Digital Competence in Pharma Marketing & Sales - Our Learning Journey at AstraZeneca

by Jana Sonntag (Vice President Innovation & Business Excellence) and Milaid Stephan (Head of Capability Development, both: AstraZeneca Germany)
from the handbook Digital Competence and Future Skills
The COVID-19 pandemic, and the resulting need for physical distancing, have caused an unprecedented disruption in many aspects of our private and professional lives. As a consequence, virtual and digital interactions have been replacing the traditional in-person contact. The healthcare system and thus the healthcare industry are also affected by these changes. Keeping pace with this acceleration, actively shaping the processes, and ideally even driving them forward with innovations are key challenges for companies in the healthcare industry, and thus of course also for AstraZeneca.
This chapter describes the Omnichannel Learning Journey of AstraZeneca by emphasizing that successful change happens when everyone involved understands the 'why'. Only then does the willingness develop to overcome the inner barriers against change and to adopt new methods, tools and processes. Accompanying this change process with appropriate learning opportunities geared to the needs of the learners and transparently adapting the way forward based on feedback from the learners are the highest priorities for successful and sustainable capability building.
The handbook Digital Competence and Future Skills provides comprehensive insight into the future of competencies and learning and the transformation of business. For the first time, leading companies from a wide range of industries around the world provide concrete insights into their comprehensive approaches to transformation, competence management, culture change, and learning and development. In addition, leading scientists and institutions use the latest research findings to assess where we are today and what is to come in the future.
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Jana Sonntag joined AstraZeneca Germany as VP Innovation & Business Excellence and member of the German Management Team in 2019, responsible for turning the 'IBEX' department into an 'integrated power-house' providing digital expertise and innovative omnichannel delivery to all business functions and therapeutic areas. With more than 20 years' experience in senior management, her international career has focused on digital transformation, new promotional models in commercial and business process reengineering in Pharma Operations, Quality and IT. Jana founded the Fresenius Kabi Digital Lab as in-company startup to build and market innovative digital healthcare products. In senior management at Accenture, she drove Innovation & Thought Leadership in Life Sciences for the DACH region. At Teva ratiopharm Germany Jana was Head of Commercial Shared Services, which she turned into a powerful multichannel delivery partner and recognized think tank for the Medical, Marketing & Sales Units within Specialty Medicines, Generics and OTC. At Boehringer Ingelheim, Jana began as a dual student of Computer Sciences & Economics and became Project Manager Engineering in the FDA readiness project in France, Head of Packaging Material Technology in Spain, Global Compliance Officer responsible for the company-wide IT Infrastructure Computer System Validation and head of building up digital marketing and social media. Jana completed executive training in leadership at the St. Gallen Management Institute. Since 2020 Jana chairs the vfa subcommittee Digital Health.