Recently, I was reading an old copy of Package Design magazine. The feature article covered how GlaxoSmithKline—one of the world's leading pharmaceutical healthcare companies—worked with outsourced design houses and component suppliers to redesign new packaging for its classic Tums brand product.
I learned that GlaxoSmithKline's US Consumer Healthcare package development group based in the company's Pittsburgh headquarters consisted of a team of 12 package engineers and documentation specialists (the latter are "information managers who provide product specifications, administer paperwork, and coordinate workflow throughout the corporate approval chain").
Design development of GSK's products didn't actually take place at GSK, however. "We do not do any design work in this department," Ed Dunn, associate director of the package development group said. "We work with design houses and component suppliers to achieve the goals that GlaxoSmithKline brands want to achieve." Together, the GSK group, along with its extended association of vendors handled between "500 to 800 packaging projects a year, ranging from simple label changes to big jobs on the order of the Tums redesign."
Wow, I thought. That's a lot of projects per year. Then I caught myself. Hey, that's 500 to 800 projects divided by at least 12 in-house staff and who knows how many out-of-house people. If you divide 12 into 500 and 800, you get roughly 41 to 66 projects a year per person. Suddenly the work load looked relatively luxurious.
Forty-one to 66 projects is within the margin what I create as a single person design department for the Alachua County Library District each month. In fact, during the recent 36 working days between November 1 to December 31, I created 113 projects alone. And during my first annual year at the Library I created 460 projects, resulting in over 45,000 unique printed page and online views. Maybe that means I'm doing the work of 12+ people—well, 12 of GlaxoSmithKline's at least. I wonder how much they make an hour? I could certainly use 12 times the salary! Or a TUMS. How do you spell R-E-L-I-E-F?
A little research goes a long way, doesn't it? Amazing what one can find. Scarey to think that you might be a 1.5 FTE or even a 2 FTE...but a 12? I think you need more than Tums. Then again, some people would just "die" for your job and think they'd gone to heaven. Loved your stats! Amazing.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bookworm. It's always interesting to see what others are doing and with what resources so you can get a sense of how you compare. I'd say I stack up pretty well on this one!
ReplyDeleteMore than pretty well, I'd say!!! But then I always knew that.... There's just no rest for the weary, wicked, wonderful, wishful....
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