By Patrina Pellett, PhD & Alex Palumbo, PhD

Disclosure Alex Palumbo, PhD:

This text represents my own views and not the ones of my former or current employer(s).

“I have no idea what I am doing or what I am supposed to be doing.”

If you’ve ever heard this from an MSL, you’re not alone. It’s a common sentiment that reflects one of the biggest gaps in the field: a lack of clear communication about roles, expectations, and how metrics and KPIs connect to their work.

As a medical leader, you play a vital role in bridging this gap. Your team relies on you to provide clarity, align their efforts with the company’s vision, and empower them to deliver maximum impact. When metrics and KPIs are clearly communicated and tied to meaningful outcomes, they become powerful tools and not sources of confusion or frustration.

This guide will help you communicate metrics and KPIs effectively so your MSLs feel confident, focused, and equipped to demonstrate their value. Let’s dive into Metrics and KPIs Made Simple: A Medical Leaders’ Guide to Supporting MSLs 👇.

Why Metrics and KPIs Matter for Medical Leadership

Metrics and KPIs are essential tools for ensuring MSLs are aligned with the company’s vision and strategic goals. They provide a way to measure progress, demonstrate value, and identify opportunities for growth. 

However, if metrics are poorly communicated or misaligned, they can feel like arbitrary hurdles instead of helpful tools. To avoid this, medical leadership must prioritize clarity, consistency, and purpose in their approach to metrics.

Communicating Vision, Objectives, Strategy, and Tactics

MSLs need to see how their work fits into the bigger picture. It’s not enough to hand them KPIs. They need to understand the “why” behind their tasks and how they align with the company’s goals. Clear communication of these key elements is critical:

• Vision: The “big why”—the overarching purpose of the company.
• Example: “Transform patient care by empowering HCPs with evidence-based insights.”
• Objectives: Measurable, time-bound steps to achieve the vision.
• Example: “Educate 80% of target KOLs on a new treatment within six months.”
• Strategy: The long-term plan to achieve objectives.
• Example: “Build strong, consistent relationships with KOLs to increase scientific alignment.”
• Tactics: The specific actions to execute the strategy.
• Example: “Conduct 15 face-to-face meetings with KOLs per month.”

For guidance on how to effectively communicate these elements to your MSLs, refer to the 8 Communication Tips below 👇. These actionable strategies will help ensure clarity, alignment, and motivation across your team.

Bridging the Communication Gap: Helping MSLs Understand Metrics

Many MSLs feel confused or disconnected when it comes to metrics and KPIs. This is often due to a lack of clear communication from leadership. Here’s how you can bridge this gap and empower your team:

1. Explain the “Why” Behind Metrics

• Clearly articulate the purpose of each metric and how it ties to the company’s strategy.
• Example: “We’re tracking actionable insights because they help us refine our strategy and align with KOL and patient needs.”

2. Provide Practical Examples

• Use real-world scenarios to show how metrics guide day-to-day work.
• Example: “Tracking follow-ups helps identify patterns and build stronger relationships with KOLs.”

3. Create a Metrics Map or Dashboard

• Visualize how metrics connect to objectives, strategy, and the company’s vision. This helps MSLs see the big picture. Here’s an example from the MSL Insights Course module on medical strategy.

4. Host Regular Check-Ins

• Schedule monthly meetings to review metrics, share updates, and show how the data is being used to inform strategy (just like with insights!).

5. Ensure Two-Way Communication

• Create a space where MSLs can ask questions, share concerns, and provide feedback about metrics.

6. Focus on Value, Not Numbers

• Emphasize how metrics highlight MSL contributions rather than framing them as performance reviews.

7. Align Metrics with Territory Challenges

• Tailor metrics to reflect the unique challenges and opportunities in each MSL’s territory.

8. Offer Recurring Training on KPIs & Metrics

• Provide workshops or guides to help MSLs understand and track metrics with confidence.
• Handing them a slide deck is not going to cut it.

What would you add to this list?

Translating Strategy into KPIs and Metrics: A Manager’s Guide

To help MSLs connect their daily work to broader company goals, it’s essential to break down strategies into actionable tactics, KPIs, and metrics. This clarity helps MSLs understand the “why” behind their activities, empowering them to see how their efforts drive meaningful outcomes.

Here’s how you can guide your team by translating strategy into tangible KPIs and metrics:

Key Phrases for Managers to Explain KPIs and Metrics

Use this language to help your team connect the dots:

• “Here’s why this matters”: Explain how the strategy supports the company’s broader mission.
• “Here’s how we’ll measure success”: Define the KPIs clearly and explain what they indicate about progress.
• “Here’s what you’ll do”: Detail the tactics and how they align with both the strategy and KPIs.
• “Here’s how we’ll track it”: Highlight the metrics and show how they directly connect to the daily work of MSLs.

By breaking strategies into actionable steps and communicating them clearly, you provide MSLs with a roadmap for success while ensuring they see the impact of their work on company goals.

Balancing Metrics with the Broader Value MSLs Bring

Not everything can, or should, be reduced to numbers. While metrics and KPIs are essential for tracking progress, they don’t capture the full spectrum of value MSLs bring. Beyond the data, MSLs contribute through their interpersonal skills, trust-building efforts, and ability to influence long-term relationships with HCPs and KOLs.

These contributions are not easily measured but are critical to achieving the company’s goals. Metrics are tools to track actions, but the real impact often comes from the relationships MSLs foster and the strategic conversations they enable.

To ensure this broader value is recognized:

1. Reinforce the Strategic Role of MSLs: Acknowledge that metrics track activity, but trust and credibility built in the field are the foundation for future opportunities.
2. Foster Open Communication: Encourage MSLs to share field observations that may not qualify as “insights” but still inform strategy, such as trends in KOL preferences or emerging concerns in their territories.
3. Provide Opportunities to Highlight Impact: Create forums like monthly team meetings or quarterly cross-functional reviews where MSLs can present examples of how their work drives scientific alignment or enhances HCP engagement.
4. Recognize Contributions Beyond Metrics: Celebrate MSL efforts that strengthen relationships or provide critical context, even if they don’t immediately translate into measurable outcomes.

While metrics and KPIs are necessary to quantify success, the broader value MSLs deliver lies in their ability to build trust, facilitate meaningful conversations, and position the company as a scientific leader. Striking this balance ensures that their efforts are appreciated, both in the field and within the organization.

Creating a Non-Punitive System

Metrics should guide, not punish. Here’s how to foster a supportive system:

• Use metrics to identify challenges and address them proactively.
• Reward transparency when MSLs report obstacles or areas for improvement.
• Focus on learning and growth rather than fault-finding.

Practical Steps for Medical Leadership

1. Assess Current Practices: Review how metrics and KPIs are communicated and perceived by your MSL team.
2. Engage Your Team: Ask MSLs how they view their metrics and what support they need.
3. Align Roles and Objectives: Ensure MSLs understand how their work ties to the company’s goals.
4. Foster Collaboration: Create opportunities for cross-functional learning and feedback sharing.
5. Ask “Why”: When metrics aren’t met, focus on understanding why and adjusting as needed.