CTG At Work: Gilles H.

Company title:Sales Director

Years at CTG: 11 Years

Hometown: Hellimer, France 

Current City:Thionville, France

Favorite Song Right Now: “Radiohead” by Weird Fishes/Arpeggi and “Let it Burn” by Avatar

Favorite Thing to Do Outside of Work: Football, music, and gaming

I start my day at 7:00 a.m. by waking up my three children and helping them prepare breakfast. After, I quickly review my professional agenda and check if I need to respond to any urgent requests. I try to drive my children to school two times per week before driving to work while listening to the radio.

As soon as I arrive at work, I greet colleagues and see if anything special is happening in the office. Next, I get a cup of coffee, check if there are any birthdays at the office (CTG employee often bring croissants or cakes), then head back to my desk to prepare for the first meeting of the day. The morning mainly consists of contract or offer reviews, following up on my to-do list, and managing my email inbox. I aim to stay under 100 emails in my inbox. For that reason, I respond to quick requests first, then create a new to-do list for requests that will take more time to complete. I also try to discuss projects face-to-face to avoid email discussions that will affect my “100 emails” KPI. It is also simpler and more efficient to answer questions and requests based on a verbal discussion instead of a long, boring email string.

Each day is different and filled with internal meetings, client meetings, workshops to improve internal processes, and facing new challenges. But mainly, I can summarize my work using a colleague’s words, “In fact, your work is mainly to collect, understand, and manage all team problems.” I really feel satisfied when I am able to help a team member, office or technical staff, and of course, CTG’s clients.

After driving in traffic to get home, usually around 7:00 p.m., I spend some time helping my children with science homework. After a family dinner where we talk about our days, I help my small princess to clean up her room and listen to all of her fantastic stories that she cannot tell me during dinner. Next, it’s back to the ground floor to deal with tasks that were not doable in the hive of the Luxembourg office. Finally, I can spend some time with my family in front of the TV. I also manage to play music in my small homemade studio once a week.

I like working at CTG because my job requires flexibility and adaptation, which corresponds to my personality. I really like working with people, helping them to solve problems, focusing on optimizing processes, and facilitating the work of colleagues. I started my career at CTG as C++ developer, switched to a competence developer position, then moved into an ITSM manager position, and finally, I was appointed as Sales Director. My leitmotiv has always been the same: Try to get to know your colleagues very well, know their motivation, and help them as much as possible. One day, you will need their help; they will be present. When a situation or project is new, if you don’t know the right person to do it, do it yourself as nobody will do it for you. Be assured that the result will be better than if no one had taken care of the problem. This optimistic approach transforms each problem into a new challenge and limits the fear of doing wrong.