PharmaLex in Ireland

• Moving from a formal office environment to remote working was actually not entirely as tricky as I first expected.  I was very lucky, in joining Pharmalex I was coming in to an environment where remote working and the associated agility this brings to the business was already well established.  As a frequent traveller in some of my previous roles I had often worked occasional days from home in the past and therefore it wasn’t that much of a culture shock to me.  Onboarding and working remotely straight away however I have had to really try to be clear on who is doing what so I don’t end up overlapping activities and also to fight the temptation to overcommunicate.
• I like to treat remote working as close to going out to work as possible by sticking to an established morning routine and stepping out for 5 minutes to clear my head before sitting down at the laptop and making sure I get my coffee’s and lunch breaks appropriately throughout the day.  I feel that this allows me to keep focussed and productive and not overstretched or distracted by home life.

• Pharmalex have been incredibly agile and were able to pivot immediately to  adapt to the changing needs of our clients.  Most notable is the provision of virtual audits, remote training and providing support to clients who have experienced significant upheaval as a result of Covid19.  We are looking closely at the changing regulations not only around Covid19 but also Brexit and MDR/IVDR, and checking in with our clients to make sure that they have the required support that they need and if we can help in any way.
• The reality is that business must go on, and companies that planned to launch new products or obtain new licences prior to the Covid19 pandemic still need those projects to proceed regardless of the hierarchy changes or pressures within their organisation.  We are here, ready to support and would be delighted to talk to new clients who maybe haven used our services but who need a consultants support to get back on track.

• At Pharmalex  there is a very practical common sense approach to remote working with established two-way communications across the teams.  We video chat on Microsoft Teams directly through the week, in daily catch-ups and huddles which allows us to keep up to date as if we are in the office.  We even have meditation, virtual yoga and virtual coffee breaks where we can share a brew and catch up on the office banter!   This really helps to keep us all motivated and supported while working from home.  I’m incredibly lucky as there is a very supportive team structure already in place and everyone has been really kind and patient with each other.The nature of our work requires daily collaboration across the team, so even though we are all remote working, everyone is actively engaging with each other behind the scenes.

• I am finding increasingly that instant messaging on Teams is the ‘go to’ in place of the stroll over to a colleague’s desk or just waiting to chat to them over lunch.  I will shoot off an IM either for a quick question or to ask “are you free for a quick chat”.  That way if they are stressed, in the zone with a technical piece of work or on a call you are giving them the chance to let you know that they’ll come back to you when they are free.

I have been greatly impressed by the way that the supermarket and food companies such as Supervalu and our local garages and convenience stores have adapted to the Covid19 pandemic.  The immediate availability of home delivery and the way that sanitation and distancing measures were very quickly implemented such as Perspex divisions for the staff, one way systems to minimise pinch points and priority hours for key workers and the elderly.

Also a lot of medium and larger Irish retailers like Eason’s strengthened their online presence and made it easier and more straightforward to do things like click and collect or buy online and collect instore.