How do they work at pharmaceutical company "AVVA RUS"

The pharmaceutical industry is in acute need of qualified personnel.

Rjob talked to Olga Gordiyenko, Director of the Kirov branch of "AVVA RUS," and Irina Andrianova, HR Director, about how to cope with the shortage of specialists, incentivize relocation from other regions, and cooperate effectively with a specialized university.

Staff Shortage and Relocating for Work

Olga Gordiyenko: There are not so many good specialists in pharmaceuticals. With the support of the President, the industry is developing and is part of the import substitution program. Our drugs are beginning to displace foreign goods from pharmacy shelves. All these accompanying measures help business develop, so workers move, migrate to different cities and firms—where they are offered more interesting working conditions and a platform for professional growth. Therefore, having production facilities in the Kirov Region, we hire specialists from other regions. There is currently a high demand for technologists, analysts, chemists—specialists directly involved in production.

Irina Andrianova: We are experiencing a severe staff shortage, so we are looking for personnel everywhere: all over Russia and even in CIS countries. For those who are ready to relocate, we rent apartments, assist with the move, organize medical care, and help with enrolling children in school and kindergarten.

Dual Education in Action

Irina Andrianova: To find employees, we use classic recruitment methods: advertisements on websites, in specialized media, and social networks. But the main flow of personnel, especially young specialists, comes from working with universities.

Olga Gordiyenko: We have signed an agreement with Vyatka State University, which graduates students for us. Moreover, we have identified critical specialties that require additional training, opened specialties for new student intakes so that after graduation, specialists are ready to start work immediately, have experience, and understand what we want from them.

This year, we offered third and fourth-year students paid internships before starting their thesis work. They received a salary for a month and were able to determine if they are on the right path, if they have chosen the right profession, and how they can realize themselves. We are already implementing dual education in practice, even before the official adoption of the corresponding law.

Interest and Openness

Olga Gordiyenko: I often conduct interviews myself, and besides professional qualities, I value a person's interest. They must have an interest and desire to work with us. No employer can include concepts like responsibility, determination, etc., in a job description. First and foremost, I am interested in people who want to grow, gain experience, improve their professional knowledge, and be useful to the company.

Irina Andrianova: The list of requirements depends on the profile of the vacancy. For example, some positions require perseverance, while in others it is contraindicated. When hiring workers for production where specific knowledge is not required, we first pay attention to the candidate's personal qualities. Having a specialized education in this case does not matter. But education in pharmaceuticals, organic chemistry, etc., is essential for specialists like technologists, chemical analysts, etc. Openness, honesty, friendliness, diligence, attentiveness—these are the personal qualities that are valuable for absolutely all employees.

Headhunting or Training?

Olga Gordiyenko: We do not have a strict requirement to hire only specialists with work experience or people who have not worked for competitors. The approach is always individual. Sometimes it's easier to teach from scratch than to retrain. But sometimes an employee is flexible in adapting to working conditions and new tasks set by the new company. I am always in favor of adopting experience from another field, another industry, and even another enterprise if it brings positive experience to the company.

Irina Andrianova: Of course, there is a temptation to poach a ready-made specialist from competitors, but this is not always rational. They usually have to be "bought out," and sometimes it's worth it, and sometimes it's not. It all depends on the vacancy. All specialists, in any case, need additional training. Every production has its own specifics. The difference is that an experienced worker only needs to be shown the differences, while a young one needs to be shown the basics and the algorithm.

For each position and each new employee, regardless of experience in the pharmaceutical sector, there is an adaptation program. The newcomer gets a mentor who brings them up to speed, and the program helps them adapt quickly and painlessly to new working conditions.

Motivation and Comfortable Working Conditions

Olga Gordiyenko: Employees should feel comfortable and at ease in their workplace. Therefore, we regularly conduct surveys: what everyone likes and dislikes, what they would like to change in their work. We offer flexible schedules. Moreover, our workplaces meet European standards; we have prepared the enterprise to obtain a GMP manufacturer compliance certificate.

Nothing works better than motivation. And this applies to any employee. Material motivation programs include all support measures, for example, interest-free loans that the company provides to young employees so they can meet urgent needs, such as purchasing housing. We award bonuses monthly, quarterly, annually, and based on project results. There are certain KPIs for each employee, and everyone knows the goals for achieving which they will receive a bonus.

Irina Andrianova: Some have an individual motivation program, others have a collective one. A broad social package includes individual and corporate training programs, conference participation, voluntary health insurance programs, corporate fitness, and entertainment programs (theater, exhibitions, museums, joint sports). Our company provides meals, a sanatorium for employees, company transport—delivery to the workplace from main stops—and for some, a company car is provided.

But it is also important that every employee sees prospects for career and professional development within the company. Absolutely everyone can realize themselves if they wish. We have an internal talent pool program. There are many examples where a line employee advances to a leadership position—becoming a chief technologist or even a general director. For example, Kirov Branch Director Olga Gordiyenko joined the company in 2012 as a chief accountant, and in 2016 she was appointed Director of the Kirov Branch of JSC "AVVA RUS".

Outplacement and Protecting Trade Secrets

Olga Gordiyenko: All specifics of the production of medicines and pharmaceutical substances are the company's trade secrets. When signing an employment contract with an employee, we also sign a non-disclosure agreement for trade secrets, which is valid for 6 years after dismissal.

Irina Andrianova: We, so to speak, invest our soul in every employee—we try our best to retain qualified workers. If we can prevent a dismissal, we do it. But often we understand the employee's needs in advance, what they are lacking, what their mood is, so a resignation letter rarely comes as news. But even more often, employees, after trying to work somewhere else, return to us.