You are the first company in Spain to offer paid leave to employees who adopt or buy a pet. Do you feel pioneers in this aspect? Do you think more companies will follow your example?

We’re proud to be pioneers and we hope to inspire others to follow because we can only see the advantages of bringing our dogs to work with us. In fact, our dogs were our true inspiration for this policy. We wanted to break the status quo of having a pet and not having the time to nurture them. In many ways, this policy was an extension of who we, individually, are and the things we wanted for ourselves: a great life together with our dogs.

Do you allow your workers to go to the office with their pet? Would you recommend that this practice be extended to other companies?

Yes and yes! Everyone can bring their dog to work and we encourage our team to do so from day one. Dogs can play a big part in someone’s onboarding and team integration. We definitely have a positive experience and we recommend it to any company that gathers the right conditions to make it happen.

What does it take to activate this type of dynamic in a company?

This was a very natural decision for us as a team, but we’ve learned along the way that there are 5 golden rules to make the most of this experience:

1.  Everyone needs to be comfortable with the presence of a dog.
2. There needs to be access to water, toys and space for the dog to explore safely.
3. The dog needs to be trained to obey simple commands.
4. The dog owner must always be available to intervene as necessary.
5. Come to work with your heart open to goofiness and tenderness.

What benefits do pets bring to the work environment of an office?

Above all, social connectedness. Pets trigger conversations, they break the ice and make us laugh together. They have the power to join people who otherwise would not feel comfortable to hang out together, like when team members go take a walk outside to stroll the dog in the afternoon break.

In what other areas is the introduction of pets beneficial?

Pets can have a beneficial effect in reducing work-related stress by introducing moments of fun and cuddles in the middle of the workday. When we engage in these pro-social activities our bodies segregate hormones like oxytocin and serotonin, known to have an impact on the levels of stress and anxiety.  At the end of the day, pets act as inducers of calm and you end up having employees who report more happiness, fulfilment and a greater perception of work-life balance.

What are your challenges in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility in what affects people?

The place that work occupies in a person’s life has been changing dramatically over the years. People long for a job that gives them a sense of purpose, a mission, and tools for them to evolve as professionals and human beings. They want to leave the office knowing that they learned something new and that their work impacted the world in a positive way. People also want to feel supported in this journey and that’s where we can really make a difference, with initiatives that promote work-life balance and mental health. Our Pet Office policy responds to these challenges in a creative and light way.

To be part of your team, is it essential to have a pet? Are there attitudinal differences between people who have them or not?

At Barkyn, we all share a deep love for animal welfare and we’re all very aligned with our mission to deliver health and happiness to pet families around the world. However, due to different life circumstances, not all people have the right conditions to own a pet and we respect that. So, it’s not a requirement to have a pet to belong to Barkyn – we rather look for genuinely kind and empathic people who can understand the emotional experience of having a dog in their life.

A question that you have never been asked but that you would love to be asked, around people.

How can (self)compassion skills be key for business success.

People first | A project by Eurofirms

People First es un espacio de inspiración donde compartimos contenidos con un eje común: las personas. Desde distintas ópticas y sectores, abordamos varios temas, tendencias y noticias de interés humano.

La entrada Joana Recharte (Barkyn): “We can only see the advantages of bringing our dogs to work with us” aparece primero en People first.

If you had to highlight just one of the advantages of working at Unilever, what would it be?

That it is a purpose-driven company, which promotes a sustainable lifestyle in the daily lives of everyone (employees, customers and society), and through its values: respect, responsibility, integrity and pioneering spirit.

What is it that most attracts new candidates?

The company’s commitment to working each day to create a better future, and its clear sustainability agenda, with goals and commitments in health & well-being, the environment and quality of life. All of this is integrated into the business agenda; to do well by doing good.

Almost 2 months have passed since you started implementing the 4-day working week in New Zealand. What results are you getting?

That’s right, it’s a small pilot project in a country with only 80 people working in the headquarters in which it is being carried out. The results won’t be known until December 2021 and decisions will be made based on them, which may or may not be replicable in other countries around the world.

Would such a measure be effective in our country?

We advocate a culture that we call “agile working”, which is based on self-organisation and personal management so that each employee can achieve their goals by working in the place that best facilitates their well-being, whether in the office or at home working remotely. At the moment, bearing in mind our country’s culture, I think that we are a long way off considering such a measure in Spain.

What are your main challenges in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility?

Our challenges are common to the goals of the whole planet, as we defined the CSR agenda, specifically to be able to respond to the great challenges facing the world and which we believe are very well-defined in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. In order to contribute to each of these goals, we carry out initiatives linked to each of our mission-driven brands to help us achieve them. Personally, I like SDG17, the one on strategic partnerships, because I believe that combining our efforts under the same goal is the most effective thing, we can do to be able to achieve the goal in question. In any case, at the company level, we consider that the 2 major challenges are climate change and global inequality, which have been accentuated with the current pandemic.

One of your goals is to become the most sustainable company in the world. How can you face this challenge on an individual basis? Is it achievable or is it utopian?

We believe it is achievable when sustainability is fully integrated into the business agenda; there is no other way to do it in our opinion.

For personal care products, we were considered a leader in the S&P Dow Jones Sustainability Index, scoring 90/100 in 27 of the environmental, social and governance criteria. This index is a key tool for investors who recognise that responsible business practices are critical when it comes to generating long-term value for their shareholders.

People are key for us to become the world’s most sustainable company, especially for a large consumer goods company such as Unilever, present in 2 billion households every day worldwide. Our goal is to create an awareness of sustainability among our employees, consumers, customers and society to achieve this sustainable movement that will help create a better future for everyone.

How can a company contribute to a better world?

