Posts Tagged ‘fast-pace’

Why Reckitt Benckiser is THE place to be if you want to become a marketer

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

akhtar-profile1Hello all.
This is my first blog post here and I would like to share my ’story’ with you.
I have been with Reckitt Benckiser for 5 months now and the experience has been amazing.

 

I joined RB right after completing my MBA from one of the top varsities in Pakistan (IBA).
RB had been my top priority firm for many reasons, including a unique Management Trainee Program, fast and performance-oriented growth and global exposure and recognition of the experience gained.
RB’s MT program is different from the MT programs offered by other companies. The program is not function specific; it’s a comprehensive 3-year program.

 
In the first year each trainee is rotated across Field Sales, Trade Marketing, Brands and Supply Chain to ensure a complete understanding of the entire business and it’s functioning.
The 2nd and 3rd year are when the MT has to be in the live role of an Assistant Brand Manager or an Area Sales manager.
So, at RB, you end up covering more than just the 4P’s of Marketing (also known as the Marketing Mix) – product, price, place (location), promotion. One can only imagine the understanding and insight that an individual has gained through the experience.

 

After joining RB, for the first 3 months we were given exposure to sales. It was a first-hand experience and we visited all the sales regions of our country. We worked with sales team and we were taught how Reckitt operates in different regions: we were given the training of an Area Sales manager.
The next 2½ months we were given exposure to trade marketing in which we learned how to optimize our sales,  and we were given live projects.
I worked on the Dettol portfolio and Wholesale channel plan for next year.
At the end of every rotation we had to give a presentation to our General Manager and his management committee comprising of directors of all functions.
This activity not only gives us visibility at senior management level but also keeps us on our toes during our rotations.
And our suggestions are taken seriously – the initiatives I suggested during my presentations have been implemented.

 
Myself and other MTs who joined RB have finished the trade marketing rotation. We are now in the marketing department; I am working on Veet, Strepsils and Disprin.
And these days I am organizing a fashion show for Veet cream!

 
At Reckitt the career growth is really fast. Almost all the directors of various functions are in their 30s. They reached that position within 7-8 years.
And last but not least I must mention the global exposure one gets while at Reckitt. People are exported to various regions. It’s been 5 months at Reckitt for me and I saw people exported to Dubai and South Africa for work.
Working at RB is a complete marketing experience. For those who want to be marketers, RB is most definitely place for you.

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It’s tough, really tough – but boy do I enjoy working here!

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

 

Hi everyone.
This is a good title for a post, isn’t it? Today I’ll talk to you what it’s really like working at RB and all the responsibilities that are involved in the process.
Because, let’s be honest: RB is not a place for everyone.

It is not enough to want to work here – you must really, really want it, because it is not an easy task.
You’ll work with high performers and you’ll be challenged to always outperform yourself.

 New Reckitt Benckiser logo

Responsibility. This is a word that we use and listen a lot here at RB and we are evaluated by it. Working at RB means you will be given real responsibility from day one and will be in there with the ‘big boys’.
It’s fast it’s furious and you are expected to aim high and outperform.
Here we launch a lot of products within a year, we are challenged to show a fast “speed to market” – to sell your product in every point of sales.
Reckitt is a company that strives to succeed in whatever it does: new products, working with people, growing globally as a company and helping the environment.

 

RB is an extremely dynamic place, and people that work here should be too! Your values have to match with the companies´ values.

     Achievement: We don’t just aim high, we always aim to outperform
     Entrepreneurship: We allow daring ideas to thrive
     Spirit: We work as one, united by common principles and attitudes
     Ownership: We take the initiative to do what’s needed

 

This is what working at RB is like. And here are the tips I have taught myself on how to handle such a dynamic career:

  1. Learn to focus. To really focus on my job and what I wanted to achieve.
  2. I give myself a pep talk at the start of every day. You’ll have to be an up to date person: interested in new facts, new products, new ideas. You have to be a global person
  3. Responsibility. As I talked in the beginning of this post, this is the word that will be always present.
    RB is committed to environmental issues. In a recent Linked In question, we asked how important corporate social responsibility is to graduates and anyone starting out in their career.
    And, as witnessed by the responses, this combined with other aspects, is a point of attraction for new talent. They want to work in a “responsible” company (again that word).

 

Graduate student Elizabeth Ghormley (NYU) said: “Not only does it differentiate companies by a shining light on culture and corporate values, if posed with job offers from a company with no CSR practice and one with CSR success, I would choose the latter every time”.
And David Connor who writes a CSR-based blog at DavidCoethica added: “With Generation Y’ers hitting the job market CSR can add serious value to any recruitment requirements as long as those within HR really understand the agenda, ideally as part of an embedded ethos across the company.
“Graduates, even though they understand their choices maybe somewhat limited at the moment are still testing potential employers on CSR issues that are particularly relevant to them.”

 

So, yes, RB has a fantastic record of taking its corporate responsibility seriously because this is a company focused on outperforming in EVERYTHING it does.
For the past 10 years RB has implemented an ambitious plan for CSR which has really delivered results – and set the pace for the whole industry.
RB believes that sustainability and corporate responsibility are good for business and essential for the world. And where we outperform it’s because our sustainability strategy complement our business strategy.
This is why I believe RB is such a great place to work.
So, my advice to you is to think a lot and research research research before choosing a company to work for.
And I leave you with this message: working at RB is tough, really tough, and they make great demands on you – but I REALLY enjoy what I do!

 

As always, if you have any question, doubts, comments, please, leave me a comment. I’ll answer asap.

