Brand Assistant Review

Brand Assistant - Boots Pharmaceuticals Vitamins & Complementary Medicines My daily tasks include running reports and analysing sales data for the category, liasing with internal stakeholders on all levels to communicate the brand effectively and inform the company of new product launches/ current performance. I interact with external stakeholders including suppliers & marketing and advertising agencies. Responsibilities of my role are: • To provide full support to the brand manager and liaise with other teams as required (trading/sourcing/marketing), in all aspects of product development and delivery of the brand offer and activity plans. • Gather competitor activity information and compile information for competitor reviews. Carry out analysis and research in order to inform our Brand strategy. • Responsible for delivery of project work such as conference organisation, brand marketing, PR and New Product Development. • Understand key business processes including timings, product specific information, sales plan and budgeting in order to inform future product development/commercial decisions. I am currently managing an NPD project (New Product Development) to launch 2 new beauty supplements into 1,200 stores across the UK and ROI in August this year. These products will be worth around £500,000 to the company if landed successfully.

I have gained a Level 4 Diploma in Business and Administrative Management I have also undergone training within my workplace about Self Awareness, Setting achieveable goals, How to identify strengths and developments, working in teams, performance leadership and developing others. Alongside this I have undergone work related training including GAP Negotiation Course, Financial Calculations, the importance of CASH, project management and performance leadership.

I really enjoyed being part of the Boots Business Apprenticeship programme as it allowed me to move around the business, gaining invaluable experience across 3 areas of the Commercial sector. I love being part of the wider team of development programmes such as the Graduate Scheme and Work Inspiration Programme as it has allowed me to build an internal network of friends and work colleagues. The company is great to work for and I feel valued an as employee at Boots. The programme met most of my expectations but the academic side to the programme far exceeded my expectations due to the delivery of the qualification provided to us by Babington Business College. We recieved an exceptional amount of support from our tutor and many of us feel disappointed that the programme leaders are not able to provide us with further progression from an academic perspective. We would have like to have topped our qualification up to a degree and I am disappointed that this is not being supported.

In my first placement in the Boots Support Office, I felt very valued and was given a great amount of responsibility by my line manager. This made me thrive within my role and I felt like I was part of an amazing team. Unfortunately this has not been the case across all areas of the business that I have worked in but I have found the company great to work for as a whole. I have often been recognised for my contribution as an apprentice and hope to get more involved in the future in inspiring others to look at apprenticeships as a great kick start to a career and alternative to university. I also love working for a company that is so passionate about its CSR and have been valued for my contributions to partnered charities throughout the duration of the programme.

The programme was initially very well structured and organised however this has varied across the internal functions that the programme touches. I, myself am part of the commercial function and found the movement from our 1st head office placement to the 2nd very messy as 2 people on the programme did not move as they were supposed to. This made the available placements limited and also caused us to lose some trust in how the programme was structured making us feel nervous for the future. The training and interventions that we recieved however were fantastically structured and were placed at perfect times within the 2 year programme in order for us to maximise the content of each session. At the beginning of the programme we were assigned a mentor for each function which began well and was helpful throughout our placement in store. Once we moved into support office however, communication with our mentor almost ceased completely meaning we felt cut off from a communications perspective in terms of what to expect from the rest of the programme. This was rectified however upon the appointment of Talent Managers towards the end of the 2 years. I enjoyed having 1/2 a day's study leave each week to complete my qualification and felt that this worked well. It was great that the programme leaders were flexible and allowed us to do our college work from home if we felt neccessary. This really enabled us all to get the most from our individual working styles and complete assignments on time and to the best of our ability.

As previously mentioned, the support that we recieved from Babington Business College was second to none. Our Tutor was fantastic and supported all of our learning styles faultlessly. She was supportive, approachable and very knowledgable. She showed a real passion for the course and our development as individuals which was greatly appreciated by all. We had access to support at all times via telephone and email and recieved 1-2-1 time with our tutor during our study leave once a week. Even when some of us struggled with parts of the qualification, she would ensure that she spent extra time assisting us and building our confidence in our knowledge. I truly believe that without our Tutor, we would not have achieved such a great standard of work than we did.

I have recieved a great amount of support from one of my line managers whilst on my 1st support office placement, however this was not the case in my second placement. I felt that my line manager in this role was not engaged with the programme and saw my attendance at college once per week as a hindrance rather than a development opportunity. I recieved a great amount of support from our HR team at the quarterly catch ups that were scheduled but felt that the communication that we recieved throughout the programme could have been better. We were all under the impression that we would be supported in finding progressive roles at the end of the programme but this did not happen, making many of us feel insecure and on our own at the end. The general support that we recieve as employees at boots however is fantastic and all of our line managers are equipped with training to maximise our experience as apprentices throughout the programme. This is credit to the HR team who did a great job of catching up with line managers on a regular basis.

The salary that I recieve is great in comparison to other apprenticeships across the UK. It is however, slightly difficult to manage due to travel costs that I incur when getting to and from the work place. I feel however that the package we recieve is fair and was overall happy with the management of costs on this salary.

As previously mentioned, since being on the programme I have been involved in many CSR events including a Top Gear Race for Children in Need, dressing up as Pudsey and meeting Myleene Klass, Running 8 miles for Macmillan and taking part in company bingo! All of which I am very proud to be a part of and feel very proud to work for a company that does so much for its partnered charities and the local community. The company also provides access to a gym however I choose to use one closer to home. We often met up as apprentices and went for lunch/ nights out which was supported by the company. This has led to some great friendships following the end of the programme.

Yes

Its a great company to work for all in all. The company support its employees to develop both personally and on the job and it is equipped with managers and leaders that are really passionate about the people that work here. I love being part of the "Boots community" and enjoy coming to work.

Research the company before applying and really know why you'd like to work for them. Think about your behaviours when attending an interview; its not necessarily about what you say, its more about how you say it and what behaviours you're showing. Ask LOTS of questions, don't feel scared to say you dont understand what's happening. Don't think that achieving a promotion at the end of the programme is a given. You'll need to work for it and even then, it still might happen. Just work hard, try your best and enjoy it. The rest will fall into place.