By understanding the world’s major challenges and taking action; not just talking about what we want to do, but doing it. We are currently starting to take action; we’ve been saying what we are going to do for some time now. Each action should have a clear objective and a measurement indicator to show how it is progressing. Through our Unilever Sustainable Living Plan that we created in 2010, we are committed to achieving 3 major goals: to help improve the lives of 1 billion people through health and well-being, to halve the environmental impact of our products and to ensure that 100% of our raw materials are from sustainable agriculture. It has been in place for 10 years now and we have already achieved 80% of the goals we set ourselves.

Is it possible to connect social sustainability and business growth?

According to our business model it is, absolutely. Purpose-driven brands grow almost twice as fast as those without it, and already contribute almost 70% to business growth. It also enables us to make significant cost savings and to be rated as the number one employer brand in the vast majority of countries in which Unilever operates.

You have been with Unilever for almost 20 years. Have the expectations you had on your first day been met?

I’d say they have been met, and then some. I have a degree in chemical sciences. I started working in the research and development department and I have had a career path which I am very proud of because I still keep learning every day. After 12 years had passed since joining Unilever, in 2006, I went on to lead the corporate communication and sustainability department, where I am fortunate to be able to carry out and experience my life’s purpose every day: the passion to build a better future each day; and most importantly, always surrounded by a great team of people and excellent professionals.

If you could travel back in time, what advice would you give yourself for that first day?

To maintain the same humility, humour and honesty which I started with on that day. Honestly, I wouldn’t change anything, I’d just want me to be myself and continue to offer the best version of myself every day as if it were my first day in the company, something which I still do after almost 27 years working in this great company. I love to feel that I still have blue blood on a daily basis, and not because I am a princess, but because I feel Unilever’s blue colour.

Tell us a question you have never been asked, but would love to be asked, with regard to people.

I have had the good fortune to be surrounded by wonderful people who have never ceased to surprise me professionally and personally, and after half a century of life, I feel very contented; although I am always ready to be surprised.

People first | A project by Eurofirms

People First es un espacio de inspiración donde compartimos contenidos con un eje común: las personas. Desde distintas ópticas y sectores, abordamos varios temas, tendencias y noticias de interés humano.

La entrada Ana Palencia (Unilever): “Our goal is to create an awareness of sustainability among our employees, consumers, customers and society to create a better future for everyone.” aparece primero en People first.

From the beginning, you set your goal to bottle happiness in Africa. How does this translate into practice? Is it possible to bottle up happiness? 

Working on a continent like Africa is something extraordinary. We operate in two very different parts of Africa: in the north and in sub-Saharan Africa, mainly in the west of the continent. Africans are very grateful and when they see that there are companies like ours, which not only pursue business but help them to develop, they show it by opening the doors of their homes with humility and happiness. For more than 20 years, Coca-Cola has been part of your life and the red color of our brand is part of your daily life. Yes, it is possible to bottle up happiness! And most importantly, to make it reach every part where there are people who need to feel it!

What is the common denominator in a company where diversity is part of your DNA?

The core of our mission in Africa is to have passion for what we do. Passion allows us to be respectful with the variety of cultures we live with, constantly learn from each other and above all, it allows us to grow as people and professionals!

How do you help the people who work with you and who live in unstable territories, marked by poverty and environmental problems? What kind of CSR initiatives do you carry out to help the countries where you are present? 

The Africa we know is a region that endure great imbalances in such critical and vital aspects as health, schooling and infrastructure. Every year we launch humanitarian actions with other companies that also feel the need to help the continent. We collaborate in providing the logistical and economic means for people to have a better quality of life: access to drinking water, construction of schools, agreements with local universities…

What rule do you take into account when deciding the social and sustainable projects in which you are involved?

Together with the Africa Foundation of the Coca-Cola company, we identified the actions that are priorities for the development of the countries. For example, in 2014 we turned to logistical assistance for the management of the Ebola outbreak in countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea Conakry. Unfortunately, every year there are events that require humanitarian aid and this gives meaning to our principles and culture.

How has it affected the situation we have experienced in your team?

The situation we have experienced has been extraordinary in both senses of the word. I believe that humanity was not prepared for such an aggressive impact as the current virus has been. Our teams have experienced this in a very different way. On the one hand, resignation to a situation that no one in the world could have imagined and, on the other hand, the hope that it would pass as soon as possible. The company has tried to be very near to the people. During the months of the crisis, the priority of our company has been, without a doubt, the safety and health of our people.

How do you manage to spread positivity among the people who are part of a team?

There are no magic tricks I think it is a mixture of two ingredients: communication and transparency. And the result has been a high degree of commitment. Every day we have launched communications that have enabled people to feel valued. I would like to emphasize the importance that the digital evolution has had in our company. With the geographical dispersion we have, you can imagine the complexity of distance management. Thanks to technology, meetings and encounters between people from different countries have been carried out naturally. It has been a great learning for the future.

How do you deal with the changes that this new situation implies?

In a very positive way. It is true that we have very different realities, but I believe that the path is already marked out and teleworking will be part of our organisational model. In the near future we will no longer talk about face-to-face or distance work. We will talk about work, no matter where or when. We must be able to break with the famous phrase: “this is how it was done…”. The crisis we have experienced opens up a world of new opportunities for us in every sense: business opportunities, reconciling our lives, redefining how we want to manage our teams (flexibility, commitment, trust…)

Is it easier to manage change in a team as diverse as yours?

There is nothing complex or simple in life. We are the humans who like to make complex what is simple and vice versa. We may have the technological means, optimize the organizational model… but, in the end, the management of change is caused by people. That is why we have launched a “change management” initiative that involves the entire organization and will help us minimize the complexity of the changes we face.

What do you value most about managing people in a company that operates in 13 African countries?

