#ILoveMyJob – People of Michelin Corporate & Business Services
It wasn’t easy to choose the three people to be interviewed for this material. In Michelin Corporate & Business Services, we have 700 colleagues, all of them working on projects that contribute to the business, offer quality services and bring value to what we do. Whether they’re working on sales administration, logistics, finance, personnel, procurement or automation, they all have an interesting story to tell. So, to choose our heroes, we looked for our colleagues who can serve as models from various perspectives: both through what they do in their day to day work, but also through the way they are managing their careers and through the special projects they are involved in.
The three interviewees from Michelin CBS are a part of a group called Future Leaders; about a year ago, they applied and were selected for an accelerated development program inside Michelin. With the help of this program, they have access to learning resources, and they are also involved in impactful projects that will contribute to transforming the way our organization prepares for the future. Whether we’re talking about implementing new systems or applications, finding solutions to adapt to crises, taking complex notions and turning them into something palpable or inspiring people to face the unknown, you will surely find an inspiration in these stories.
Adina Florescu, Employer Branding & Onboarding Manager, Michelin Corporate & Business Services
Andreea Tudosoiu, Information Manager, HR, Michelin Corporate & Business Services
What exactly are you doing in your current role (and how did you start)?
I am making sure that the information in our HR systems is up to date and that the various links between our HR systems are working properly. Also, I take part in various projects that bring new functionalities in the existing systems.
What are the activities that bring you great joy?
When, after months of work and testing we start to use a new functionality in a system, a functionality that improves the quality of the service we provide, I feel that it was worth all the effort.
What challenges have you faced so far?
Michelin is a very complex company, and this applies to the systems it uses and to how these systems are interconnected. The challenge I have every day is to understand how these connections work and what impact one change made to one system can have over the other systems.
Tell us about the most unique experience/project implemented in your current position.
Implementing Workday in Michelin was the most challenging project I was involved in. It meant changing the Human Capital Management tool, along with the policies and practices associated in all Michelin world. It required us to test and design processes that can be included into a common tool, while keeping the quality of the services we provided.
When you explain to your parents/family what you do at work, how would you do it?
I think I am like a debugger. When someone is blocked and can’t find a way to solve an issue in the system or when something goes wrong in the process, I help get things solved and I make sure that the problem will not appear again.
What do you consider to be trends in your domain? Please list 3.
• Automation, to bring added value to our work;
• Improved user experience;
• Working on processes outside the system and trying to bring them inside the system.
What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop in the pioneering work?
I try to develop myself, both in terms of interpersonal communication skills and as a business analyst, too. I think that, in order to be able to put in place system functionalities and to assure the quality of the existing ones, I need to be able to properly capture business needs and to communicate them effectively to all my stakeholders.
Sorin Andrei Grapan, Operational Leader Sales Administration, Michelin Corporate & Business Services
What exactly are you doing in your current role (and how did you start)?
I’ve started my journey in Michelin Corporate & Business Services as a Trainee, with a 3-months role; then I became a Sales Analyst. Now I am an Operational Leader in Sales Administration. My main activities are offering support for the operational team, measuring various performance indicators and devising plans to improve these indicators when necessary. I am a contact person for my team’s newcomers, I monitor the team’s running projects and make sure the processes comply with the Internal and External Audits.
What are the activities that bring you great joy?
I appreciate the opportunity we have in Michelin for continuous learning and development, particularly the digital versions. I take great pleasure in discovering new info through the e-learning options available to me, linked with all kinds of business content. It’s quite a suitable option nowadays… I find joy in the methodical approach I apply to almost everything I do, and that’s because I like planning my time, to make sure I have all I need to perform at the right level.
What challenges have you faced so far?
I’ve been in Michelin CBS for over 6 years. Not too much, I know, but not too little, either – just enough for me to be able to say I faced various challenges. Most of them are related to my team’s activity but I’ve also met with some challenges on global-scale projects. Some examples: having to deal with a system change in a short time (3 months), handling the technical aspects of 3 different applications, training a newcomer while being pressed for time myself, coordinating External/Internal Audits and activities transfer projects.
Tell us about the most unique experience/project implemented in your current position.
Currently I’m in the process of wrapping up the most interesting and complex experience for me – the Future Leaders program. It’s interesting because it has challenged me to take a very subjective term (Value Creation) and turn it into something tangible, objective and measurable. It’s complex because it’s implemented at Corporate & Business Services Centre level – it doesn’t only refer to my team or even my department. It’s even more complex since it aims to fight against the fear of the unknown and resistance to change that we all have to a certain extent.
