In our interview with Dr Benedikt Ball, Senior Consultant and Qualified Person at PharmaKorell in Munich, you’ll discover how we combine the flexibility of a medium-sized company with the comprehensive employer benefits of a large corporation.
Our team in Munich is involved in exciting projects with leading pharmaceutical companies and innovative start-ups. As a growing company, we regularly have open positions for qualified employees. Feel free to send us your resume if you can envision becoming part of our team.
How many employees are currently working in the Munich office and what are the spatial arrangements there?
The Munich office has two smaller offices and one larger office, a large meeting room, and a kitchen with a lounge area. Currently, four colleagues work in the Munich office. A fifth colleague, whom we selected together, will start in April. We can comfortably accommodate up to 10 team members in our offices in Munich.
Could you explain how PharmaKorell, compared to large corporations, designs work-life balance and what specific measures are taken to flexibly support employees’ needs?
The working hours at PharmaKorell correspond to the usual office hours. The start and end of working hours are determined by the employees themselves, taking into account customer availability. This allows everyone to consider, for example, the traffic situation in a big city when commuting. With this flexible arrangement, each of us can also make the best use of public transport connections. Remote working is also possible, so commuting times can be completely eliminated on some days. A weekly hour quota is agreed upon for part-time staff. Each consultant sets their own working hours. No more than the contractual working hours are expected per day. If more time is needed for a client on a particular day, the overtime can be flexibly compensated in the following days without the need for approval.
How is working on global projects at PharmaKorell structured, and what development opportunities does this provide?
Our clients at PharmaKorell are very diverse. Our management ensures that staff participate in both national and international client projects. In most cases, experts in manufacturing and quality control are needed, so at least two colleagues work together. For larger tasks, such as setting up a QM system, additional experts are involved. Particularly in the handling of development projects, good knowledge and broad experience as a QP are highly desirable. Yet, each project has its own individual questions, so even long-serving QPs continuously encounter new challenges and expand their horizons.
What influence does the Munich location have on the working methods and projects at PharmaKorell, and what specific advantages does this offer for QPs?
Numerous pharmaceutical companies are located in and around Munich. This provides very interesting project opportunities for the colleagues from the Munich office. I myself will be working for three companies in the vicinity in 2025. The proximity allows us to attend appointments on short notice. And for QP activities, it may still be necessary to perform the certification of batches on the company premises.
How does the direct collaboration with the founder of PharmaKorell affect the company culture and decision-making processes, and what advantages does this offer specifically for Qualified Persons (QPs)?
Given the size of PharmaKorell, there are basically no protracted decision-making processes across multiple hierarchical levels. Immediate questions can be discussed with one of the two managing directors either by phone, Teams, or during their regular monthly visits on site and usually decided then and there. All arguments are heard and taken into consideration in the decision-making process. I always find these discussions very appreciative and on equal footing. As mentioned before, even for long-serving QPs, new issues continually arise, where an exchange of thoughts is very helpful.
