Talent, Leadership and Organisation Development IP Review

My placement was an exciting and varied year with opportunities to work on enterprise wide projects in a global team. The team I worked in was really friendly and offered me exciting development opportunities and mentoring. I really enjoyed my year and wish to return to GSK on the Future Leaders Graduate Programme. Over all it was a great experience.

I felt really valued by my colleagues. They all offered me positive and constructive feedback and me feel like a real member of the team. They all spent time getting to know me on a personal and professional level and I was often invited to out of work functions with my team members. I found it easy to ask questions and was often given high profile projects because they felt I was a valued member of the team.

My manager scheduled regular 1:1's to discuss project work and also personal development. They were open and honest with feedback and suggested ways I could make the most of my year including spending days shadowing other departments. My manager also interacted with my university to ensure that all requirements of my placement were met. My manager provided me with coaching/mentoring throughout the year.

My calendar varied day to day, however I was never bored. If I felt that I had capacity to take on more work I would pick up something from a team member and my manager supported me with this. At some points during the year I was extremely busy and this was stretching for me and allowed me to develop prioritisation skills. At other times where it was quieter, I was able to complete my university work and spend time networking with others.

I was given a varied amount of responsibility during the year. When I first started it was minimal, however as the year progressed it developed and ended with me owning whole or aspects of projects. Some of the work I did involved handling sensitive data which involves lots of responsibility and due diligence. Other IP's in my cohort also led on whole projects or aspects of those and felt that they were being treated like a valued and well thought of individual.

This year has been invaluable in gaining skills for the future. They directly relate to my degree but will also transfer into daily life - such as time management, stakeholder management and prioritisation. It has developed me personally and professionally and it will help me for the future. I did not attend any formal training as my role did not require it, however, some IP's are fortunate enough to attend Project Management courses, IT courses and similar.

The office was really friendly. It is open plan and we hot desked which meant you could sit next to knew people and build relationships with different people. The office was quite serious and quiet, but that is the nature of the department I was in, and not a reflection on the people. it was just what was appropriate for a company/ department of that size. It was friendly with some team building activities mid week. As people worked from home, it was often quiet on a Friday which can sometimes lower morale as it feels quite empty.

The placement was really well organised and had a clear structure from start to finish. GSK have a large number of IP's annually, so they are very well prepared and have a great programme. They arrange site tours, upskilling sessions and lots of social activities for IP's which has a great effect on the cohort as it allows us all to connect with each other. There are a team of managers, programme sponsors and programme leads who are available to talk to throughout the year and they are well connected with the IP community.

The company did not send me on any formal training, however, they encouraged me to seek development opportunities and this was very important to me. If it had been applicable to my role, they would have allowed me to attend a course. Instead I was allowed to attend an external conference with expenses paid which was a great experience. The company also has a huge amount of internal courses which you can take for free which work on personal and professional skills. This was available to me for the whole year.

The future leaders graduate scheme is a great programme with a competitive wage, however, there are few spaces on this and you have to go through a very intense application process (the same as external applicants) even though you have done a 12 month placement which seems a bit unfair. There are other ways to come back to the company through direct roles if you network well and save job alerts, however, no placements feed straight into a role and there are a large number of IP's for few graduate roles. Which is something they should increase or be more transparent with, as it can be factor when applying for the IP scheme.

The IP cohort had a great social scene through formalised events and casual after work drinks. There are lots of local pubs nearby which offer discount and this can be a great way to make friends. There are also sports teams for you to join. There is a large IP cohort across GSK in the UK and the company do work to organise social activities for the whole group. You mostly make your own fun the same as you would anywhere else! It has been a great year where I've met some friends for life.

The wage was low in comparison to the cost of living as you have to rent a house nearby. They have since increased the wage to meet the London Living wage, however this did not affect my cohort until May, where it made very little difference. It was possible to socialise, however, it was very tight due to costs. Transport is cheap but drinks/food are expensive and rent is extortionate (to be expected in London) however it would have been better if the wage matched the rent, or they offered a signing bonus. It is also not great that those based across the UK (not London) got the London living wage increase..

The nightlife in the area wasn't great - however we always went out and just travelled further into central London which worked perfectly and was a great way to see more of London. We often had other IP's over to our houses and had BBQ's. There are lots of local pubs and bars which are good, however, if you want to go to an event/club/gig you will need to be willing to travel into central London.

Work had a few activities such as a netball team, squash, badminton, tennis, football and 5 a side football. Work also has an on site subsidised gym which you can sign up to. The IP society arranged a Christmas party, boat party and other club nights. they also did bowling and a trip to the football and races. There were also social activities within our teams and a Christmas party for the function.