As I wind down my blogging responsibilities, it feels appropriate to announce that I’m finishing up as Pharmacy Sales Analyst and will take on my next challenge as Assistant Brand Manager for Pest Control -uber excited!

Seeing as  this will be my last blog post, I thought it would be fitting to revisit some of the key points in my first blog post, which was about my reasons for working at RB and how it would help me achieve my goal of having a fulfilling marketing career. Let’s see whether these points still stand true 6 months on…

.

Strong portfolio of brands – No doubt this point still rings true. My Sales Analyst/Account Manager role has put me at the forefront of promoting our RB Powerbrands to my customers to ensure support and promotion within their stores. Massive launches of the past 6 months in Australia? Strepsils Cool, Nurofen for Children relaunch, Dettol No Touch Systems and Veet Suprem Essence just to name a few…

My job is certainly made easier when we’re promoting and selling in market-leading brands, which is why I’m really excited to be tackling Mortein in my next role, which has really big brand presence in Australia, as well as Brazil and India. Can’t wait to get my hands dirty and learn how to manage one of RB’s global Powerbrands!

Real ownership and responsibility –I definitely feel that I have had ownership and responsibility in a range of projects and tasks since starting 18 months ago – being able to present our business strategy to the CEO of my account, organizing and managing a stand in a retailer’s staff conference, convincing my buyer to adopt our shelf strategy in their biggest category – just some of the achievements you can also have as a RB graduate!

Challenges are the norm at RB; it’s up to you to decide how to tackle them. It might be tough initially, but it’s only when you retrospectively review your accomplishments after finishing the task that you realise how much you have learnt both personally and professionally. Certainly the experiences gained in the Sales component of the RB Commercial Graduate Program will help me tackle my next role in Marketing.

The Aussie graduates! – Well, what can I say…we’re like one big family! As we’ve gotten to know each other in the office, its great to know that I can always rely on a fellow graduate when I’m stuck in a rut with a project or just need someone to bounce ideas off. Getting the motivation to push yourself to the next level is difficult, but knowing graduates who have been in your situation and ‘broken through the pain barrier’ to get to the next level is certainly encouraging.

We still catch up outside of work, we’re planning a graduate dinner soon but before that, we’re all going to do participate in the City 2 Surf 12km run in a few weeks time…should be fun!

And that’s it folks, I certainly don’t think my reasons for choosing the RB Commercial Graduate Program have changed, in fact, they have merely been reinforced.

Whilst I’m sad to be leaving here, it is with great pleasure that I announce that my fellow graduate, Natalie, will be taking over my blogging responsibilities.
Natalie and I started the graduate program at the same time and we have shared many great professional experiences. She’s coming along to Marketing with me as Assistant Brand Manager for Nurofen, so please welcome Natalie as she shares her experiences and insights in her new role!

Have you ever watched The Apprentice (or a similar business-related TV show) and thought to yourself ‘I could do SO much better than them?’

How would you like a chance to prove that in a virtual environment: To test your sense of business judgement; progress in your career; spot golden opportunities – beat your friends!

RB has just launched a new online game to find the hidden gems of the business world. Those people who have what it takes to shine in a tough, corporate world. Those who can prove their mettle and progress up the career ladder.

Of course, you’ll also need to ensure you have the right office environment to work in too: There’s no point securing that vital piece of work if your desk has the wrong pot plant on it…

poweRBrands is a new virtual reality business game on Facebook, which will see you pit your wits against colleagues to see how far you can progress through the company. You will be given various tasks and projects to complete and have to prove you can make good decisions quickly and efficiently. You will be able to travel, recruit friends and even have the chance to upgrade your office.
All of this without leaving the comfort of your chair!

Players will start off with a basic office: Desk, computer, phone and some decorative elements. And depending on your career progression you will be able to ‘upgrade’ parts of your office – a new chair, executive toys, plants etc.
And you can also visit your friends’ offices.
Your various tasks and challenges will be sent to you via email or phone and you can get help from virtual colleagues if you need to.

So why should you join in?

Well, if you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time you will stand a great chance of progressing – reading how RB employees interact and about our core values and culture here should give you a good insight into this sort of challenging career.

