5 min with...FCM Team

Time and time again, it's our people that customers praise. So we thought, it's time to introduce some of them to you! 
We quizzed the FCM team on their day-to-day roles, what they find interesting about their jobs and about their hometowns. 
Thibaut Rapp v5

Thibaut Rapp, Business Development Manager

 

What motivates you in your job as a Business Developer?
Meeting people and talking to them. It's always very interesting and stimulating to discover the specific needs of each organisation. Together we start building solutions that meet their expectations. It is always satisfying to help our clients.
Moreover, it's also a very dynamic job, every day is different. We always have to be able to respond to the needs of our contacts, which requires responsiveness and curiosity.

Tell us what is the best place to visit for a business traveller who wants to bleisure in Switzerland?
I would say Geneva. Living in Geneva, my advice may be biased, but the relaxed atmosphere by the lake after a day of work in the summer, not to mention the proximity to the ski resorts in winter make it a great city to live in.

Is the company culture at FCM part of your selling point?
Of course it is! We are in a service sector, we do not sell a specific product, but offer a long-term partnership. It is essential to discuss our corporate values and culture to start building a relationship. 

lucille moreau

Lucille Moreau, HR Manager

 

What stimulates you in your job as an HR officer?
What I like about my job is... First of all, the diversity of the missions, everyday is different. It's a real challenge on a daily basis, knowing how to switch from one subject to another, I can switch from an administrative subject to a strategic subject, put everything on hold to manage an emergency, etc. Knowing that from one hour to the next my day can completely change compared to what I had initially planned is really stimulating. Secondly, I would say the human aspect, the constant contact with the employees, accompanying them throughout their career at FCM. It's a real exchange every day. I learn a lot from them every day. And finally, the satisfaction of a completed project, particularly in terms of CSR. FCM Switzerland is experiencing a real turning point in 2022, with numerous projects linked to the well-being of employees, a new remuneration policy, changes to working hours, and other projects are also being considered.

What are the recruitment challenges at FCM Switzerland?
The challenges in Switzerland are to merge the needs of the candidates with our own, especially since the end of Covid 19. The real challenge is to find solutions to meet the needs expressed, while remaining focused on our recruitment requirements and our corporate culture.
The Swiss market is a complex one, with a fairly high need for skills, especially languages. French and English are essential languages in our recruitment, and we systematically test candidates on these languages to ensure that they will be able to provide a suitable service. German is another language we are looking for. Some of our clients are based in Swiss-German, so we are constantly looking for new employees who can speak German (more precisely Swiss German). Recruitment is a real challenge every day! 

What was your last trip to Switzerland?
My last trip to Switzerland was to Neuchâtel, 1.5 hours from Geneva. We had received a gift voucher to stay in a hotel on stilts on Lake Neuchâtel. We spent a weekend swimming, relaxing and discovering this city that I didn't know at all. I highly recommend you to go there if you are in the area!

ines v2

Inès John-Baptiste, Senior Operation Manager

 

Tell us about your career at FCM 
I joined FCM Travel Switzerland in 2017 as a Business Travel Consultant. As I was working in the hotel industry, I had to learn everything from scratch.
In 2019, I became a Team Leader in order to discover the basic missions of a manager while keeping a foot on the ground.
This Team Leader experience reinforced my idea of wanting to fully manage a team and I was promoted to Customer Service Manager in 2020. 
This experience was very enriching, I learned a lot and grew; it is therefore with great enthusiasm and motivation that I accepted the position of Senior Operation Manager in July 2022.

You recently changed jobs, what interests you most in this new position?
What interests me most is the human relationships with the managers I supervise and their teams. I like answering their questions, helping them to analyse their KPIs or to make decisions, for example. The qualitative and quantitative analysis and the implementation of action plans on the Swiss customer service in general is also an important part of my new job that interests and challenges me. 
 
What is your best anecdote at FCM? 
We managed the bookings for a world congress in 2021 and we went there to manage the follow-up with the travellers.
One of the travellers from an India-based organisation was so delighted with the quality of service provided by FCM that he came to visit us twice a day at our counter to chat. He ended up inviting us to his conference to thank us. We took some pictures and exchanged goodies. 
We met our travellers, all of whom had very different cultures, and it was a very nice moment of exchange and sharing beyond the purely professional framework in which we all were.

Julia

Julia Rebutin, Business Travel Consultant

 

You have been part of several travel booking teams at FCM, what motivates you in your job? 
I like people, my job allows me to be in contact with a a lot of different departments within the company, and this way I know (almost) everybody! I also like to share my knowledge, and having been on several internal jobs allows me to help on a wide variety of subjects.
Finally, Amadeus is a pretty crazy software, you learn new things every day, I think it's great after 10 years in the company, to keep learning new things on the same tool.

