The reason(s) behind high turn-over in the medical promotion industry

Abstract

Among the industries that have been booming lately in Bangladesh, and the South-East Asian region in general, the Pharmaceuticals industry is one. It is a definite shame that it is overshadowed by Garments and Shipbreaking, or even Ship-making industry, because today, there are approximately 267 registered pharmaceuticals companies in the country, and 195 of them are in active operation. Many of us will find that a surprising discovery, because we know of such a limited number of brands that we usually buy. But there are thousands of brands being sold in the market with the top of the line pharmaceuticals selling over hundreds of brands of their own; and a crucial role in all of this is played by the doctors, because the drug stores keep only what the doctors prescribe. And the people who convince the doctors to suggest a particular brand are called MPOs (Medical Promotion Officers) or MIOs (Medical Information Officers), and the industry they operate in – the Medical Promotion Industry, is the reason why Pharmaceuticals Industry is undergoing this massive boom. I have been working at SMC EL (SMC Enterprise Limited) as a HR Intern for 3 months now, and during my time with them, the only people I have seen them to struggle with the most, are the MIOs for their own pharmaceuticals division. They just keep switching between companies, and they do not even resign properly; they just leave with no notice. After looking into it for a bit, I came to know this is a common phenomenon in the industry itself. I found it interesting, decided to find out the possible reasons as a part of my internship report. A total number of 74 people with prior experience as MIOs were surveyed, and they reported to have 104 relevant work experiences as a whole. Upon asking them to rate their former employer(s) on the basis of 12 work-satisfaction parameters that run strong in the Medical Promotion Industry, 52% of them rated the Benefits offered dissatisfactory, while the figures kept getting even worse, since it was over 60%, 61%, and 63% for Sales Target, Place of Posting, and Behavior of the Supervisors respectively. They also mentioned the same variables as their reasons behind switching with 38% of the time, people switching because of their Supervisors, 26% switching because of unfavorable Place of Posting, 15% because of excessive Sales Targets, and 11% because of lack of Benefits.