In their jobs, they are driving the digital sphere in their day to day tasks. That’s why we decided to go and meet two women who joined the Axione adventure around ten years ago, Vanessa and Magali. Both of them have had the opportunity to make an internal move for career development within the company. Today, one of them is the Manager of the Production Unit in Toussieu, near Lyon. The other one is FTTH Works Coordinator for the Drôme and Ardèche departments.
Find out about their career paths, what inspires them, and their day to lives as women working in the digital world.
#1: Your adventure here at Axione: pitch us your career path
I joined Axione in June 2008 in the Public Sector delegation and Axione subsidiary, Axione Limousin, firstly as a communication officer, with a 6 month mission.
Then I had the opportunity to join the ADTIM public initiative network in the departments of the Drôme and the Ardèche as an agency assistant. At the time, there were just 170 of us working at Axione. A small company….compared to now!
I had 3 children, twin boys and a girl; I devoted my time to them, and at the same time worked as an agency assistant with responsibility for communication.
After spending 12 years in the same job, I was looking for a change, the chance to find a new career for myself. I enjoy opening myself up to new experiences, so in January 2020 I became a works coordinator. I joined the deployment team within the Axione Production Unit based in Bourg-lès-Valence to work on the planned deployment of fibre optic of ADTIM FTTH. I wanted to be working as closely as possible to our core activity to understand how a network is rolled out. Finding a new job has given my career a whole new direction.
Magali, FTTH Works Coordinator for the Drôme and Ardèche departments
“Finding a new job has given my career a whole new direction.” Magali
For me, I joined the HR department at Axione in 2013. At the time, there were 500 of us working here. In just a few years, I’ve been aware of a dynamic trend and major growth in the number of company employees.
As an HR Manager, it was my job to work with this growth and to transmit the Axione corporate culture. So, if I had to define it in just a few words, I’d say that we have a taste for challenge, the drive to push ourselves further and a spirit of teamwork and positivity in our DNA.
In the 8 years I’ve spent in the company, I’ve been able to see how our open-mindedness has been one of our major assets. We make inclusion a priority. For us, it is a point of honour to recruit people who come from different backgrounds, staff who don’t always come from the Telecoms sector, to give them an opportunity to show what they can do. At Axione, drive and motivation are rewarded.
All this dynamism has meant that I have been able to take advantage of functional and geographical mobility to become the Production Unit Manager in Toussieu near Lyon.
Vanessa, Manager of the Production Unit in Toussieu, near Lyon.
“At Axione, drive and motivation are rewarded.“
Vanessa
#2: What do your daily tasks include?
My job right now demands that I split my time between working in the office and the field. As a Works Coordinator, I have to travel from site to site to inform the design office in Lille that we work with about the status of the network. I am also in charge of coordinating the teams in the field.
Our role is to ensure that sub-contractors are well managed so that the different works to be performed are properly rolled out. These include civil engineering, post installation, pulling underground and overhead cables, as well as compliance with safety regulations.Axione’s strength is the team spirit.
There is real solidarity between the different departments, even remotely! What’s more, all these encounters also create the opportunity to progress within the company.
Magali
My main task today is to steer all of the Toussieu Production Unit’s services to ensure the roll-out, development and maintenance of radio infrastructure, so making sure that we keep our customers satisfied. To do this, I stay in constant contact with the teams managing activities on the ground and logistics, as well as with the customers (operators and the tower company, for example).
This requires me to be an active listener and to be able to take a step back in order to identify the best strategy to use to achieve our aims. Today, we realise that our jobs are more meaningful than ever. We only need to look at the essential character of digital networks. It’s very satisfying to work on a number of different projects and respond to a variety of needs.
Vanessa
For example, we also know how to roll out radio infrastructure effectively in rural areas or in dead areas with zero connectivity, even in high density areas which are already connected. We work in large geographical areas. In fact, the PU employees roll out radio networks in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region and the Bourgogne Franche-Comté Region, so we have a major economic and social impact in the area.
Vanessa
#3: What is your view of women’s place at the heart of the digital world?
“As I said earlier, the opportunity we have to meet different kinds of people and work together in teams enables us to grow and enjoy career progression at Axione.
When I joined the company 13 years ago, I would have never believed that one day I would get the opportunity to become a Works Coordinator. In just a few years I’ve seen a great many changes within the company, as well as the feminisation of jobs, both within support services (commerce, finances) and in the field.
As a woman today, in order to succeed in our business sector you need to be brave and not hold yourself back. It is fairly easy to find motivation in our jobs. We share a real collective pride in taking connectivity into towns and villages. These days, we all need to be connected.”
Magali
“In our business sector, we owe it to ourselves to be agile so that we can constantly be innovative in the way we organise ourselves at work. To achieve our shared ambition today, we need to have the ability to reassess, to constantly create challenges for ourselves in order to become more efficient and perform even better.
