How cross-functional teams may have more in common that they thought

In the complex environment of healthcare and life sciences, multi-functional teams are often tasked to achieve something quite challenging – to develop a product or solution that represents value to a variety of stakeholders with misaligned (or even worse, conflicting) interests or goals.

Commercialising assets in life sciences therefore requires collaborative work across many complex specialties with unique technical capabilities. On the surface, the techniques, capabilities and perspectives across specialities such as HEOR, marketing, government/policy affairs, medical and market access share little in common.

Integrated Value Framework

However, there is a common framework that can be used equally across all functions tasked with creating customer value. Our “Integrated Value Framework” can help cross functional teams cut through technical jargon and functional division by aligning on a common set of steps and processes that can be applied to all different types of external stakeholders – payers, policy makers, HTA agencies, healthcare professionals, hospital management and even consumers themselves.

A common framework can ensure better communication amongst internal teams, provide a structure that allows multiple functions to use as an anchor and most importantly, allows the organisation to present an integrated and aligned face to their external customers and stakeholders.

1. Understanding the target market/stakeholder

The foundation of any powerful solution is the problem that it solves. A detailed segmentation and prioritisation of stakeholders will help ensure that any insights will be sufficiently focused to identify true opportunities for developing valuable solutions to real, big problems for that given target stakeholder.

2. Creating the ideal solution

The stage of solution creation is not only focused on the elements of the product strategy. It is as important to develop the tools and data to create the evidence that underpins the solution– the proof to the targeted stakeholder that the solution is the real deal.

3. Market/stakeholder engagement & execution

A solution, product or service does not impact reality unless it engages the intellect and impacts the behaviours of the targeted stakeholder. Planning a series of engaging, tailored content that is deployed through a carefully planned map of communication channels are critical steps in creating the demand for the solution. When combined with a collaborative, solutions-oriented negotiation and engagement philosophy, value can be delivered to all stakeholders involved

4. Assessment & optimisation

CCreating and delivering value to customers and stakeholders is an iterative process. Defining KPI’s and performance targets are important tools to assess the variation of impact and to adapt and reprioritise messages, content and channels as a program evolves and matures.

Regardless of which the external stakeholder you are targeting, the process of understanding a segment’s needs, and then designing, communicating and delivering valuable solutions, can be based on a common process. Applying an integrated framework can allow multi-functional teams to design and communicate valuable solutions tailored for their stakeholders while still speaking a common language within their own organisations.

It is nice to know that, despite their differences, multi-functional teams have more in common than they may have thought.