2024 Global (Ex-US) Incentive Compensation Benchmarking Study

In recent years, changing preferences among healthcare professionals have significantly altered the sales representative’s role in the pharmaceutical industry. The pharmaceutical industry is moving beyond traditional face-to-face interactions and embracing digital engagement, partly because customers’ needs, like those of healthcare providers (HCPs) and patients, have become more complex, requiring personalized and dynamic support.

Several major factors are shaping the pharmaceutical industry. Among those are the growing use of omnichannel customer engagement, more sophisticated patient journeys, increased collaboration between medical and commercial teams, and the increasing role of GenAI and artificial intelligence. Expectations of the field are also evolving, requiring a behavioral shift driven by access to dynamic planning tools, near real-time guidance, and highly coordinated promotions between digital, virtual, and in-person touchpoints.

The field force is still pharmaceutical companies’ most critical customer engagement channel, and incentive compensation (IC) is essential in motivating the field force. IC team leaders must know industry trends and best practices to design region-specific policies and IC strategies that drive customer success.  Axtria’s 2024 Global (Ex-US) Incentive Compensation Benchmarking Study provides valuable insights for all key regions by team type, such as HCP-focused sales team or account team, and therapy areas such as primary care, specialty care, and oncology. Key topics covered in the benchmarking study are:

• Pay Mix: Analysis by team type, therapy area, and region.
• Incentive Plan Design Practices: Most-preferred IC plans, data metrics, measurement methods, pay structures, and performance periods.
• IC Pay Outcomes: Benchmarks on engagement KPIs, degree of differentiation maintained for top performers, and budget utilization at ~100% national target attainment.
• Management by Objectives (MBOs): Tailored for various roles and teams.
• IC Reporting: Best practices for different teams.

Success in this dynamic sector relies on understanding and adapting to sales compensation trends. Our study helps life sciences organizations:

• Assess current plans to identify gaps and opportunities.
• Design effective programs that implement strategies to support growth and profitability.

Join us in exploring the future of the life sciences, where innovation meets engagement and strategic compensation drives performance.