After graduating in genetics, Mykie Leong Chadwick started his career at a small pharmaceutical company specialising in contraception. At the time, he thought he’d never want to work for a big pharma company like MSD. Fate, however, had other plans, and as a result of the acquisition of his employer six years ago, Chadwick is now implementation lead for vaccines at MSD, which involves helping the NHS make better use of various products it has committed to for its vaccination programmes. He hasn’t looked back.
“It is fantastic,” he says. “I absolutely love it. Working at MSD is like being part of a family, it has the advantages of being non-bureaucratic, and allowing you to be yourself, while also opening many career opportunities as a global company.”
Much of his enjoyment of the role comes from meeting people and feeling he’s making a difference. Contrary to popular perception, not all pharmaceutical jobs involve working in a research laboratory. MSD offers careers in sales, marketing, HR, business analytics, manufacturing, IT, medical affairs and many other areas. There is also a strong focus on scientific research, with plans underway to establish a new discovery research hub in London in the next few years, for which 150 new research scientists will be recruited.
MSD is a global company, with six sites in the UK and four divisions: human health, animal health, manufacturing and discovery research. “There’s a real range of opportunities,” says Bethan Herbert, HR business partner. “We try to get graduates into each of the divisions and explore all options available.”
Catherine Williams’s experience is a case in point. Williams graduated in sports science in 2003 and has spent most of her career since then at MSD. She began in sales but later moved to marketing and has risen rapidly up the ranks to become executive director of the diabetes and cardiovascular business unit, which involves leading a team of sales and marketing employees for MSD’s products in those areas. She enjoys supporting her team to develop their skills, she says, but also values the work for its own sake.
It’s not just the range of opportunities available that makes MSD an attractive place to work. The company is not driven by hierarchy, says Williams. “You feel like you can truly be yourself in the company, which makes you want to give back to them.”
Andy Tran, brand and customer manager, anaesthesia, also appreciates the sense of shared values at the organisation. Tran joined the diabetes sales team at MSD after graduating in pharmacy, but, like Williams, moved into marketing, where he has had three different roles. His colleagues, he says, have “always been really supportive” and his progression at the company has been helped by “great mentors and managers”.
He also particularly values the collaborative ethos at the company. “Every day, you are faced with different situations and challenges. You have to use your insights and understanding of the environment you are working in and make sure that all other departments are aligned with that final goal,” he says.
“It never ceases to amaze me how quickly everyone pulls together quickly to find solutions – because they can see what it means for our patients and healthcare professionals.”
The public-spirited ethos of MSD is reflected in its policy of allowing every employee 40 hours of paid volunteering every year. Sometimes staff take on volunteering projects together – on one occasion, all 600 employees in the human health division spent a day in a deprived area of Manchester, to improve the area for its residents by tidying it up and creating urban garden features in the alleyways between the houses. Farther afield, the policy has allowed individual employees to undertake charitable work in Africa and across the globe.
And MSD looks after its staff. A flexible working policy gives employees flexible start and finish times within certain hours, as well as home working arrangements if appropriate. “Our policies have really been designed to encourage and support a good work life balance,” says Herbert. Also, if a staff member feels in need of emotional support, the company has mental health first aiders contactable through a button on the company web page. Some sites have gyms and subsidised restaurants, and one even has an outdoor pool. Plus there’s a strong team ethos too, even among field workers, who are able to stay in touch through a range of digital communication tools, such as an internal social media platform and chat systems.
A desire to nurture talent is at the heart of MSD’s approach to its staff. Because it has offices all over the world, employees have the opportunity to take on assignments abroad, in countries such as Switzerland or the US. Tran, for example, hopes to take a stretch assignment abroad at some point in a new field, before returning to the UK office with a new skillset.
MSD recognises that people from different backgrounds and with a range of experiences are good for business, and as a result it has a remarkably diverse workforce, ranging in age from 19 to 70. Two-thirds of its senior leaders, and 45% of its senior human health team, are women. The company has set up networks focused on improving diversity, such as the Next Generation Network – launched by Chadwick – which aims to recruit the next generation of workers, and the Women’s Network, aimed at maximising opportunities and support for women wanting to develop their careers at MSD.
Tran is not alone when he says that MSD has been a place that has brought out the best in him. “There have been fantastic people who continue to support me as my career progresses,” he says. “I’ve been able to flourish and develop here.”
CORP-1268265-0000; Date of preparation: September 2018
