Former Discover Trainee HR
Joined VodafoneZiggo as a Discover Trainee Humar Resource in September 2021
Is now Commercial Strategy Specialist
Works in Utrecht and from home
Lives in Amsterdam
Martine Burger knew the moment she started as a HR Discover Trainee that she had come to the right place. Here at VodafoneZiggo, she would find what she was looking for. "You work on very diverse projects in different teams. It's the ideal way to find out what kind of work suits you best."
After her master's in Human Resource Management, Martine was looking for something to do that would ease her into working life. "I felt quite under pressure at university to have a plan for my future and I was afraid I'd rush into a job that doesn't suit me. But here at VodafoneZiggo, you don't need to have everything clearly worked out for yourself."
"My first HR project involved setting up a development program for our B2B account managers. They are increasingly seen by customers as confidential advisors rather than sales reps. How to fulfil that shifting role? To answer that question, I spoke to many account managers and asked them what they needed. Subsequently, my colleagues and I set about finding just the right tutor for the program. Throughout, we gave regular presentations to the HR Management Team (MT) to keep them abreast of progress. My manager wanted me to give those presentations. This was a little unnerving, but at the same time good fun." Luckily, everything went really well. Not in the least because my manager and the MT gave me every confidence that I could do it.
''Instilling confidence in each other is part and parcel of the culture at VodafoneZiggo. Your colleagues let you work independently and don't look over your shoulder all the time. But if you need help, everyone is very open and amenable, whether they've been here two years or twenty. That's rather special, I think, and it creates a positive atmosphere that really contributes to overall job satisfaction. During the traineeship, I had a "buddy", too, a former trainee, with whom I had weekly sparring sessions about my personal development and how to tackle any issues I encountered. Super valuable."
"The best part of the traineeship? The fact that you get to work in a different team every six months and can bring to each new project the knowledge and experience you gained on the last. It was so inspiring to work in different teams and see the different ways in which they operate. It teaches you a lot about yourself; how others perceive you; how you work together in different ways with different people. I never thought that people and working methods would affect my own approach to a task so much."
After completing an out-of-comfort project in B2C, Martine started her final project back in HR. For this one, Martine stepped into the role of HR Business Partner for three B2C teams. With a small but focused scope, she spent 6 months learning the ropes. Even without prior experience, the team fully trusted her, valued her ideas, and gave her time to learn. Feeling taken seriously from the start led her to stay with the team after her project. With a new challenge added: "After my traineeship, I expended my scope to include the Sales department. I worked closely with contact centers, shops and Channel Management. It was so interesting. It completely changed how I saw the day-to-day experience of colleagues working outside the office across the Netherlands."
Martine recently decided to take an exciting step in her career and to get a full experience within the B2C department. "While I really enjoyed my time in HR, I wanted to be closer to the core of the business: understanding what VodafoneZiggo stands for, why we do it, and how we make an impact." Now, she is part of the Commercial Strategy Team and Business Manager to the B2C Director. She feels right at home. "My experience as an HR Business Partner taught me how to have the right conversations and advise effectively. I’m still using these skills daily, only now to drive our commercial strategy."