So far, things are going well, feedback is good, and I think the project is moving in the right direction. I hope it will bring me many good results in the future.
When you explain to your parents/family what you do at work, how would you do it?
I’ve always had a playful nature and I like to joke quite a lot sometimes. So, I usually communicate my achievements to my family in words they will understand (like a well-delivered speech, a good result on some indicator, good feedback etc.) Nobody else in my family works in a corporation as I do, so I can’t go and tell them about my great speech on Value Creation during a Town Hall, about the excellent POT (Payment on Time) results or the last Frequent Feedback meeting. They sometimes say I’m funny when trying to explain all these in “basic Romanian”. I’m doing my best, anyway.
What do you consider to be trends in your domain? Please list 3.
First, I would go with the Home Working option. What was an extraordinary benefit 3 or 4 years ago is already the norm today for big companies. I see a future where you will go into the office to meet your colleagues and keep the social and human part of the business, but not specifically for the actual work.
Secondly: Processes Automation. Technologies are evolving rapidly. In my domain, I see the job of the future as making sure the robots are functioning well, the quality is being delivered and, if something happens, I’m sure I know how to fix the problem rapidly. I think a big part of the 8 hours schedule will be reserved for creating growth opportunities and striving to deliver the best services, to deserve your customer’s attention and money.
Thirdly: Business Diversity. I think we are already getting used to changing our jobs more frequently than in the past (5 – 6 years ago). For the corporate area, I believe in the 3-year plan: in the first year we are learning to do our current duties, in the second year we are performing and in the third one the first thoughts for something new or for an evolution starts to appear. Therefore, companies need to be prepared to educate, motivate and help their employees find the opportunities for their career development.
What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop in the pioneering work?
I choose my projects carefully and I try not to be afraid of new things. It’s important to get out of your comfort zone; it may be difficult in the beginning, but it usually gets better along the way. And if things don’t work out, it’s all right to try something new to uncover your potential.
Alexandra Manitiu, Business Support Expert, Finance, Michelin Corporate & Business Services
What exactly are you doing in your current role (and how did you start)?
I have evolved gradually since I joined the Industrial Controlling team in Bucharest, from a team member to an expert role. My main responsibility is to implement new activities and processes and to transform the existing ones, to propose ideas and to contribute to projects at Group level that impact the industrial controlling process.
What are the activities that bring you great joy?
I like thinking and planning a process. From the technical part (applications or IT solutions to use), to user experience, training sessions, support, implementation, communications. It is challenging, but at the same time it gives me a great feeling of accomplishment when it is implemented, and the feedback is positive.
What challenges have you faced so far?
In this type of role, the challenges are multiple and diverse – from cultural differences, communication, technical challenges to change management.
Tell us about the most unique experience/project implemented in your current position.
A few months ago, when we were all sent in lockdown, my team was taken out of its normal course, where monthly activities were planned and known in advance. We had to adapt fast, to be able to deliver the financial reporting for the Group and to adjust to the situation in every European plant that we work with. The priority was the safety and the health of our employees. We were successful and it gave us confidence that, working together with all our partners, we can face the challenges and reach our goals.
When you explain to your parents/family what you do at work, how would you do it?
That’s a difficult question, because I come from a family of engineers, and not finance people. I tell them that I work mainly on projects that redefine the way we process and analyze the information related to tire manufacturing costs. And I also help the industrial controlling teams in Bucharest and in the European plants, when needed.
What do you consider to be trends in your domain? Please list 3.
• Automation/Technology: integration of technology into daily tasks, from RPA, Data Lake and other IT solutions that can help the teams reduce transactional activities and increase the value added that they can bring to the company.
• Customer centricity approach: understanding the stakeholders business requirements, the informational consumption habits and needs is key to develop a successful process in the finance teams.
• People First: Any successful transformation starts and ends with people. It is important to have the people with necessary skills to work on projects, but also in the teams that will apply new processes. It is key to develop new skills in employees so that they to evolve in their roles. As they grow, your business grows.
What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop in the pioneering work?
I dedicate time to develop myself and to improve my skills. I always try to stay up to date with the technology evolutions that can be applied to my domain and also with what is happening in other companies. I read articles and attend trainings that can help me develop and learn new things to apply in my job. I constantly read about finance, technology, project management, leadership and a variety of other topics.