Global Survey of Medical Science Liaison Job Satisfaction

Title

Global Survey of Medical Science Liaison Job Satisfaction

Authors

Samuel Dyer, PhD

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Alexander Tolmachev, MD, Senior Manager, Medical and Regulatory Projects Takeda, Russia and Kumaran Krishnan, MBA, Medical Affairs Centre of Excellence-Europe Sanofi, UK who both provided insight and expertise with the creation of the questions for this survey.

Affiliations

The Medical Science Liaison Society

Corresponding Author

Samuel Dyer, PhD

Email: Samuel.dyer@themsls.org

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding Support

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Global Survey of Medical Science Liaison Job Satisfaction

Key Words

Medical Science Liaison, Key Opinion Leader, Job Satisfaction, Salary

Abstract

Introduction

There are numerous factors that influence job satisfaction for Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs). Identifying these specific factors may assist management in reducing turnover, improving team/individual performance, strengthening KOL-MSL relationships, and improving company performance. As of the publishing of this article, there has never been a global survey conducted on MSL Job Satisfaction. As a result, the Medical Science Liaison Society conducted a global survey of 990 respondents to gain insights into how satisfied MSLs are with their current jobs, employers, and careers across the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical devices and other healthcare industries.

What made this survey unique was that in addition to discovering how satisfied current MSLs are with regards to their jobs, employers and careers, the study also identified the key factors that influence overall job satisfaction. A summary of the findings was revealed during the recent annual Medical Science Liaison Society (MSL Society) Conference in Boston, September 29-October 1st, 2015.

Methods

The MSL Society surveyed 990 respondents from 61 countries. The online survey was open from July 8 to August 11, 2015 using Survey Gizmo survey software and were blinded to all authors. Both fully completed and partial surveys were counted in the results. The survey was only open to current MSLs (or equivalent title) and MSL management. Respondents were only allowed to participate one time and duplicate surveys from a single email address were not accepted. The survey results were not weighted.

Respondents were invited to participate in the survey through a range of sources including:

Announcements in two LinkedIn groups “Medical Science Liaison & Medical Affairs Networkers” as well as “Medical Science Liaison World”
The MSL Society newsletter
Personal direct LinkedIn contacts

As this was not a probability-based sample, calculating the theoretical margin of sampling error is not applicable. However, as with probability surveys, it is important to keep in mind that results are estimates and typically vary within a narrow range around the actual value that would be calculated by interviewing everyone in a population. Again, as with probability surveys, on occasion the results from a particular question will be completely outside a typical interval of error.

There are many types of survey error that can limit the ability to generalize to a population. Throughout the research process, The Medical Science Liaison Society followed a Total Survey Quality approach designed to minimize error at each stage. The Medical Science Liaison Society is confident that the information gathered from this survey can be used to make important business decisions related to this topic.

Only report differences between subgroups when they are statistically significant at the 95% confidence level. While this is the industry standard for reporting results, it does mean that reported differences are simply due to chance 1 out of 20 times.

Results

The first question of the survey asked if the participant was currently an MSL or MSL management. Only those who responded as being currently in one of these two roles were allowed to continue with the survey. In the survey, 86% reported being an MSL with 14% stating they manage MSLs.

More than half of the respondents held the title of MSL (or equivalent title) (55%), while more than quarter were a Senior MSL (or equivalent title) (27%) and another 15% were in management. See Figure 1.

Figure 1

Almost all of the respondents in the survey report to non-commercial (medical affairs, R&D, regulatory, etc.) as their functional area (96%).

Satisfaction Index

Several factors can influence MSL job satisfaction. According to the study, 61% of participants reported being overall completely or very satisfied with their current job, with only 13% of respondents stating they were slightly or not at all satisfied with their current job. See Figure 2.

Figure 2

The same percent said that they were also very or completely satisfied with their employer. See Figure 3.

Figure 3

Another 61% were very or completely likely to recommend their current employer.

See Figure 4.

Figure 4

53% of MSLs rated their satisfaction exactly the same across all three dimensions of overall satisfaction.

These three measures of satisfaction (job satisfaction, employer satisfaction, and likelihood to recommend) were averaged together to form a Satisfaction Index, scaled from 0 to 100. Other measures that had high degrees of correlation with one another were aggregated together and then correlated to the Satisfaction Index, to determine the largest drivers of satisfaction for MSLs.

A latent factor is simply an aspect of MSLs’ attitudes that is not directly observed but is derived from multiple measures. For instance, the Salary & Benefits Satisfaction Index is a latent factor taking into account satisfaction with many different aspects of compensation.

While salary and benefits are often seen as a key driver of overall satisfaction, in this case they explained only 51% of the shared variance with the Satisfaction Index. More important than compensation was the Self-Actualization Index (the degree to which employees can achieve their full potential), the Cultural Loyalty Index, and then two measures of the relationship with management.

Latent Factor	Correlation	Shared Variance
Self-Actualization Index	.964	93%
Cultural Loyalty Index	.939	88%
Management Information Satisfaction Index	.844	71%
Manager Relationship Index	.843	71%
Salary & Benefits Satisfaction Index	.712	51%

The closer the correlation is to 1.000, the greater the two measures correlate. However, the range is exponential, so a .900 correlation means that 84% of the variance between the two measures is shared or overlaps, while a .800 correlation means that 64% of the variance does, and a .700 correlation means that 49% of the variance is shared.

Self-Actualization Index

When questioned about their employment experience, 70% of MSLs surveyed said they are always or often proud of the work they do for their company and feel their job provides them with a sense of meaning and purpose. Almost the same amount of MSLs look forward to going to work (69%), though only 54% say they feel their company has created an environment where they can perform their best. See Figure 5.

