What do you think makes a global team?
International locations? Yes.
Different nationalities of team members? Yes.
Mobility of individual staff? Yes.

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Overall, what is the essential element that makes a global team a truly “One team” instead of several groups that work for the same company in the same department?
Well in the RB Information Service function, this essential element is trust. IS people sitting in one site trust that their team members sitting in another continent can fully understand and help resolve their problems, trust the team members sitting across the ocean and can upgrade their local servers and promote their programs.
That is what’s happening in today’s IS.

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So, how do you build this kind of trust? High quality of delivery, accurate and effective communication and well-known expertise and efficiency. These are all important factors that need to be built in multiple dimensions.
Every day we are facing our objectives, our customers, our team members and we need to deliver the project or service in a constantly improving and measurable level of performance.

The accuracy and effectiveness of communication can be a challenge to all the international enterprises and organizations, it is especially important in a function that needs to get full alignment across all levels, all countries, from global to each local site. Working in RB IS you will not only learn the technical expertise but soft skills like the different types of communication skills such as - presentation skills, how to make a winning demonstration in conference, how to be convincing in front of business team and how to manage team from 3rd party.

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To those who are considering seeking job opportunities in RB, I want to share with you a little bit more on this.
What is RB looking for when they recruit new people? Through my personal experience, the most important attribute RB is looking for is – Leadership.
This is also what will be continually enhanced when working for RB.

Being trustworthy and the ability to earn other’s trust is the key part of your leadership.

So, you want to join RB? You want to be one of the best in RB?

Learn how to build trust from today onwards.

Would you consider relocating for your career? For many, moving away from home is daunting enough, but moving to a different city or country can be downright terrifying – especially if it’s for an extended period of time. But for the brave few who opt in, the adventure is just about to begin…

Yesterday, my fellow blogger Luigi wrote about RB being a company without borders and how relocating is an important part of our company success story. Don’t get me wrong, I had my apprehensions about relocating from my hometown of Melbourne to Sydney for the RB Graduate Program. How would I be able to survive without my family? How would I meet friends? Where would I be able to find a decent cup of coffee in Sydney? Granted, home for me is only a quick plane trip away, but the reality is that I can’t catch up with friends and family as often as I’d like..

So why do it?

Sometimes, the reality is that you need to relocate because the job opportunities are simply not there in your own city. However, the professional experience and opportunities presented to you in being mobile is only the tip of the iceberg. I made it a personal goal to live in another city so, when I was offered a position on the RB Graduate program, it was like killing two birds with one stone!.

In 2006, I went to live in Tokyo, Japan as part of university student exchange. Things weren’t easy at the start; I had to deal with the culture shock of living in another country, assimilating into a culture that is so at odds with the West and the frustration of not being able to communicate in Japanese. But I managed to pull through, meet some great friends along the way and have some awesome experiences under my belt!

Bumping into a Geisha in Kyoto, Japan

How did I turn it around instead of just giving up and going home? I tried not to be scared of the unknown or prejudiced to something unusual or different, which is easier said than done! My living experience overseas was definitely the catalyst for wanting to move away from home for my first graduate job. You learn so much about survival, tolerance, dealing with people from different cultures and keeping calm under pressure – all of which are great skills to have both personally and professionally.

Catching up with RB Graduates outside of work…

It has been 16 months since arriving in Sydney and even though there have been some tough moments along the way, I wouldn’t change a thing because I’ve experienced so many more highs than lows. I’ve been able to embark on my chosen career path, explore Sydney with my tourist cap on, meet new friends and deal with the dilemmas of learning how to cook, juggle finances etc – all of which I would not have experienced if I had still been living at home.

We RB Grads work hard and play hard!

Here’s what other RB people, who have relocated internationally and work in the Australian business, have to say:

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“The Australian market is so different from New Zealand. I’ve really been able to gain a different perspective from working in a much larger market. If I had just stayed in one place, I wouldn’t have had so many learnings…” Katie, Assistant Brand Manager and fellow graduate.

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“Moving to Australia has been a great experience. The client structure and what you can do instore is so different from France. Career mobility is such a big thing in RB and I definitely wanted to take advantage of it. I’m glad that it’s not just PR fluff…it really happens!” Arnaud, Senior Brand Manager.

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So why not choose a company that takes you places? Visit the RB jobs website and apply now.

“Have you considered the chance to be relocated abroad?”
This kind of question is very common among large multinationals, and the need of having international talents is increasing considerably.
But for RB, being mobile is not just a plus: it’s something inherent in the company’s DNA. Flying around different RB offices, just like our kites:

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Bart Becht, RB’s CEO, recently wrote an article in the Harvard Business Review defining RB as a “Company Without Borders“, and I have to say that this is true at all levels of the organization.

