In 2017, Branka Fisic joined BioCore in Amsterdam. She has been a driving force behind the company’s growth. She shares her experiences about her profession, the team, and the culture. ‘We trust each other, and we take care of each other.’
‘When I was only 21 years old, I came to The Netherlands from Bosnia. I had been to medical school there and I had to wait for my degree to get approved here. In the meantime, I started working at a cookie factory, in the packing department. After a year, I was told my degree was not valid. I had to find a new direction. My supervisor said: we will soon have a position available in the Quality department, are you interested? And that is how I started off as a Quality Officer.’
‘It turned out to be a fun job. I grew from Quality Control to Quality Assurance. After 13 years, I was ready for a new environment. I was contacted by a recruiter because of a vacancy at BioCore. I had great conversations here; there was a connection right away. I started taking care of the quality for BioCore in 2017. Today, we form a group with Tracomex and Riveka, and I oversee quality for the whole group.’
‘We treat each other as equals. I appreciate that a lot.’
Branka Fisic – Quality Manager
‘There is no repeating yourself in this job. Legislation is changing and our work is changing with it. There are certifications involved, registrations, and audits by external authorities. You are looking at responsible sourcing of raw materials, traceability, constant transparency through the chain.’
‘Of course, when colleagues have been working the same way for a long time, it is sometimes difficult to change. But we have to, in order to keep everything safe and sustainable.’
‘Quality management is sometimes underestimated, but you have to get it right from the start. I did everything on my own until 2022. Now, fortunately, I have two colleagues. One is here with us in Amsterdam, the other works at the Tracomex office in Oosterhout. We all have to be on the same page as a group.’
‘I find certifications and external audits very interesting. There is always a different way of thinking involved, so you are always learning. If external bodies approve everything, that’s a great achievement. I am certainly proud of that. And if something is not right, you learn from that and make improvements.’
‘When I started, there were five of us at BioCore. Now there are eighteen of us. A nice team, very diverse, and we all treat each other as equals. I appreciate that a lot. It is also a relatively young team, which is great. I think the director is the oldest and then there is me. We can learn from younger colleagues, and they can learn from us.’
‘There is always room for discussion. If you see a better way to do something, you can bring that up. We trust each other and take care of each other. That’s something I brought with me from Bosnian culture – bringing people together. Even if it just means getting them a cup of coffee. We also value our weekly drinks and our team activities. A bit of bonding is very important.’