In my modest opinion, I highly value respect, transparency and teamwork. For me they are the pillars on which I base a high performance team, understanding performance as the motivation of people and their commitment.

And what surprised you most when you started working on the African continent?

A lot of things! The human wealth of Africa and the need to help them in their most basic development. My first trip was to Guinea Conakry and I have to admit that I was very impressed to see that after a 4-hour flight I was in a country so different from what we are used to. It helped me to value life very much, as they showed me that with very little you can be happy.

You have been working at Equatorial Coca-Cola Botlling for over 9 years. What has been your greatest learning experience on a human level?

Getting to know people and cultures has enriched me a lot as a person. Africa has taught me to appreciate life even more, I have learned to give without expecting anything in return, it has taught me to order my priorities in life… In short, Africa is an example of life, happiness and love for the family!

People first | A project by Eurofirms

People First es un espacio de inspiración donde compartimos contenidos con un eje común: las personas. Desde distintas ópticas y sectores, abordamos varios temas, tendencias y noticias de interés humano.

La entrada Xavier Aliaga (Equatorial Bottling Coca-cola): “It is possible to bottle up happiness” aparece primero en People first.

Your position at Kiabi carries the ability to identify talents for greater performance. What is your mission in the company?

For us, all people have talent, and my priority is to identify which ones are the best fit in our company, and more particularly, with our “Happy Cultura” and with fashion, which is our trade and our passion.

How would you define your “happy cultura” and what values ​​are you looking for in the new candidates?

The Culture of Happiness is our backbone, where all the actions we carry out in Kiabi are born, and what makes us a real community of happy people. What best defines our culture are the 5 qualities that all Kiaber lives and transmit in their day to day: passionate about people and fashion, with an enterprising spirit, close (but at the same time demanding!), and generous. We accompany these values ​​in a context of recognition (we always celebrate successes), demand, and exemplariness, because being “happy” is not the same as being “hippie”!

Last year you got fourth place on the list of the Best Companies to Work For. In fact, over 80% of your employees say they are proud to belong to Kiabi. How are these results achieved?

For us, the main thing is to generate the best experience for our community of Kiabers, either the futures one or those that are already today. And we achieve this by asking them directly, working personalized actions that respond to their needs, and anticipating their expectations. In retail, and more specifically in the fashion sector, everything changes at breakneck speed, and we have to be vigilant to always stay one step ahead.

At Kiabi you defend that respect and coexistence are the basis of a pleasant professional environment. How do you enhance these two values ​​in the day to day of your stores?

In addition to being implicit in the qualities of the Kiaber, for us the most powerful tool to achieve this is continuous 360º feedback. It allows us to develop empathy constantly, which in the end, and from my point of view, is the key quality for respect and coexistence.

You perform an atypical selection process, in which candidates must register on the website www.thekiabijobexperience.com and make the process dynamic and motivating. What benefits does this type of process have? Does it allow you to make a tighter selection than with the traditional method?

The gamification in the selection process has allowed us to meet the candidates from a different perspective, putting their skills and competences into practice, instead of selecting with the classic curriculum. We care about the person, not the experience: how they are, how they develop in different situations, etc. The fact of being able to objectively measure the achievement of each of the games that they perform, gives us a global vision of their profile, and their compatibility with the Kiaber profile that we seek.

You ensure that Kiabi’s success is based above all on the talent of their teams. What kind of actions do you carry out to develop the talent of the employees?

The autonomy of our teams plays a fundamental role. Within our Happy Culture we have the right to be wrong, but above all to get it right, and we can only do that if each Kiaber has an optimal context to dare. 100% of people in Kiabi have a personalized development plan to develop their qualities and skills, and people who want to go a step further and take on other responsibilities (in Spain or internationally) also have an individualized career plan.

Innovation is another of your pillars and you have carried out actions such as the “Innovation Play” to accommodate for the ideas of workers, collaborators and customers. What other actions are you taking to enhance innovation among your team?

We work on all projects promoting co-construction among our Kiabers. From the workshops we carry out in Spain to develop the different projects in the country, in which people from different groups participate, even the most international ones such as International Store Sinergy and Shopping into the future, both with the aim of creating common synergies in the Group and anticipate the challenges that await us.

People first | A project by Eurofirms

People First es un espacio de inspiración donde compartimos contenidos con un eje común: las personas. Desde distintas ópticas y sectores, abordamos varios temas, tendencias y noticias de interés humano.

La entrada Diana Cubero (Kiabi): “We care about people, not the professional experience” aparece primero en People first.

The worker’s experience with the company begins from the moment he signs up for the job offer. What makes your selection process special?

One of our principles is that, just as our clients’ shopping experience is excellent, that of working at Rituals must also be so and this begins with the first contact in the selection process. It is not that we do magical or very different things, but we try that for the candidate this authenticity and this personalized treatment are seen from the beginning. Whenever a person comes to interview, we give them a small gift: two mini bath foams, one for him and one to give as a gift, because we believe very much in giving to the people you love. Many people tell us: “you will take me or not, but I love this company and this brand.” It is a strategy designed so that the candidate can be a client and the person to whom the gift is given, too. In addition, it is a way to publicize the brand. Beside this, we have on the web the “Ritual Match Identifier”, a tool that aims to make the candidate know us in depth.Here are videos about the brand, its origins, how we work, images of the offices in the Netherlands, some test tests, and it has a work experience, such as a simulator in store. Candidates register on the web, go through this RMI and, if selected, come for an interview. That is to say, when they come to the interview they already know enough, they have been explained what the company is like and how it works and they have seen a quite real experience of working in a store, which consists of a role play in store with complex questions, 3 or 4 options, which show how far the person goes and how close their way of working is with that of Rituals.

