Episode Transcript
[00:00:04] Speaker A: Hello and welcome to Lang Talent, or the Lang Talent podcast, rather. My name is Eddie Arrieta. I'm the CEO here at Multilingual Media and Lang Talent is designed to help us navigate the conversations around human resources in the language industry. Today we have an amazing guest with us, Gaitan Tretianot, the founder and CEO of Six Continents, Gatam. Welcome.
[00:00:37] Speaker B: Well, welcome, Eddie. Welcome everyone. And thank you for having me.
[00:00:41] Speaker A: This is great and it's always fantastic to start talking to companies to understand what is it that they do and why do they exist and what is the type of talent they are looking for. And we'll talk more about this as we go into the conversation because Six Continents, it's looking for talent. But before we get onto that, Gaetan, why don't you tell us a little bit about why does Six Continents exist? When did it start? Tell us a little bit about the history of the company and what is the purpose you all have.
[00:01:12] Speaker B: Well, yeah, well, first of all, I think this is a great initiative having this podcast and you seem to be very curious about everything, so I like that as well. And yes, I do believe that human relevance is key in this industry. So bringing this back to talents is really fantastic. So to tell you a bit about Six Continents. Well, we are not going to go through the entire history of my life, but let's say that basically this is really what I'm good at and I decided to start six continents in 2016. And the amazing thing about the name of the company, Six Continents, what's behind that? Obviously it resonates a bit with the industry, the world, languages, but also the funny thing is that it spells exactly the same both in French and English. We are French based company, so this makes it easier to operate on the domestic market as well as globally.
And I'm also, as you know, because we, we've met in multiple parts of the world. The world, the both of us. Right. I love to travel and well, I think that Six is a tribute in a way to what I like. And on a more personal note, again, I named my two sons after famous French sailors.
Not that I like sailing, but I really like traveling. So that's the story behind the name of Six continents and what I can say about this company. What you asked about why we exist and why we're here. Well, that is when just answer, maybe by telling you that again, this is my passion. Really what drives me is, you know, technology in this industry to serve people, not to alienate them.
And so I've always been interested in Building a company where, well, we could design something together with the people within the company that actually does. That makes it happen. That is finding ways where we can leverage technology together.
So that really, it helps us and it helps our clients, obviously. And I think the success of the company today is really built on these 18amazing individuals. And I'm one of them.
Including me. No, I think it's a great, fantastic team. And each of them, with their unique skills and qualifications and motivation and enthusiasm, I mean, that's who we are. And we also have values at this company that I think they really transpire in our culture. So what I mean by that is maybe it's very trust. Well, a company that really brings trust to the worksphere. Close cooperation as well, as I said, and also continuous improvement. I think that defines us a lot because my team members, they're like, every year they know we are not going to work in the same way that we worked the previous year.
We love that. And we want also every team member to be valued and also empowered to contribute to the company's success. So I love, for example, when someone at Six Continents is going to create their own role based on what they identify that's happening within the company and they say, hey, I'm good at this. Can I take this part of what we do and make it my own and create my own sweet spot and excel at this? So I think this is who we are basically, and why we're here is while serving our clients.
And. And yeah, and I think passion is.
[00:05:15] Speaker A: What defines us, and that's really great. Of course, without getting too much yet into the, what are the things that you do for your clients that, you know, whoever is going to work with should know?
You did talk a little bit about those values that determine what the culture is. And sometimes the values come just serendipitously in the conversation with team members.
Are your values consolidated? Do you document them? Do you talk about them as a team?
What other values could you talk about that are part of that culture and what defines Six Continents?
[00:05:55] Speaker B: Well, as I said, this is mostly. Yeah, we have them written on our website. You can go there. As for the team, I mean, whoever joins the company, they are totally aware of everything that is happening regarding company culture and values. Of course. But I think it's. It's really, for me, it's like something that is very obvious. But maybe you're right that it is important to state we, we also try to, yes, have team activities around everything that defines Six Continents. So people might call that Team building, but I'm not so fond of the term. So I like rather than the team manages to rather discuss about what, what they want to be, what should define the company on their side. Because I do also believe that every time we add a team member, they are helping us shift the company to, to what it should become. We are not trying to find people who strictly align with who we are at a very specific moment. We like things to be dynamic. So dynamism and agility are also values that we really foster at the company and that define us as well. So it's a place. I like that we have a place where everyone can be who they are and add whatever they can bring to the table to the company and make it their own as well. Because a grid company is a company not where we dictate how people should be and how they should behave as a team, but rather where every individual is really bringing again something to the others. And especially in this industry, this is what we do, right? Bridging cultures, bridging diversity and this is what we really love in this industry. So we need this to happen within the team as well.
[00:07:57] Speaker A: And that's really great. That drives satisfaction, it drives self realization. And that's really important for a company to be able to have team members that are actually doing what they love to do. And not only that, but they are great at it.
