Ready to shine in the new normal! Our future leaders share their experiences before joining

Cadila Pharmaceuticals, 6 years back, started its young leaders program wherein future leaders from the top management and technical schools were given an opportunity to unlock their potential in the Indian pharmaceutical industry. This year too, we hired some of the best talent from the likes of IIMs and IITs to give them the next big opportunity. And then the COVID-19 virus hit the world. Faizanul Haque, Varsha Singh and Mohit Mathur, three future leaders from our Cadila Young Leadership Program batch of 2020 share an intimate account of their experience before joining at Cadila.

“With lockdown, postponement of final university exams and uncertainty all around, we were not sure about our fate, but Cadila Pharmaceuticals did not waver from their commitment. It’s been almost 6 months since the lockdown but there has not been a week when the team has not interacted with us” shares Varsha, a future leader from CYLP batch of 2020.
2020 has been a difficult year for everyone, our CYLP batch of 2020 is no different. Firstly, not being able to attempt their final exams, and then to missing out on the most important day in their lives – their graduation ceremony.

“The world has never seen a pandemic with such huge impact on the world. From the economy to health, everything has come to a standstill due to COVID-19. We were not sure what would happen. We kept hearing stories of various management trainee programs getting cancelled,” shares Faizanul Haque, a chemical engineer.

To add on to the uncertainty, the job market slowed down and there were lack of employment opportunities. With major companies shutting down offices and reducing staff, there was an overload of negative information all across. We wanted to ensure that we were giving a positive experience to our future leaders and the reception we got from them was full of energy and enthusiasm.

“The times of COVID-19 has been very uncertain for all of us, especially the batch of 2020. When my batch mates were seeing their job offers being rescinded, I was fearful for my own position. However, the HR team of Cadila was on its toes to keeping us informed about each and every development. They assured us that the joining will be postponed, but that doesn’t mean that our offers will be withdrawn. The everyday positive messages from the communication team and campus pictures at the end of the week was a source of motivation. Quizzes every Friday inspired us to keep learning about the organization. The best part was the constant communication and transparency which enabled us all to stay energized and motivated in the difficult times” adds Varsha Singh, IIT Gandhinagar.

Riding on the digital wave, the team at Cadila then did the next best thing. We made sure that we were interacting with them virtually and with increased frequency. While the actual induction cannot be replaced, we started giving them the flavours of Cadila Pharmaceuticals online.

“From virtual tours of the corporate campus, to gamifying the ‘About Cadila’ program, the team at Cadila was engaging with us on a weekly basis. They organized leaders’ sessions to help us get acquainted with the business, the campus and the people. And honestly I loved it,” shares Mohit, from SBS Pune said.

“A famous author once wrote about effectiveness vs efficiency. He said that efficiency by organizations are achieved by proper management of time and working towards a common goal. However, effectiveness can only be achieved if you focus on your relationships with your colleagues. And efficiency cannot be achieved without effectiveness.

With the engagement program by Cadila Pharmaceuticals, I have come to believe that Cadila believes in its employees. The organization supports the employees by investing in their careers to make them a well-groomed professional. Keeping the new recruits engaged with regular quizzes, virtual tours and helping us connect to industry leaders, all of these experiences have made us even more excited to join the organization and pursue our career in pharmaceuticals,” shares Faizanul Haque, a chemical engineer.

“The day to day interaction with the Cadila leaders has really helped us stay connected to the organization. Even though we’ll be coming to the campus for the first time, it won’t be completely new for us as we are already well versed with the business, products, leaders and the beautiful campus. We already feel a part of Cadila Pharmaceuticals. And this wouldn’t have been possible without the constant communication and encouragement of the Cadila team which helped us during the whole journey. I look forward to joining Cadila and making a prosperous career in Pharmaceuticals!” Mohit Mathur, from SBS Pune said.

Our future leaders are ready and waiting for an opportunity to shine in the new normal, and the whole team at Cadila Pharmaceuticals is excited to see them develop into brilliant professionals.