In addition, at the RMI, there are many questions to meet the candidates and see if they fits into the Rituals values: what they values, what gives they energy, how they disconnects, what they concerns are, what makes they happy… And a personality test.

We also work to improve the interview process by taking it out of context, because the conventional interview is a much prefabricated process, where everyone knows their role.

For example, take the interviewee to a store or ask them if they have experience in selling, selling the product, activating it by attracting customers from the street, participating in a mystery shopping, that is, going to one of our stores and telling us what you see, or visit the stores with the area manager area and comment on how you see the teams, what is your experience…

The essential thing for us is that in the selection process there is a personalized and humane treatment, at the height of what the candidates deserve. In all the selection processes, the direct Manager and usually the immediately superior Manager are involved apart from HR.

How it is performed such a personalized selection process in a company with your dimensions?

Focusing on everyone in our company being “recruiters” and as such we transmit the Rituals values ​​from the first moment. The General Management and Human Resources, Area Managers, Store Managers and teams in each country also share the company’s values. We share tools for the selection processes, although each country has autonomy. And a two-day on-boarding process for welcoming employees, the Rootcamp, which is an inspirational program. In it, both trainers and managers transmit these values ​​and the company’s philosophy: what Rituals is, what we want to achieve, how we want to treat the client and how we want to work here.

When starting with us, every worker knows the general manager of H.R, Marketing … Each of them explains what Rituals is from their department and their personal experience in the company.

They are also told about the promotion standards that they have, the head of retail explains how life in stores is, what indicators we want to achieve, how the indicators work, what is the most difficult and easiest, how we want to treat the client… Each one explains his vision and makes himself known and the CEO gives a more global vision.

The Rootcamp is very dynamic and has many group dynamics. For example, a safari shopping in which you go to a competitor or sector store as a team, for purchase and evaluate the experience. Then in the classroom, work on it. It is a very experiential program, very inspirational and with a point of fun.

We organize ourselves with central training classrooms, to which all new employees go between their second and fourth month of incorporation, in groups of about 20 people.
In Spain, for example, it depends on the geographical area they come from, they go to Madrid or Barcelona and those from Portugal go to Lisbon.

Two days for all this equipment is a great investment, you have to display people in flight, there are dinners, a hotel and all expenses paid to new hires for two days. But it is a worthwhile investment to preserve this DNA as part of our human team that they are from the first day and to give them a personalized and special treatment. It also serves to humanize the company and invite them to feel that they are not entering anywhere but in Rituals, where we serve them as if they were a guest.

We also do a lot of pedagogy about the values ​​of Rituals, they are integrated into everything we do and this helps us preserve culture against the danger of dilution due to growth.

How do you transmit your values ​​day after day after on boarding and how do you get them to be credible beyond the power point?

Values ​​must emanate from the property or management of the company so that everything that is done is aligned with them. This way it looks very fast when there is a dissociation. They are very present in the conversations, in everything we do.

To converge, for example, with our value of “interior and exterior beauty” we have image standards to be uniformly faced with the public. But we also want workers to feel balanced, to be able to treat customers authentically and to be themselves. It is the best way to offer a relaxing experience, a sales ceremony in which the customer is not pressured.

This coherence is also helped by the fact that we are a flat company and any worker can speak normally with the director, a manager area, HR, marketing …We also ask workers to have clear communication and to directly expose any problems in order to resolve them.

We practice by example, we are consistent and we do what we say. Our values ​​are very basic, very understandable, and we try to put them into practice every day. There is no other secret than this.

What are your values, the main ones that everyone has to share, your DNA?

1. Meaningful, which means that all things have a meaning, what we do, what we sell, that each person’s work has a meaning for itself.
2. Accessibility, that is, open, transparent communication, speaking directly with people and not from people.
3. Inner and outer beauty. The personal image as a brand that we are of facing the public is very important. But almost as much or more important is the inner image you give, your coherence, your balance, being well, being authentic with the sales ceremony …
4. Authenticity, in the sense of being yourself, being honest and sincere with yourself and with others.
5. And the last two, more related to business, are innovation, being product innovators, with our jobs… We invite workers to be creative in their work, to try different ways of doing it, without fear of being wrong.
6. And the best in class, something like excellence. We want to be the best from the first moment, do it better than anyone and be a referent in the market. But also internally, to do everything the best that can be done, to improve.

When I go to the rootcamp and explain the values ​​to the new employees, I use a shower foam, which they have every day in the store, to make a mnemonic game that helps them keep the values ​​in mind every day. Values ​​can serve as a guide to act in situations in which we do not know.

People first | A project by Eurofirms

People First es un espacio de inspiración donde compartimos contenidos con un eje común: las personas. Desde distintas ópticas y sectores, abordamos varios temas, tendencias y noticias de interés humano.

La entrada Joan Carles Cifre (Rituals): “The experience of working at Rituals must be like that of our clients, excellent” aparece primero en People first.

On your website you ensure that you work day-to-day to offer the ideal job to people, how is this achieved and what are the benefits that are most attractive to the candidates?

Through our platform, we ask candidates what their interests are, what time availability they have, what is the place where they prefer to work … Depending on their preferences, we see which candidates fit the vacancies that arise, we contact them, we quote them for a final personal interview and we explain what the job is and the lines of development of the company. Each vacancy has a circumstance, but if a person conforms to our values, they always have the possibility of joining the company.

As for benefits, what most attracts them most is the multinational environment, the established processes we have and the company culture. We invest a lot in the training of middle managers, those people who come into contact with our base team, who in the end is the one who is in contact with our client, so that they know how to communicate with them and how to lead them. In fact, many people who have worked with us, if for some reason they have left, have claimed to return as soon as there is a vacancy.

