Michèle Poletti - 12 years at HR Campus

Michèle, how did you end up at HR Campus?

I have been working in SAP HCM product support since I was 18 and have worked for various employers. Before my current position, I worked for a large company and had already been involved with HR Campus from a customer perspective for two years. When the IT support for HR was increasingly moved abroad and the position as a pure team leader did not fully suit me, I decided to apply to HR Campus. I started when there were around 50 of us. I was used to clear structures. There weren't any here, but everyone had their own area of responsibility. I felt comfortable in the chaos because I knew what I was doing. In the past, I could never have imagined working in consulting and being in a different place every day - now I can't imagine anything else. It's fun to look into the different HR departments at our Customers and I find the flexibility in organising my personal day very valuable.

What major projects have you been involved in at HR Camus and is there one that you consider to be your greatest success?

I was in the lead or in charge of two of the biggest projects in the history of HR Campus. But the biggest projects are not automatically the most significant for me. Yes, they were exceptional projects, but I don't want to emphasise any in particular. During my time here, I have been lucky enough to work on many great projects and with great Customers. For me personally, my greatest success is that I still enjoy working at HR Campus so much. I feel comfortable in this flexible and dynamic environment and have always been able to discover new sides to myself and be creative.

We love to hear that you're happy here! What experiences were not so nice during this time? Or what lessons have you learnt for yourself?

The flip side of the coin of enjoying my work so much is that I work a lot. I'm a perfectionist and it's a challenge to plan my own resources properly and not overextend myself. I'm constantly working on this. It's difficult, but learning to say "no" is very important in order to take care of yourself. I feel the same way in my private life, which is probably just part of my personality. That's probably why it wouldn't be any different in another company. I'm constantly working on myself and make it a point to take time out and spend time in nature. That's where I relax best.

You must have another crazy story up your sleeve. Let me guess, it has something to do with our founder Marek, right?

There really is a funny Marek story. In 2014, we were at a customer workshop in Sankt Antönien (GR). The project team was small and I was heavily pregnant. Marek had the idea of spending our lunch break in a restaurant on the hill and suggested that we could walk up there briefly. According to Marek, it was uphill, but not far. After the first 100 metres, I felt warm and the path just went up steeply. I kept asking how much further it was and kept getting the answer that it wasn't very far. But it went on and on and on. At some point, I really couldn't walk any further. By chance, we came across a farmer who Marek persuaded without further ado to drive the heavily pregnant woman up to the mountain restaurant. We were at the top within five minutes. However, I then had to wait another 30 minutes for the others - so it wasn't really close. At first I was a bit annoyed, but in hindsight I'm grateful that we went on this trip. The view was beautiful, we enjoyed a delicious lunch and walking down was no longer a problem.