We expect to ask our potential Quality hires a lot of smart questions. But job candidates often have good inquiries for us, as well. From the Q&R structure at Philips to the culture to the opportunities for professional growth and advancement, Quality professionals want to know what it's like to work for one of the world's largest health technology companies. We asked Philips Q&R Recruiter Patricia Bagnera about some of the frequently asked questions she gets from candidates interviewing for Q&R roles. Here are the five she fields most often, along with Bagnera's insightful answers.
 

1. What is the Q&R structure at Philips?

It depends on the department and team. But you typically have a Head of Quality, who would be overseeing quality- and support-related teams. Then you have a manager within those teams and subject matter experts who support individual contributors. The benefit of this structure is that you are never siloed working on one product. You are in a bigger business that offers you a much larger scope. We have thousands of products, which brings lots of opportunities for growth compared to other smaller companies.
 

2. How is Quality part of the Philips culture?

We are undergoing a major transformation with our Quality work. As an organization, we're making Quality a responsibility for everyone across the company, not just those in Quality roles. Today, when you're working on a new product, everyone who is touching that product—from marketing to research to development to manufacturing—all have an element of Quality incorporated into their work.
 

3. How can I make an impact as a Quality professional at Philips?

This is a question I get a lot. Often people doing Quality work can feel like they're just supporting a narrow aspect of the business, such as working only with complaints or remediation. Here you can take on far more responsibility. We encourage people to grab opportunities that elevate their experience and improve the product and process at every point.

This is true for entry level positions and more senior roles. For instance, directors at most healthcare technology or medical device companies are typically tasked with maintaining the business. At Philips, you can expand that scope to potentially explore new markets for a product, investigate an acquisition partner or other activities that you believe would make a positive difference.
 

4. What does growth look like at Philips?

One of the best things about Philips is that the sheer size of the organization provides a plethora of opportunities to advance. You can grow into leadership roles and into other areas that interest you, whether that's new products or another business unit or function altogether.

One of our senior directors, for instance, started in an entry level role in 2005 and he's since had eight roles at Philips that include operational, supply, quality and other functions. As mentioned before, because we have a large product portfolio this brings lots of opportunities to move internally from different groups to work on different products.
 

5. Why should I work at Philips?

• In addition to the broad range of opportunities, there's a sense that every day is different. You always have a new challenge, and it keeps you learning and on your toes. The work is diverse and that makes it interesting, and often fun.
• The people are another one of the benefits of working here. Our employees are problem solvers; we work in a highly regulated, competitive industry so they need to be creative and find ways to address issues while still keeping Quality top of mind.
• At the same time, though, work-life balance is a true priority. The company trusts its employees to do their jobs in the way that works for them. So if you need work from home or take care of a family matter, you just do it—there is no micromanaging of your time as long as you're accomplished what's needed.
  
  To learn more about careers in Quality, visit
  www.philips.com/quality