Earlier in my career, gaining the perspective of where I stood against my peers and competitors on a weekly and monthly basis drove my performance as a specialty pharma representative and subsequently as a District Manager. I’d receive performance reports, Incentive Compensation reports, Managed Markets reports, and Activity Reports. Targeting reports, contest reports, and product launch reports – it was Report City, and it validated my efforts on a continuous basis, fueling the fire until the next round of downloads and emails.

The more I think about it now, though, the more of a Popsicle headache all those reports start to give me. I suppose at the time, I was happy for the quantifiable feedback in an otherwise qualitative job function. Not everyone shared this perspective, though, as more expressive peers were more interested in alternative means of ‘feedback,’ i.e. solid reviews from DM visits and greater accessibility to Key Opinion Leaders via relationships). As reporting and analytics improve, so too should our ability to identify key performance indicators in a report heavy, knowledge poor (or inconsistently leveraged) analytical environment. The issue should no longer be how to collect and manage these data sources, but more so how to integrate, extract, and enhance the numbers to appeal to a larger mass of end-users – from the analytical thinkers and drivers to the expressive relationship builders.

With this in mind, here are my top three wishes for 2012 field-based reporting:

1.       Make it visual –

Millennials and late Gen X-ers expect to use tools that enhance the user experience as a byproduct of their intended functionality – we were virtually raised on this concept. By adding visual appeal, an aesthetically pleasing user interface, and answers to questions in half the time, and all of a sudden, we’re cooking with gas. Though Excel and Powerpoint reporting still serve as the cornerstone of reporting intelligence, these reports can still be developed with an artistic eye, combining accurate content with an elegant appearance.  

2.       Consolidate and make it mobile –

Current technologies like the iPad provide a platform for delivering robust sets of data with lightning speed and agility. Deploying a device capable of managing SaaS-enabled reporting addresses both mobility and consolidation concerns. Integrating data sources on the back end for more robust and multi-faceted analytics on the front can alleviate the Popsicle headache and immerse the user in a more modern approach to data reporting.

 3.       Make it predictive –

By the time pharma folks in the field receive their monthly reports, 10-12 weeks have passed since any actual transactions took place. Yet, ironically, decisions focused on current and future activity are often made using these ‘rearview mirror’ numbers. Here’s a novel concept: drive the car looking through the windshield at what lies ahead. Current statistical capabilities exist to enable seamless integration of this future-forward tactic. It’s bold, it’s different, and it’s actionable – akin to swerving to miss the squirrel in the road verses hearing the thump and watching him twitch in the rear-view mirror.

Trust me, internal Operations teams and Information Technology have no shortage of similar requests from the field. Maybe there’s something behind all of the noise – some actual steak to accompany the sizzle. After all, most field-based analytics and performance reporting require the end-user to be tactically focused and strategically aligned to their company’s performance. By arming their physician-facing resources with consolidated, predictive, and attractive analyses, Life Science organizations are making an investment in employee engagement and targeted evangelism, rather than a historically inconsistent view of reporting and analytics.