The diversity we find within Axione makes the company culture even richer by providing a new vision of teamwork.
What’s more, several managers have observed that diversity brings with it complementarity a different view of how to manage projects.
As professional women, we need to give ourselves permission to go for the top jobs with big responsibilities, and above all, not to get hung up on pre-conceived ideas about the telecoms sector: you just have to go for it!”
Vanessa
Focus on “Inspiring Woman”
Several years ago, I was lucky enough participate in a seminar led by Virginie Guyot, a woman who impresses me greatly with her unusual career path and the strong messages she sends. She was the first woman to join the Patrouille de France (French Red Arrows) before becoming their leader. Her speech at the conference inspired me. She drew parallels between her job, risk management and stress, the ability to step back in a crisis and the way she managed her teams. Her views on management were relevant and the advice she shared was a good response to our issues and challenges at Axione.
Vanessa
Overall, all the women are inspiring with their backgrounds and career paths. However, two colleagues in particular have left their mark on me. Caroline, for her perseverance. Elisa for her investment and her involvement, she was the first female employee in the company! Both of them have been able to make a place for themselves thanks to their skills and their strong personalities. I think they’ll know who they are 😊
Magali
#4: What is the day to day life of a woman 2.0 like?
In my opinion, being a connected woman today is about the ability to balance your family and professional lives. At Axione, as women we are lucky enough to receive caring support from our managers and colleagues when we are pregnant, for instance.
That’s important, because it marks a turning point in our lives with lots of changes, and we need to learn to organise ourselves in a different way. I’ve also noticed that our mental workload is important, you need to think of EVERYTHING: never have your private mobile very far away from you in case the school calls you, sometimes follow your TEAMS meetings, alter work arrangements around remote working or working in the field etc.
I also enjoy devoting time to my family, so when I have time off, I completely disconnect from all my screens! It is important to find a balance between these two lives…
Magali
I think that more or less everyone is connected to some extent today. I am never without my mobile. I think it makes our day to day lives much easier. For example, even when I have a busy day and I need to have a meeting, I go straight to my mobile apps. In just a minute, I know that the meeting is confirmed, and I can do so at any time. It’s really practical and a time-saver.
I am also always connected to the news. With digital technology, we can all access everything really fast. I’d like to share a concrete example to illustrate this idea of immediacy that is part of life today: I’m always doing Google searches on my phone of absolutely everything I see or hear about directly or very spontaneously. I just can’t help myself!
Vanessa
employer brand award 🏆
We are very proud to have been awarded the Com-ent d’Or Employer Brand Award at the COM-ENT Grand Prix ceremony for our “Meeting With” employee video portrait series.
These short, lively videos aim to showcase the daily lives of our employees as authentically as possible by giving them the floor… with a phone in hand. 📱
The enthusiasm that comes across in these videos is a clear indication of our employees’ commitment and motivation. This is what we wanted to highlight in the “Meeting With” campaign: sincere, authentic discourse.
Both in the field and at the desk, each and every employee contributes to the completion of our major projects with a common goal in mind: providing access to digital technology all over France.
The enthusiasm that comes across in these videos is a clear indication of our employees’ commitment and motivation. This is what we wanted to highlight in the “Meeting With” campaign: sincere, authentic discourse.
Fiorine Thiebaut, Head of Communications at Axione.
🎥 To (re)view all of the video portraits, click here:
We are proud to be Top Employers France and Europe thanks to the certification obtained by Bouygues Construction and valid for all its subsidiaries. 🏆
This is a fine recognition of Bouygues Construction’s HR policy, which is geared towards a culture of sharing and passing on our expertise. It is also the reward for a year in which health and safety was given priority in order to offer our employees the best possible working conditions.
Our employees reveal themselves through our “Connect Talk” series !
Connect Talk #1 : Read Andreea’s testimony: the young woman works at Axione UK in London as a procurement manager. For her, Adventure Axione is synonymous with new professional challenges combined with a strong team spirit. 📹 Discover her talents as an outstanding negotiator 👇
Connect Talk #2 : Fervent supporter of football teams in Glasgow, Joanne works for Axione UK in Glasgow as clerk of works. All smiles, she shares with us what the Axione spirit is all about. Discover her talents for putting on her safety equipment in record time 👇
The growth of Axione’s operations, and ensuing integration of new staff members, has brought about a pressing need for training in several roles and trades.
It is with this need in mind that we created the Axione Academy; Our ambition is to offer internal training options adapted to the needs of our professions, and to bolster our already-established culture of passing on expertise while also supporting skills development for all Axione staff.
The foundations have now been laid for this business university. Two training courses are already being offered by Axione Academy: the Research and Negotiation course and the Fibre Optic Technician training scheme. Other courses are currently under development (notably for research managers), using a digital approach that incorporates online modules and virtual classes. New training options will be unveiled as time goes on, based on the emergence of new needs.
