BioPointe Case Studies: hythiam

Addiction | Sales

Situation: In 2006, BioPointe was engaged by Hythiam, a publically traded company based in Los Angeles, CA, to build a national sales force to sell the Prometa Treatment Program. The Prometa Treatment Program is a proprietary treatment protocol for methamphetamine, cocaine, and alcohol addiction. The program utilizes a 3 prong approach that addresses the physiological, psychosocial and nutritional effects on an individual. Hythiam had strong studies that indicated significant reductions in cravings and relapse versus outcomes from more traditional treatment programs such as group therapy, abstinence, and behavioral modification. Hythiam desired to build a sales force that could articulate this new concept of care to addiction thought leaders in a swift and tactful manner. The candidate profile required very specific skill sets and character traits necessary to change the prescribing habits of the addition community. The executive management team also expressed interest in providing Regional Sales Managers with talent assessment tools to assist them in hiring and managing their sales teams more effectively.

Objective: BioPointe’s primary objectives for this project were; to research and identify state of the art talent assessment and management tools; to identify the key candidate profiling criteria to insure the best possible hires for Hythiam; and to build a national sales force with addiction experience.

Action: After researching the talent assessment tool market, BioPointe recommended a web based psychometric instrument that proved to be extremely effective. The tool had various uses in addition to talent assessment and management applications. Program validity ratios averaged between .82 and .88 (1.0 being 100% accurate). The launch of the assessment required 2 days of training for managers which was facilitated by BioPointe at Hythiam’s corporate headquarters. The psychometric assessment became an integral part of the application process. Candidates that matched the behavioral traits were identified as “highly probable successful hire” and moved on to face to face interviews. BioPointe deployed a team of consultants to facilitate interviews and assist hiring managers during face to face interviews.

Result: The psychometric tool proved to be an extremely valuable talent management asset and is currently being used in several ways (team design, benchmarking, succession planning, conflict resolution, etc.) BioPointe’s talent acquisition team was able to complete the expansion on time hiring 6 Regional Managers and 48 Sales Representatives across the US.