When a crisis strikes, you need to be realistic! 14.12.2021.
Nikola Dević, Country Head Salveo Croatia
Why the pandemic crisis has also affected the business of pharmaceutical companies and what can we expect in 2022, discover in the interview with Country Head Salveo Croatia.
How would you comment on the last two years of doing business in the pharmaceutical industry?
The past two years have brought a lot of uncertainty in the economy, including pharmaceutical companies. Although, public opinion believes that this is not the case.
The reason why part of the pharmaceutical industry is also affected by the pandemic lies in the fact that some pharmaceutical companies are highly oriented on specific therapeutic areas.
Thus, for example, given the measures at the beginning of the pandemic, there was a high drop in demand for products in the respiratory segment, where there was the largest decline in revenue.
As in any unexpected situation, there are positive sides. What was Salveo's greatest achievement, and what did you learn?
I would say that the greatest achievement is that we kept our ”heads cold” and we didnt panic.
So we were able to make decisions based on deeper analyzes and views from several sides.
Therefore, employees from many levels and departments were included in this process. In this way, we have shown the resilience of Salveo and his employees.
We suppose this is an ungrateful question, but what do you expect from 2022? What are your expectations in business for the coming year?
This is a "million dollar" question, and the correct answer is worth much more. If you had asked me the question just a month earlier, I would have said that a strong market recovery and, say, a return to the old way awaits us. Now, I would not like to give forecasts, but it will certainly be unpredictable - with better and worse periods.
What is the biggest strength of Salveo as a company?
Looking back two years, I would say it is trust. For a long time, we have been building an environment of trust and feedback, which turned out to be crucial, since we all dared to see the situation realistically, without fake optimism or pessimism, valuing feedback from all team members.
What is Salveo’s biggest advantage?
Salveo’s biggest advantage is flexibility and rapidity in action, which both came as a result of our strengths. Insisting on digital excellence of all employees and further digitalization proved to be crucial, therefore, for us, it was not a problem to switch from offline to online mode, and vice versa, when the situation on the field allowed us to do so.
In your opinion, what is it like to work in Salveo?
I have a feeling that we have become even more connected than ever before.
The situation brought us closer and pulled out more than 100 percent of every one of us, and the key was wisely timed sharing of information about the decisions that are made with a clear goal and purpose.
In this way, we gained a full understanding of the decisions made and the responsibility for everyone to perform their tasks despite obstacles.
You have been in Salveo since 2015, what was the journey of your career? You have worked in other industries before. Is there any significant difference between working in the pharmaceutical industry and in other branches?
I’ve been in Salveo since 2015, and in the pharmaceutical industry since 2011, and the last ten years have certainly been the most propulsive for the industry.
Today, the level of change and the speed at which it is happening is not far behind other industries.
Digitization is deeply infiltrated into change and unstoppably changes old paradigms in all segments.
The skills needed for jobs that lasted decades have completely evolved, so all industries together face the same challenges of ensuring current employees to embrace change and attracting the greatest talents and potentials for the future.