Anniversary interview with Laura Tüüts - the glue that holds the company together

Welcome to our anniversary interview with Magnetic MRO’s Administration Manager Laura Tüüts. Laura has been an integral part of the company for more than five years.

To celebrate that important work anniversary, our Marketing and Communication Specialist Eleen Änilane asked for a few moments of her time to chat about her work in the company, how she found her way to aviation and what helps her relax and unwind outside work.

Eleen Änilane: Laura, you’ve been working in Magnetic MRO for more than 5 years now. This is your first job in the aviation industry, right? How did you find your way here? Laura Tüüts: Yes, indeed! My background was actually the tourism industry, where I worked before starting at Magnetic MRO. I do have to say that ending up in aviation is not that long of a stretch for me. I don’t know how or why, but when I was a kid, I had this idea that it would be awesome to work at an airport someday. I think that the same idea was actually why I ended up working in tourism in the first place as well. EÄ: So you’re actually fulfilling your childhood dream here? LT: Seems like it, yes. EÄ: What kind of different roles have you had here? LT: When I started in 2014, I was an Office Assistant and Communication Specialist. Around half a year later, there was a change in management and, with the whole restructuring, my position changed as well. I became Office Manager. A few years later, “Work Environment Specialist” was added to my title. And as of this April, I am the Administration Manager. EÄ: Interesting! So alongside your other tasks, you’ve even managed to do my job for a little while? LT: Yes, at the very beginning, I was responsible for internal communication and putting together the internal newsletter etc. The company was a lot smaller and its reach more modest back then, so I really only filled a tiny little role of your current tasks. EÄ: How would you describe your current job? What are your main tasks? LT: At the moment I’m still filling in for the position of the Office Manager until the new Office Manager takes it over. It’s a supporting position - this means that my mission is to make our management’s job a little easier, pay attention to the details, offer my help to not only the management but the other colleagues as well. There’s a lot of multitasking and situations that require quick action. The incoming requests are really wide - varying from everyday office related questions to consulting people on their personal events planning or finding solutions to facility drainage issues. Never a dull moment! EÄ: And what about your new job? LT: As the Administration Manager, there will be more of channelling and leading the finances, and finding ways to cut costs and put more focus on the work environment, which needs a deeper approach. EÄ: Definitely a step up then! Do you have a moment that you keep looking back to, a favourite memory that stands out? LT: As my job involves working with people a lot, I think one of the most defining moments that stands out is a memory from my very first day here. I remember being on the introductory office tour and meeting our current CEO Risto for the first time. He wasn’t the company’s CEO at that time, of course, but I remember him stepping up to me with his signature wide smile and saying “Hi, I’m Risto! Welcome!” There are a lot of small moments like this - moments when someone has walked up to me and said something nice or sincerely thanked me for the help I’ve offered. EÄ: What do you like most about your job? LT: It’s a little hard to describe but I have this constant need to help someone. I guess it goes with the job and it makes me feel good if I can do something good for someone, and see the gratitude in them afterwards. (At that point, our Project Manager Mark walks in and asks if Laura has some time to help him book a work trip.) LT:  See what I mean? (Laughs.) EÄ: I see that people can’t really manage without you, they need you! LT: Sure seems like it. EÄ: Aviation never sleeps. I bet it must be rather hard to turn your work mode off every once in a while and rest? LT: There have been moments when people call me early in the morning on a Sunday and say “Thank god you answered! I thought no one was going to help me.” EÄ: So how do you stay sane in all that? LT: I guess you just need to relearn how to relax sometimes - whatever your way of restarting is. I’ve found that singing works well for me. When you sing, you simply cannot think about anything else at that time. I sing in the Tallinn Airport mixed choir. It’s a pretty young choir, we’ve been singing together for around a year now. One of our biggest goals was to participate in the Estonian Song Festival this year and we have just recently found out that we passed the examination. EÄ: So another dream come true! When you think back to the time when you were a kid and dreamed of working in aviation - has this turned out how you imagined it? LT: Well, there’s a lot more work, of course! (Laughs.) I think that what really matters is whether this is where you actually want to be. If you had the financial freedom of not having to work, would you still want to come to work every day? If the answer to this question is “yes” then you’re at the right place.