In a recent interview, Marion Chalot reflects on her remarkable five-year journey with iPS. With a background in law and recruitment, Marion transitioned into the tunnelling and microtunnelling industry, quickly rising from a junior position to a senior role. Throughout her tenure, she has witnessed significant growth within the company, navigated complex challenges such as Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic, and embraced opportunities for professional development. In this candid conversation, Marion shares her experiences, the evolution of her role, and her aspirations for the future at iPS.
Can you tell me about your journey with iPS over the past five years? How has your role evolved during this time?
Marion: I came from a legal background and experience in the recruitment industry, which I didn’t realize back then how much it would help me with my career here. When I started at iPS I was not familiar with the tunnelling and microtunnelling industry, so I had a lot to learn. I found this a challenging but enriching experience, and was able to grow from a Junior position to a Senior position in those 5 years.
What do you believe are the most significant changes or developments you’ve witnessed within iPS since you joined?
Marion: Since I joined iPS, we grew massively: we opened several new offices overseas (USA, Saudi Arabia…) and strengthened our international presence (Latvia, Lithuania, Jersey, Dubai…). We created new divisions such as Payroll and new brands like iPS Select and Nautech. Even in our Netherlands office you can see the change: we have more international colleagues than 5 years ago, we hear more English than Dutch in the office…now that I can finally understand Dutch!
Can you share a particularly challenging project or situation you’ve faced during your time here, and how you overcame it?
Marion: I started working at iPS in February 2019, at that time our network was mainly British and we were sending our workers to work on projects worldwide. Then came the Brexit and the Covid19 pandemic almost at the same time, can you imagine how challenging this was for us? Our workers were not able to travel so we had to re-build our entire network overnight. It was frustrating at that time but looking back now it is a good thing as our network is more international and this gives us more flexibility to adapt to our client’s needs.
What do you enjoy most about working at iPS, and what keeps you motivated after five years?
Marion: iPS offers me the possibility to work with international colleagues, clients and candidates and I really appreciate to be around so many different cultures. Because every client’s request and every candidate is different, I often need to think outside of the box to find a solution. My tasks are changing every day and I guess this keeps me motivated, I like a challenge!
Have you had opportunities for professional development or advancement within the company? If so, can you elaborate on those experiences?
Marion: As I speak fluently English, French and Spanish I also helped other departments: this made me discover other industries and different ways of acquiring new clients and recruiting candidates. Since I started I received 2 promotions in the last 5 years and our business and colleagues in the Tunnelling department keeps growing, so we must be doing something right! Therefore now I am training new colleagues, and sharing my knowledge and experience when facing difficult situations which I enjoy and I hope to keep doing it for the next years.
In your opinion, what sets this company apart from others in the industry, and why do you choose to continue your career here?
Marion: We are different from other agencies because we are specialized: we focus on specific industries, clients and candidates so we are able to better understand the projects we get involved with. We maintain a close relationship with our clients and candidates, it is not a “one time contract” I even talk to some of their family members sometimes! We build a strong network that is rewarding, now we get most of our clients and candidates through referrals and I want to maintain and grow it.