ETG Corporate Culture: A Journey of Innovation, Collaboration, and Passion

ETG Corporate Culture: A Journey of Innovation, Collaboration, and Passion

Emerging Travel Group unites people from across the globe, encompassing different backgrounds and viewpoints. Despite this diversity, we’re rapidly growing while maintaining our adventurous spirit. How? Our unique cultural framework binds us together, and this page offers a window into everything.

When we created our cultural framework, our main idea was not to produce corporate materials but to craft a unique cultural code for ETG from scratch, based on what we value most. Now, we live by values that resonate with each of us, making decisions and communicating in alignment with these principles: vision, mission, and values guide us throughout the work, helping us remember why and what we’re doing, and uniting the entire multicultural ETG team.

Editorial Board of Emerging Blog
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11 minutes read

Who we are

Emerging Travel Group is a global travel tech company with brands operating in over 220 source markets since 2010. Our customers include trade partners and individuals simply booking their hotels online. We have more than 3,300 employees spread across Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, the Asia-Pacific region, the CIS, and Africa.

Life is a journey from one country to another, from home to work, from childhood to adulthood. This grand adventure of life is complex, yet it becomes inspiring through travel and new experiences. At ETG, every journey from point A to point B is a chance to offer our clients freedom and meet their need for connection.

We aim to make this journey more rewarding and simpler, especially in conditions of uncertainty. The task is undeniably challenging but achievable, especially when our team of professionals ensures that we create, distribute, and operate the most convenient travel products.

Vision, mission, and values

Vision

Our vision is to simplify travel and help people achieve the freedom to be where they desire and to do what they love. This is our global goal, and we’re striving for it in the future.

Mission

We aim to create, distribute, and operate the most convenient travel products. We constantly innovate and break the rules of the highly complex travel industry to make travel more available for individuals, more rewarding for professionals, and simpler for everyone. This defines what we do, how we do it, and for whom we do it.

  • Mutual growth and success with our partners. We are passionate about helping our clients and partners succeed in their businesses because their growth is the key to our success.
  • Unrivaled service excellence. Our commitment to supporting our partners wherever they are and whenever they need us is at the heart of our customer service ethos.
  • Global leverage with a local touch. We offer our customers the localized and personal approach they need on the global scale they deserve.
  • Technology is the driving force behind our products. We are transforming the travel industry by using technology to create innovative products.

Values

Besides the vision and mission, we have corporate values. These values illustrate how we approach our goal, how we work with our clients, and how we interact with each other. They help us stay aligned with our mission and vision.

Our values are divided into three groups: Love, Trust, and Do.

Love

Love what we do

It is believed that if you love what you do, you always jump out of bed in the morning with a wide smile on your face. The truth is, no one wakes up with a smile every day. The journey of “Love What We Do” is truly full of ups and downs. However, this emerging love for our work drives and empowers us. And it surely brings a feeling of satisfaction, after all.

Each of us is passionate about our individual crafts and teamwork. This passion drives constant improvement and development. We believe that without this passion, it’s impossible to produce top results. We love doing, love improving, and we love how it feels.

“There’s always sunshine for those who love their work.” — Victoria, Supply Director

How to see that a person reflects this value?

  • Getting satisfaction from their work
  • Always learning something new
  • Interested in their tasks
  • Always ready to do some extra cool projects
  • Always trying to do better
  • Constantly developing their skills in their field
  • Sharing and exchanging expertise
  • Passionate about their work

We’re not just passionate about our work; we love sharing our expertise, too! Our team hosts lectures on various topics, and we also hold fun Internal Hackathons where everyone can bring their wildest business or just-for-fun ideas to life.

What truly unites us is our shared love for travel and the industry as a whole. This passion fuels us as we work towards our common goals. Take a peek below for a glimpse of our adventures!

