Meet Sybille, our colleague from the Hanover office. In July 2021 she celebrated 20 years with the company, all within the sales team. She was born and raised in Hannover, loves her hometown, and never wants to leave it.
How did you first join the company?
Well, I was searching for a job, and I had the luck to meet Nicolas (Abé, LANCO Group CEO, Ed.). They were looking for someone for their sales team and I was looking for a job, and that’s how I got it. The sales team was much smaller 20 years ago, so I am one of the first members (smiles).
What had been your work experience until then?
After finishing school, I worked for some years in gastronomy. I was a waitress at first and worked my way to the position of restaurant manager. Then I spent two years working in a call center for a mobile company in customer support as a team leader and then joined the training department.
Let’s talk about what you (dis)like about your job.
I love my work. It’s different every day and I could never be bored. I am in touch with customers everyday either by phone or by email. I prefer talking to them for sure, but these days our activity is getting more and more online. We have customers that have been with us since my beginnings with the company and sometimes they call me just to say hi. This is always nice (smiles).
And I never get bored because we manage the entire sales process: from consulting with our (potential) customers to see which of our solutions fits their need the best, to quote preparation, invoicing a.s.o.
Also, in the past 15 years, as the company has continued to grow, we have new colleagues now in our offices in Italy, Norway and Romania and I am really happy to be part of this big, diverse team.
And there is nothing I dislike about my job, really.
No dislikes? That’s hard to believe. Isn’t your job stressful?
I am mainly in charge of our SG (tents, Ed.) customers, and we have a lot of youth groups getting their tents for summer camps, so there is some seasonality to my work let’s say. It is a handful in specific periods of the year, and it could become stressful if it weren’t for the teamwork. We organize ourselves and split the work so as not to be too overwhelming for just one member of the team.
You told us you loved the work. What can you tell us about the benefits compared to other companies?
I don’t really know how things are in other companies because I was never really interested in finding out. Ever since I joined LANCO, I have never looked around for something else because, as I said, I love my job and I don’t see myself anywhere else. I feel fairly compensated for my work, I like what I do and my colleagues, so I never had any reasons to “go shopping” (laughs).
What’s your favorite place in Hanover?
I can’t mention a specific preferred spot, I have several. Hannover has the biggest urban city forest in Germany - Stadtwald Eilenriede and the Maschsee which is also very nice. Hannover offers the best of two worlds: you have all the culture, shopping, restaurants of big city life and also a lot to offer for outdoorsy people. It is a nice mixture between the two and I love that.
What do you do in your free time? Do you have any hobbies?
I have been a yoga teacher for three and a half years and 2-3 times a week I do that. I enjoy spending time with friends, going shopping and taking some me time every once in a while.
How about reading? Do you have a favorite book?
I am more of a holiday reader, myself. At the moment I am reading “the Swarm”, a novel by Frank Schätzing. The story touches various topics, including the destruction and poisoning of the marine ecosystems on earth, the importance of the sea for humanity and the coexistence of different species. I wouldn’t say about myself that I am a radical environmentalist, but I do think that a little bit of care from everyone would really help future generations enjoy our beautiful planet for longer.
Do you have a favorite quote?
I like and try to live by Carpe Diem or live in the moment. No one knows what tomorrow might bring so I try to be as present as I can in my life.
Would you recommend LANCO to someone looking for a job?
Yes, definitely. I would highly recommend LANCO as an employer. Most of my colleagues have been with the company for many years and I think this speaks to the type of work environment we have. We are happy in our jobs.
