Founded in 2001, Envision Pharma Group is a global, innovative technology and scientific communications company serving pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies. Envision is a leading provider of evidence-based communication services and industry-leading technology solutions (iEnvision) that have applicability across many areas of medical affairs and related functional responsibility. Envision Pharma Group provides services and technology solutions to more than 90 companies, including all of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies.
Envision has 20 offices: seven in the United Kingdom – Bishop’s Stortford, Glasgow, Horsham, London (Battersea and Hammersmith), Wilmslow, and Alderley Edge; one in Serbia – Subotica; one in Hungary – Szeged; one in Coimbra, Portugal, eight in the United States – Fairfield and Glastonbury, CT, Philadelphia and Wyomissing, PA, Warren, NJ, Boston and Melrose, MA, Powell, OH; and two in the Asia-Pacific region – Tokyo and Sydney. The company employs over 1000 team members, including over 250 highly qualified and experienced in-house medical writers, over 200 technology solutions team members who provide software development and customer support. To find out more, visit www.envisionpharmagroup.com.
When my friends and family ask me what exactly I do every day, my usual response is that no two days are the same. Whilst the cliché of this is not lost on me, after a year and a half of working at 90TEN it still rings true. Although this is representative of the industry we work within, it’s not very helpful for people considering a career in a healthcare communications. For me, coming straight from university with a biomedical background, I had no an idea of what a ‘normal’ day in agency would look like. So when asked what life is like for a Senior Account Executive at 90TEN, I decided to pick a day at random to illustrate the variety of things I can get up to:
8:45am – Logged on, checked e-mails and opened Zoom to say good morning to my teammates. Since working from home, we’ve been using instant messenger on our accounts and it’s a really nice way to keep in touch throughout the day. (It doesn’t quite replace the usual morning chat you’d get in the office kitchen but it’s the next best option).
9:00am – Joined a client call to receive a brief on boosting vaccine confidence through social media. Then drafted a LinkedIn post for a vaccines thought leadership campaign.
9:45am – Reviewed a media monitoring report for a HIV client. We share these reports daily, highlighting any relevant news within the wider HIV space. There’s been lots of coverage around ‘It’s A Sin’ recently – a powerful Channel 4 drama focusing on the HIV epidemic in the 1980s.
10:00am – Short-listed potential members of a steering group (doctors, nurses and patient representatives) for a new patient advocacy campaign that we’re developing.
11:45am – Took an extended lunch break to get a proper coffee and walk around Tooting Common. We’ve all been encouraged to work flexibly during the pandemic – I’ve found breaks of fresh air really helpful whilst working from home.
2:00pm – Led an internal catch-up with my Vaccines team. In these weekly meetings we run through our actions list, updating on our individual projects and divvying-up any new actions for the week.
3:00pm – Created a storyboard for a social media video – part of a national antibiotic resistance (AMR) campaign we’re rolling out.
4:00pm – Video-called one of my team mates for a coffee break (back in the office, this is usually the time when I’d drag someone to the sofas for a screen-break)
5:30pm – Updated my to-do list for the next day before logging off, watched some quality TV (I’d recommend Drag Race UK for sheer fun and escapism).
Fresh air is even more important now we’re working from home
One thing I’ve learned in the past 18 months is that no matter how perfectly organised your morning to-do list might be, there will always be an urgent client request or breaking news story (or three) that can change your entire day. PR requires fast-paced, agile working and continuous shuffling of priorities – making it a demanding yet dynamic industry to work in. At 90TEN, I’m lucky to work with great teammates who are supportive, collaborative and truly care about each other. This team spirit and culture has been a constant throughout the pandemic, which makes me so excited for us to return to the office when we can. Until then, all that is guaranteed is several more Zoom calls, coffees and wine time with people I now call friends – even if I haven’t yet met some of them in the flesh.
iwouldlovetowork@90ten.co.uk or view our current vacancies here.
Amelia, Senior Account Executive:
It has taken me a while to settle into a working from home routine, but almost a year in and I’ve finally found my groove. My day starts with a workout and a shower. My favourite thing about working remotely has to be having more time to move my body. Gone are the days when a morning workout would mean a 6am start and a trek to the gym in the dark. Making time to exercise, whether it’s a run around my neighbourhood or a workout video on YouTube, sets me up for the day and leaves me in a positive frame of mind.
My working day tends to start at 8:30am. 90TEN operates under a flexible working policy, so if you work better in the morning, you can log on earlier and finish a little earlier too. After boiling the kettle, I spend some time catching up on emails, chatting to my teams and refamiliarizing myself with my to-do list.
