When you respect each other in the company, you handle challenges better
· Nikolay Hadzhidonchev
A company is only as good as the people who work in it!
Introduce yourself in a few sentences..
Nikolay Hadzhidonchev, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Executive Director for Bulgaria and Greece.
Tell us what the philosophy and values of the company you currently represent are?
The mission of the company is to ensure accessible and quality medical treatment for patients in need, strictly adhering to the ethical principles of the company.
How long have you been developing your current company? What are the most valuable lessons that the events during this period have taught you?
I have been the Executive Director since 2011, 14 years. The key factor that determines the success and good development of a company is the team. A company is only as good as the people who work in it. And my personal success is determined by the people I work with.
If you personally had to write a job advertisement, how would you attract the attention of a future employee?
We are a dynamic, different company. A company that has the mission to ensure the quality of life for people in need with various diseases. On the other hand, because it is dynamic and develops both in the field of generic products and innovative ones, this provides the opportunity to work in a wonderful team in Bulgaria, but also the opportunity for growth and taking on various challenges within the global company.
What does your company do to organize a constructive and fruitful working environment for everyone? Should people in the collective be friends?
Let's start from the fact that in the company, the office environment is such that it provokes and motivates the establishment of partnership relationships based on cooperation, mutual respect, and the ethical norms that are professed by the company and all its employees.
When a good and calm working environment is formed, friendship is usually an inevitable consequence of people working together, facing challenges together, and dealing with them together. Friendship should not be an end in itself. It is usually a result of partnership and good cooperation among people.
What makes you enjoy going to work? How do you deal with difficult and stressful moments?
The people I work with. I have always said that I have a wonderful team of professionals who know and can do a lot. People who have mutual respect for each other, and together with them, we overcome various challenges.
Another thing that is extremely important for everyone is the right balance between work and personal commitments. Only when there is a good balance does it help us deal with the challenges that constantly arise before us.
What work model does your company adhere to – office or remote? What do you think about the possibility of offering options for flexible working hours, within which employees have greater freedom to allocate their personal and work commitments?
After the Covid pandemic, when we were forced due to the situation to introduce remote work, we found that the hybrid model is the best solution. And we continue to apply it even now in all the company's offices, regardless of which country
We believe that this provides the opportunity to achieve this balance between work and personal commitments. The important thing is that the tasks are completed.
How do the ongoing technological changes on a global scale affect your business?
We are witnessing a revolution regarding the accelerated introduction of various technological solutions based on artificial intelligence. They are a catalyst for accelerating growth and optimizing costs. What needs to be watched closely is not to view artificial intelligence as a panacea and an opportunity for a radical change in the model, because the human factor, personal qualities, and professionalism of people are still key to the success of a company.
Artificial intelligence is something that helps accelerate processes, optimize, and act quickly, especially when it comes to developing new medications and introducing innovations. It is key in the presentation of every company, but together with the knowledge and skills of people.
How important is hierarchy and what does it mean to you?
I do not believe in hierarchy or at least in one that is imposed by titles and positions. Hierarchy, to the extent that there can be one, should be based on experience, professionalism, and mutual respect among people.
Our mission is to succeed together in overcoming challenges and achieving the successes and goals we set for ourselves in the best possible way – with mutual respect and appreciating the contribution of each individual.
What kind of communication do you advocate in your company?Informal communication, I am Niki for everyone.
What is your career advice for all people who are building a strategy for their professional development?
Use every opportunity to enrich your knowledge and experience. Learn from your successes and mistakes, as well as from those of others. There are no impossible things, as long as a person wants something strongly and puts in the necessary effort to achieve it.