And here is the evidence: a girl working in Italy in finance for 18 months has just be promoted in a more senior position in Greece; a brand manager is now joining the Head Quarter in Slough after another couple of years in Milan and another previous experience abroad; a girl from R&D is now moving to Brazil to follow an international project across different R&D centers.
The new Head of Regulatory just joined RB Italy from RB Poland, our new Marketing Director is German and spent a significant period in HQ, and the new IS Director comes from RB Greece.

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These are just a few examples of what happened in the last couple of months. And this is not all: RB is so keen on broadening its people’s horizons at all levels that we just launched a new Graduate Program within the Southern Europe Region, addressed to young talents willing to start their career with a very international path.

There will be 2 different assignments (Marketing & Sales) for 2 years in 2 different countries, with no commitment on coming back in the home country.
As you can see, in RB your career can be truly international starting from the entry level position.

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Do you want to build your career in a bigger scenario? Are you ready for a multicultural challenge? Do you think that your office should go way beyond your desk?
Then maybe you should start thinking about RB opportunities seriously … should you stay or should you go?

Take a look at the RB jobs website for details.

In my first blog I said the Information Services (IS) department at Reckitt Benckiser is similar to what many companies call IT but it is not the same. I also told it is very EXCITING to work for IS at Reckitt Benckiser.

Today I’m going to tell WHY it is so exciting!

If when you hear “Information Services” the first image that comes to your mind is of a bunch of geeks fixing printers and computers or writing programs that nobody on Earth would understand then you’ve got it all wrong!
This is not what the IS function does at Reckitt Benckiser.

The best thing about Information Services is the fact that we are one of the few functions that have an overall view across all the other functions within RB. IS touches our products from end-to-end. Our systems touch the products from the point of design through to manufacture, distribution through to the consumer.
This is one of the things that makes Information Services so exciting.

You can see in the video below what one of RB’s Global IS directors has to say about it.
He agrees that this is what keeps him coming back every day!
And also that it is the ideal place for someone who is interested in performing and excelling.

Since starting here I have had the chance to work in projects related to Finance, Sales, Marketing and Supply and that happened in less than 3 years!

But the most important thing about this was the fact that I had to really understand what were the drivers and goals of each one of these functions and how they related to the overall Reckitt Benckiser business objectives.
This makes all of us in Information Services understand what RB does and what the overall strategy is. Therefore everything we do is to deliver business value. We do not do a project just for the sake of doing it.

The other two things that are also very exciting about IS are the opportunities that we have to be international and the fact that we do not have a routine – every day there is something different, there is a new challenge and this is what makes me develop myself more and more.

When you are an international employee you have a chance to see different cultures and different ways of working. Plus, it allows you to see the organisation at different levels, locally and globally.
During the 3 years I have been here I worked on initiatives for Brazil, for Latin America and right now I am working in our Global Headquarters in the UK.
This experience is aggregating a lot of value.

If you have an open mind to understand different cultures and to learn different things everyday and if you all those thing I have mentioned here that make you excited as well, then Reckitt Benckiser is the place to be for you.
Check out our careers website for details about Information Services at Reckitt Benckiser.

Hello everybody!

I’m Vinicius from Brazil and this is my first post here at My RB Opportunity.
I’m really looking forward to sharing the great experiences I have had in the past 2 years with RB and what it is like to work here.
Currently, I am in the last year of my graduate scheme working at our headquarters in Slough, UK.

I work for the Information Services department – known as IS within Reckitt Benckiser. It is similar to what many companies call IT but it is not the same (I will write about what we do in IS in one of my next blogs. All I can tell you now is: IT IS VERY EXCITING )

Anyway, enough of myself, let’s talk about what really matters today: INTERNATIONAL CAREER OPPORTUNITIES!
If you have ever thought of working abroad but never found a way to do it then you came to the right place.
And if you have never thought of it, believe me, living in a different country is a unique experience. You learn a different language, meet new people, dive into a different culture and you start looking at the world from a different perspective.

I personally believe RB is one of the very few companies out there that can offer you a real and good international career opportunity.
The IS Graduate Scheme is a very good example. In the first two years of the programme you will usually work in the country where you have been recruited and during the last year you get your chance to move to our headquarters in the UK.

As I said before, this is the stage in the programme where I am right now and the experiences I had during the past two years have been amazing.
Before coming to the UK I also had a chance to work in some short assignments in a few countries in Latin America like Chile, Argentina, Costa Rica and Mexico.

On these pictures you can really see what I mean!

1. Mexico: Sales Force training

2. UK: UK Graduate week

3 .Chile: Sales Force training

As you can see, in the Information Services department at Reckitt Benckiser you not only have a chance of moving abroad after two years but you will also work in different countries from the very beginning of your programme.

Before saying goodbye, I will leave you with a video of a very good friend of mine called Ben who is a former IS graduate.
Take a look at it and you will really understand why I say RB is the best place to be if you want an international career!

This could be YOUR real chance to take on the world!
If you have any questions just leave me a comment and I will get back to you as soon as I can!

Cheers!

Vini