed to maximize experiential learning and impact on the business.
4. Marketing Development Champions, backed by flexible infrastructure and systems to support globalization of learning, including integration of innovative technologies. One key to this is not only to have internal marketing mentors and qualified trainers, but also close partnerships with external vendors and professional marketing trainers to keep up with the latest in marketing and commercial excellence.

Not many healthcare companies meet all 4 criteria and can say that they truly embody best practices for training and developing high performing marketers. In one case study, a new Chief Marketing Officer (formerly from a FMCG company) wanted to take an inventory of marketing assets and talents across the globe. The company was spending millions on formal training in collaboration with leading schools of business, bringing people to the US. They were also working with a global management consulting firm on increasingly complex marketing planning processes and formats. What the CMO simply wanted to know was, “What was sticking?” The answer: very little.

Following the 4 steps above, the company has completely transformed its marketing organization. In the process, it has also successfully internalized most marketing learning and development with required applications on the job.

We want to hear about your successes in building high performing marketers! Share your story below.

To learn more about the Best Practices study, please contact Erica Silvestri, Best Practices LLC: esilvestri@best-in-class.com.