I was completing my final semester at university and found interest in the programme, particularly with the international experience as my MBA was a focus in International Business. After completing the assessment centre and connecting with different aspects of the Group, I found the GGDLP to be a great start in the introduction into a career.
My first rotation was with Watson Marlow Inc. (US) under Sales Excellence, particularly in how we can deliver the best experience for our internal and external customers. While there were many objectives and projects, truly the main overarching theme was to improve on internal operations to become more customer-focused by aligning with customer, market, and segment needs.
The first rotation is arguably the highest learning curve as you start to discover how we as a business operate in the market. Therefore, this rotation was critical for me to build a basic, core business foundation. Essentially, how does the full process from customer inquiry to product shipment look like, and how can we as a business improve upon for the ever changing business environment?
My second rotation was with Watson Marlow, but with the Australia/New Zealand team looking at more of the commercial side of sales strategy. My two main projects looked at improving our trial/demo offerings as well as creating a tool to capture the information collected from a site survey/audit. While these tools provided an immense benefit to the business, it allowed myself to gain customer-facing experience with both internal and external stakeholders.
As someone aspiring to be in a customer-facing role, these projects were instrumental in forming a solid foundation of how we provide value to our customers. Additionally, as someone without an engineering background, these projects and interactions allowed myself to bridge my lacking technical experience, while building upon customer-building relationships. Completing this rotation in a few different foreign countries allowed myself to gain invaluable experience in how different regions/countries around the world conduct business.
My third rotation is currently being completed with Durex Industries (a portion of ETS), back in the US, looking at creating and implementing customer-facing materials to help the customer’s buying experience, while aligning with internal teams to help share the customer requirements more efficiently. Durex Industries operates mainly with bespoke, custom-made products, so allowing uniform internal documentation and processes will allow both the internal and external teams to focus on delivering the best customer experience for electrical heating applications.
From a personal development side of things, it will allow myself to gain valuable experience in a completely different sector and market with different means of providing value to our customers. All of these various rotations deliver the core message of how we as potential leaders in the company can provide value by understanding the business holistically, collaborating across functions, and driving informed decisions that support long-term growth.
My current rotation is with Durex Industries (a portion of ETS), looking specifically at the semiconductor sector. My end goal is to create customer facing materials such as Product Catalogs, Technical Data Sheets, RFQ Forms, and other materials to support the customer’s decision-making process, while establishing a solid foundation to link the communication channels across the different elements of the manufacturing process.
A typical day for myself is connecting with different people across the various business units to define the given process, look for improvement opportunities, and gain the necessary information to build processes and materials for our end goal. As part of the GGDLP, there will also be some side-projects and additional objectives that encapsulate a better learning opportunity for myself, while also providing the business with some tangible beneficial outcomes. Every day brings something new, and I’m continually learning and improving day by day.
Just like any business or corporation, each OpCo will have its own unique culture and identity while still ascertaining the core values. It may depend on the country, leadership style, and even the product offering, however, being a Global Graduate allows oneself to position themselves in a great, unique way. Being so early into one’s career, we often provide a unique viewpoint and energy that may help challenge existing thinking and inspire new ideas.
Additionally, as we get further into the programme, leveraging previous experiences, connections, and tools can benefit the wider group to achieve our goals. In the end, the business gains value from a Global Graduate through tangible tools, outcomes, and clear objectives. More importantly, Global Graduates also bring intangible benefits such as fresh perspectives, cross-functional understanding, and a willingness to question assumptions and drive new ideas. I feel as I can be my true, authentic self, while striving to my fullest potential and genuinely be welcomed across the organisation to achieve both tangible and intangible outcomes.
