Pharmaceutical organisations invest heavily in digital platforms, from CRM and content management to analytics and, increasingly, AI tools. Yet the difference between a platform that is licensed and one that is genuinely used well is largely cultural. It depends on whether people understand why the tools matter, whether the surrounding processes support them and whether teams have the confidence to use them within the rules that govern a regulated industry. A digital-first culture is not about adopting every new technology. It is about making digital the natural way to get work done where it serves patients, healthcare professionals and the business.
Connect digital work to a clear purpose
A digital-first culture starts with understanding what needs to improve for teams and the people they serve. New tools are useful when they support that purpose and fit the responsibilities of a regulated organisation.
Purpose works best when it is specific. “Becoming more digital” gives teams little to act on. “Helping field teams give healthcare professionals accurate, approved information in the format they prefer” or “reducing the time medical, legal and regulatory review takes without weakening it” gives people a reason to change how they work and a way of judging whether a tool is helping. When purpose is tied to outcomes that people already care about, digital adoption becomes a means to an end rather than a separate initiative competing for attention.
Leaders can help by explaining priorities, agreeing ownership and making time for teams to participate. Support needs to continue through delivery and everyday use, rather than ending at project approval.
Culture is shaped more by what leaders do than by what they announce. If a senior team asks for updates in slide decks while the organisation has invested in a shared dashboard, people notice. If managers make time for their teams to attend training and test new processes, rather than treating these as extras on top of a full workload, that signals priority far more clearly than a launch email. Visible, consistent use of the tools by leaders is one of the strongest cues available.
Bring the right functions together
Commercial, medical, technology, security and other specialists often see different parts of a workflow. Involving them early helps make dependencies and constraints visible.
Consider a brand team that wants to launch an interactive detail aid for representatives. The commercial team focuses on the message and the customer experience. Medical colleagues need to confirm that claims are accurate and appropriately referenced. Regulatory and legal reviewers consider the code of practice and approval requirements. IT and security teams need to understand how the content will be hosted on the CRM platform and how it handles any data. If these groups are brought in one after another, each discovers issues that require rework from the stage before. If they are involved together from the outset, constraints shape the design rather than undoing it. Our work on interactive HCP detail aids prepared for medical, legal and regulatory (MLR) review reflects this principle: building review requirements into the brief makes approval smoother.
Agree how decisions are made, who reviews the work and how unresolved questions are handled. A shared roadmap should connect delivery steps with the people, data and approvals they depend on.
A roadmap that shows only features and dates hides the dependencies that cause delay. Adding the review cycles, data sources and decision points that each stage relies on gives everyone a realistic view of timing and makes it easier to spot bottlenecks before they occur.
Make learning practical
Training should reflect the work people need to do and the tools they are authorised to use. Demonstrations, supervised practice and clear guidance can be more useful than a broad introduction to technology.
Generic training on what AI or a new platform can do rarely changes daily behaviour. People learn faster when sessions use their own tasks and examples, show how the tool fits into the approved process and are clear about what is and is not permitted. In a regulated setting, that clarity matters: staff who are unsure whether a use is allowed will often avoid the tool altogether, while those who are unaware of the boundaries may use it in ways that create risk. Short guidance on approved uses, information that must not be entered and when human review is required gives people the confidence to use tools properly.
Provide routes for questions and support after launch. Review where teams still need help and update the material as tools, processes and responsibilities change.
Some of the most effective support is informal. A small network of colleagues in each team who have had additional training and can answer everyday questions, often called champions, helps learning spread and gives the programme early insight into where people are struggling. Office hours, short follow-up sessions and a single place to find guidance all help sustain momentum after the initial launch. Our training and AI capability programmes are designed around this kind of continued support rather than a single event.
Review progress and adapt
Use a small set of measures connected to the intended benefit. These might include completion time, quality, rework or adoption, depending on the project. Avoid treating the number of tools launched as the main measure of success.
Leaders reviewing progress might ask a few direct questions:
- Are people using the tools for the work they were intended to support, or working around them?
- Has the time or effort involved in that work changed, and has quality held?
- Where are teams still asking for help, and what does that tell us about training or design?
- Which processes or rules are getting in the way of sensible use?
The answers should lead to adjustments: refining training, simplifying a process, improving a tool’s design or, occasionally, retiring a tool that is not adding value. Culture develops through this cycle of trying, reviewing and improving, not through a single programme launch.
Where to start
Choose one workflow where digital tools are available but under-used, involve the functions that shape it and focus on practical learning tied to that work. Progress in one visible area often builds the credibility needed for wider change. Glyz supports digital strategy, delivery and capability building, with specific experience in pharma and life sciences. A focused review can help identify where process changes, training or a better digital experience would be most useful.
