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The pharmaceutical industry is constantly innovating. Changes in technology, processes and procedures mean that to keep current, industry professionals must re-skill and up-skill to comply with the strict regulations in these fields. In such a fast-paced environment with increasingly complex subject matter, training can be a challenge.While classroom training is highly effective it is not always a viable solution – many teams are dispersed or out in the field. Therefore, other forms of training such as virtual classroom training, eLearning and microlearning are becoming more popular.
Microlearning is a relatively quick and cost-effective way to produce training that keeps the skills of employees across departments and countries current. “Modern research supports the theory that our brains respond better to targeted information that’s repeated often, rather than large volumes of data that’s delivered as a one-off learning event.”1
According to research by ATC, 92% of organizations using microlearning planned to do more of it in 2017, and over 67% of organizations not using microlearning planned to adopt it as part of their learning and development strategy.2
To learn more about microlearning in your organization download this free eBook entitled "Microlearning: Bite-Sized eLearning" today.
Here are some examples of areas within the pharmaceutical industry that can benefit the most from a microlearning strategy.
Sales teams
Pharmaceutical companies are constantly releasing new drugs and there is a great deal of product information for sales representatives to learn. While good progress has been made in bringing pharmaceutical information online and making it accessible to sales representatives through tablets and mobile devices, reps are not necessarily making use of these tools. In fact, a research report by DRG Digital stated that over half of physicians had been given out of date information by pharmaceutical sales representatives.3
Sales reps are always on the road, and their schedules make it difficult to attend classroom training. Microlearning is an effective tool in helping sales reps stay on top of newly released product information. They can easily access the information before an important meeting to refresh their knowledge and improve their presentation.
Manufacturing
Innovations in technology have changed traditional manufacturing plants into automated facilities. To remain competitive, companies often introduce new products which means implementing new policies and procedures. When expanding a product line, there may also be compliance training required if there are new procedures, regulations and laws.
Environmental compliance is growing in importance as governments at all levels issue new regulations. Non-compliance can result in major fines and are a concern for companies of all sizes.
As in any industry, taking employees from the production floor to put them in classrooms for training can mean production slowdowns and lost revenue.
A more cost-effective way to up-skill workers without interrupting production levels is microlearning. Creating eLearning modules covering new products, procedures, environmental regulations and more can provide production employees with the information they need to do their jobs, in an engaging and easily digestible format, while reducing downtime.
Laboratories
In the pharmaceutical industry, technological innovations have are changing the lab environment in which new drugs are developed and tested. When changes are made, employees need to be up skilled to work with new procedures.
In this industry there are rules referred to as “Good Laboratory Practices (GLP)” which outline regulations around the quality of procedures, equipment, testing and reporting in the labs.
As pharmaceutical companies develop new products and expand globally, they will need to follow the compliance regulations in those regions.
Each of these training challenges can be addressed by microlearning. Ongoing innovations can be addressed in short modules delivered to employees online. This is also a cost-effective way to deliver training in regulations for lab procedures and compliance that need to be delivered to many employees at multiple locations, to ensure the consistency of information.
Safety
Safety is an important concern in the pharmaceutical industry, especially in laboratories and manufacturing plants. To maintain a safe and healthy work environment, many safety policies and procedures are put in place around the use of machinery and tools, chemicals and cross contamination. In many cases, pharmaceutical companies have global locations with different legal requirements and language considerations.
The short form presentation of microlearning is ideal for safety related training topics. It can be used to quickly introduce new skills or processes as the result of a product launch, as well as providing refresher training to keep skills that are not used every day such as fire or accident procedures top of mind.
For further assistance on your microlearning strategy and training get in touch with the corporate training experts at TrainingFolks today.
1 Growing knowledge with microlearning http://www.pharmatimes.com/web_exclusives/growing_knowledge_with_microlearning_1231357
2 How Microlearning will Shape the Future of Work https://www.td.org/insights/how-microlearning-will-shape-the-future-of-work