So, if you’re bursting with potential, with a real thirst for knowledge and are motivated to get real results in a dynamic environment, here is your chance to get with the best.

Play poweRBrands at: http://apps.facebook.com/poweRBrands

As I watched Germany’s annihilation of Argentina and Australia in the 2010 Soccer World Cup on TV, I couldn’t help but notice the importance of teamwork at play. Sure, Miroslav Klose and Cacau may linger in people’s minds for scoring goals, but they couldn’t have done it without the help of their teammates, who played a part in collaborating and maneuvering the ball to get it closer to the red zone.

The relevance of teamwork shouldn’t be lost on anyone in tertiary study, we’ve all had to participate in group work and know how challenging it can be when someone slacks off or doesn’t show up – like being red carded, this can mean the difference between winning and losing. How many of you can relate to having to do the bulk of the work or being punished by a result not befitting of the majority of your group’s efforts? It’s no wonder why ‘teamwork’ gets a bad reputation at university!

But hopefully your cynicism of said concept hasn’t totally skewed your perception of what can be achieved if all the wheels are in motion. Think back to the handful of team experiences in your life that DID work. Perhaps it was at your part time job where your sales team was trying to achieve a store sales target. Perhaps it was on the sporting stage where your team couldn’t have won the match without everyone’s input…

That’s what it will be like if you worked for RB. Sometimes, the tasks we face seem mammoth and impossible, but with a strong team at hand, we often overcome it and truly succeed. The best thing about working here is the wealth of knowledge that each person brings to the table, whether Director level down to graduate, everyone is more than happy to lend a helping hand.

Recently, I had an important meeting with my account to discuss how we engage with them moving forward since we had encountered some challenges. With the Sales Director and National Business Manager in attendance with me, we were able to work collectively together in the meeting and overcome any hesitation and concerns that my customer had – my ‘team’ helped me deliver on our strategy and business model and we had some great outcomes. It’s great to know that my colleagues are more than happy to give me their help and guidance when I need assistance.

Team spirit comes in all shapes and sizes at RB. It could be your sales team working together to meet a tight deadline for a category review, or perhaps your marketing team working cross-functionally with Finance, Supply, R&D and Sales in managing the brand. Or simply, it could be the camaraderie between the RB Commercial graduates, sharing our own experiences and advice to help our fellow graduate through a challenging task or situation.

Perhaps that’s why I’m glad I made this choice of working here at RB. If you take anything away from the soccer analogy above, it is the importance of team spirit and working together to achieve goals (no pun intended).

Reckitt Benckiser Pakistan’s Sales and Marketing team recently visited Thailand for its annual Sales and Marketing Conference in Thailand.
The business unit had performed really well in 2009 and the company rewarded its employees with an exotic trip to Thailand to celebrate their success together.

.

.

It started off with a vote across all teams to select the destination country:  Thailand won by five votes over Malaysia. With the majority on Thailand’s side, bookings were made, visas granted, tickets issued and off we headed with our backpacks to Bangkok!

The program was over five days so everyone could attend the conference and explore the country and its offerings as much as people wished.
The conference commenced with the General Manager RB Pakistan, Ali Ahmed Khan, congratulating the company on its success and discussing the current path of the company.
He then introduced the crowd to our host for the day, who then talked about the company’s values and how to effectively work on them, briefed us on the Pareto Principle and its applications in everyday life and business, held numerous lateral thinking exercises and many team building exercises to open up our minds to out-of-the-box thinking.

Once the training was over, Saad Mehmood Rashid, our Sales Director then distributed certificates to all high achievers of the previous years. This awards ceremony was then followed by a concluding speech by the Sales Director after which the conference came to end.

.

At Reckitt Benckiser, the culture emphasizes going that extra mile, committing oneself to the achievement and over achievement of goals, maintaining the team spirit and camaraderie and then at the end of the day recognizing all those who have achieved supernormal results and celebrating each success together.
It’s not an organization that demands one to be ‘all work and no play’, rather the culture is to enjoy one’s work and to work passionately towards success to achieve extraordinary results.

