Polina Artiushkina

6:00 AM

This wonderful morning began with a yoga class, then continued with a fresh cup of aromatic coffee in the garden and a check of email and social networks. It helped me to be informed about the latest news and events and prepared me for the day at work.

8:00 AM

I left home and went to the Bandag Retread plant to meet the new Store Managers who had come to Auckland for an orientation. Bandag is a modern tyre retreading plant that carries out a full cycle of a 10-stage retreading process. A visit to the plant and tyre warehouse is part of the mandatory HR orientation program for new employees. My task was to accompany and assist new Store Managers who arrived in Auckland from many sites around the country.

9:00 AM

The Bandag Manager conducted a tour of the plant and detailed the 10 stages of the tyre retread cycle. The group of managers met with workers of the plant and saw the whole retreading process in action. 

 10:30 AM

The group visited the largest tyre warehouse in New Zealand, which is located next to the plant, and got acquainted with the ordering process, collection and shipment, and storage of tyres.

12:00 AM

I went to the office to participate as a member of the BWISE Committee in the first online meeting hosted by the HR department of Bridgestone Australia and New Zealand.               B WISE, a networking forum for the women and men of Bridgestone, has been designed for teammates who want to actively engage with one another in support of their ongoing professional development. BWISE has a key focus towards the attraction, retention and engagement of more women to our industry. It was unprecedented in the Company to have an intern involved at this level of strategic operations and participate in the decisions regarding diversity and inclusion.

1:00 PM

Wooooow! Lunchtime! Perhaps, one of the favourite things to do in the office is lunch with colleagues, when we are talking, joking, and sharing new culinary recipes.

1:30 PM

Preparations for the online broadcast have begun. The Head of Finance (who is also a member of the BWISE Committee) and I visited the departments and personally invited our colleagues to take part in the online panel discussion. We introduced the theme of the first meeting “Women overcoming barriers” and talked about the five fantastic panel speakers from a variety of backgrounds and industries, who will share their stories, experiences and lessons learned along the way. 

2:00 PM

The Customer Service Manager was a participant from Bridgestone New Zealand. We met with her and helped her prepare her speech, supported her, and wished her luck.

2:30 PM

I checked the equipment in the conference room, prepared the seating and printed the QR code for registering for the event.

3:00 PM

The event has begun! This was so exciting! The event was hosted by a Learning and Development Manager of Bridgestone Australia. Three participants were based in the Adelaide, Australia office and two participants were based in the Auckland, New Zealand office. Interesting stories of professional achievement and sharing of experience on how to balance work and family responsibilities have brought the two Bridgestone Australia and New Zealand teams together, and questions from the audience created a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. 

4:30 PM

My colleague and I congratulated our two speakers and presented them with mementos for participating in the panel discussion.

5:00 PM

Members of the BWISE Committee Australia and New Zealand held a quick video call and exchanged first impressions of the first online event. Everyone was happy and contented and congratulated each other!

5:30 PM

I was tired but happy and left the office to catch up with friends at the pub for a glass of wine with a chat about one of my wonderful days at Bridgestone New Zealand.