These photographs were taken on 22 September in accordance with the health and safety measures in place at the time.
Spotlight on the Research and Negotiation course
The two minds behind the initiative, Yannick Antoine and Gauthier Nanoux, set out to guide and support an increasingly professional approach of the role of Research and Negotiation Manager – a highly strategic job in terms of Axione’s mobile network activities.
With no training option available on the market able to meet their needs, they elected to design an internal training module with input from trade experts.
The Research and Negotiation course was launched in September, having been entirely developed and presented by Badiss Azzoug (Initial Deployment Operational Manager) and Stéphane Mouveaux (MOC DI North Manager). The two-day training course has been an opportunity for the trainers to enlighten Research and Negotiation managers on the deployment process for new radio sites, and the best practices to be observed in the role. The participants came from all over France, and benefitted from a stimulating and enriching training course built around case studies, role plays and legal advice.
It was also an opportunity for participants to share their experience and meet their peers.
Each trainee went home with a book detailing Axione’s existing knowledge on the topic, serving as an invaluable reference guide for Research and Negotiation Managers. Badiss and Stéphane, meanwhile, have completed their training as trainers, and are now certified to provide internal training at Axione Academy.
A big thank you to all those whose hard work helped make this project a success!
At Axione, each of us has a role to play in the integration of new team members. On this basis, the integration process has been completely rethought by the HR teams, making way for the “integration Reflex”.
The “Integration Reflex” by Axione
The aim of this process is to rethink the arrival of employees joining the company for the first time, capitalising on the peer support and solidarity of their co-workers. Integration then becomes a genuinely communal process in which everyone feels involved – a real reflex on everyone’s part.
The first “Integration Reflex” brick is laid with the new “Welcome Pack”
From the beginning of September, each new team member is greeted with a new “Welcome Pack”. This integration kit is handed to them on their first day at head office or a branch by the manager who will take the lead in integrating the new employee. The aim of this kit is to provide the optimum conditions for the integration of new team members, allowing them to be fully immersed in the Axione environment right from the start.
What does the Welcome Pack contain?
The HR teams were keen to offer a more complete pack, containing items that were useful but which likewise demonstrated respect for the environment: a tote bag, water bottle, multi-charger, smartphone stand, key-ring, lanyard, note-book and pen, all in this new format. See example in photo 📷
Roll-out of integration process
In addition to the Welcome Pack, the Axione HR teams are working on developing a personalised, digital integration process that will provide new employees with a fast, effective overview of what we do and the challenges we face.
Andy is 45 years old, Romain is 18 years old
Andy and his son Romain. Feuchy’s building site
What are your respective jobs?
Andy: I am a cable-laying team leader on the roll-out section of the overhead network. I lead a team of engineers on the worksite. Romain: I am a fibre optic engineer and a member of the team of engineers led by my dad.
How did you join Axione?
A: I joined Axione in June 2018 after a vocational retraining programme. I started out as a bar manager and decided to have a complete career change, focusing on the fibre broadband industry. My first job was for a company that made submarine cable networks. I then joined Axione as a telecom engineer.
R: I have been working for Axione for a year now. I quit my studies and retrained for the fibre optic industry. Thanks to a two-year work placement with Axione, I was able to join the team of engineers that my dad was leading. After the work placement, I should be able to land my first permanent contract!
How have you been able to evolve within your job?
A: I started out as a telecom engineer, then I became a cable laying team leader. Since June, I’ve been working on a new project to roll out and connect optic fibre for the IT and telecom network for the port of Calais. This is a very rewarding project, integrating a wide variety of tasks. I perform both cable routing and cable laying, but also conveyance and some management duties. This new job is a great opportunity. It has enabled me to evolve into a worksite advisor role.
You’re father & son in life and colleagues on the ground; how well does this work?
A: The atmosphere is very good within our team. It’s great working with my son. We form a dynamic duo every day!
R: Whether at work or elsewhere, my father and I get on really well. Actually, it’s not much different; he’s the boss at home too! (Laughing)
How do you set the world on fire?
A: When we install a fibre network in a town or a village, we change people’s lives. It helps to improve their services and consequently their daily lives!
R: The locals are very happy to see us installing fibre broadband and they let us know it. It’s very satisfying!
I’m a project manager for the network life cycle department, which means I develop mobile telephone facilities and keep them evolving.
What’s your career path been like?
I celebrated 20 years with the group last October!
After 5 years at Bouygues Telecom, as a technical assistant at the Boursidière business centre in Plessis-Robinson, Hauts de Seine (92), I was looking to move after my son was born. I moved to the Nord (59) and joined the agency at Marcq-en-Baroeul, where I was able to climb the ladder and develop my skills, starting out as a client manager, then assistant project manager, before becoming a project manager.
