My experience at Ecosistem starts on August 31st 2020. Arriving for the first time to the company headquarter in Cavallino Treporti, in the middle of a wisely cultivated and cared for countryside, an image of almost bucolic serenity is already looming. Ecosistem is an emerging, sparkling reality in continuous ferment: a “small” company only in appearance, where each person is animated by the achievement of common results, by the pursuit of job satisfaction, by a harmonious industriousness, by a unique vision, and by an intense spirit of cooperation.
Currently, the group’s activities embrace three areas: design and realization of green areas, design and realization of fountains, sanitation and disinfestation. The common thread in all these tasks is the harmonious connection between man and the outdoors, good aesthetic taste and well-being. Day by day, I realize that all these values are not only exported and sold to customers, but they are the pure essence of the Ecosistem group itself.
The workers in the company are divided in two macro areas: one group deals with maintenance and construction on site, pruning in gardens and disinfestation, another half of the employees are employed in office duties for the organization of the company. Between these, there are those in charge of administration and accounting, some in communication, some in export and customer service, an architect for the design of the works, a Director and, obviously, the owner. In particular, my task in recent months has been to listen, observe and assimilate all possible information in the sales, export and marketing fields. In this division of corporate tasks, my duties fall within the function of the commercial office, including the care of the relationship between the company and its Italian and foreign customers, the first approach with future customers, scouting in the commercial field and analyses market. Also, I have dealt with the organization of business trips, of the managing of purchase orders, of returned goods and assistance to the Owner in a broad sense, as the verbalization of the company’s meeting.
Working for Forme d’Acqua brand, the sector dedicated to the construction of fountains, the main difficulties I encountered concern the adaptation to customers of a “specific technical” context: for the first time I spoke with architects and builders who constantly use a specific and at time same time refined lexicon.
It is not easy to adapt to such a characteristic and unique sector, when you have a background in linguistic studies and little knowledge in terms of building construction. The approach to this new and very sectorial world was therefore the main criticality of the internship: it is not easy to learn and use specific language on a daily basis, because it would take a thorough technical training to be completely sure of what you say. The problem of terminology in question was in fact a difficulty but also a challenge, because I learned and well assimilated certain concepts and a certain vocabulary never heard before. In particular, I learned the technical terms not only in Italian, but also in English, Germany and Russian.
However, the fact that the company works with customers in the luxury sector has certainly served as an incentive. For example, scouting can be taken, that is the search for new growth opportunities for the Brand: to investigate on hotel, showrooms, malls and other luxury centres for me it’s not unpleasant at all. Very often we end up discovering new places, mostly Italian, unknown, fascinating and tantalizing. Basically, it is analysed for the company, but it almost seems like you can travel comfortably from your desk. Among the knowledge acquired in this period I can count: technical details, specific vocabulary and soft skills as the ability to plan, organize and learn continuously.
I find that the strengths of the company and the team are many: the climate of addictive enthusiasm, the relationship of understanding of the team, which positively affects the working method and efficiency, the always present but non-invasive supervision that does not hinder normal activities. I could find space and time to work with the right technique but with creativity. In addition, the company has a unique wealth: people are prepared to teach and motivate, giving explicit and sincere feedback on the work.
Could not be missing a company tutor, with which the relationship has proved constant, lively, based on open communication.
What could I have learned in these three months? I discovered I was able to face a new environment, adapting myself to the working method and to a company headquarters quite far from home. I was also able to increase my professional skills, rediscovering the pleasure of teamwork, the pursuit of results with a common goal for the whole group and a customer-oriented approach. It will certainly be important for my future to have known such a compact and complex reality at the same time, the possibility of having a look at the organization and the tasks of the various company roles is precious. It is for these reasons I can define this overwhelming and intense experience.
Alexa Anzolin
