My Internship Experience with Schneider Electric: Empowerment at Every Step

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Getting real-world experience

As a final year business student, I know where my interest is; it is in the fields of sales, business development and events management. When I found out that Schneider Electric had the Channel Sales and Marketing Intern role available, I was thrilled to apply. I felt that I could have the best of both worlds. While the Marketing role gives me something to be excited about (I love to plan for events!), the Channel Sales component enhances my experience by giving me exposure to direct B2B relationship management and sales analytics.

My internship experience at Schneider Electric really gives me the hands-on experience on how to manage this situation. In the first three months here, I was involved in three major projects. These include:

• Assisting in the registration of new partners for our loyalty program and managing the benefits received by them. These involve planning Networking sessions where we invited our distributors and resellers to learn more about our loyalty program, organizing an incentive trip to Italy for our top resellers and preparing for the Innovation Day conference.
• Performing analysis on partners’ sales values over a period of five years to determine their sales patterns and provide the necessary feedback to help them close sales deals.
• Developing an Excel spreadsheet that can allow the sales team to configure product packages and issue quotations automatically to distributors and resellers.

Embracing A Performance-Driven Culture

Schneider Electric is a results-oriented company. I find my job to be very autonomous and I am empowered to run projects according to my own preference while periodically checking in with my colleagues to receive feedback. I can see that my contribution has a direct impact on our key performance indicators. For example, I have managed to recruit a total of 12 eligible partners to come on board our loyalty program. Every week, we get a progress update on the total number of new registrations and see how Singapore performs in comparison to the other regions and countries.

While delivering results is at the heart of our company culture, this does not mean that Schneider Electric forgoes the welfare of their employees. During my internship experience, I have seen that Schneider Electric Singapore has a dedicated welfare committee to organize activities (e.g. basketball, soccer, jogging, durian eating session etc.) for the employees. The office also has an in-house gym and several cozy pantries. Since Schneider Electric has a hot-desking office concept, it is easy for me to find my favorite spot (image below): Great view. Nice shade, conducive and the best part – I can even snack while I work!

Joining A Structured Internship Program

Moreover, I am pleasantly surprised to find that Schneider Electric Singapore has a structured internship program, an Intern Learning Network (ILN) which enables us to learn every day and provides us with holistic support systems. To highlight a few, the company offers regular initiatives that include monthly group reverse mentoring session with business leaders and specific training courses (e.g. Tableau, Excel VBA and Personal Branding) that are organized to upskill ourselves.

Coming from a non-technical background, I really appreciate the spectrum of learning avenues and the opportunity to network with my colleagues from diverse background.

Finding an inclusive work environment

From the welcoming Channel Sales team to the comfy sofas to the well-stocked pantries, Schneider Electric feels like a home away from home. I started as a stranger in this office building, sitting by myself for breakfast. As the months passed, I got to know my colleagues and started to see familiar faces wherever I sit. In general, I feel that Schneider Electric Singapore has a very friendly and cooperative environment – we all value our face-to-face interactions so much!

As the youngest in my team, it feels like I have gained big brothers and big sisters that will look out for me. It is heartwarming.

Looking Ahead

Thank you, Schneider Electric, for giving me this opportunity. I felt that my internship experience truly encompasses Schneider Electric’s employee value proposition which is “Meaningful, Inclusive and Empowered”. In the next five months, I believe I can continue piloting my learning journey by being involved in more projects and learning even more.

About the Author

Shermaine Tay is an undergraduate business student from National University of Singapore. She is in a hybrid internship program at Schneider Electric IT Singapore whereby she spends three months interning full-time and the subsequent five months interning on a part-time basis. As a Channel Sales and Marketing Intern, she has been handling multiple projects.

   Connect with Shermaine on LinkedIn

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