I tend to spend the morning on calls and progressing the projects I’m leading on; whether it’s liaising with the media to launch a disease awareness campaign, interviewing a patient with an ultra-rare disease to help them tell their story, or brainstorming ideas for a creative brief we’ve received. What excites me the most about logging on each morning is the sheer breadth and variety of projects that I work on. From oncology, to diabetes, to neuroscience, I have had a crash-course in so many different therapy areas. My background is in consumer PR, so initially the switch to healthcare seemed a little daunting, but I’m pleased I took the leap. I have learnt so much from my team members, and I’m sure there are things they have learnt from me too.
Lunch is either marked by a walk in the local park, or a catch up with some colleagues over Zoom. Some of my favourite lunch breaks are spent unpicking a good book with a cup of tea and my fellow 90TEN ‘brainfood’ book club members.
90TEN’s ‘brainfood’ book club was set up to boost wellbeing and encourage open conversations
I return feeling refreshed and ready for the afternoon, which I might spend researching clinical trial data for a new potentially life-saving product, or reviewing a podcast episode on terminal illness that we’ve recorded.
As I wrap up each day and close my laptop for the evening, I feel confident that I’ve learnt something new, and contributed towards improving health outcomes to make a positive difference to people’s lives.
iwouldlovetowork@90ten.co.uk or view our current vacancies here.
Caitlin, Account Manager:
Starting a new role can always feel daunting, especially when you are a completely virtual starter like me. Unlike most first days on the job where you start to get a feel for the place, my surroundings have stayed very much the same as they have been for the last year.
By the time I started in October working from home had become the new normal and I wasn’t sure how joining a new company remotely would feel. Luckily for me I wasn’t the only newbie so I got to speak to a lot of people who were going through the same experience.
Four months on from my first company Zoom I feel part of the team, although I haven’t met my colleagues in person it doesn’t feel like that. I’ve attended virtual baby showers, after work drinks and our Christmas party. One thing that struck me when joining 90TEN was how important employee wellbeing is to the company. A lot of effort goes into implementing policies to make sure everyone takes time away from laptops and Zooms, and there are also lots of friendly check ins just to catch up on how you are.
Team building is really important at 90TEN. I have made dinner with my teams, played online games, and yes, obviously there have been quizzes…It all comes in handy when you have busy periods and multiple client deadlines, it’s good to know you have a supportive team behind you.
From a work perspective my day looks different from day to day depending on the needs of clients and that’s part of the reason I enjoy it. Some days I have my head down in communications strategy planning and other days I am working on immediate press requests.
I’ve also had the opportunity to branch into other areas of the business, part of the reason I joined 90TEN was because of their Feel-Think-Do model that drives behaviour change to address barriers in communication. I’ve had the chance to work with the medical education team to understand how to go beyond engagement and inspire positive change. Working with people who have different backgrounds and skill sets has led to the creation of projects that I am really proud of and I’m excited to deliver the results.
As we start to emerge out of a very long winter I look forward to seeing the what this year holds in store, hopefully it includes some drinks with my teams in Battersea. My advice to anyone looking to move roles while remote working, be confident and think positively, there are many good opportunities out there.
iwouldlovetowork@90ten.co.uk or view our current vacancies here.
Helena, Senior Account Manager:
I have never had a ‘normal’ day at 90TEN. My first day was the 23rd of March 2020, which was also the official start of the UK’s first lockdown. During the week before I knew that most of the company was already working from home, but I had been scheduled to go into the office to collect my laptop and meet my line manager. Instead, the laptop was now being couriered to me, and I wasn’t going to meet my colleagues in-person for what has turned out to be a very long time. I had never worked from home before, not even for a single day, and honestly, our job is so collaborative and team-based that I wasn’t sure it would be possible to do remotely.
But, nearly a year later, it doesn’t feel like I’ve never been in the office with everyone ‘properly’. 90TEN rose to the challenge of integrating me as one of the first entirely virtual new joiners seamlessly, and my calendar for my first couple of weeks was filled with whole-company quizzes, meet and greets with people outside of my immediate teams, and regular check-ins from my line manager and HR. One thing that has really surprised me is that, even without meeting anyone or ever being in the office environment, I have really felt the positive, democratic and supportive culture of 90TEN, and have felt completely included.