Autogrill has very defined values ​​that make clear the profile that fits your team. You are looking for passionate, open, proactive, trustworthy and practical people. How do you detect these qualities in the selection process?

The recruitment platform that we have for points of sale, which is where most of the hiring is located, has a test in a gamified environment that allows us to know what the adjustment to our values is. We also have a customer service test, based on our competencies. The two tests are very short and contain images, which is a pleasant experience and does not give the impression of doing a test. However, it allows us to know at what level of adjustment each person is to our values. And the one that comes closest to them is the one we hire. Based on these results, we build on the candidate’s strengths in joining the company and adjust those that are not at a correct level.

In your company, you focus particularly on employees, which adds value to people and to the company. With a staff of 1,000 workers in Spain, how do you manage to focus in a particular way on each person?

We have an employee portal, so that communications for professional purposes can be directed to the individual email of each person. At each point of sale, we also have WhatsApp groups that we use to communicate new projects and initiatives at the service of each person in case they want to join or support them and to publicize everything we do. We rely heavily on technology as it allows us to communicate to everyone and gives us more speed than doing it through meetings.

Moreover, we have a platform where employees share what happens to them, what they do not think is correct and where they highlight the work of colleagues. Through this platform, direct communication with them begins. What we attempt is to use technology to get closer to the last person on our team. Our staff is made up of 1,000 people, and we do have more meetings with the middle management team, but through digital tools we can reach all people quickly, because if not the initiatives do not reach the entire team.

On this platform some colleagues can highlight the work of others. How do they do it?

We do it through a website called Open Line and it can be used to reward a colleague for doing something well or to report something that is considered not being done correctly. This is one of the platforms that we have to recognize a job well done and we are also working with GuudJob, an application that not only allows customers to highlight that a person from our team is doing well in terms of customer service, but that we also use it for internal recognition. At the end of the year, we draw a scale of the people who have been most valued by colleagues and at the national convention we give them recognition.

In 2014 you launched the Academy program, an international training project to develop the skills of employees, with tailored courses for each person. How do you manage this platform and what assessment do you perform?

This is an international platform for the central team with competency courses, in English and online. There is also a small part of attendance-based courses when a need is detected in the performance evaluation. Then there is a specific part of each country. In Spain we have designed a training itinerary for each of the jobs. When a person starts working, the data is entered into the human resources system and a user is automatically created for this platform. And for those people who are casual workers we have a temporary platform, where they can take all the courses that are mandatory for belonging to the hospitality industry, in addition to the Welcome course.

The geographical dispersion we have allows us to make training more universal. Without a platform like this, training at all points of sale would be unfeasible. On the other hand, we universalize and give access to all people to take a course they thought they might need and autonomy so that they can do it better and where they want to do it.

How do you detect the talent of each employee in order to develop it?

We rely on two main tools. One would be the annual performance evaluation, which we also perform using digital tools to collect information on areas of strength, areas for improvement, etc. They are a support for later the interview that we carry out and allow us to have automated information on what are the areas of development and strength of each person. We also have digital assessment tools with which we evaluate the potential of people and contrast it with the vacancies we have in command positions. Depending on the gap it can make, an individualized training and growth plan is designed. The digital assessment we have to detect talent and the people who can promote to positions of greater responsibility consists of a game. It is a video game, in a gamified environment, which is scientifically validated by prestigious universities. The candidates tell us that they do not feel evaluated and have a great time doing the assessment.

Do you think that this type of evaluation in which games are used implies greater effectiveness?

Yes, in fact, we have also used it in learning complicated topics to memorize such as the meanings of values ​​or customer service. It is a gamified environment for games and competition. Our teams learn in a fun way and feel no pressure. They are much more active, learn faster and, in addition, we create multidisciplinary central and point of sale teams, allowing us to establish a team spirit.

Some time ago, you recorded with the team a corporate song called “Sabor, Pasión”, which highlights the company’s commitment and bond with customers. How did the initiative, the team or “management” come about? How was the experience and how was it received by the team?

We recorded it two years ago at a convention, an event where we had people from all the company’s jobs. This initiative was very much in line with the continuity of our values, identification with the company and we saw it as an opportunity. In addition to having a great time, we discovered singers and talent within the company. Afterwards, team initiatives were carried out in which the song was featured because it conveys the values ​​and the essence of what we want to communicate at our points of sale.

It was very well received by the team and in our work centers we have instilled the lyrics. Later we did a contest between the points of sale to see who knew the lyrics best. The teams had a lot of fun and we created a different challenge.

You also have the Imagination Office, from where you carry out activities so that the team gets to know each other better and increases happiness at work. What are the results of this type of initiative?

This is the fourth year and through the spirit of the Imagination Office we carry out events that arise from each of the people and seek to create fun environments such as the birthday celebration or even that a person has decided to leave the company because they have found a new project. We also do other celebrations, for example, when a gift arrives at the offices, an extraordinary meeting is called to be enjoyed together in the coffee room; on health day, perhaps the Department of Prevention or Human Resources invites all colleagues to an apple; we celebrate long weekends or Easter, we invite “torrijas” and we share about 15 or 20 minutes all together, celebrating a special occasion.

And how do you measure “happiness” in the workplace?

We have always had the philosophy that, to offer a good experience to our clients, we have to bring happiness to our teams, who are, ultimately, our ambassadors. Hand in hand with Great Place to Work, we carried out a project that consisted of analysing the daily experience of our employees when they were in contact with our customers. We carried it out at two pilot points of sale and a series of elements emerged that in the daily life of our workers allowed them to better serve customers because they felt better, safer and happier. And this year in the Great Place To Work questionnaire we included the questions related to the moments that they considered important, such as the entrance to the company, the daily briefing, that their point of sale manager recognizes the job well done or that when there is a family need they can adjust the shifts. This survey was performed by the entire company and we have the results of each of the points of sale and of the Headquarters, which allows us to know which areas we must improve to provide a better experience for each of our teams and achieve greater happiness.

