Fidia Farmaceutici: how to map the real skills of the sales network to drive future growth
With Skillvue, Fidia is transforming its HR infrastructure into a global talent intelligence system, capable of mapping the skills of hundreds of Medical Representatives in 12 languages and translating them into development plans and data-driven talent management decisions.
Fidia Farmaceutici
Pharmaceutical
>500M€
1,700
120+
17
Learning & Development
A world leader in pharmaceutical innovation, with a sales network to know in depth
Italian multinational company with 80 years of scientific expertise, with R&D, manufacturing and sales capabilities, and an extensive product portfolio mainly based on natural and functionalized hyaluronic acid (1,250+ patents), in joint care, skin care, eye care, care, specialty care and health&wellness care. With research and development laboratories located in Italy, the company extends its global reach through wholly owned subsidiaries and commercial partners in 120+ countries worldwide.
Its commercial network is equally extensive: it is made up of hundreds of Medical Representatives distributed not only beyond national borders, across Europe, but also in the USA and Middle East. These professionals are the point of contact between Fidia's science and end users, and in a period characterised on one hand by strong growth and international expansion and on the other by the evolution of skills demanded by the labour market, understanding their capabilities in a structured way was becoming an increasingly strategic prerequisite.
The commercial transition needed to go hand in hand with a skills-based transformation
Fidia was starting from a reality common to many fast-growing multinationals: a capable, distributed sales network, but one evaluated in a fragmented way, very difficult to manage when radical updates to the commercial model were needed. A shift in the approach to skills management was needed — one that could create a data foundation for making strategic, future-focused talent management decisions at global scale.
Network development required more data
Supporting the network towards real personal growth — crucial for the evolution of the commercial model and for future employability — required structured data on each professional's real skills.
There was no cross-country management system
Evaluating a multilingual network without bias can be complex. The same measurement quality had to be guaranteed across every market, with uniform criteria and comparable results.
A scalable infrastructure was needed
A scalable assessment system, replicable across roles and regions, was needed to lay the foundations for extending the project to Fidia's entire workforce and other phases of the talent lifecycle, without starting from scratch each time.
Retention needed to be optimised
Advanced psychometric models were needed to identify high-potential profiles, predict their future needs with accuracy and objectivity, and ensure their real growth within the organisation.
Assessment and training needed to be connected
Assessment results had to feed internal training systems. Every gap needed to be translated into a concrete, measurable development action aligned with the organisation's priorities.
Getting ahead of the market
The HR function needed to work proactively to prepare for the ongoing transformations in the labour market, ensuring the organisation already had all the capabilities needed for its future development.
What needed to change
Obtain an objective, standardised and comparable picture of all global MRs' skills, applying the same criteria regardless of country.
Identify high-potential profiles to place in growth and development pathways — a scalable alternative to external assessments.
Manage multilingual complexity (12+ languages), ensuring fairness and comparability of results without sacrificing authenticity of responses.
Create a direct link between assessment results and individual development plans within internal training systems.
AI Assessment built ad hoc on the Fidia model
The Fidia and Skillvue teams worked together to build an assessment system rooted in real business situations: the concrete scenarios a Fidia MR faces every day, in every market.
The skill model is structured across three overlapping layers, from the most transversal to the most role-specific, anchored to the VOLA framework (Vision, Ownership, Leadership, Accountability) already in use at Fidia.
Foundation Behavioral Layer
Layer 1 — Transversal behavioural foundation, VOLA framework
Medical Scientific Skills
Layer 2 — Scientific-medical skills specific to the MR role in specialty pharma
Sales System Skills
Layer 3 — Fidia-specific commercial system skills
Where we are headed
Expected outcomes of the Skillvue × Fidia Farmaceutici project.
The first objective picture of the global sales network, in 12 languages
For the first time, Fidia will have a structured, comparable view of all its MRs' skills worldwide, built with the same criteria in every country, regardless of language or local commercial culture.
A transition supported by data
Fidia will know which profiles to develop, how and with which priority, to ensure that the evolution of the business and commercial model is backed by the right people in the organisation.
Development and training finally connected
The gaps identified by the assessment connect directly with internal training systems. The link between evaluation and development path closes a loop that was previously left open.
Building for the future both for people and for the organisation
This project will lay the foundations for a continuous talent development model, designed to ensure the full realisation of every person, greater employability and greater responsiveness to labour market transformations.