Journalist: Marah Rikli | Photographer: Markus Bertschi | Magazine: Bigger, better, stronger – December 2023
She is an advocate of further training and part-time working, and sees this as a strategy to counteract the shortage of skilled workers. A conversation with Silvia Schweickart, Chair of the Executive Board of Novartis Pharma Schweiz AG, about the opportunities and challenges brought about by staff shortages.
We have introduced a new organisational structure and a new operating model to achieve our target growth, innovation and productivity goals over the next ten years. Once again, it’s been made clear to me that what we need is frequent and transparent communication. Decisions have to be made very quickly, even if they aren’t always perfect! The longer a process takes, the more uncertain and restless the team becomes. I think allowing emotions and feedback is very relevant here as well as getting the staff involved, because otherwise these processes can fail.
“To grow as a company, you need staff who know what they are doing”
It always makes sense for a company to train talented workers with a specific goal in mind, prepare them for their next potential role and so ensure the availability of qualified staff. This strategy of promoting and developing young talent also counteracts the shortage of skilled workers. In this sense I also see this as something the entire industry needs to be involved in, because to keep the market stable and to grow as a company, you need staff who know what they are doing.
For example, we offer a programme that accepts MBA graduates. Those who participate in this programme move through several countries and functions during the two years. In addition to this, our local trainee programme is very popular – and often leads to a permanent job afterwards. Many young employees want to move onto their next role or project after only one year, they want to develop quickly. If you don’t offer fast growth opportunities as an employer, young employees may quickly move on.
“If you don’t offer fast growth opportunities as an employer, young employees may quickly move on.”
We provide perspectives, for example in projects relating to digitalisation or artificial intelligence (AI) – areas that young people are very interested in. Hybrid working is also very popular with Generation Z, and for us this is now a matter of course. It’s the same thing as with making work and family life compatible: we grant four and a half months of parental leave for new mothers and fathers. I’m an advocate of part-time working. Many of our employees work 60-80%, even those in management positions or on the executive board.
“It always makes sense for a company to train talented workers with a specific goal in mind, prepare them for their next potential role”
The lack of staff and the lack of time is particularly noticeable in doctors’ surgeries, pharmacies and hospitals. Our clients have a lot less time than they did before. However, I see this situation as an opportunity for us to become more efficient and agile.
A fast-growing and increasingly important area at Novartis is digital and personalised solutions for providing information about our products. These help doctors save time because they no longer have to book appointments for our sales representatives – we can provide all the information digitally. As well as this, we relieve the burden on practices by supporting their patients.
For example, we focus on tools that help chronically ill patients to manage their conditions, and we’re constantly developing these further. Ultimately, challenges like the shortage of skilled workers we’re experiencing at the moment also act as an incentive for us to become more innovative and even provide areas where we can grow, for example by using AI. AI is helpful for us in drug development and research, for example. Some processes that previously had to be done manually can now be done by AI a lot faster, which of course is enormously helpful.
“Our clients have a lot less time than they did before. However, I see this situation as an opportunity for us to become more efficient and agile.”
There’s a lot of focus on digitalisation and AI – I’m a big fan of it, and I see huge potential for growth as well as a way of addressing the skills shortage. We want to become the leading company in the pharmaceutical industry when it comes to AI and digitalisation. We are already the largest and best-selling pharmaceutical company in the Swiss market, and now we want to maintain this position and expand on it further.
“It’s incredibly important to have foresight as well as stamina.”
The Swiss business unit of Novartis is responsible for marketing around 80 prescription medicines in Switzerland. The main therapeutic areas include oncology and haematology, neuroscience, immunology and cardiology. The company employs a total of about 260 people in the office and in the field. They work in marketing and sales, medical consulting and quality assurance among other areas, while the remaining employees take care of logistics, process orders or coordinate clinical studies.
Silvia Schweickart has been President Innovative Medicines Switzerland of Novartis Pharma Schweiz AG since 2019. Previously, she was responsible for Switzerland as General Manager at Nestlé Skin Health. During an international career she has held positions in the US and Europe, including at Saatchi & Saatchi Healthcare in New York and Merz Pharmaceuticals in Germany and the UK. She holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management in Germany.
