Art. #06 – Barbara Zedde: MICE between numbers and CRM
Interview by Andrea Atzeri
Some roles grow quietly inside a company. Not because they stay in the background, but because they become essential exactly when they stop “making noise”.
Barbara joined F.A.Travel after several years in hospitality, bringing with her a natural talent for internal organisation: understanding workflows, connecting departments, turning complexity into structure. But she also joined a very specific environment: our Olbia office, a satellite hub far from headquarters and administrative teams. In a place like that, autonomy isn’t a bonus – it’s the baseline.
Over time, her role evolved. From an operational project manager, she became increasingly strategic, focusing more and more on management control. In this chapter of Appunti di Famiglia (“Family Notes”), Barbara shares what it truly means to grow with a department: with method, responsibility… and numbers as a compass.
The beginning
When Barbara arrived at FA Travel, she was in a phase of professional maturity: solid skills, but also the need to step outside a defined structure and pursue broader growth.
From the hotel world she carried something precious: the ability to make departments work together.
“From hospitality, I brought a strong sense of internal organisation and interdepartmental work.”
What she didn’t expect was how central the territory would become – not as a single area, but as a deep, wide knowledge of Sardinia.
“What I didn’t imagine was how crucial a deep knowledge of the territory would be, not limited to just one area.”
That was her first big challenge: relearning the island through a different lens.
Learning the craft
Some skills are learned on the job, not in textbooks. For Barbara, the most important lesson was managing relationships with clients and suppliers – not as transactions, but as real connections.
“It’s not just commercial exchanges: it’s relationships, and communication becomes central.”
Early mistakes also became learning tools – especially the shift from selling “rooms” to selling a much broader value proposition.
Responsibility, however, arrived immediately.
“I felt responsibility from day one.”
Working in a satellite office meant making decisions independently – and owning the consequences.
The numbers
Barbara has always had a genuine affinity for numbers. Over time, that “sympathy” turned into structure and strategy.
“Today, numbers aren’t just data. They’re a tool to evaluate scenarios and risks.”
In MICE projects, numbers often reveal what enthusiasm tries to overlook. A brief can be exciting, a concept can be brilliant – but if margins are too tight, risk increases fast.
“A careful reading of numbers – especially project margin – highlights risks that aren’t immediately perceived.”
She hasn’t faced “uncomfortable decisions” yet, but she knows that when they come, sustainability and margin will guide the choice.
The friction point
In tourism – and especially in MICE – pressure isn’t always a dramatic peak. Often, it’s constant, season after season.
Barbara identifies the biggest shift in the post-Covid years (2022–2023), when the company had to transform quickly. The Olbia office grew, new people joined, and she felt her role changing even before it was formalised.
What helped her hold steady?
“Method: organisation and structure were the anchor during change.”
When everything moves, method isn’t rigidity – it’s care.
CRM and method
When we began structuring CRM usage starting from MICE, Barbara immediately saw the real value: not the tool itself, but the future perspective it creates.
“The main value wasn’t the tool, but the look toward the future.”
CRM is cultural because it means tracking work and making decisions readable. That transparency can create resistance.
“It’s cultural because it means tracking your work and making decisions readable.”
And the most common mistake? Poor data quality: incomplete, unstructured information that ruins analysis.
“Incomplete or unstructured information compromises analysis and reduces the value of the whole system.”
The change
There wasn’t a single “moment” when she moved beyond daily operations. It was a natural evolution.
Management control, for Barbara, isn’t about controlling people. It’s about spotting where problems emerge – and correcting course.
“Identifying where issues arise and stepping in to get things back on track.”
The hardest part? Saying the uncomfortable things – when they’re necessary.
“Saying things that are uncomfortable, but necessary.”
The present
Today, her biggest responsibility is building processes and procedures and passing them to the team so everyone can operate independently.
“Organising procedures and processes to transfer to the team…”
She also pays close attention to correcting errors: understanding why they happened, explaining them, and ensuring they don’t repeat.
“Understanding why errors happened… so they don’t happen again.”
For her, a department works when communication is constant, the team is aligned internally and across departments, collaboration is real, and delivery matches the company mission.
Looking ahead
Barbara wants to help build a MICE organisation where people work autonomously but aligned to common goals—with clear processes and creative flexibility.
Creativity and control must work together:
“Creativity without control can be risky, while control without creativity can become rigid.”
And as an example for others, she believes the foundations are simple and powerful: method, reliability, communication, and listening.
Final note
At FA Travel we often say we design every project as if it were for someone in our family. That’s why management control, CRM and processes aren’t the “cold” side of the job. They protect quality, people and sustainability.
They’re care – translated into structure.
Andrea Atzeri