Improving Hybrid Work Models in Commercial Biopharma Organizations

Industries Profiled:
Pharmaceutical; Biotech; Health Care; Biopharmaceutical; Clinical Research; Laboratories


Companies Profiled:
Bial; Boehringer Ingelheim; Grünenthal; Paratek Pharmaceuticals; Pfizer; Sanofi; Takeda; UCB Pharma

Study Snapshot

Best Practices, LLC engaged 9 commercial leaders from 8 biopharma companies to benchmark hybrid work strategies. Deep-dive interviews captured additional insights on technology adoption, cultural integration, and performance measurement.

Key topics covered in this report include:

• Hybrid Work Models and Decision-Making Authority
• Time Spent Remote by Commercial Functions
• Hybrid Activity Usage and Effectiveness
• Staffing Trends and Turnover in Hybrid Environments
• KPIs for Measuring Hybrid Impact
• Technology Lessons and Engagement Best Practices
• Future Outlook for Workplace Flexibility

• Hybrid Model Adoption: Biopharma organizations largely follow a 3:2 office-to-home model, with flexibility tailored by role.

• Commercial Activity Suitability: Activities best suited for remote execution include: project planning, data analysis, training, and advisory boards.

• Barriers to Hybrid and Remote Work:

• The most significant challenges to hybrid work remain tied to social connection and cultural integration. Remote employees report missing informal interactions and creative exchanges that typically occur in-office.
• These gaps are particularly problematic for onboarding and early-career development, where visibility to leadership and mentorship opportunities are limited. Additionally, burnout risk persists, as remote employees often work longer hours compared to their in-office counterparts.

• One-page summary of hybrid work trends and strategic implications
• Participating companies and study demographics
• Key takeaways and recommendations from the study

• Commercial groups spending the most time working remotely
• Commercial groups maintaining the highest in-office presence
• Commercial groups spending the most time at customer sites

• Primary hybrid work models at benchmarked Commercial organizations
• Decision-making authority for hybrid policies by role
• Span of control analysis: In-office presence by seniority

• Remote execution frequency for thought leader and influencer activities
• Remote execution frequency for communications and education activities
• Remote execution frequency for evidence generation activities
• Remote execution frequency for strategy, governance, and planning activities
• Effectiveness ratings for remote formats across thought leader and influencer activities
• Effectiveness ratings for remote formats across communications and education activities
• Effectiveness ratings for remote formats across evidence generation activities
• Effectiveness ratings for remote formats across strategy, governance, and planning activities
• Suitability analysis for hybrid execution by commercial activity type

• Turnover rates for field and leadership roles in hybrid environments
• Factors influencing work models at Commercial organizations
• Hiring priorities for remote-ready competencies
• KPIs for measuring hybrid impact across commercial functions
• Breakdown of channels facilitating sales rep interactions
• Average number of remote and in-person KOL interactions per month
• Measuring value of interactions across different engagement formats

• Facility adaptations for hybrid work
• Lessons learned for technology utilization to enable effective remote work in a hybrid business model
• Benefits of remote / hybrid work environments
• Barriers to hybrid adoption
• Employee engagement best practices in remote settings
• Future perspectives on hybrid work
• Notable lessons learned for high-functioning hybrid business model
• Factors influencing the current size and composition of field roles

• Therapeutic areas represented
• Geographic coverage of benchmark participants