People first | A project by Eurofirms

People First es un espacio de inspiración donde compartimos contenidos con un eje común: las personas. Desde distintas ópticas y sectores, abordamos varios temas, tendencias y noticias de interés humano.

La entrada Rosa Domingo (Autogrill): “To offer a good experience to our clients, we have to provide happiness to our teams” aparece primero en People first.

Internally, what strategies do you accomplish to detect talent and enhance the professional development of your employees?

There are many actions that we perform during the year, both to detect talent and to develop it, but we are especially proud of the “Learning Communities”. They are working groups that are organized around a specific theme and in which collaborators who are passionate about this topic participate voluntarily. The beauty of these communities is that while the employees themselves are training and developing something they are passionate about, they are making great contributions to the business and making our vision of Business&PeopleTogether a reality.

For us, values ​​and abilities are above the curriculum vitae.

We work year-round in development, but we reserve one week a year in all IKEA stores and offices around the world to work it out conscientiously: Talent Week. That week becomes the perfect setting to celebrate that we all have a talent. We take the opportunity to organize different activities, workshops and talks in which we intend to inspire each other to get the best out of each other.

From Human Resources, do you use Social Recruiting to attract new talent? To what extent do you take into account the digital presence of the candidates? To what extent do you take into account the digital presence of the candidates?

Yes, definitely. Social Recruiting has allowed us to discover a new world (2.0) of possibilities, especially for the selection of qualified technical profiles that, in our local market, are difficult to find, such as Interior Designers or Visual Merchandisers, for example. When the talent you are looking for does not apply to your vacancies, social recruiting is the key to reaching passive candidates who, without them saying it, may be willing to work with us. At the same time, we are very aware of the importance of the Candidate Experience, and we put a lot of effort into improving it, both in its online and offline versions. We are clear that Social Recruiting is only a means, the purpose is to approach the candidates and establish a conversation with them, either through telephone interviews, asynchronous interviews or in person.

As for the digital presence of the candidates, it is not something that worries us or that we take into account in our selection processes. For us, it is much more important that they have a passion for life at home or that, they are even brand ambassadors.

You have been carrying out the “IKEA Málaga Talent” Program for 4 years, in which you are committed to developing the talent of entrepreneurs and students. What results have you obtained from this initiative?

I have special affection for “IKEA Málaga Talent” because I was lucky to be one of the participants in the 1st Edition and, in fact, it was as a result of the program that I met the company in which, without knowing it, I had always wanted to work. As for the results, we cannot be happier. Around 300 students are interested in our program each year and 16 are selected to work with them on their individual development plan, among other things. After 3 editions, 87% of students have gotten a job. As for entrepreneurs, about 90% manage to keep their project active. After the success of the program, this year we have decided to add another innovation to the program: Dual Training.

What does this Dual Training consist of and what advantages does it offer to participants and company?

Dual vocational training is a modality of professional training in which there is a high degree of cooperation between the educational center and the company and where apprentice training is the responsibility of both parties. The student or apprentice combines his stay in the company with the stay in the educational center, being able to put into practice the theoretical knowledge and living in first person, such as a work environment. One of the main advantages for the company is the possibility of adapting the curricular content to its needs and for the participants, the main advantage is the possibility of acquiring knowledge through practice, since they will always be connected to the reality of the market.

In our case, this year, DUAL Vocational Training has become part of our Development Program for students and entrepreneurs IKEA Malaga Talent, which, as I mentioned, its objective is to contribute to the positive movement of employability in Málaga.

This year, we will have 29 apprentices from branches such as Commerce, Carpentry, Catering, Administration and Finance and Maintenance. We firmly believe in this training model, so much so that we have set a target of 5% of our workforce in 2020 coming from DUAL Vocational Training.

Without a doubt, this is a unique opportunity to contribute to employability in our community.

People first | A project by Eurofirms

People First es un espacio de inspiración donde compartimos contenidos con un eje común: las personas. Desde distintas ópticas y sectores, abordamos varios temas, tendencias y noticias de interés humano.

La entrada Enrique López (IKEA): “Values and abilities are above the curriculum vitae” aparece primero en People first.

For you, training is key to the development of Employee Branding and that is why you launched the platform www.sinvueltadetuerca.com. What assessment do you make of this initiative that already has 2 years and what acceptance has it had among workers?

Social networks sin vuelta de tuerca is an initiative launched by the Communication, Human Resources and Social Networks areas, and is aimed at developing the social / digital skills of the entire IKEA team. The objective of this platform is to broaden the organization’s digital vision, enhance internal links and strengthen IKEA’s position as an employer brand. The objective of this platform is to broaden the organization’s digital vision, enhance internal links and strengthen IKEA’s position as an employer brand. Sin Vuelta de Tuerca it not only includes a series of recommendations that build a user manual for IKEA employees who want to link to the brand on social networks, but it is also an e-learning platform to contribute to the digital maturity of the workforce. Although we have been working on the project for more than 2 years, it was launched a few months ago, so personally, the assessment I make has a lot to do with my involvement in the project: I think the fact that co-workers have participated In the development of the platform, it ensures that it is designed by and for IKEA employees. Fortunately, almost 90% of the team are proud to be part of this brand, and this feeling of belonging has a lot to do with our willingness to link to IKEA on our social profiles. Many of us demanded from the company a clear framework in which to move on social networks and I think that Sin Vuelta de Tuerca it has turned this demand into an opportunity, contributing to the digital training of workers in the process of IKEA’s digital transformation in Spain.

Do you have KPI’s to measure the results of this initiative? What are the next steps after launching it?

