Experiment with impact

Fancy swapping jobs with a co-worker? This is certainly possible at Galenica. The experiment is called “Job Rotation”. Carla Wälchli and Victor Dufour decided to take the plunge. Carla is responsible for marketing communications at Coop Vitality, while Victor works as Regional Sales Manager for French-speaking Switzerland, Bern and Valais. And so, on 1 September 2022, the two are immersed in each other’s day-to-day working lives. Victor is now mostly found in the office in Bern, conducting discussions with suppliers and coordinating marketing campaigns, while Carla spends a lot of time on the road, visiting one of the 22 pharmacies in her catchment area.

What was the motivation for the job swap? That's something that they both agree on: they wanted to broaden their horizons and get to know new facets of the varied Galenica network. “I’m convinced that insights into a colleague’s day-to-day work not only strengthen team spirit, but also help to exploit synergies,” says Carla. “It helps me advance professionally and personally,” adds Victor.

And where are the stumbling blocks? For both, the first few weeks have been work-intensive. “It’s not easy to turn your back on your usual tasks and your team,” states Carla. Victor says: “I feel like a trainee!” Fortunately, as a “trainee”, he can rely on the support of his new team, who diligently helped with the onboarding process. Both Victor and Carla were warmly welcomed into their new teams, even if there was a certain scepticism at the beginning.

What advice do you have for colleagues who are interested in a job swap? “Good preparation is essential,” says Carla. “Before the actual job swap, we met regularly to get to know each other’s tasks and work on some theory.” “Even if a lot of things can only be learned in practice,” adds Victor.

More information on career opportunities at Galenica can be found here.