Hi there, I am Agnieszka and this is my first blog post for  my RB Opportunity. I am Polish and work in supply for RB: South Africa, which I joined in September 2009. But I have also worked for RB in Poland and in Russia.

Yes, I really like the RB environment and the way they are developing their employees! And I would like to share with you some of my experiences, the opportunities I’ve been given and the major projects I’m working on.

EXPERIENCE:

3 countries in just 5 years, that’s quite some career progression! Here’s how I did it.

After completing my MSc. in Production Management, I started my career with Reckitt Benckiser Poland in April 2004 as a Production Supervisor.
Here I managed production operations, reduced COGS (Cost of Goods Sold) and identified and implemented cost reduction projects. After a very successful journey in this position, RB moved me to RB Russia in June 2005 as a Production Manager.

It was really a very challenging role for me at that time but since I love to accept the challenges and deliver the best, I accepted the role.
I started all manufacturing activities from scratch, built a very competent team, set the production targets, OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) for each line and changed the line layouts to enhance the lines production.

In a very short time, I delivered very good results and then RB moved me back to RB Poland as a Production Coordinator in Aug 2006. As a Production Coordinator, I reduced head counts, waste, COGS , improved OEE  and took part in line validations.

After reviewing my performance, RB promoted me to the Planning Specialist Position at RB Poland. I spent around 2 successful years on this position and managed the planning, scheduling, forecasting, inventory and waste control, NPD (New Product Development) projects and met the customer service on time, effectively and very successfully.

My experience kept improving and when I gained significant industrial experience in Production, Planning and Technical roles, RB reviewed my performance again and moved me to RB South Africa as a Factory Manager and Global Supply Rep for Shoe and Furniture Care reporting to GCD (Global Category Diector).

SO WHAT AM I DOING IN THE BUSINESS NOW?

Well, I’m currently working with RB South Africa as a Factory Manager & Global Supply Rep for Shoe and Furniture Care, managing the whole manufacturing activities, safety health & environment of all manufacturing. employees, waste reduction, maintenance of plant and machinery, delivery of good quality products on time, CAPEX projects, execution of continuous improvement or COGS reduction projects, employees training and development and many many more projects!

So as you can see, I’m really busy! But I love it. It’s why I work at RB and why I’m happy to come on this blog and share my experiences with you so you too can get an idea of what working for a truly global company is really like.

Take a look at this video from one of RB’s marketing directors Francesco. He started out in Italy, then moved to the UK and then to Germany. He joined in a marketing role, took on a global brand position, then became a Marketing Director of one of RBs key regions. He reveals how he did it, talks about the uncompromising nature of Reckitt Benckiser’s company culture, and how he ‘learned by doing’.

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!

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.

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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.

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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.

In previous posts here on the blog we have discussed broadly about our company values and how well they express the RB culture.

We’ve asked whether you can be an entrepreneur in a corporate environment.
We’ve  revealed the 6 traits you need to be a high flier at RB.
Even our CEO Bart Becht has written a post on here revealing how RB built a company of global entrepreneurs through a culture of global mobility.

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Achievement, Ownership, Entrepreneurship and Teamspirit represent the spinal cord of RB thinking and are the basis of its success (and it’s people’s success too).

But in my opinion, this is not all: being entrepreneurial, taking the initiative, being responsible for your position, exploiting every situation is the best way to gain value and reach your goals with your team, can all be seen as the seeds of leadership.
Of course, it depends on the ground they are seeded into. But if the ground is fertile, the fruits come up very quickly: to succeed in a dynamic, complex and competitive environment such as FMCG industry, you need to develop your leadership skills from the very beginning.

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As soon as you make your first steps in RB’s corridors, you understand how important is to interpret situations, find opportunities and turn every non-ordinary situation into a successful experience.

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When you work in a flat organization, you live within a few hierarchical levels: it means you really need to be assertive and learn how to achieve common goals with your team, listening to everybody’s opinion and sharing your ideas. Since you are exposed to the top management from the first days, I think this is a very good “gym” where you can practice your leadership skills.

The pace is fast, projects and deadlines are challenging, the people you work with are very skilled and the scenario you work in is global … starting a career at RB definitely makes you more solid, building the basis of leadership attitude and teaching how to work with people.