Every new rep learns the job from someone.
If the manager does not choose who, the team will. Usually it is whoever sits nearest, or whoever has the most time. Sometimes that is exactly the person you would not want copied.
A good buddy answers the questions a new rep will never ask the manager. Where to park at the hospital. Which pharmacist likes a call before a visit. What to do when a doctor keeps you waiting for an hour.
In my experience, three things make the buddy system work:
Choose for habits, not seniority. The longest-serving rep is not always the right model. I pick the colleague whose calls I would be happy to see copied.
Give the buddy a brief. Two field days together, a weekly call, questions any time. The buddy knows what is expected, and so does the new rep.
Thank the buddy openly. At the cycle meeting and in their own review. Helping a new joiner takes time out of their territory, and it should count as real work.
After the first two weeks I ask both of them how it is going. Sometimes the pairing needs a small change, and it is better to know early.
“A new rep will copy someone. Choose who.”
Lesson 7 of 12 in Step 7: Hiring and onboarding, with the full guide and a checklist for this week.