Appreciate our people

Our multicultural team comprises athletes, passionate travelers, caring activists, the best sommeliers, and brainteaser lovers. We have so many amazing people, and we respect their differences, considering them our strength. The freedom to be who we are, along with an appreciation mindset, helps us to experiment, learn, grow, and go beyond frontiers.

We respect each other’s opinions and appreciate everyone contributing to our shared vision. We believe that only by accepting each other can we truly be united and achieve success.

“In ETG, people are not just functions and roles, they’re human beings with different characters.” — Mike, Chief Product Officer

How to see that a person reflects this value?

  • Helps the team through words and deeds
  • Shows empathy
  • Respects different opinions and beliefs
  • Cares about the team’s morale
  • Is supportive
  • Gives precise and delicate feedback
  • Recognizes other employees’ achievements
  • Expresses gratitude

Our team is truly diverse and spread across the globe. To stay connected while working remotely and foster a sense of unity, we organize various online activities, maintain our own traditions, and conduct flash mobs. This includes ETG Small Talks, sending virtual hearts on the Intranet on St. Valentine’s Day, engaging in quizzes, and more.

Moreover, anyone in ETG can share their appreciation by leaving a “Thank you” note on our Intranet for any colleague they wish to commend!

Embrace freedom

At ETG, we strive for big goals. In fact, each of us has our own personal and work aspirations. With the spirit of freedom — to be who we are, to experiment, make mistakes, and learn from them — we’re going further and exploring new frontiers. We believe everything is possible once we embrace freedom and take responsibility for the outcome.

Every person strives to be free to find their place, to do what they wish, and to decide how they achieve their goals. We give them this freedom: the freedom to choose the best ways to solve problems, to experiment, and to make mistakes.

“Freedom to do what we love, to make decisions and mistakes.” — Olesya, Human Capital Director

How to see that a person reflects this value?

  • Having a variability of thinking
  • Taking responsibility for the outcomes
  • Choosing non-standard solutions
  • Having flexibility
  • Loves experimenting
  • Always trying different approaches

At the heart of our culture is the spirit of freedom. We craft products for travel opportunities and provide our team with special access to our corporate products at great prices. Moreover, a majority of our employees work remotely, free to choose their location. Take a peek at our vibrant team in this video!

Say it like it is

Honesty and openness are one of the qualities we cherish at ETG. We do not hide things and value constructive feedback. Here, everyone can share their thoughts and opinions and be sure that they will be heard.

To us, it is important to always say what we think without sugarcoating things but respecting the opinions and feelings of others. Regardless of our role, each of us can share thoughts, emotions, and experiences and will be heard. We believe that openness and directness are important foundations of trust in any environment, while “hidden agendas” destroy such trust.

“People can hear you only if you talk to them.” — Anna, Chief Marketing Officer

How to see that a person reflects this value?

  • Shares constructive feedback
  • Open to different views and opinions
  • Actively listens to others
  • Does not hide information
  • Honestly says when something goes wrong

At ETG, we often use the phrase “no sugarcoating.” This phrase reflects our commitment to being straightforward, giving feedback on processes and projects, and embracing openness in our work.

Build transparency

Transparency is a core principle in the way we work and communicate with each other. We seek explanations, ask questions when things are unclear, and share confidential information with employees. We understand that building trust is essential for achieving greater results.

We built this company with transparency in mind in almost everything we do — wins and losses, relationships with each other and between the teams, project management, etc. We frequently share confidential information that is not generally shared by other companies, which helps us make better decisions and build trust. And if some of us lack understanding of what others are doing, we never hesitate to ask questions until everything is clear.

“Transparency is the power of confident people.” — Alex, Deputy Chief Financial Officer

How to see that a person reflects this value?

  • Asking questions when something isn’t clear
  • Maintaining transparency in processes
  • Striving to understand the bigger picture of any situation
  • Always ready to explain information to others
  • Makes everything simple and transparent

To ensure everyone is informed about our main business priorities, we hold regular business meetings like All-Hands and Demo Weeks. You can also stay updated through our open Slack channels, which feature diverse reports and project updates. Additionally, we set quarterly Top Company Objectives accessible via the Intranet, and compile the latest news in the ETG Digest which is published in Slack.

