This summer, pharmaceutical and wellness product distributor and service provider Tamro is employing a record number of summer workers, with over 60 recruits. Many began the summer as early as March as the company sought to respond quickly to challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis.
– Summer workers are an important asset for us. We must ensure the continuity of pharmaceutical distribution chains critical for the security of supply under all circumstances, says Elina Kurkijoki, HR Director at Tamro
– We want to offer summer jobs for new workers from outside the company. These days, summer job opportunities are harder to come by than in my youth, for example, which is why the chance to hire summer workers is a source of joy for me personally.
Tamro hires summer employees mainly for warehouse work in Tampere and Vantaa. Warehouse work is an integral part of the pharmaceutical and health product distributor’s operations. Of Tamro’s around 470 employees, more than half work in various duties in the company’s logistics centres. In addition, a few summer employees work in specialist positions in procurements, financial administration and IT services, for example.
Most summer workers are studying for a profession in the healthcare sector, such as a pharmacist, doctor or nurse, or plan to apply for training in the field. There are also many students of logistics and business administration, but some summer workers come from totally different fields – by design
– We want to encourage diversity among our employees in terms of background, country of origin and age. Our working language is Finnish, says Kurkijoki.
– Many students of health sciences appreciate the opportunity to learn about our work and its importance in the pharmaceutical supply chain, no matter their line of work after graduation.
Starting the summer with a thorough training to the job
Tamro prepared for the future by asking some summer workers to come in already in March when the COVID-19 crisis began. Normally, the company employs summer workers between June to August.
– We wanted to be prepared and have trained staff on hand in the event that some of our employees would contract the virus. Luckily, our employees have remained healthy and we have not needed our summer workers to cover sick leaves. Instead, we were able to train our permanent staff for more specialised duties as routine tasks were handled by summer workers, says Kurkijoki.
Thorough onboarding of employees to new tasks is always essential at Tamro, and summer workers are no exception.
– Everyone starts off with a three-day onboarding. The first part consists of lectures that explain the work and policies on a general level. Employees familiarise themselves with safety instructions and pharmaceutical good distribution practices or GDP guidelines. The second part involves electronic instructions that employees must read through and sign off on. The third part is learning on the job together with a personal onboarding guide. It is an important part of the training and accounts for around half of the total onboarding period, says Warehouse Manager Ilona Kiiveri at the Tampere logistics centre.
Summer jobs at Tamro are popular, and many workers return for many summers.
– It has been great to see that we are a workplace that people want to come back to! Many return for more than one summer. At Tamro, we also benefit from this interest during the winter season as we are able to call in workers when necessary, says Kiiveri.
– We even have summer workers who have first come in 30 years ago and stayed on board as full-time employees, says Elina Kurkijoki.