At FCM, you are a star of CSR, can you tell us about your commitments and your actions within the company?
A star haha! I jumped at the opportunity when I knew I could join the CSR group, ecology is very close to my heart, and trying to implement actions within FCM is a way to make things happen! This year, I am in charge of organising the WorldCleanup Day. I hope to motivate as many people as possible!

What is your best memory at FCM?
A lot has happened in 10 years... I have a lot of nice memories, but I think I'll keep my award for "best roommate" as number 1, the symbolism of this award touched me a lot! And beyond the beautiful memories, there are beautiful friendships, all offices included, that have been created!

toufik v2

Toufik Ayad, Customer Service Manager

 

You moved from Business Travel Consultant (BTC) to Customer Service Manager (CSM), was it your intention to stay with FCM to develop professionally?
When I joined FCM as a BTC, my objective was to become a CSM in the medium term because I knew that opportunities would appear for me. After two and a half years as a BTC in the Paris office, I applied for a CSM position and I got it, which I am very proud of. I would also like to thank Melissa Estephan who was my CSM at the time on the Highschool team because she trusted me and trained me as a backup which was a great help for my CSM position. After 6 months in the Paris office, a new opportunity to move to the Geneva office came up and I jumped at the chance. Joining the Swiss office allowed me to increase my skills, to have a new challenge and also to come back to my native region and be closer to my family. 

What do you like about your job as CSM?
What I like the most is leading my team and developing the skills of my agents. My role is to make sure that my agents feel comfortable in their jobs and in the office. I make sure that they don't lack anything and create good team cohesion so that they are happy to come to work. So far they are happy, so mission accomplished. In addition, as CSM I have to manage the customer relationship, make sure we have a good quality of service and that they are satisfied with our work. For this I have to participate in meetings with the Account Management team and implement actions when necessary.

What does the ambassador role at FCM involve?
I'm an ambassador since 2019 and basically, the role of ambassador at FCM consists of taking care of the social life of the company. Setting up events, organising annual parties such as the Christmas party or the summer party. Setting up activities such as pizza nights, trips such as trips to Europa Park or Iceland for example.  What I love the most is the reactions people have when they discover the venues and the buffets.  Every time we manage to surprise everybody and it's a real satisfaction for us. 

Marine

Marine Desorgeris, Business Travel Consultant

 

What drives you in your job as a Business Travel Consultant?
I like to think that every day is different! I hate monotony.
My job challenges me and helps me to set goals. For example, I like to choose difficult tasks or tasks I have never done before. This allows me to broaden my knowledge and to learn continuously. I enjoy contact with travellers and colleagues. I like to help others. That's how I feel useful. My job is meaningful.

Is it difficult to be a travel agent in this strong recovery period?
I would answer yes and no. Yes, because you have to get used to having a heavy workload again, to know how to balance emergencies and priorities. This can be stressful at times. No, because by having a very close team and a friendly management, no matter how heavy the workload or how difficult it is, we all support and help each other. 

You work with several Meeting & Events clients, what do you particularly like about them? 
With this kind of client, I have the advantage of being totally autonomous because it's a different type of request. It requires to spend more time on the project and to be very rigorous and organised. So I have my own organisation, working methods, etc. What I also like is to follow my projects from A to Z. I am omniscient and I know my events inside out. I loved working on the last event, the travellers were lovely. With this clientele, I have the advantage of being totally autonomous because it's a different type of request.
I loved working on the last event, the travellers were lovely. One of them even gave me a T-shirt with the logo of his association to thank me. It can be scary from the outside because the volume is huge, but it's very rewarding and when I get to the end, I feel proud of the work I've done.

Tiphaine

Tiphaine Caminati, Account Management Team Leader

 

What does Account Manager Team Leader mean?
The role is great because it has two aspects that complement each other and that I love: making sure that our clients are satisfied with our services and making sure that the Account Managers in the team are fulfilled in their job. It's about supporting them so that they can manage the commercial relationship as easily and efficiently as possible and advise our clients on their travel strategy. 

Is it easy to manage a growing team?
I don't know how easy it is, but it's certainly exciting! The team is growing because new clients are joining us, so the team is expanding to meet these new challenges, which is positive and exciting! I have to say that I am lucky because the team helps each other a lot and everyone actively participates in the development of new colleagues who join us, so everything goes smoothly and in a good mood. 

What is your best anecdote at FCM?
FCM Halloween photo competition: I didn't prepare my costume and my terror mime well enough (or a little too well?). In the end, the photo was zoomed in, cropped and leaked to my friends and family...who were quick to send it back to me and still laugh years later. Otherwise there is also the Christmas party etc, in short there are lots of anecdotes, we like to laugh!