Marta B. - Senior Sales Trainer

Title: Senior Sales Trainer
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Joined: 2012
Preferred pronouns: She/Her

When the war in Ukraine broke out just across her border, Senior Sales Trainer Marta B. showed us what it truly means to live the Groupon values.

First things first - tell us a little about your role and your team! 

As a trainer, I am responsible for delivering onboarding training to the sales department as well as preparing and delivering development training. I also work with other trainers from my team on the Global Instructional Designer team. We help prepare training courses for the e-learning platform.

How are you staying connected with your team as we’re all working remote?

My current team is distributed internationally. My teammates come from different countries in Europe, as well as Australia. This means that even if we go back to work in the office full-time, we will still only be in contact via Zoom. Once a week, we meet as a team over video and discuss current projects. We also communicate when needed. I would love for us to meet live in the future! It would definitely be an amazing experience, although I guess it might be difficult to implement ;)

You’ve been at Groupon for 10 years. What has kept you here?

Above all, the people. It's never felt like a typical corporation here. I'm developing and still learning new things, and I feel that I have control over what I do and how I do it. I also appreciate Groupon's values and the fact that they are taking real action.

I felt most connected to our values when the war started near the Polish border. Many Poles rushed to help the Ukrainians, and Groupon was quick to let employees take extra vacation days to volunteer. Groupon is famous for its involvement in many volunteer actions, and I am deeply proud of that.

What has been your proudest moment so far at Groupon?

My proudest moment so far was the moment I received the Global Green Award in the "Culture Champion" category. It is an amazing experience to receive a global award. I had previously received a local Green Award three times, but to be recognized internationally is something really nice!

Congratulations on your win! We think it's important to note that you won the award because of your extraordinary commitment in support of Ukrainians during war times. Can you tell us a little about how your adventure with volunteering began? 

When the war first started and Poles rushed to help refugees, I watched in disbelief along with the rest of the world. My adventure in volunteering began when I responded to a post asking for used shoes for a woman from Ukraine who was crossing the border in old winter boots. When I met with this woman and her mom, it turned out that their needs were much greater. They had absolutely nothing. In the following days, I organized food, medicine, clothing, and other necessities for the women. The gratitude I saw on the faces of these women motivated me to continue this help.

Two weeks later, I decided to drive to Ukraine, from where I took my first family and accommodated them in my home. Not too long after that, a few more Ukrainian women stayed with me, and after a month, I had already supported 50 people in need.

In the beginning, I took care of basic needs such as buying food, medicines, and underwear and organizing clothes for children and their mothers. As time went on, these needs started to change, and I began helping search for work, and housing, dealing with formalities and enrolling in Polish language courses.

I grew so dedicated to volunteering that I spent almost all my free time with the refugees. I quickly started to run out of money to help, but with the help of Facebook, I organized many collections of clothes, home appliances, and other necessary items. I received a lot of support online from strangers, so I began organizing help for those who stayed in Ukraine by sending humanitarian packages to addresses of very needy families. These families’ addresses were given to me by women I hosted. With the donations I received via social media, we were able to send over 150 kg (330 lbs) of food to Ukraine.

At the moment, I have spent over 154 hours volunteering, but my thoughts are with these people almost all the time. I still intend to help as I have just returned from another visit to Ukraine; however, effective help must be well planned and I am starting to feel tired, so I try not to take on too much. I try not to look for new families anymore, but to support the ones I already know.

What’s one thing about you that surprises people?

My education. I am a clinical psychologist by profession and was close to working as a prison psychologist and not in a corporation. I also like football- I go to matches and the Polish national team, and also watch the Champions League- it's not typical for women ;)

How has your experience in other roles helped you in your current position?

I started my career at Groupon as a sales representative. Now, as a trainer, I train sales representatives, so I have an excellent understanding of the daily challenges they face. I've walked this path myself and have had many successes and failures. During training, I sometimes share my own experiences, and it helps builds credibility and trust.

What do you love about your job?

I really enjoy conducting live training and workshops in the training room. I love that moment when the training room is prepared, the materials printed, and I know that I will soon welcome the participants.

Of course, these situations are always accompanied by slight stress and concern about whether the participants will be engaged and whether they will positively evaluate the training program and my work. However, it's motivating stress and I like it a lot.

I missed doing trainings in person the most while working remotely. Keeping participants' attention on "the Zoom" is difficult, and requires even more concentration from the trainer. However, sometimes such situations are needed because they stimulate creativity and require looking for new solutions.

What is one non-work activity or hobby that you're into? How did you get into it?

I like to run; it relaxes me. I also participate in running events, including obstacle runs like Runmagedon. I decided to take my first competition spontaneously. I liked it so much that my running adventure continued for many years.

What was your first job?

In elementary school, I ran a school candy store. I was 10 years old at the time and was already earning my first money.

What’s the first career you dreamed of having as a kid?

I dreamed of a career as a model!

If you could take your pick of any other job within Groupon, which job would you want? (all experience aside)?

I would create a new position in Groupon - a tester of amazing experiences! I would test all the interesting offers on Groupon and keep a blog about it :)