Interview with Pauline CHBAT (GE 2011): Best VIB Performance Award

What function do you do today? and where?
I am currently VIE (Volunteer for International Business) as Director of Subsidiary spas Be Relax at Heathrow Airport. I run two shops open 7/7 and in zone under customs at the heart of the new Terminal 5 exclusive to British Airways. I have under my care a team of beauticians 17 (all of British nationality), two Supervisors and Assistant. My role is to make every effort to develop the subsidiary. I work on behalf of the company Be Relax, little French SMEs become in a few global leader in airport spas years and now provides services in over 35 outlets in 12 airports and six countries.
 
How did you come there?
While I was not yet graduated, I answered an ad Be Relax who sought at the time a young graduate to manage its spa Manchester Airport. My career in the hotel and my international experience liked them and I was hired on. After nine months passes in Manchester, Be Relax has decided to promote me to their London branch, flagship of the brand.
 
What way did you take?
After having spent a Scientific tray (Maths) in Lebanon, I quickly decided to turn towards the high-end hotels, field has always fascinated me. I built it for a hospitality school and spent a Degree in Hospitality Management. But as I was missing bases in Finance, Marketing, Management, etc ... I wanted to join a trade school and I had the opportunity to join EDHEC. So I spent my Master in Lille and finished my last year in exchange for double degree in India.
 
Why this attraction to international?
I am fortunate to have dual nationality because my mother is French and my father is Lebanese. This double-crop gave me some international openness from a very young age. I was born in France but I grew up in Lebanon. I did my first internship in Canada, I studied in India, I have traveled to thirty countries and I am now working in the UK. I think this openness to the world and it is essential today as youth.
 
You won the award for Best Performance LIFE, what does that represent? How did you feel?
Every year, UBIFRANCE and the French Ministry of Foreign Trade organized a Grand Prix in the UK to reward the best 3 LIFE UK (better performance, better integration, Best Hope) which involved hundreds of candidates. I had the chance to win the prize for the best performance LIFE for 2012. I was very honored to receive an award from the Ambassador in just 25 years.
 
What did it bring to you?
Besides the personal satisfaction and financial rewards that went with this award, it brought me recognition of the richness of my LIFE mission and the work that I provided day and night for two years. It also helped to know the company I work for. Company that has given me a chance, trained me and to which I am very grateful for trusting me.
 
What is your mission?
My job is extremely varied since I almost total autonomy in the management of shops: from recruitment to dismissal, staff training, the calculation of holiday pay, schedules, optimizing purchasing and inventory accounting and tax returns. In addition, there are negotiations with the airport, the establishment of special offers and the management of customer service.
 
How does a typical day?
I usually start around 10 am and leaves after closing spaces to 22h. I do not count my hours of work and it is important for me to give time to each of my employees. I divide my time between operations in the field and the back office in the office. As Director of a subsidiary, it is important that I invest personally and demonstrate a lot of rigor and initiatives.
 
What do you like about this service?
I've always loved the customer contact and am thrilled to be working in the world of aesthetics and relaxation. I am convinced that offer massages and manicures to passengers before boarding is a revolutionary concept and I am proud to take part in this expansion. Heathrow, by positioning high-end and high international profile of its passengers, is an exciting place to work. It is happening constantly something. The days are not alike.
 
What are the challenges of this job?
This business is particularly complex because it must manage the human. 80% of my mission is simply to manage the human, a discipline that I had never really exercised before my LIFE I face every day for the lack of motivation, delays flights in cash, customer complaints, training providers, etc.. The other major difficulty concerns the work area under customs which makes everything much more difficult. Between security checks every morning to go to work, endless walks in the terminal to get a shop to another and standards of Health and Safety that are extremely driven, mission takes on a whole new dimension .
 
What are you particularly proud of in your accomplishments?
I am particularly proud to have got where I am without having gone through the traditional route of the preparation. When I was asked to take the examination in parallel admission EDHEC had replied with my degree in Hospitality, this was not possible. I was so determined to pass the gateway and springboard competition. But as I finished the first national ranking, EDHEC had called me. I am very proud to have these responsibilities while I was not yet graduated. I am also very proud of the financial results that my subsidiaries obtained when they were under my responsibility.
 
What beautiful meetings did you do?
I did a lot of great encounters during my two-year mission. My employees have all taught me something different and made me grow. I owe them a lot. Workers with whom I worked all night to repaint or repair spas nails bars I was impressed by their courage and endurance. I also met bright students during my academic exchange in India that struck me by their kindness and desire to succeed.
 
The ideal future for you what would it be?
Working in a large hotel group. Continue traveling.
 
What advice would you give to a young person who starts?
Of course I would advise him to experiment internationally. I recommend also to be tolerant. Always try to understand before judging. In our current society, openness has become paramount and should not stop prejudice. Finally, as a young man, he must prove himself to his employer and not be afraid of the workload.
 
Finally a word?
Nothing is ever a foregone conclusion.
 
Pauline CHBAT
Be Relax Spa London - Managing Director
E-mail: @ p.chbat berelax.com