Recherche

After eight years in an electronics research lab, I had the luck to move over to production and work for four years on some exciting optronics projects. In 2001, to my great surprise, I was offered a job as Operation manager of our Canadian subsidiary. I accepted without hesitation, even if it meant a few months away from my family. On this new continent, I found what was in effect a new job, since the working conditions are quite different. The unit was one-tenth the size, so I had to turn my hand to more things: purchasing, manufacturing, logistics, general services, health and safety, etc.

Even though they speak French in Montreal, North American culture forces you to change your way of working. Every "mandate", as they call it here, is precisely defined, and you don't interfere with the responsibilities of a co-worker. Similarly, the company's relations with its employees and staff representatives operate in a totally different framework from France: you have to adapt. At the start, I was seen rather as a "spy from Paris", but I quickly gained the confidence of my Canadian colleagues. In the end, taking inspiration from best practice in each of our two cultures is a way of increasing the effectiveness of our teamwork. In addition, when I returned to France this international experience helped me obtain a manufacturing management position with wider responsibilities.