After spending ten years in that agency, thanks to the Group’s internal mobility mechanisms I was able to join Axione at Chapelle-d’Armentières (59).
What’s been your experience of internal mobility within the Group’s two affiliates?
A very positive one! My former colleagues have now become my key contacts, funnily enough. Now they’re the ones giving me work: I guess that’s my chickens coming home to roost! (laughs) Joking aside, it’s very interesting to have this dual experience, because it means I understand the issues they face and it makes it easier for us to work together.
How have you been able to evolve in your new role?
I’ve been a part of the agency’s evolution: at the start I was on my own in this position, but now the department’s been reorganised and expanded. Now I’m running a team made up of several different profiles. It’s exactly what you want as a team manager: I’ve learned so much in terms of human relations, which is really rewarding.
What are your ambitions for the coming years?
In the short term, my ambition is to keep things steady! Just six months ago I was still on the operational side. Today I’m overseeing several projects and activities at the same time. It’s important for me to be able to step back and take a macro view of things, so I can give my teams the support they need and ensure optimum client relations.
From a personal point of view, I’d like to find more time for myself. Maybe it’s time to get back into my hobbies: I used to be in a painting club, and I also did 5 years of theatre.
How do you motivate your teams?
I try to create a link between my teams by encouraging maximum communication. Cohesion and mutual respect are essential! After all, that’s what Axione is all about: inspiring exchange and creating links via its mobile and fibre optic networks.
293,461: the number of ‘career integration’ hours provided by Axione in 2019.
Axione is committed to making fibre optic careers accessible to everyone, across the whole country.
Working with local and regional bodies for over fifteen years, Axione is driven by our conviction that the deployment of major public infrastructure projects should benefit their local communities as a priority.
When we undertake these projects all over France, we’re helping to stimulate hiring, training, and skills development.
Jacques Beauvois, Deputy Managing Director of Axione
Axione is an active participant in local career development programs, setting up comprehensive systems that combine partnerships with local structures, worksite visits, job dating, and pathways to integration and training that are adapted to each applicant employed.
In line with local public policy, Axione’s career access program provides support and guidance to individuals struggling to find gainful employment, by offering training in fibre optic careers.
This includes:
RSA recipients
Long-term jobseekers
Recipients of social benefits
Disabled workers
Young people lacking career experience or qualifications
Individuals who qualify for employment access support (insertion par l’activité économique)
Isabelle Spanneut, Axione’s Human Resources Director was the guest of Compétences, the radio show that talks about recruitment on bfm business!
The podcast of the show Compétences on BFM BUSINESS
Interview mediarh.com – Alexandre Lichon
Mediarh.com: What characterizes your company?
Isabelle
Spanneut: Axione is first of all an industrial and human
adventure that started in 2003 to respond to the issue of digital development
of territories, with one ambition: to make the Internet accessible to everyone
and everywhere.
In concrete terms, we design, build and finance the operation of fiber and
radio telecom networks that are then used by telecom operators such as Orange,
SFR, Bouygues Telecom, Free and others.
The gamble taken in 2003 paid off! Axione, now owned by Bouygues Energies &
Services and Vauban Infrastructure Partners, a subsidiary of Natixis, has 2,200
employees and consolidated sales of 550 million euros. It is a company that
carries out large-scale projects and is a leader in the digital regional
development market.
What need does your recruitment meet?
Our workforce has doubled in 2 years, and this year
again we’re pursuing a dynamic and ambitious recruitment policy with over 500
open positions.
Axione is at the center of a booming market, driven by new uses of digital
technology.
What kinds of positions are available?
These 500 positions are to be filled throughout France
as permanent contracts.
We’re looking for a wide range of profiles to design, build and maintain our
fixed and mobile networks: telecom technicians, design engineers, and project
engineers.
We are also recruiting developers and tool administrators to manage our
information system.
We are recruiting network engineers and architects and others to operate fixed
and mobile networks.
Cross-functional positions are also represented as we are also regularly
looking for financial controllers and sales administrators, for example.
What are the values to be shared?
Beyond the values of the Bouygues Construction Group that we share, I would speak of a corporate culture based on entrepreneurship, team spirit, caring and empowerment of our employees.
What’s the added value that you offer?
Working at Axione allows everyone to take part in an
ambitious and meaningful corporate project, that of changing the lives of
people and companies.
To do this, we are open to all types of profiles and can offer people who are
unlikely to fin a job the opportunity to join us and then be trained in our
professions.
Moreover, given its strong growth and the diversity of its professions, Axione
offers real and rapid development prospects in France and now internationally.
Our ambition in 2020 is actually to export the French model of shared fiber
optic infrastructure across the Channel, which will generate medium-term
resource requirements.
It should also be remembered that Axione is backed by the Bouygues Construction
Group and as such can offer our employees diversified mobility paths.
