With a background in management and customer relations, she has piloted numerous projects such as the implementation of customer relations solutions for renowned companies like Smartbox and Caudalie, and a customer relations improvement strategy for SNCF Connect with Salesforce. In 2022, his life took a completely different turn "I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and devote myself to DJing and organizing cultural events!" 

Séverine perfected her skills and in 2023 was back on the road with a series of dates and festivals as a DJ and organizer. After much reflection, she decided to return to management. That's when she joined Alegria.group in September 2023 as NoCode Factory Manager!

From her career path to her various projects and challenges, Séverine tells you all about it!

Background

Séverine Oukoulou is a 33-year-old professional who has made remarkable progress in management and customer relations. Now NoCode Factory Manager at Alegria.group, she brings all her expertise and dynamism to our team!

Séverine began her career almost 10 years ago, after obtaining a master's degree in management specializing in information and communication technologies. Her early experience led her to do a work-study program at Orange, where she distinguished herself as an assistant project manager, notably on innovative projects linked to second-screen applications for popular series such as Plus Belle la Vie and Game of Thrones.

She then joined Diabolocom, a small company specializing in customer relationship management software, where she worked as a project manager. Her missions involved implementing solutions for customer relations centers, working with well-known companies such as Smartbox and Caudalie. Always in search of new challenges and with a passion for video games, she then joined Ubisoft, where she managed collaborative tools projects for internal teams.

However, it was at the SNCF group that Séverine really made her mark. For five years, she held various positions, contributing in particular to the implementation of customer relations and payment solutions. Her latest project involved the implementation of Salesforce for the Voyages SNCF customer relations department. This project had two objectives: to historicize customer interactions in order to personalize relations with travelers, and to improve customer satisfaction! 

It was during this project that she donned the hat of Product Owner, a role she would continue to exercise for 2? years within the Oui.SNCF product teams, now SNCF Connect.

These diverse experiences have enabled him to develop remarkable rigor and expertise in managing projects and products for a very broad, complex and demanding public. And there's more to come!

After this intense period, Séverine felt the need to take a step back and devote herself to other passions, notably music. She thus explored the field of DJing and became production manager for a festival. Managing all the logistics and organization of the festival, she enriched her career with new experiences and diversified skills. "This business is very time-consuming and essentially based on voluntary work, so I needed a more stable way of life."

With all this experience behind her, Séverine decided to join Alegria.group six months ago, attracted by the opportunity to work on varied and stimulating projects. Since her arrival, she has brought her passion, professionalism and expertise to our team, contributing to the success of our Alegria.solutions projects!

His role at Alegria.group

As NoCode Factory Manager at Alegria.group, Séverine plays a crucial role, combining both the coaching of consultants and the management of various organizational and operational aspects within the company. Her main mission is to ensure the well-being of our consultants, help them define their objectives and support them in their professional development.

As NoCode Factory Manager, Séverine is also responsible for specific areas of improvement within the Alegria.solutions organization. For example, she focuses on improving team life at Alegria.solutions, working on aspects such as training, organizing team events, consultant appraisals, and other initiatives aimed at strengthening team spirit and well-being at work.

Another important facet of his role is to support sales staff in certain aspects of customer sales, and to develop relationships with existing customers. 

Finally, she is mainly involved in managing the project side, where her aim is to ensure that the right resources are allocated to projects and to oversee the smooth running of projects, in collaboration with consultants, makers and designers "In short, I make sure that everything goes perfectly!"

All in all, Séverine is involved on several levels to guarantee the success of projects, ensuring fluid communication between teams, closely monitoring project progress and intervening quickly when problems arise to find solutions that are each more effective than the last!

In addition to everything she does for the company, she also teaches students on Alegria.academy 's 15-month diploma course in agile methods, project management and product management, and assists graduating students with their end-of-year projects.

What she is most proud of 

Séverine is particularly proud of two aspects of her career: her involvement in organizing festivals and her work on the SNCF Connect product in general, but also on the Salesforce project for SNCF customer relations. This project gave him valuable experience in project management and collaboration with users. Thanks to an agile methodology and close collaboration with the Customer Relations team, the project was delivered on time and on budget, while maximizing the value delivered to users - a significant achievement for Séverine. Although this project is specific to her experience at SNCF, it highlights her project management skills and her ability to deliver effective solutions tailored to customer needs.

As for her personal activities, Séverine is proud of her involvement in the organization of festivals, notably Kamiwaza and Opal. "These events have a positive impact on people's lives, and that's what I love most. It provides moments of entertainment while promoting values of tolerance, respect and freedom!"

Although these projects are more personal, Séverine finds a certain resonance with her work at Alegria.group, where she also strives to create positive and engaging environments for consultants and customers alike.

Still, she emphasizes the importance of her past experiences in her career and how these achievements influence her current approach to work. 

"For projects with Alegria.solutions, it's either confidential or in progress, so it'll be for the next interview!" 

His advice

"That's a tough question! But here are two points that come to mind without much thought:

Learn to always ask what your customers want. They'll often talk to you about features, but you'll need to understand what they really want in order to best meet their needs (sometimes even via a different feature than the one initially planned!).

Otherwise, the best technique for beginners is that of the 5Ps, aka the "5 whys", which will enable you to understand your users' real problem by repeating the question "Why?" 5 times in a row when your interlocutor answers. You'll probably embarrass some people, but I promise, it'll always be very useful and you'll end up understanding the root cause of the problem!"

She adds with conviction, "Then, even if NoCode allows anyone to learn how to make a site or an application, I think that having a certain level of technical knowledge is worth having and will make you a better element, whether as a Maker, Designer or Product Owner: it will allow you to navigate easily in the IT eco-system in general and to understand the overall logic of NoCode-related professions, and above all to understand what's being said in all your meetings. APIs, webservices, HTML, javascript, SQL queries... Don't be afraid to familiarize yourself with these elements!"

What next?

"I don't yet know exactly what I want to do in the long term or what I wish for myself in the future apart from trying to keep my work-life balance, and simply trying to feel good about myself! Continue to work on exciting projects with people I enjoy, with a good atmosphere at work, while keeping some time for myself, to devote to my personal interests such as music and gardening, for example.

I'm also planning to take a much more serious training course in NoCode tools, which I think will be useful in my personal life and why not in my professional life too. Eventually, I think I'll feel the urge to take a different route, and I'll probably take the freelancing route to help me make the transition to other professional horizons!"

We wish him every success in his future projects!