And that's probably going to be aligned with other philosophies like Ikigai and whatnot, but I want to get into some of the details. So 18 members. Great. All of them, including you, of course. And you are looking to increase this team. Can you tell us more about, you know, the role or roles that you're looking into right now and why is this happening? Of course the obvious answer is, well, we have more work to do for our clients. Yes. But if you can tell us a little bit more so we can read between the lines of where Six Continents is going.
[00:08:50] Speaker B: Well, you're right. First of all, obviously there's no really need to grow a team if the company is not growing. So I think our clients make it clear that they love us because, well, as I said, the team is providing an amazing service. So we basically the go to provider for French as a target, German as a target for our international clients. And then obviously we have our domestic clients whom we serve in multi, multiple, sorry multiple languages. So that's number one. I mean everyone is very happy about that. So our reputation is high and I think word of mouth is, is, is, is great for Us. And I don't know, call it luck maybe, but I think it's, it's more because every, every team member is really dedicated to what they do. So this is, this is good news indeed. I think also one of the other reasons why we are growing is because we never forget about the human touch and the human relevance. And the more systems around us, the more automation, the more AI, the more whatever. This is great. This is fantastic. We've always, again, as I said, be very dynamic and proactive in testing and trying to implement everything that is relevant. But it also calls for more and more human connection, really.
I think that people are kind of sick of talking to portals or to tickets or to emails and they really want to discuss with a person. Right? Not an avatar, not a chatbot or I mean, at least these are the clients we serve, so they love it. And I always tell my team that, yeah, this is who we should be, right? We should be humans serving humans.
Even though we can automate and do a lot of stuff behind the scenes, let's say with technology so that we can improve our services. But yes, we need people. So, yep, today we have an open position at the, at the company.
I told you that we, we operate mostly into French and into German. The current position is for a project coordinator, German native.
And we also are maybe a bit old school here because we, we prefer on site positions. We prefer to have people with us because we don't hire for a role. We hire people. That is, we hire a person and we want to get to know this person and spend time with them and maybe laugh with them and, and obviously make sure that, well, we learn from one another and I'm sure everyone brings something to Six Continents as well. So, yeah, I think, I think this is why, and why, why we are growing and why we have this open position now. And we' very happy to get applications so we, maybe we'll talk about that later about how to apply.
But yeah, that's what's happening for now.
[00:12:05] Speaker A: If your team is growing and you know, we're going to have a few more exciting years, what would you recommend to those who might want to apply to work with Six Continents?
What would be your recommendations? Of course, in general terms, but also in practical terms, where do we find your openings? Where do we go and learn more about your values and the team and everything else you do well?
[00:12:32] Speaker B: Yeah, so I mean, if you're considering joining us at Six Continents, so I think first of all you can, you should check who we are. We love that People research about us, first of all. So website, social media, we are all out there.
The openings are available on LinkedIn always.
And then as I said, for now, we are looking for a German native project coordinator on site near Strasbourg in France. So that's our priority. But I would say also that if you're interested in working with us in a different position, then you should still have a look and apply. It's not because we don't have an opening at the moment that we might not be interested in the future, even near future. We never know. I unfortunately don't have the crystal ball to say.
And then we're looking for people who are vicious, people who are proactive and eager to make a difference, as I said. And we do value positivity, construction, constructive thinking and autonomy. And so if you're someone who loves taking ownership of your work and thrives in a dynamic environment, then you'll fit right in.
So this exciting opportunity that we have at the moment.
Yeah, so our priority for German native project coordinator.
But again, if you think you can bring anything to us or if you want to explore possibilities with us, then yes, definitely you should reach out and keep an eye on our openings as well on LinkedIn.
[00:14:29] Speaker A: Fantastic. Gatan, thank you very much for sharing more about your culture, your values, how the team is growing and where the team is growing. Any final thoughts and messages to everyone who is listening to Lang Talent? On to who is getting to know six continents?
[00:14:46] Speaker B: Well, yes, there are amazing companies out there and I'm sure that if you're looking for a job, well then there are plenty of opportunities in this industry, that's for sure.
For those of you who attend conferences, you know I'm around most of the time, so if you want to have a conversation with me, then make sure to to find me somewhere. I mean, Eddie will probably also be everywhere this year, so plenty of great places to enjoy with our industry colleagues and this is going to be fantastic. So it happens also that I hire people that I meet and that I also maybe mentored in the past. So find me and let's have a conversation, maybe.
[00:15:43] Speaker A: That sounds like a great invitation for town out there. Thank you so much, Gatan. This is Lang Talent, the podcast where we talk about human resources and the values companies have, their culture and what the future of work looks like. My name is Eddie Arrieta. I'm the CEO here at Multilingual Media. Thank you so much for listening. Until the next time, goodbye.