Sin Vuelta de Tuerca it is not intended to be a static project but rather a living one, because one of the great advantages of internal digital tools is that they allow us to measure, continue to improve, and adapt projects to the needs of workers. For this reason, we have used a platform that allows the traceability of all courses to be measured and the user experience to be monitored. There are several KPI’s that we have marked: from the number of registered users or visits to the web, to the number of approved courses and average grades, through to the final satisfaction of the workers according to the number of evaluations or recommendations to other colleagues. Of course, we will also measure whether the platform has generated a greater social presence of IKEA workers on social networks. Our ambition is to get IKEA represented by the people who make it possible every day.

But the truth is that we are still in the launch phase of the platform and it is early to draw conclusions. On the following steps, in addition to continuing to promote the platform in stores, we would like to share this project, as good practice, with organizations that want to take advantage of the opportunity offered by the digital environment and wish to launch a similar initiative for linking and social activation.

You comment that it is a platform created by and for workers. How have the company’s workers been involved in the development of the platform? What tools or meeting points have you used?

As I was saying, the definition and development of the project has had the participation of workers since its inception and responds to a clear demand from employees who wanted to link to the brand on social networks, but who also had doubts about how to do it. For this reason, the working group began this journey with many questions and, above all, listening to each and every one of the answers: a survey or digital barometer was carried out to measure digital maturity and use of social networks within IKEA and two workshops were launched with employees with different levels of digital maturity and active in internal and external social networks, who were called “digital champions”.In these workshops our day-to-day at IKEA was analyzed, from the point of view of digital accessibility and convenience, and we built together what, after more than a year of work, various consultations through our internal social network as a forum and a phase end of testing with that same group of “champions”, ended up becoming Social Networks Sin Vuelta de Tuerca. Currently, our forum is an open group on our social network, Yammer, the channel enabled to continue collecting doubts, suggestions or possible incidents.

Last year, Eurofirms carried out the X-ray of Employee Branding in companies in Spain and one of the results was that 78% of companies are present on social networks, but only 20% invest in training. What is the main reason why you would recommend companies to invest in training their teams?

The way we companies have to communicate with our clients, suppliers and candidates has changed. There are numerous studies that reveal that employees are perceived as the most reliable and credible source when it comes to talking about any issue of the company itself and it is useless to have employees who are willing to do it, but who do not have the necessary tools and training. As I mentioned, with Sin Vuelta de Tuerca we also have the objective of inspiring other companies and, in fact, many of the contents of this platform are public for this reason: we want to share knowledge and learning with anyone who may be interesting.

What strategies or initiatives do you carry out from the Human Resources area so that the workers share their day-to-day life at IKEA and publish on social networks, following the company’s values?

In this sense, we feel very lucky because before the Sin Vuelta de Tuerca platform, we already had many employees who wanted to link to the brand on social networks, but had doubts about how to do it. It was just then that this initiative emerged. The demand from employees was clear, they wanted to increase their level of digital knowledge and now they have at their disposal a platform where they can learn to build a solid and coherent digital identity that defines them positively and differentiates them. In addition, for a time now, we use social elements in our internal communication campaigns, referring employees to the company’s external social networks as the main source of information, so that we involve workers and invite them to interact openly with the official profiles of IKEA Spain. Once this is achieved, it will be the decision of each one to enjoy in this digital environment the values ​​and interests they have in common with the company. For us, the strategy only resides in providing all the ingredients so that this happens organically.

People first | A project by Eurofirms

People First es un espacio de inspiración donde compartimos contenidos con un eje común: las personas. Desde distintas ópticas y sectores, abordamos varios temas, tendencias y noticias de interés humano.

La entrada Enrique López (IKEA): “Employees are the most reliable and credible source when it comes to talking about the company itself” aparece primero en People first.

The company offers services such as Auditing, Consulting, Risks, Fiscal and Legal and Advice on Corporate Transactions and makes a clear commitment to its human capital.

Maite Poyos is HR Director at Deloitte and in this interview, she highlights the reasons why employees want to continue working in the company.

Even though in your sector workers usually start from scratch and continue to rise, you have some collaborative rooms that represent the loss of an office or a hierarchical position. To what extent have you modified your compensation, benefits or management policy, of what type of hierarchy or level?

Collaborative rooms have allowed us to change work habits, moving to environments that facilitate sharing information, collaborating on different projects and participating in multidisciplinary initiatives. This has not implied any change in our professional career, which is based on meritocracy, on how each of us do and work. From our professionals we value what they know how to do and what potential they have and, based on this, we determine their responsibilities. Many of our professionals join Deloitte recently graduates, we train them and prepare them and help their development in the Firm. The idea is that each year they grow in roles and responsibilities. We value people based on how they are and the potential we think they have. And based on this, we give it responsibility and they grow professionally.

This growth in the organization itself provides our professionals with a deep and specialized knowledge of their work. When a professional joins us, we try that this knowledge of the sector was integrated by him and, sometimes, they have to go back a step in their professional career to later grow and consolidate. This leads us to very young people who have grown in the Firm have a very fast career, acquiring responsibilities and managing teams very quickly. Other professionals, who join mid-career, may need adaptation time and participate in teams in which their manager has fewer years of experience than they do.

In recent years, with business diversification and specialization, we have had the need to incorporate professionals who bring a wealth of experience in the new specializations that are emerging. In these cases, it is important that the responsibility that we give to these new professionals is aligned with their preparation and their potential, to facilitate their adaptation to the organization.

We try to ensure that the level of responsibility and that of compensation are aligned. Therefore, career, responsibility and compensation go hand in hand throughout the professional career.

You have to adapt to the change in the market. Is training in these career plans offered by Deloitte?