Figure 5

These four measures were combined to form the Self-Actualization Index, which has a 0.964 correlation to the Satisfaction Index and explains 93% of the shared variance between the two indices.

Cultural Loyalty Index

Culture is a key driver of overall satisfaction, yet barely half of the respondents said they were completely or very satisfied with the company culture (54%), with a quarter of them saying they were only moderately satisfied. See Figure 6.

Figure 6

The majority of respondents felt their job made an extreme or significant difference in the lives of patients, with 49% reporting a significant difference and 16% reporting an extreme difference. Only 2% reported they felt they made no difference at all. See Figure 7.

Figure 7

A majority of respondents (60%) are very or completely likely to continue their career with their company for at least two more years, while 12% are ready to leave within two years. See Figure 8.

Figure 8

These measures were combined to form the Cultural Loyalty Index, which has a 0.939 correlation to the Satisfaction Index and explains 93% of the shared variance between the two indices.

Management Information Satisfaction Index

Half of respondents (49%) are very or completely satisfied with the information they receive from management on what is going on with their team or within their department, though 6% said they were not at all satisfied. See Figure 9.

Figure 9

Only 44% said they were completely or very satisfied with the information they received on what was happening with the company, while 34% said they were moderately satisfied. See Figure 10.

Figure 10

These measures were combined to form the Management Information Satisfaction Index, which has a 0.844 correlation to the Satisfaction Index and explains 71% of the shared variance between the two indices. Clearly, this is an easy way that employers can improve overall satisfaction, simply by communicating more.

Manager Relationship Index

Knowing what is needed in order to advance their career is important to MSLs, yet only 45% said they completely or mostly understand what is expected of their career advancement at their company. See Figure 11.

Figure 11

Ironically, those with more tenure at an organization are less likely to report that they understand career advancement. Of those at their current employer 6 to 10 years, 25% also selected ‘Mostly understand’ vs. 41% there less than 1 year and 35% of everyone else.

Nearly three quarters of MSLs said that their manager acknowledges when they do their work well (74%), with 62% saying that their manager’s ability to help them develop to their fullest potential is excellent or good. See Figure 12.

Figure 12

When it comes to trust, 72% of MSLs said that they completely or mostly trust what their manager tells them, with 4% saying that they didn’t at all. See Figure 13.

Figure 13

These measures – career advancement, manager’s acknowledgements, manager’s development ability, and manager trust – were combined to form the Manager Relationship Index, which has a 0.843 correlation to the Satisfaction Index and explains 71% of the shared variance between the two indices.

Salary & Benefits Satisfaction Index

Salary and benefits are clearly important factors in successfully recruiting and retaining the best MSL talent but they also contribute overall to job satisfaction. Interestingly retirement benefits and overall pay were the two lowest rated aspects of their salary and benefits that respondents were completely or very satisfied with (46% and 48% respectively) while Vacation/holiday or paid time off saw the highest satisfaction from MSLs (57%). See Figure 14.

Figure 14

These measures were combined to form the Salary & Benefits Satisfaction Index, which has a 0.712 correlation to the Satisfaction Index and explains 51% of the shared variance between the two indices.

KOL Relationship Management

Less than half of the respondents said they felt the number of relationships they are expected to manage with KOLs, Thought Leaders, and physicians were just right (47%), while 43% stated they felt they had too many. See Figure 15.

Figure 15

Training and Career Development

Despite the majority of respondents being satisfied with their job, fewer are satisfied with their professional development. Training is an important aspect for MSL success. Only 49% said that they were completely or very satisfied with the ongoing training their company has provided to them, 50% with the initial (onboarding) training about disease state, therapeutic area, and/or product that the company provides, and only 42% with funding for ongoing external training and seminars to help with their career development. See Figure 16.

Figure 16

Strikingly, the majority of MSLs also reported that they are not offered a formal career growth plan within their company. See Figure 17.

Figure 17

Career Change

Even the most satisfied of employees may be considering a career or company change. As to why one would consider a change, the three most selected choices were lack of or no opportunities for career advancement/promotion (41%), career change within industry (39%), and inadequate salary and benefits (36%). See Figure 18.

Figure 18

Conclusions

This survey represents the first study of global MSL Job Satisfaction and serves as an industry baseline for measuring current levels of job satisfaction across the industry. This study highlights that there are numerous factors that influence job satisfaction for Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs) detailing that the issue is quite complex in nature, and will require a cross functional approach to improving the current perception of today’s MSLs within some organizations. Despite the majority of respondents being satisfied with their job and company, fewer are satisfied with other aspects of their careers including their professional development, training and having a clear understanding of career progression. Some may consider leaving their current job as of a lack of or no opportunities for career advancement/promotion. This outcome suggests that traditional methods for career advancement through vertical promotion are not adequate, and as such pathways for advancement such as increased responsibility that may not result in a title change may be helpful in MSL retention. Each of these strategies, however, requires an engaged leadership team and human resources function to create a culture of long term sustainability, associated engagement, and retention.

The results of this study may be utilized by management to help reduce MSL turnover, improve team/individual performance, strengthen KOL-MSL relationships, and ultimately improve the human capital aspects of the MSL function.
Acknowledgments

References

2015 Global Survey of Medical Science Liaison Job Satisfaction, Medical Science Liaison Society, 2015.

Additional Resources

The full 180+ page MSL Job Satisfaction Report, which reveals details of these findings and other insights, is available for free for all members of the MSL Society under the resource section of the society website www.themsls.org.