grischconsulta

Placement organization

Name of organization: grischconsulta
Town/city: Chur, Switzerland
Country:
Website: http://www.grischconsulta.ch

Name of student: Silja Hodey

Specialist area: ITMC
Placement period: 2014-2015

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: consultant
Organization’s activities: Destination concept and planning
Positioning, Trend and Mark Research
In-depth analysis of companies:
Destination concept and outline
Master plan and Concepts for Ski areas
Business plan
Strategic consultancy
Organizational consulting (M&A, Co-operation, Reorganization, Financing solutions, Disposition)
Sustainable and Quality management
Development programs
Realization of Projects
Moderation of workshops, coaching and conduct of negotiations

grischconsulta AG is responsible for the Alpine Tourism Conference (TourismusForum Alpenregionen/TFA) and the leading Swiss label ‘ibex fair stay’. The ibex fair stay label is a quality label for hotels and other accommodations which offer a sustainable and fair stay for tourists. The Alpine Tourism Conference is about recent topics concerning Alpine destination. It is taking place every year for the last 25 years. Potential participants are representatives of mountain railway companies, hotel industry, hospitality, etc. Proven trademarks of the TFA are special speaker ensembles, the desired forum tours with exciting insights behind the scenes of top destinations, the personal, individual and organizational support as well as a high class framework program.

Target group of the organization: Tourism, Hospitality and Mountain Rail sector
Company culture: grischconsulta AG consists of a dedicated team of corporate and tourism consultants, all of whom have brought a responsible and efficient management approach to complex projects. They are operating in the Alpine countries Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Italy. They are driven by a lively curiosity and a strong sense of identification with the living and working environment of the Alpine region. The team of lateral and free thinkers consists of five members.

Number of employees: 5
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? It is a very small company so I am responsible for many things. I am responsible for the content management of the ibex fair stay label website and the acquisition of companies for this label. Additionally, I assist in the organization for the Tourism Alpine Conference, which took place in March 2015. Possible tasks are sending out information and managing the application process. Furthermore, I assist in different projects.

Brief description of your daily activities: The daily activities comprises of using excel and revision of presentations. Other daily activities are answering phone calls, writing text, printing and distributing papers, keeping a schedule, planning appointments and managing the mail.
Brief description of your company assignment: grischconsulta AG is developing a trend analysis for the Swiss mountain rail companies and other players at Alpine regions such as Ski schools. The idea within this project is, to evolve future prospects for developing new offers for specific target markets. The goal is to obtain reliable information about the needs of the current and coming customers of Alpine destinations. The results of this research will be assessed and new offers and products will be established.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: The supervision is great. They support me and answer all my questions. I did not have so much experience with excel before and they sat down with me and explained it very detailed. The whole working environment is very casual and easy. I really anjoy working with my colleagues.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? independent, sociable, flexible, team player, open-minded, friendly
Additional company requirements for this placement? MS Office
English: Intermediate
Spanish: Basic
French: Basic
German: Mother tongue
Italian: Basic
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: train, bus, car, airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? myself
How did you go to work every day? by foot

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? You need a resident permit L
Do you need a work permit? You need a resident permit L
How did you arrange the necessary documents: I went to the town myself
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? one days
Did you need certain vaccinations? No
How long in advance?

Language course

Did you take a language course before you started your placement? Yes
Would you recommend to have a language course prior to this placement? If you are not German, a German course

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 90 Euros (Gas)
Accommodation (monthly): € 750 Euros
Local transport (monthly): € 0
General costs of living (monthly): € 1500 Euros
Costs of visa: € around 50 Euros but i am not sure anymore.
Costs of work permit: € around 50 Euros but i am not sure anymore. (just all in one resident permit)
What did the company pay for/to you? My salery was 2000 Swiss Francs, in teh end I earn 1850 Swiss Frans with tax excluded.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I did not have to prepare. I did my exchange at the HTW Chur in Switzerland therefore I already had friends. I am German, the culture is not so different from the Swiss one.
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? no

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: silja_hodey@gmx.net

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: The people in Switzerland are very open minded and out going. The nature is beautiful and you can go skiing in the winter time and hiking in the summer time. If you like to be outside, this is a great place to be. Switzerland has great natural and cultural heritage.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: hiking, mountain biking, skiing/snow boarding, climbing, swimming etc.
all outdoor activities

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link