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…

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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!

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.

It’s easy for a large organisation to just donate a portion of profits to a charity organisation and call it social responsibility. But at RB, we like to get actively involved in the process when raising funds and make sure we have some fun along the way – what better way to learn about teamwork and achievement than a day on the golf course?

In April 2009, RB Australia organised a Charity Golf Day at Ryde Parramatta Golf Club to raise funds for its global charity partner, Save the Children. We invited customers/suppliers to partake in the charity event, which saw RB colleagues teaming up with members of each sponsoring company to play 18 holes.

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“It was a bloody fantastic day, the weather was perfect and there was great cross functionality…with people from sales, marketing, IT and supply backgrounds participating…it was good to mingle and chat with people from different organisations,” said Joel Mann, RB National Account Manager for Coles.

In the end, 18 organisations participated and we managed to raise $27,000 AUD and we couldn’t have done it without the collective efforts of RB colleagues getting behind this great charitable cause, giving up their time and energy to make sure the event got off the ground.

The best bit?

RB is committed to match dollar for dollar the amount raised on the day. That’s a total of $54,000 AUD! Fantastic job to all who participated!

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As you can see, it’s not just global headquarters in UK that get involved with corporate responsibility, each RB office has an ability to make a difference and we are actively encouraged to organise fundraising initiatives for Save the Children.

If you haven’t had the chance to catch up on some of my colleagues’ postings about their country’s involvement with Save the Children, have a scan through Joanne, Idoia, Eva and Oriane’s blog posts…

May love pass through our hearts into all that we do
- Indian Poet Rabindranath Tagore

Our hearts were opened and moved in unchangeable ways as the site team from RB Pharmaceuticals Cindy, Judy, Joanne (US) and Sandra (UK), along with our new friends from Save the Children Rebecca (UK), Lisa (UK) and Manab (India) spent an emotional and inspirational day visiting a brick kiln factory, bridge course centre and government aided school.

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RB Pharmaceutical’s pioneering initiative with Save the Children aims to help improve the lives of children working in brick kiln factories in the rural areas of West Bengali, India.
Thousands of children are trapped in brick kiln factories many trafficked or kidnapped from the rural areas of West Bengali.

Since 2008 Save the Children has been working to eradicate child labour, provode childcare for working mothers and education centres for children. And RB is honoured to partner with them in sharing our resources of time, talent and finances in this joint mission to ‘be the difference that makes a difference’.

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More than half the workers are women and children who are expected to carry 88 lbs of bricks on their heads for 656 feet 15-20 times per day (2 and 1/2 miles each day).

Can you image what it would be like to carry 88lbs of bricks on your head 70 – 80 times a day, 6 days a week, in temperatures reaching 100 degrees and high humidity for $1 dollar a week? What would it be like for you to watch your children carrying out the same gruelling labour day in and day out with no way out?

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When foreign visitors came would you have the energy and kindness of heart to offer a smile, show them how to make a brick and answer questions about their work and life? The brick kiln workers of West Bengal can and did. Everywhere we went, we were met with gentle kindness, curiosity and a generous spirit. Stirring us to dream bigger than we could have imagined to build a sustainable partnership between RBP and Save the Children to help eradicate child labor from the brick kilns.

Today we witnessed the gruelling labor as well as the HOPE for the young children being educated on site in a bridge care centre. We saw the smiles of the children as the wonderful teach reviewed their lesson plan of the day. We met families whose children are the first generation to receive any education at all thanks to the good work of Save the Children team in Kolkata. Only 2 years ago, education wasn’t even a dream for these families. Where would you be without education? In what ways might you be moved to take “ownership” of helping educate a child who may go on to dream the audacious dream of a life outside a brick kiln factory?

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Thank you Bart Becht, Shaun Thaxter and Rick Powers for lighting the fire. We are committed. We cannot wait to see how many from our RBP family will join us!

What is it that makes RB graduates stand out from the pack?

Perhaps it’s the fact that we often get thrown in at the deep end and are expected to not only survive, but thrive!
It’s not everyone’s cup of tea – but for those proactive few who like a challenging opportunity, its amazing how quickly you learn to adjust and overcome the obstacles. Before you know it, you’ve achieved and conquered: Next challenge please! 

But learning on the job is only one element which makes working at RB so rewarding and what makes them such a good employer.
Here are some of the other highlights of my working week at RB:

Tuesday: Off Site Training

A few of us marketing/sales graduates were sent to the Nielsen headquarters to do a day’s training on how to customise and generate Nielsen reports.

Whilst it’s great to learn on the job, getting formal training provides an added depth to your skills and perhaps you’ll find a more efficient way of doing things. I certainly learnt a few tricks from the training session that I can apply in my current role as an Account Manager/Sales Analyst and will take these skills with me as I progress through to my marketing rotation.

Wednesday: Meeting with buyer

Had an afternoon meeting with my buyer to discuss imminent plans on launching Strepsils Cool in his 60+ pharmacies and how we could make it bigger and better. I was also able to negotiate stock allocation, off location displays and catalogue spots to ensure a successful launch.

The process was made all the more easier by the fact that I could demonstrate to the buyer the amount of media on TV, radio, print and outdoor that would be supporting the new launch. As we all know, strong media is what ignites consumer demand and brings them into stores – that’s the great thing about working for a company which is one of the top 20 advertisers in Australia! (Source: Nielsen Australia, June 2009)

It’s also reassuring to know that my colleagues are always there to give me a helping hand – advice on how to negotiate, overcome obstacles, deal with difficult situations or influence the buyer. Getting guidance from people who have been in your situation and have succeeded is invaluable to say the least…

Thursday: Lunch with top management

Simon Nash, Senior Vice President of Human Resources, came to visit the Australian business and a small group of us were chosen to have an informal lunch with him. We were given the opportunity to ask questions about organisational culture, international opportunities and life as an Executive Committee member and it was great to hear his views and vision of where RB is going.

Which other organisation can you get exposure to top management, where you can ask candid questions and in turn, be treated like a valued member of the organisation? It’s nice to know that my opinions and ideas are just as important as everyone else in the company.   

So whilst it wasn’t a typical week at RB, it certainly isn’t out of the ordinary, as my fellow RB grads would agree!

I hope my working week highlights some of the range of activities and experiences that you may encounter during your time at RB, all of which will help you develop and grow into your potential as a successful marketing/sales manager.