A career at RB means you will work in a fast-moving and demanding environment where you will be expected to produce real results.
It’s a steep learning curve. You will need to have strength of character, be driven and confident and genuinely committed to your career.
It is not the place for everyone.
However, if you’re the sort of person who wants to make an impact, a career at RB means you will be exposed to international experiences in positions that will test your strengths. You will be pushed to use your initiative and creativity to the full. And if you truly want it, a career at RB will give you the platform to launch an international career with a truly global innovator.
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So how do you go about discovering if you are an ‘RB person’?
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We launched this blog in May 2009 as a place where RB employees could give first-hand stories of the experiences, the highs, the lows, the triumphs and the lessons learned in their careers.
It was designed to open a window on RB, to showcase the opportunities available and the sort of people who thrive here.
Today, I want to tell you about my vision of this company. Of the people who have made RB one of the corporate success stories of the past 10 years.
I want to tell you about the people we want and the career you can expect when you work here.
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Primarily we are looking for true talent; people who are hungry for the opportunity and freedom to make their mark.
We are looking for people with drive, resilience and passion; with real motivation. People who feel empowered not just by great results but by knowing that they were behind them. And then want to push themselves, their project even further.
It’s a demanding environment, but it is also highly rewarding.
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Innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit sit as one of the cornerstones of this business.
Rather than endless layers of management that tend to plague many large organisations, RB has small teams and few processes.
And so, we actually encourage ‘constructive conflict’!
When there is a group of people who feel passionately about a set of ideas, I want to ensure those ideas are allowed to flourish. They should not be silenced by the majority consensus. And if they come armed with facts and are prepared to argue their point of view, they will be encouraged to keep working away until they find something our consumers like.
Of course, this can lead to some lively meetings, but this is about finding a way to take it forward; building on each other’s ideas rather than sitting around a table and coming up with a consensus opinion.
We make our decisions fast and then we all stand behind them.
Does that sound like your sort of company?
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One of the most important facets of RB is our culture of global mobility: a culture we have been building over the past 10 years.
We believe this is one of the best ways to generate new ideas and to create global entrepreneurs.
Employees are encouraged to move around the world regularly, often doing different jobs.
By moving people around they become better and more rounded managers. It means they are able to manage an international business with a portfolio of global brands.
And we encourage employees to focus on the best job possible for them, regardless of country.
For you that means the unique opportunity to grow your career on a world stage.
For RB it means we are a truly global company.
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We have enjoyed steady, profitable growth – even during the downturn – and our growth has outpaced that of all our big competitors.
And that is down to our culture and the people who work here.
The RB life isn’t for everyone. But those who love it really love it and find a rewarding and successful career.
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Tags: achievement, career opportunities, company culture, Entrepreneurship, global career, innovation, rapid career progression, Success, taking responsibility
How important do you see CSR both to RB and personally?
What do you think it is that RB graduates have that makes them stand out?
Re Sandra:
Doing the right things right is part of being at RB. That includes taking care of the environmental impact of our business and giving some of the wealth we create as a company back to those in society who do not get the benefit of our products, which generally means disadvantaged families with children. These two areas are the main focus of our CSR efforts, but clearly we also work on other areas. You can check out our website and read the CSR report to see what we are doing to reduce our CO2 footprint, how are dealing with waste or removing questionable ingredients from our products. It will also details how we are helping people in need through our collaboration with Save the Children.
Personally, I am also very much committed to humanitarian and environmental causes via a charitable fund that I have set up for these purposes, which is becoming increasingly active
Re Hannah
Attitude! Attitude is what makes them different. Self starters, positive and creative thinkers. Willing to make things happen. Eager for new experiences and interested in learning from them. Hope that helps?!
After 10 years as CEO, what excites you the most about the company both currently and in the future?
Winning in the market place. Winning with the consumer and the customer to beat the competition. Coming up with products that the consumer genuinely think are better. Coming up up with new ways of communicating with consumers like in store demonstrations, on line social marketing activities etc. Finding new ways of distributing our products. Using these new products or ways to go to market with the consumer to beat competition in the market place.
What part do you see social technology playing in making innovation flourish at RB?
We already have a website where we interact with external innovators on new products or technologies today which has been now actively used for the last several years with good success. If you are interested you will find it on our main website. What is increasingly more interesting is social marketing i.e. the use of the web to distribute information to our consumers in a non commercial way and interact with them. This area is still relatively new to us but is becoming more and more popular across countries.
in reviewing the management team….it is obvious that there are no Americans on Exec Board and few in top 400. Since the USA makes up, what?, 20% or more of the company’s business – why is that? I know from 1st hand experience that there is a significant bias against Americans in the company. And the foreigns brought into the USA to work, are often underqualified – some are very strong, but most are not….like (the specific comment criticising another nationality and individual was removed from this comment by the editor as we believe it is ethnically and personally offensive and therefore against our policy). Oh, and I’m not going to talk about the obvious age bias, even the corporate website shows more 20-30 year olds than 50+. Numbers are great, but the core is rotten, especially in the USA, where the morale continues to be low.
AC
Hi, I am Andraea, the editor for the blog, I am OK to post your comment as your opinion is important. However, I did remove the sentence which was offensive about a person – that’s not something we condone. I think RB is multi-national. Until very recently there was an American on the Exec Committee, but there is not one now. There are also many other nationalities not represented on the EC. It is made up of people who get there on merit, not on nationality. There are many Americans in the business who are not in the US business, but in other businesses all over the world. We move people around the world as we think it aids with performance and innovation. No one nationality dominates our business, we’re a real mix and that’s part of our strategy and culture. Sorry you don’t like that. Our website is being focused at the moment towards early careers and graduates as we are not well enough known amongst them (people who have been in business longer know us better), so I understand your comment, but it is not a reflection of any age bias of the business. There are many of us in different age ranges. I’m a grandmother!
what is the best way for an industrial placement candidate to make a good impression when attending a RB interview and what specifically do you look for in a candidate?
At RB we look for individuals who have a passion for innovation and a drive to succeed. Our advice would be to really understand the values and qualities we look for in our graduates and be able to clearly demonstrate that to us.
To help you out, watch our online video where our senior management team give advice on making a strong impression at RB. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTCp51YXnYY
Hi Kathy, I would definately recommend looking through the information contained on RB’s site too, and getting some background knowledge on our brands and culture. I did this during my interview and assessment centre stages to ensure I knew that my personality and the company values and culture matched, and also to show the assessors that I was genuinely interested in RB as an employer. Best of luck with your interview! Verity
Hi RB, it’s very encouraging as an employee of RB to come across this career section of the company. What intrigued me the most is that Mr. Becht emphasized on the “mobility” culture of the company and the importance of social marketing in the future.
Does “mobility” culture really applies to every RB office, even at a local sales office of the company and whether every employees are allowed to initiate interactions with end-users (be it through blogs, facebook pages, forums, etc) to promote/ discuss our products (without necessarily upsetting the marketing staffs “mind your own business”)
Great to join RB!
hi,
i am very impressed with RB’s CSR activities and the companies work culture. Wanted to know more about career in supply chain as a management trainee (RB INDIA. Kindly help me with the information.
thanking you
saumya poddar
(seeking career opportunity at RB)