Entrepreneurship.

The very word implies starting your own venture with the intention of making ridiculous amounts of money. Someone that personifies the term is Richard Branson, founder of all things Virgin. His successful ventures can be put down to his knack for taking calculated risks and learning from mistakes, he states ‘you never know…when you’re trying something new what can happen. [It’s] all experimental.’

But being entrepreneurial doesn’t necessarily mean you need to risk everything, personally and professionally, to open your own business. The reality is that you can still be an entrepreneur within a corporate environment. At RB, we encourage bold thinking and allow daring ideas to thrive. Granted, being thrown in the deep end can be daunting, but the challenge of whether you sink or swim depends on the presence of entrepreneurial spirit.

My colleague Luigi recently asked the question can you be an entrepreneur in a corporate environment? Here’s my two cents…

Seeing a real opportunity to generate incremental sales and secure display activity within stores, I presented a new promotional program, backed up with solid research and financials, to the Sales Director last year for implementation within a particular channel – it has now been rolled out nationally across Australia. Sure, it’s scary when you’re given free reign and control of a project, but what entrepreneur likes to be micro-managed?

.

The benefit of being an entrepreneur within a corporate setting like RB is that you are encouraged to challenge the status quo and think outside the square.
Add to that the multicultural pool of extremely talented people that you can learn from and you’ve got an environment in which you can truly excel. Execution of new initiatives becomes far less risky when you can draw from your team and manager’s experience. Business acumen and creative thought can certainly be an innate raw talent, but even diamonds need to be polished to truly shine…

.

“Two critical ingredients for accelerated company growth are intellect and attitude, particularly an attitude to be Entrepreneurial – to be curious. We may not hit the mark every time but it’s those few breakthrough ideas that keep RB ahead of our competition…and our people growing at pace” Sandy – RB Sales Director, Australia..

.

Now listen to what Nick, RB Sales Director UK, had to say on the subject in this exclusive Youtube video. Since starting with RB in 2003, he has been promoted twice in the last 5 years and is currently enjoying a truly international career, having worked in the Yorkshire, Copenhagen and Poland offices. His success at RB is something he puts down to the company’s focus on entrepreneurship.

The question ‘can you be an entrepreneur in a corporate environment’ was also posted on LinkedIn and has produced some really interesting responses:

.

“The best companies are entrepreneurial in their culture but they work more as teams, not alone. They are passionate about a shared vision and a mutually-agreed-upon mission/way of achieving it. They have lots of resources upon which to draw. If the entrepreneur is a team player, and they find an entrepreneurial company, then it will be a win-win for both of them’ - Frank Feather

“Entrepreneurial skills and characteristics are more critical in organizations today than ever before: the passion, connection to something bigger, and agility to shift and learn from mistakes are required for success in today’s global economy” - Janine Moon.

“The term ‘intrapreneur’ is used to describe these types of people – who share the same qualities as entrepreneurs, but don’t strike out on their own. Intrapreneurs are the people who make their ideas heard and are willing to put in the work to bring them about. The only difference between an intrapreneur and an entrepreneur is that the former has already found the environment in which they can be happy and thrive.” - Adam D.

The question was also raised on the innovation group 15Inno:

.

“What does it take for a Corporate to make room for more flexibility, creativity and new ways of working? A little less reliant on command-control and a bit more inclined to facilitate a space for employees to grow even as adults?” - Lise Moen @BecomeBrilliant

“Absolutely! Big companies need entreprenuers. It can and does work, often with impressive outcomes. I have worked as an entrepreneur inside several of the world’s largest corporations. Some critical success factors in such a role are: empowerment, ability to take risks, opportunity to leverage a fresh or outside point of view, and bounded/limited timeframe (generally 2 years).” – Greg Kinsey

.

For those graduating university soon, many of you are looking to make your mark in the business world but are scared of giving up a steady income stream by going solo. At RB, you can stay true to your entrepreneurial spirit and reap the personal and professional rewards that come with fast-track career progression and international opportunities.

So, what do you think? Can you can be an entrepreneur in a corporate environment? Leave your thoughts in the comments below….