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New York, NY, February 25, 2005 – Employee retention and motivation…why should employers care? A storm is brewing. National productivity was up 3.9% in the second quarter and 1.9% in the third quarter of 2004. At the same t

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

ime, the unemployment rate was up 5.5% in October 2004.

“Productivity is up, but fewer people are doing more,” said Jennifer Loftus, SPHR, CCP, CBP, GRP, and National Director of HR consulting firm, Astron Solutions. “In add

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

tion, the number of 25-34 year old workers will decline by 2.7 million by 2008, resulting in a predicted shortage of 10 million workers within the next ten years.”

Turnover can be very costly. According to the Society for Hu

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

man Resource Management (SHRM), each employee who leaves a company generates a cost. Conservative estimates place that cost at 30% of an employee’s salary. For example, an organization that loses and replaces 150 employees a

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

year, each at an average annualized salary of $50,000, incurs an estimated turnover cost of $2,250,000 in one year.

Making changes to recruitment and retention programs can make a difference. As Loftus explained, “If the sam

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

e organization that replaced 150 employees were to implement changes, they would enjoy a $22,500 decline in recruitment and retention costs with each 1% decline in turnover. By working to improve the employment relationship,

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

hey would also reap the recruiting benefits of a reputation as an employer of choice.”

Communication is the key ingredient in finding what will best motivate and meet employee needs by asking employees directly about what mot

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

ivates them. “In order to avoid losing valuable employees, employers must expand their retention efforts by getting inside the hearts and minds of employees and candidates,” said Loftus.

One retention and motivation option i

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

instituting a variable compensation program. Team and small group variable compensation programs link organizations and their employees towards particular goals, while providing several benefits including increased total cas

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

h compensation opportunities, no increase to fixed salary costs, greater opportunities to reward top-performing employees and departments, enhanced goal setting, and improvement in organizational processes and fiscal situation

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

.

Astron Solutions’ client, Boston Children’s Hospital launched a small group variable compensation program for their patient financial services department when their days in receivable had increased to 110 days. A quarterly

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

incentive program was formulated focusing on the department’s efforts to decrease days in receivable, with a maximum incentive pool equivalent to 20% of the department's total quarterly payroll. Cash payouts were equal among

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

all employees, with the understanding that performance needed to be kept at satisfactory levels in order to be eligible for participation and payouts.

The results were extremely positive. The employees learned how to work mo

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

re efficiently together as a team, the hospital greatly decreased its days in receivable which generated positive cash flow, and the employees increased their take-home cash without causing the organization any fiscal strain.

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

Of course there are other options. Spot cash awards are another option for organizations looking to motivate their employees, as well as non-monetary recognition awards such as public “thank you’s” or recognition in company n

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

ewsletters for a job well done. In addition, career matrix programs are a way to motivate employees by linking performance, job complexity, and career advancement. What works best really depends on your employees. “Employers

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

should ask their employees how they would like to be rewarded. For example, employees who work for not-for-profit organizations know that money can be tight, and will often be an organization’s best source of ideas with faste

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

r buy-in and appreciation,” said Loftus.

With these various choices, employers should not feel like the spinning impaired, miller’s daughter from the beloved children’s fable, “Rumplestiltskin.” Low cost solutions for retaini

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

g and motivating employees are readily available, proven to be effective, and are relatively easy to execute, resulting in a “happy ending” for employers.

Astron Solutions www.astronsolutions.com is a consulting firm dedicat

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

ed to the delivery of HR consulting services and supportive technology. To reach Jennifer Loftus directly, please call 800-520-3889 or email her at jcloftus@astronsolutions.com

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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There are plenty of things you can do to help reduce event-day challenges in the planning marketplace- making use of event planning software, choosing your venue and suppliers based on careful research, automating as much as possible, etc.

Ever feel like a cog in the wheel? Ever wonder if anyone has heard about your company? To succed you must get noticed! Change the way you brand and print your marketing material.

Billing is one important area of all small and big businesses. Billing software market is crowded that choice of one becomes so difficult for a start up business owner. The question is will billing software survives the flood of software suits or packages offered by small and big software developing companies.

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