How they work at British American Tobacco

British American Tobacco was founded in 1902. Since then, everything has been in the history of the tobacco corporation – and ups and downs. As befits any large business. Now the total number of employees in British American Tobacco is more than 57 thousand people. The Russian representative office, opened in 1991, employs only about 3 thousand people. But how!

We decided to look behind the scenes of the production of famous tobacco products, and see how the corporation’s Russian office works.

There is one wonderful place in Moscow called the “business park”. This Krylatsky hills – office project, where many successful companies operate. British American Tobacco Russia is also based there. Employees of the company do not drive around on the latest brands of Mercedes (as it might seem, the company is still serious), but get to the office on ordinary shuttle buses from the Krylatskoye metro station. British American Tobacco Russia’s office neighbors are more than pleasant – the Russian offices of Microsoft, Johnson And Johnson and Sun InBev are also located in the Krylatsky hills.

Here is the office from a bird’s eye view:

How they work at British American Tobacco
Smoking is not necessary
British American Tobacco Russia management especially appreciates its employees. After all, they are recruited by more than a serious scheme, so only the best can pass the test. The test is more personal and psychological than qualifying. If you know how to make decisions quickly, be a leader in the team, have the gift of persuasion and an extraordinary mind, then you have every chance to become part of the team of the British Tobacco Corporation. It is these qualities that come to the fore when applying for a job. Work experience is also important, but in the presence of personal qualities of a suitable level, they may not look at the lack of experience.

Each candidate for the position passes a specially designed test. With its help, recruitment specialists determine how ready the candidate is to work for British American Tobacco Russia from the standpoint of their values ​​and priorities.

You do not smoke, but would like to work in British American Tobacco Russia? You have every chance of it. The question of smoking at the interview does not ask, and as stated by company executives, addiction to cigarettes absolutely does not play any role in finding a job in British American Tobacco Russia.

Child tasks for a while

After a successful interview with an HR specialist, a meeting is already scheduled with the manager of the department that is being recruited. This is where the most difficult begins. First, the candidate is interviewed in which he must share situations from his past professional life, in which he was able to successfully display certain key qualities (stress tolerance, problem solving in extreme conditions, efficiency, etc.).

And then the applicant is invited to perform tasks similar to those that he will solve already being in the status of a permanent employee (if, of course, will be interviewed). These tasks usually have several possible solutions, and their implementation is limited in time. Here is the goal to see how quickly the applicant can navigate the problem and choose the best way to eliminate it.

All newcomers to the company are first acquainted with the history of the corporation, with the responsibilities of each department and conduct a tour of the office. Also in British American Tobacco Russia there is one very friendly tradition: to introduce each new employee to colleagues in a non-working environment. A team in a renewed line-up can go to a cafe or to some cultural event together and get to know each other better.

Learn in the process!
This approach is followed by the heads of departments in British American Tobacco Russia. They believe that 70% of the knowledge of each employee is the knowledge that he acquired directly during the performance of his job duties, 20% of the knowledge is taken over from mentors and colleagues, and only 10% is the knowledge gained during the trainings, seminars, courses.

Nevertheless, trainings are conducted in British American Tobacco Russia quite actively. The company has its own small staff of trainers and development specialists, but third-party trainers are also invited to conduct individual seminars. British American Tobacco Russia especially likes trainings on personal growth.

From trainees to executives
Special attention is given to the internship process at British American Tobacco Russia. When the internship begins, the excitement among those who want to work in the giant of tobacco production is not weak. Only twenty candidates are selected.