General Manager, BVM Medical

Q: How do you get such responsive team members?

A: We communicate the company mission and our shared business values to them all. We try to achieve excellence in both our induction training and in our refresher programmes. Also, we ensure areas of personal development are revealed for each individual at the annual appraisals.

Q: What business fundamentals do BVM observe?

A: We ensure all our employees have good negotiation skills and answer the telephone quickly and with a caring attitude. As a company we price competitively for volume and value, but prudently for profit, which is used for reinvestment, training and charitable purposes. Good service is at the top of our list, which means there is speedy availability of staff in the office or the field, armed with the latest electronic communication facilities.

Q: How hard do you work for your customers?

A: We ensure the 24-hour service promise is promoted and executed throughout the company. It is an ethic with us. We like to form relationships in order to share experiences with key opinion leaders and endeavour to make a minimum number of 4 calls (interviews) on each sales territory every day.

Q: How do you motivate all the employees?

A: We work within the IIP guidelines, all of which are communicated to the team. As well as appraising annually, we thank individuals often and encourage earning of bonuses for extra responsibility or hard work. We try not to tread on each other’s toes, so job specifications help here. We also have regular company meetings and team building events, which everyone attends.

Q: Do you encourage innovation and sensible ‘risk taking’?

A: Certainly. Everyone is encouraged to look for new product opportunities, such as line extensions, new uses and additional suppliers. We request that all employees are bold, and they back hunches and gut feelings. To encourage this we have regular brainstorms, weekly staff meetings in the office and 1:1 subordinate objectives reviews with their managers. Additionally a policy of promotion from within is in place. However, in whatever we do patient safety is always paramount.

Q: How do you recognise and reward success?

A: We ensure positive stories hit the press (PRs) and we have internal ‘good news’ which are stories of individual employee’s successes. We have bonus schemes for ‘over achievement’ and managers regularly ‘walk the floor’ so that they know what’s going on at all levels, in order to help when asked.

Q: How has BVM become involved in the pain management market?

A: For a number of years, our paediatric cardiology interests have brought us into close working contact with Baylis Medical Inc of Montreal. Their generator, which we market in the UK and Ireland, uses radiofrequency energy to create a controlled transseptal perforation in delicate hearts. This technology is modified and applied to the The Baylis Pain Management and Transdiscal RF system which is a natural derivative of the original system.

Q: What are you currently working on?

A: BVM is introducing the Baylis BiPolar, cooled RF TransDiscal System for intervertebral disc by biacuplasty into the UK. Furthermore, it is helping to pioneer the launch of the Pain Management Sinergy System for effective denervation in the treatment of SIJ (sacred-iliac joint) syndrome. BVM is sponsoring hands-on workshops for these two new modalities.

BVM Medical Ltd, is the Hinckley-based distributor of advanced interventional devices for Cardiologists, Radiologists and Vascular Surgeons. BVM specialise in the marketing of niche clinical speciality products, which significantly help to improve on patient outcomes.

Since its establishment in 1989, BVM has grown prodigiously and, underpinning this success has been the establishment of strong relationships with renowned international clinicians and globally oriented manufacturers. Such an example is the professional liaison between BVM founding Chairman Jay Tailor, and Kurt Amplatz of AGA Medical Inc.

Maintaining a dynamic presence in the minimally invasive market is not only about products and clinical ties, it’s about motivating the team members and spurring them on to provide service par excellence.

General Manager of BVM, Harsad Chikhlia has been with BVM for 5 years now. He has a background in accounting and finance, in both small organisations and with corporate giants. He believes strongly in being open with his team and communicating well with them, “After all, people are the lifeblood of any company’s success” he says.