What it does: manufactures and sells healthcare products in the private & public sector in South Africa
Best known for: Being ‘the Glaxo of South Africa’.
Staff stats: 2,374 employees in South Africa.
The good bits: Exposure to international standards in R&D and manufacturing.
The not so good bits: Stressful and demanding job. Salary may be relatively low for fresh graduates.
Adcock Ingram (AI) started as a small pharmacy in the fast-growing town of Krugersdorp in 1890. Hyme Tannenbaum was an apprentice at the shop and eventually ended up buying it. The Tannenbaum brothers later grew the business to a chain of pharmaceutical retail stores. Eventually, AI was the first pharmaceutical company to be listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in 1950. The company only began to have a global presence in the 1990s, starting with Australia and the UK, which later became a platform for them to expand into Europe. After being acquired by Tiger Brands in 1978, AI has also been acquiring other subsidiaries all throughout the 2000s. By 2005, Adcock revenues constituted half of all revenue for parent firm Tiger Brands. But since 2008, Tiger Brands changed strategies which led to the divestment from AI which led to AI relisting on JSE as an independent firm.
The work-life balance at AI might not be satisfactory, particularly for fresh graduates. Employees would be expected to work under stressful conditions and adhere to strict rules and guidelines. In spite of this, many employees of AI say that the work culture is supportive, and teamwork is fostered which may take the load off the individuals. At higher positions, employees have more freedom in terms of flexibility in work hours and leaves.
AI has made many contributions as part of their CSR activities, where they particularly focus on health. SA Medical and Education Foundation (SAME) aims to provide quality education and healthcare in poverty-stricken areas through high-impact projects. Some of these projects have been operationalised in Leratong Hospital, which serves around 1.5 million people in the nearby communities. Another initiative, Grace Vision, seeks to provide mobile eye care in and around Zithulele Hospital, including cataract surgeries. The SMILE foundation rolls out a healthcare vision for children born with facial deformities, providing facial reconstructive surgery and treatment.
Although AI has a somewhat stressful workplace for fresh graduates, long-term careers at AI can be fruitful in terms of high salaries, and more flexibility.
Adcock Ingram lists employment opportunities on their website, although aspiring candidates cannot apply on the website itself. Candidates are expected to send their applications via email, or apply through a recruiter. Candidates should be prepared to wait one to two months to hear back from the recruiter, who becomes the mediator between them and AI. Once the first interview is scheduled, the entire process generally does not take more than one week.
Generally, candidates are required to clear two to three interviews to get the job. The first interview is usually with an HR professional, who will ask questions about the general education profile of the candidate, prior work experience, and various situational question. Other than this, candidates should be prepared to answer questions about general management techniques and also have some fundamental idea about AI as a company.
The second interview is conducted by an HR professional and the senior official of the team that the potential employee would be required to join. This interview is relatively more technical, and candidates are advised to have conceptual clarity with regards to their subject. This interview might also have questions intended to gauge the soft skills of the candidate in addition to being asked about your expectations from the job. Therefore, preparing by doing practise interviews might be helpful in order to secure the job.
Employees at AI can hope to earn as per the industry standards, particularly in management roles. However, for other roles, the remuneration may be slightly below industry standards. A manager may earn somewhere around ZAR 87,000 - 96,000 per month. Medical sales representatives may earn anywhere between ZAR 524,000 - 572,000.
As a fast-growing company with an international presence, employees can expect to gain exposure to global standards in pharmaceutical management. For those hoping for a career in the pharmaceutical or healthcare industry, working at AI also gives employees the right credentials to make the switch to another company later in their career. Former employees may consider switching to companies in this sector like Sanofi, Sandoz, Fresenius Kabi, Aspen Pharma, and Adcock Ingram Critical Care (Pty) Ltd. That said, employees can also aim for a long-term career at AI, particularly because salaries can be very high after multiple promotions. Additionally, there are many development programmes and training that are conducted to make sure that employees find their work to be challenging and useful.