On the account work side of things, I won’t pretend I love working from home, because I don’t. Some of the things that make me love what I do the most just cannot be replicated virtually. I love being surrounded by the constant buzz of ideas being bounced off each other in the office all day, spontaneous debates about big topics in healthcare triggered by an article someone spotted while media monitoring, and just going for a team pint after a particularly intense day. But, I have still worked on some of the most exciting and inspiring projects of my career while working from home, and I am so proud of the standard to which we have delivered them.
The 90TEN team show off their impeccable veggie lasagne
An added bonus is that even with all of our interactions being over zoom I still feel really close to my teams. This week, we did a virtual cook-along, and as someone whose idea of cooking is putting a fishcake in the oven and boiling some broccoli, I managed to make a perfectly edible veggie lasagne – a bit crunchy round the edges but you should have seen my perfectly smooth white sauce, I think I’ve found my true calling.
So, for anyone considering a mid-pandemic career move, I know it might feel terrifying and risky, but I promise you it can be worth it.
Mark Lakeram, previously 90TEN’s Director of Scientific Services, will be taking on a new role as Group Director, Head of Behavioural Science, to lead 90TEN’s behavioural science function across all divisions of the company. Mark’s remit will be to build a behavioural science centre of excellence delivering insight-driven communications services based on an academic understanding of human behaviour. He will be joined byJenny Squibbs, Associate Director, who will take on responsibility of leading behavioural science services within the 90TEN Medical team, the medical communications division of 90TEN.
“Now more than ever during these challenging times, it’s important that we understand the nuances of human behaviour so we can become more effective communicators and educators. Behavioural science has always underpinned our work, so we are thrilled to have Mark and Jenny step into their new roles to help us take these services to the next level,” said Alison Doughty, Managing Director of 90TEN’s Medical division.
90TEN’s Creative Services has been bolstered by the promotion of James Duggan to Director, Creative Services, 90TEN Medical. In this role James will drive the implementation of new insight-led creative tools. Amy O’Connor has taken on new responsibilities and will lead creative output across the PR side of the company taking on the title of Associate Director, Creative Services, 90TEN Communications. Both James and Amy will be responsible for driving innovation and creativity across 90TEN’s client work.
90TEN has further strengthened its senior management team with the promotion of Niamh Mangan to Director within 90TEN Medical as well as Ruth McIntyreto Associate Director within the 90TEN Communications division.
Jamie Hall and Jessica Greenman have joined 90TEN as Account Directors. Jamie, who has joined 90TEN Medical, previously worked at ArticulateScience (part of Nucleus Global). Jessica, who has joined 90TEN Communications, has previously worked with M&F Health, Porter Novelli and TogoRun. Sophie Cremin has also been promoted to Senior Account Director within 90TEN Communications.
90TEN’s growth is expected to continue, with plans to welcome more team members to its medical and communications divisions in 2020.
Founded in 2001, Envision Pharma Group is a global, innovative technology and scientific communications company serving pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies. Envision is a leading provider of evidence-based communication services and industry-leading technology solutions (iEnvision®) that have applicability across many areas of medical affairs and related functional responsibility. Envision Pharma Group provides services and technology solutions to more than 90 companies, including all of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies.
Envision has 14 offices: six in the United Kingdom – Bishop’s Stortford, Glasgow, Horsham, London (Battersea and Hammersmith), and Wilmslow; one in Serbia – Subotica; one in Hungary – Szeged; four in the United States – Fairfield and Glastonbury, CT, Philadelphia, PA, Warren, NJ; and two in the Asia-Pacific region – Tokyo and Sydney. The company employs around 800 team members, including over 250 highly qualified and experienced in-house medical writers, and 190 technology solutions team members who provide software development and customer support. To find out more, visit www.envisionpharmagroup.com.
Founded in 2001, Envision Pharma Group is a global, innovative technology and scientific communications company serving pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies. Envision is a leading provider of evidence-based communication services and industry-leading technology solutions (iEnvision®) that have applicability across many areas of medical affairs and related functional responsibility. Envision Pharma Group provides services and technology solutions to more than 90 companies, including all of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies.
Envision has 14 offices: six in the United Kingdom – Bishop’s Stortford, Glasgow, Horsham, London (Battersea and Hammersmith), and Wilmslow; one in Serbia – Subotica; one in Hungary – Szeged; four in the United States – Fairfield and Glastonbury, CT, Philadelphia, PA, Warren, NJ; and two in the Asia-Pacific region – Tokyo and Sydney. The company employs around 800 team members, including over 250 highly qualified and experienced in-house medical writers, and 190 technology solutions team members who provide software development and customer support. To find out more, visit www.envisionpharmagroup.com.
