How the transverse management will change your CRA and CSC work?

CSCs are essential to the smooth running of a clinical trial in a center. Today, clinical studies are increasingly complex. The CSC coordinates a large number of actors (investigators, pharmacists, radiologist, pathologist, biologist, laboratory technician) and ensures that the ICH / GCP are met by these actors as part of the clinical study. CSCs are somehow managers, yes! 🙂 So without hierarchical power, how to be assertive, collaborate and cooperate with actors from the center? What strategy to adopt? With what communication? A useful management for CSCs but also for CRAs (center management, management of a project assistant)…

How will transversal management change your work as CRC and CRA?

This article targets CSCs. However, it can be transposed to the work of CRA.

The CSC is responsible for coordinating the actors of clinical research. How to get the laboratory manager provides his resume, laboratory standards and ANSM certifications, the radiologist performs the proofreading scanners in time, the pharmacist performs the accounting treatment of the study, the investigator writes complete reports,…

The CSC is a separate manager. He does not exert direct line management because he does not have direct authority over other actors in the center and has no power of sanction and reward. However, he exerts indeed, a management said « transverse ». He must use his influence to mobilize actors from the center dependent on other services and other hierarchies.

For this, the CSC will have to avoid recurring errors of this type of management (undermining, brutally impose a decision, neglecting the functioning modes of other actors, devalue the interlocutors…).

Here are the basics of a transverse management of quality to cooperate with other actors in the hospital:

Organize

1. Form the right team. You need to identify within the hospital all the actors (I mean all) who may be involved in your clinical studies, their skills, their needs, their personalities, what value them (to see how you will negotiate with them after).
2. Prepare to talk using a management style mainly participatory. In this management style, you play the role of arbitrator, you share the decisions and ideas, and you listen and negotiate. This will allow developing a sense of belonging to the team of various actors.
3. Define a clear framework for all actors: the missions, objectives, tasks and responsibilities must be clear. The operating rules must be defined. Prepare global patterns and by interlocutor, after consultation with them.
4. Build a team spirit, cohesion, through joint actions (participation in events of promoter, internal training, …)
5. Maintain relationships with the hierarchies of your interlocutors. You can have an indirect influence on your contacts thanks to them.

Your organizational skills will give confidence to your interlocutors, which will establish your legitimacy.

Communicate and exercise your influence

As CSC, you must dare to feel equal with your interlocutors, dare to say what you think, dare to say no. Each person has his course; you do not have to devalue yourself or to overvalue yourself J: you simply must affirm yourself and communicate in an educational way.
You can for example prepare diagrams or use tools to communicate with all the other actors.
To have all the assertiveness skills, click here

https://delivre.wordpress.com/2007/10/03/techniques-daffirmation-de-soi/

You can also exercise your influence in other ways:

• By persuasion in trying to convince and get the other actors to adhere,
• Thanks to your expertise in clinical research and in the organization, you will have an influence that will come legitimately,
• By circulating important and interesting information for other actors,
• By being able to offer or find interesting counterparts to other actors,
• By Reminding the issues and the strategic nature of the clinical study to the actors to push them to act,
• By enabling a synergy between the different actors in connecting them together,
• By demonstrating to actors that they can organize the clinical study without constraints.

Unfortunately, the transverse management has its limitations because everything depends on some external brakes:

• What you propose is it compatible with personal and professional interests of the actor?
• Does the actor have the necessary responsibilities and sufficient time to participate in a clinical trial?
• Is the clinical trial compatible with his current activities?

Being CSC is managing without hierarchical power, it requires leadership qualities essential to motivate all actors in the center having the know-how, different cultures and professions and sometimes different interests. The CSC must be diplomat, listening and sometimes firm. The transverse management is the perfect mode of operation to carry out the mission of CSC. It may even be useful to CRAs in many cases (managing a project assistant, management of centers).

To go further:

The 5 keys of the transverse management at Dunod editions (affiliate link)