Companies are finally starting to use compensation as a reward for compliance – rather than as a reward for improving the bottom line at any cost. BP just announced that it will base fourth quarter bonuses this year on employee performance in terms of safety and risk management, according to the Financial Times.
And GlaxoSmithKline shocked its sales force with news this past summer that it will decide bonuses on “customer feedback, and by a sales professional’s adherence to the company values of transparency, integrity, respect and patient-focus” – not success in reaching sales targets, the company said in a statement. While cynics point out that this change in the bonus plan fits with GSK’s efforts to reduce its sales force, if other pharma companies were to take a similar step, perhaps this would reduce the number of outrageous off-label marketing cases in the future.