Working Remotely but Staying Connected at BlaBlaCar by Amandine Vermersch

My name is Amandine, Community Relations Team Manager France, and I've been working at BlaBlacar since January 2022. 

After 6 years of living abroad, I felt that it was time to come back to my hometown in the north of France. I knew that it'd be challenging to find a job in this field of work here, and this is why I started looking for remote opportunities. Fortunately for me, I found BlaBlacar and its "BlaBlaNomad policy"! 

BlaBlaCar's mission statement is: "We bring freedom, fairness and fraternity to the world of travel" and I think that it's reflected in our way of working as well, especially when it comes to freedom as we can work and live wherever we want in the country, wherever we feel the happiest and most productive. 

Another suitable word to describe this policy is Flexibility. I'm currently a full remote employee working from Dunkirk, and I come to our office in Paris once per month, for 2 or 3 consecutive days. All remote employees have a maximum monthly budget for transportation and accommodation. In the beginning, for 3 months, the budget is even doubled, which means we can come twice per month to get to know our team and colleagues. 

BlaBlaCar has a principle called "Fun & Serious" and organizes many office events throughout the year, such as the Summer Party or Impact Day. In order for the remote employees to prepare and participate in these precious moments, the engagement team always plans and communicates far in advance.

In the Community Relations Team, we make sure to connect every week, either through asynchronous check-ins on Slack or through one-on-one calls. We also organize bi-monthly meetings with the entire team, which is a great occasion for us to see each other to discuss and share the latest updates while making sure that no one feels isolated. Working at BlaBlaCar has allowed me to discover the tailor made remote policy that I initially saw in the job description, and to embrace the fun & serious culture.