Partnerships 2010: Keep the Spark Alive: Evolution of the Business Relationship

Panelists:
Jennifer Charron, Associate Director, Clinical Programs, RPS, INC
Susan Torchio, RN, BSN, Associate Director, Clinical Operations Resourcing & Pain, CEPHALON, INC

Jennifer Charron of RPS, Inc. and Susan Torchio of Cephalon, Inc. presented on how their companies developed a working partnership. Ms. Torchio started by describing how the workforce was consolidated to create a single pool of CRAs and CTMs and employees of Cephalon were offered the choice of moving to RPS during this process. She went on to talk about the key performance indicators, relationship management and new policies that would be shared between the companies.

In the first year of the partnership, there were struggles in the merging of processes and a lack of buy-in from employees. Ms. Charron told us how RPS responded by holding national meetings, monthly calls, conducting surveys and increasing email communication to outline goals and rationales. Feedback was not always positive but was helpful in discovering the gaps in the process and what was needed to form a cohesive team. Lessons learned included the importance of having all parties contribute to the process and involve key stakeholders in the approval process so that when it rolls out, all are in agreement.

Some tools that were used in the evolution of the relationship were a governance committee, an executive committee, KPIs, a relationship management plan, new policies and procedures and a quality management plan. The last item included CVs, job descriptions, org charts, SOP processes, IT systems and a detailed training plan.

Today, the companies continue to re-evaluate their relationship and update the management plan annually. Through open and collaborative communications, the evaluation of goals and continual assessment of quality, the companies are able to keep the relationship fresh and viable.