Be your own CEO

On the one hand, a CEO is a person who thinks strategically, makes sound decisions, and adapts them, influencing the entire business. On the other hand, a CEO is someone who takes responsibility for the outcomes and risks and ensures their actions align with their words. You may think this only applies to the actual CEOs of companies. However, at ETG, we believe that everyone’s contribution counts and that everyone acts as their own CEO in their job.

For us, every team member must treat their work as not just a set of tasks, but as their own mini-business, for which they bear profound responsibility: for the quality of work, decision-making, results achieved, influence on other parts of the company, and the business as a whole. When we work together with individuals who possess the owner mindset, we maximize the probability of success.

“To be a CEO, you only need to ask yourself the right questions about the things you’re doing.” — Ilya, Chief Commercial Officer

How to see that a person reflects this value?

  • Initiating changes and suggesting ideas
  • Their actions coincide with their words
  • Cares about team’s and company’s success in general
  • Is not afraid to take risks
  • Takes responsibility for the outcomes of their actions
  • Always ready to explore and do things beyond their area of responsibility

At ETG, employees approach their projects as if they are the CEOs. They are free to propose ideas, experiment, and drive changes, and are equally prepared to take responsibility and risks for the outcomes.

Join our team!

Persevere

At ETG, perseverance is one of our cornerstone values, and it has been proven many times. We understand that finding answers, building from scratch, and trying new approaches can be challenging. Yet, here we are, safe and sound, building this travel-tech company together, our persistence will undoubtedly lead to amazing results.

In business, we’re often presented with difficulties, obstacles, disappointments, and losses, but these only serve to strengthen and motivate us to succeed. Persistence and understanding that these difficulties are part of everyday life run deep in the company’s DNA, and we are not afraid to face them.

“If it was easy, it would be boring, and boring is not about us.” — Alena, Head of Customer Operations

How to see that a person reflects this value?

  • Accepting challenges
  • Embracing change
  • Setting ambitious goals
  • Learning from failures and mistakes
  • Tries different approaches
  • Do not give up
  • Makes brave decisions

Our company has an incredibly exciting history, marked by both highs and lows. As a team of professionals, we’ve tackled various challenges and emerged stronger.

Grow together

The environment plays a significant role in an individual’s development. It can tremendously boost growth, feeding you with new challenges and insights. As they say, “Everything happens for a reason, at the right time,” and we would add — at the right place. At ETG, we encourage people to experiment and try new things, and we are ready to support them throughout this journey!

We care deeply about everyone’s individual growth. We also recognize that it is directly linked to the company’s long-term development, so we encourage everyone to develop their core competencies. Everyone at ETG has an opportunity to learn, to influence others, and to create an impact on many aspects of the business.

“Don’t be afraid to start something new, even if it seems that it’s beyond your capabilities.” — Olesya, Head of Business Analytics

How to see that a person reflects this value?

  • Eager to learn new things at work
  • Sharing their knowledge with others
  • Expanding their knowledge by taking part in courses, conferences etc.
  • Always diving deeper into matters
  • Asking questions
  • Ambitious

Can you imagine, some of our employees have grown with us from their Junior roles! We offer various career development opportunities, including vertical and horizontal growth. This includes our Corporate English School, the ETG Leadership School, partial compensation for professional courses, and educational articles crafted by our T&D team. Additionally, our employees earn various achievements on the Intranet throughout their career journey.


Now that you’ve grasped ETG’s culture and how we collaborate to achieve our goals, let’s move from theory to action! We’re still growing and looking for awesome, passionate people who share our values and think outside the box. If this sounds like you and you want to join our team to make travel simpler, more rewarding, and accessible for all, check out our open positions. We’d love to make some history together!

Build your career with ETG

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