Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 16

COVERSTORY

Screen shots of the
training app that was
used as a resource
center and certification
tool for the national
sales meeting. Eisai
partnered with M3
Health on the
development of the app.

From Paper to Pad:
Taking Training Digital

W

hen it comes to tackling tough
problems like Alzheimer’s,
cancer and obesity, Eisai, Inc.
is fearless. It’s all part of a corporate
philosophy to address what it considers
“unmet medical needs.” With more
than 10,000 employees worldwide, the
company is certainly thinking big.
That’s a philosophy that goes beyond
R&D, however: It touches training too.
Today, Eisai’s 500 field sales
representatives, managers and directors
are learning – and managing learning –
courtesy of the iPad. It’s all part of a
rollout that’s transformed how Eisai
trains its sales squads, bringing cost
savings and more agile sales strategies.
But the transformation itself isn’t the
real story. What’s noteworthy here is
that the new learning plan came from a

learning exercise that’s proved the line
between theoretical and actual is thin
indeed.

Paper-Based Past
Jump back now to April 2011. As at
many companies, training at Eisai was
all paper-based and classroom-based.
Newly hired reps would get orientation
materials and huge binders of product
information, and they were expected to
learn and digest. Certainly there was
manager and training support, but
learning was in many ways selfdirected.
Now meet Steven Spencer, senior director of sales operations for Eisai. In
his 15 years with the company, Spencer
held a number of roles, including sales
rep and sales trainer, before taking his
current position. In that role, sales
training is one of
several departments
that reports to him.

Steve Spencer has been with
Eisai for 15 years, working in a
variety of roles from sales to
alliance management. He has
won multiple awards at Eisai
and is currently senior director
of sales operations, supporting
the United States, Canada and
Latin America.

“I think training is one of the
integral pieces of the pharmaceutical
world,” Spencer said. “Without proper
training, you can’t deploy an effective
sales force.”

Eisai is bypassing
paper for technologydriven learning
In April 2011, Spencer was one of
the Eisai leaders selected for a special
development course, E-Elite, a program
to help develop directors into higherlevel roles with the organization. The
nine-month course included creating
work teams tasked with figuring out a
solution to a challenge the company
was facing.
And now, enter the iPad.

LEFT: Mike Dunkerley and Kate Williams (field trainers) learn how
to instruct a new hire using the onboarding app.
RIGHT: Michael O'Brien, vice president, specialty business unit.

16

FOCUS | FALL 2013 | www.spbt.org



http://www.spbt.org

Focus Magazine - Fall 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Focus Magazine - Fall 2013

Focus Magazine
From the President: Field-Based Trainers
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Guest Editor: Focus on the New Learner
Front of the Room: Transitioning to Input
From Paper to Pad: Taking Training Digital at Eisai
Building Better Vendor-Supplier Relationships
The Only Two Questions that Matter About Training
Gamification: It's More than Just a Game
Member Solutions: Focus on Mentoring
Seven Strategies to Engage Managers in Learning
Boosting Sales Effectiveness with Better Field Collaboration
Virtual How: Gamification
Member News
The Long and Winding Road to the C-Suite
Ad Index
Focus Contacts
5 Questions with Ralph Jacobson
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - Intro
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - Focus Magazine
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - Cover2
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 3
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 4
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - From the President: Field-Based Trainers
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 6
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - Table of Contents
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 8
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - Table of Contents
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 10
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - Guest Editor: Focus on the New Learner
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 12
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - Front of the Room: Transitioning to Input
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 14
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - From Paper to Pad: Taking Training Digital at Eisai
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 16
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 17
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 18
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 19
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - Building Better Vendor-Supplier Relationships
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 21
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 22
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 23
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 24
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 25
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - The Only Two Questions that Matter About Training
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 27
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 28
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 29
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - Gamification: It's More than Just a Game
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 31
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - Member Solutions: Focus on Mentoring
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 33
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 34
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 35
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - Seven Strategies to Engage Managers in Learning
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 37
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 38
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 39
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - Boosting Sales Effectiveness with Better Field Collaboration
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 41
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - Virtual How: Gamification
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 43
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 44
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - Member News
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - The Long and Winding Road to the C-Suite
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 47
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - Ad Index
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - Focus Contacts
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - 5 Questions with Ralph Jacobson
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - Cover3
Focus Magazine - Fall 2013 - Cover4
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