PowerVote: a rapid means of knowledge evaluation!

Interactive voting machines are increasingly being used in all types of companies. Companies rely most on electronic voting systems in publishing, property and, above all, the health-pharmaceutical sector.
Genzyme Spain first made use of the voting machines developed by PowerVote during a recent Conference of the Spanish Nephrology Society (SEN) held in San Sebastian in early October 2008.
This laboratory, by using the electronic voting keypads during the conference, had as its goal to “attract to the Genzyme stand the greatest number of people possible, while at the same time marketing its products via the questions themselves,” explains Jesús M. Vásquez, product manager for Renagel at Genzyme Spain.
The doctors who visited this stand could demonstrate their knowledge of nephrology by answering a series of questions developed by Genzyme’s specialists.

A favourable reception

The PowerVote voting system proved quite popular among visitors to the laboratory’s stand. As opposed to what happens with other technological devices toward which users prove immediately reticent, this time, just the opposite occurred. “I was greatly surprised that the clients demonstrated no reticence to using the voting keypads. They even came up to ask if they could use them,” admits with satisfaction Jesús M. Vásquez.

Although, for the time being, this laboratory’s experience with the PowerVote tool is limited to the SEN conference, the system’s evaluation by the Product Manager for Renagel at Genzyme Spain is very positive. In his opinion, the great advantage of electronic voting keypads resides in the fact that they are “useful icebreakers and help put their users at ease when one attempts to evaluate their knowledge”.
Likewise, Jesús M. Vásquez recognizes that interactive systems that allow their users to vote or express their opinions encourage the audience’s participation during a congress, conference or other group event. This is because one is able to express oneself anonymously: “When several people answer at the same time, one is less likely to stand out”.

The Product Manager for Renagel at Genzyme Spain admits that during a secret vote, it is much easier for the organizers to ask questions. He even recognizes that “without this system, it would be impossible.” What is more, and contrary to more traditional methods, “the interactive approach allows for effective and easier communication. This is carried out in the form of a game and the client doesn’t feel agressed. That is why the audience feels much more involved.”

Extend its use

Although, for the time being, Genzyme Spain has only used the electronic voting keypads during a congress with its clients, the company’s goal is to extend their use to other situation types. Indeed, the company has not ruled out the idea of using these devices during internal meetings, in order to “measure the benefits of sales meetings, as well as during round tables with doctors.”
For the sales meetings, Jesús M. Vásquez admits that the system represents “a practical and easy means of evaluating the representatives’ knowledge”, while for the round tables, the system would be useful for “observing a group of doctors before and after the meeting and influencing their behaviour.”
Concerning the facility of installing and using the electronic voting keypads developed by PowerVote, the Product Manager for Renagel at Genzyme Spain admits that they encountered no difficulty whatsoever implementing the system. “Following an hour-long instruction, I was perfectly capable of using the keypads,” he concludes.

About Genzyme
Genzyme Corporation was founded by Henri Termeer in Boston in 1981, with its goal being to create products thanks to enzymatic engineering and its strategy being to fill the niche of treating rare genetic diseases. Today, Genzyme remains the leader in the development of treatments for Gaucher’s disease, Pompe disease, Fabry disease and type 1 mucopolysaccharidoses, but the company has opened up new avenues of research targeting kidney diseases, cancers, diagnostic testing and genetic therapies. This has allowed the company to position itself as the sixth largest biotechnology firm, thanks to its listing on the Nasdaq market.
The company set up a Spanish office in the early 1990s and is currently represented via Genzyme SL in Madrid and Barcelona.
Jesús M. Vásquez, Product Manager for Renagel at Genzyme Espagne