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4 essential terms at RB – or how our entrepreneurial culture flies

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

 

1. Insights
Whether it’s identifying an unrevealed consumer belief or the way that shoppers behave, we are relentlessly on the lookout for insights to drive product development and communication.
As a mentor at RB once told me, you can tell it is a good consumer insight if you find yourself nodding by the end of the sentence.

 

2. Gross Margin
Throughout RB, teams are constantly innovating around ways to expand gross margin to inject back into brand building and top line growth.
Package Engineering, R&D, Materials Management, Purchasing, Quality and Marketing are scrutinizing every SKU (a warehouse term which stands for Stock Keeping Unit) in the portfolio for ways to cut costs without compromising product quality.
The best kind of squeeze is a value-in – where you can improve product performance in a more cost-effective way or simultaneously provide a more environmentally sustainable product.

 

3. Alignment
One of the important skills to be successful in brand management is the ability to set direction, align and lead projects.
Most of the projects we undertake could not be successful without the full engagement of a project team. RB is not a ‘consensus culture’, which is why it is important to have cross-functional teams involved in initial project meetings.
An objection from trade in the first project meeting can result in a fruitful debate that can widen the scope of the project and lead to a bigger opportunity.

 

4. Existing Product Development
At any one time a brand can have dozens of EPDs in the pipeline.
Associate Brand Managers spend a lot of time making sure projects are moving quickly and achieving the objectives we set out to achieve. It is also a chance to work with our Supply Managers who act as intermediaries between the brand and the supply organization.
On these projects we have the opportunity to take risks and have an impact early on.

 

If you have a good insight, it has good gross margin (it makes business sense) and you align it with your team you are on your way to an EPD.
It’s the simple straightforward way of interpreting the entrepreneurial culture around project management that exists at RB.
We have the opportunity to uncover possibilities and lead projects as long as they are based on real consumer insights and make business sense.

 

Sometimes you will have to fight for your projects to be prioritized and you will need to identify and deal with potential blockages that come up.
If you don’t follow your project closely, there is a chance it can get de-railed or de-prioritized.

 

Working at RB is not for everyone – it’s fast paced, dynamic and calculated risk taking is encouraged. But for me it presents an opportunity to get real responsibility early and fight for the projects and initiatives I feel most passionately about.

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Reckitt Benckiser is always in my thoughts – even while on holiday!

Thursday, July 30th, 2009

 

Hi, I’m Xenia and I freshly joined the RB blogger team here on My RB Opportunity.

I am a management trainee in the German marketing team, but I had the opportunity to spend 6 months of the program with the French Airwick team.
I will be telling you about my experience here, but first I will be off for 3 weeks on holidays and won’t be able to blog.

Of course Reckitt Benckiser employees don’t just work all year – in Central Europe vacation days are usually pretty generous and RB Germany is no exception to this rule.
Actually some colleagues say that we have to much! They may be right, in the sense that we are working on very tight timelines in general and of course lots of vacation doesn’t really help to manage the workload effectively.
But I won’t complain. This year I will be traveling to South East Asia and I am really looking forward to it!

 

I will, of course, take some of our products along with me.

Here is my top 3 RB items for my holidays:

 

  1. Dettol (for Germans: Sagrotan) instant hand sanitizer 50ml – small enough for hand luggage and sooo useful when eating on the go.
  2. Nurofen Express – fast and effective and should not be missing in my bag in case I need them.
  3. Veet – for perfectly smooth legs all summer long!

 nurofen-range

While traveling, I will probably come across some of our products – I enjoy doing “store checks” in other countries to see what my colleagues are doing, which products they have launched etc.

And, of course, I’m perceiving POS (point of sales) activities or advertising differently since I’m a marketer – I watch out for new good second placements (so anything that doesn’t sit on shelf) or creative ideas to promote products.
Of course for someone not working in marketing, it might seem odd if I get excited about these sort of things! But marketing is about what’s going on in the world of the consumer and not only what we do behind our desks.
And, of course, this is the fun part of my work and won’t keep me from enjoying my holidays to the fullest!

 

Speak to you when I get back.

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Do you like life in the fast lane?

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

 

game-screen-grab

Three weeks ago my boss said to me: “Would you like to become a Shop Account in the South of Italy?”
At the beginning I was amazed because I realized one thing: I’ve been in RB for a short period of time and the company just offers me a new, interesting and challenging job!

 

This is what happens in RB if you have a commitment and are an achievement-oriented person.
It is the ideal place of work if you are curious and if you have focus on the company values and targets, but above all if you want to improve your skills!

 

But what exactly does Shop Account mean and what does the position consist of?
I have a customer portfolio that I manage in autonomy, but in conformity with the company strategy. Everyday I visit a different customer and I analyze with them the problems at the point of sale.
Above all I try to find solutions to the issues present.
I check the presence of our products in the point of sales, the best visibility of them, and the right price and promotions during the year.
I’m a part of a team called “Shop team” and it is very united!

 

Previously I lived in Milan but now I live near Naples. As for the future – I don’t know…
I do know one thing: if you want to work in a well recognized company, while enjoying yourself and learning many things, RB is for you!

 

And there is a fun way to find out whether you are an RB type of person.
Click on the picture above and it will take you to our Virtual Career game where you are asked a series of questions and have to make the right choices to progress through the company.

 

This post is also a goodbye for me as my time as a blogger at this site has come to an end.
But I will be passing over to my colleague Gemma who will continue to tell you about working life at RB in Italy.
She is a marketing trainee and is an assistant brand manager for Finish.

Good luck in your career.

Laura

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