At Deloitte we believe in training as one of the basics in the development of people. There are training plans by business lines and categories. First of all, we have the “core” courses, which are those that all of us receive regardless of our line of business or function, since they are basic that any Deloitte professional must know and that depend on the level of responsibility of each professional. From here the courses are increasingly specialized by functions, experience, responsibilities, etc. Many of them are taught by other professionals of the Firm. Finally, we reach the maximum specialization that consists of accreditations that are taught by external organizations.

Collaborative rooms are very dynamic and less hierarchical spaces. How is this change achieved? Is it suitable for all departments, business areas that have an impact at the human capital level? Do you have a KPI?

We wanted to take advantage of the changes in space to achieve a change in work habits, moving to a more collaborative, participatory environment that encourages innovation and work in multidisciplinary teams. To do this, we have established various dynamics and tools that allow these changes in habits, from which we measure their results periodically.

The first collaborative rooms were inaugurated in January of this year, so we are fully implementing changes in work habits. We have established some indicators, such as the level of occupation and release of the rooms, which will help us when measuring the impact we are achieving.

Deloitte is considered one of the best companies to work for in Spain and the first in your sector. What are the keys to achieve it? Why do people want to come work here?

We are a great organization, leader in our sector, with magnificent clients and with avant-garde projects. These are undoubtedly some of the reasons why people want to come to work. At Deloitte, growth and level of learning is exponential and you take on responsibilities very quickly. Training, both formal and that our professionals acquire every day by participating in many projects, very diverse and sharing experiences with other top-level professionals, is another element that attracts when it comes to wanting to come to work at Deloitte. However, one of the factors that most attracts people to come to work is that we are normal people who have a good time working together and growing and making grow our organization. The people who work at Deloitte are happy to be able to do it, we have great friends here. The average age is 28 years old and this leads to many activities being organized outside of work, such as skiing or paddle games, for example. We work intensively learning a lot and participating in innovative projects.

We are a great organization, but we are committed to micromanaging, both projects and talent. Our leaders manage both professional and personal groups and this allows people to feel comfortable working at Deloitte.

Is this micromanaging performed by an area leader or is it someone from Human Resources?

Both. The business area is responsible for management, but from human resources we help its development through knowledge of people and by providing the necessary tools to carry it out.

We are all close to our people and we are free to share concerns with whomever we deem necessary. Our professionals have reference people, in their line of business, in another line or in human resources to share. We always offer answers to the concerns of our professionals, either from the business line or from Human Resources.

What other measures do you have planned for the well-being of the team?

We are now working on a healthy business project, which involves having everything from healthy vending machines to wellness talks, courses, making it easier to go to the gym or yoga rooms. We have incorporated mindfullness sessions into some meetings. We also have a runners club and football and basketball teams. We offer accompaniment programs to people who change responsibility, we have mentors, tutors and internal coaches. For example, when a person joins he is assigned a buddy who is another professional with a little more experience, but very close, who will accompany you throughout the first months in more logistical or administrative aspects. Subsequently, with significant changes in responsibilities, we have mentoring programs for the younger ones, coaching to develop basic competencies or Mentoring for the most experienced people.

People first | A project by Eurofirms

People First es un espacio de inspiración donde compartimos contenidos con un eje común: las personas. Desde distintas ópticas y sectores, abordamos varios temas, tendencias y noticias de interés humano.

La entrada Deloitte: “We value people based on the potential we think they have, not on experience or age” aparece primero en People first.

Maite Poyos is Human Resources Director at Deloitte and she converse to us in this interview about various actions they conduct at the company.

Deloitte is talking about an institution and a great brand. But is the brand itself enough to attract new talent?

The brand is important but not enough. Among other things because the brand is built day by day by our professionals. The current Deloitte was formed in 2001, as a result of the integration of the extinct company Arthur Andersen and Deloitte. At that time we had to build a brand, because the leading consulting organization in Spain disappeared, with a consolidated brand in the market recognized by both talent and our clients, and we had to rebuild brand leadership from both points of view. From a talent perspective, building a brand meant making ourselves known in universities and business schools, explaining who we were, where we came from and what we could offer to talent. We can continue working, of course, but the real construction of the brand is done by our people, every day, with every act… It is not only the branding that we do institutionally, but it is the same branding that our professionals do. The brand is made by them and it is a brand made with passion and enthusiasm, a brand built every day, from the heart. In addition, today information is transmitted very quickly through social networks and the like, in this sense, we have to be attentive to the opinion of everyone and improve with contributions, working every day. The brand is built with actions, every day, is that a brand? Probably yes, it is the brand that will have the most consistency over time.

Is the social challenge part of a new way to attract talent from universities?

Not quite. We undertake many actions to attract talent, but in this case, the talent is for the NGO ExE (Empieza por Educar), with which we collaborate. One aspect that we are very aware of is that it is important to give back to society part of what it gives us, for this reason, we collaborate very actively with NGOs and other foundations. In this case, ExE is a foundation that aims to change and transform society through education, so it goes to universities, recent graduates and incorporates them into its organization. They have schools where they offer training to people who cannot access it, with the aim of changing society through training. When they presented it to us, it seemed to us a purpose very in line with our philosophy. We are not used to collaborating financially with NGOs, but we do it through the participation of our people, in this case, we participate with ExE, in addition to giving them spaces when they need it, going together to universities, and providing them with our help and contact in order to access a greater number of candidates.

At the internal level, what responsibilities do you have?

We participate in very varying projects. Each line of business or work group decides which foundations it wants to participate in, and what it does is to give up part of the hours of its people to be able to participate in volunteering, which can be punctual or periodic, depending on the agreement reached.

Another project, for example, is the “solidarity vacation”, which consists of some employees going to different NGOs, which we know and who know they have a good purpose, during their vacation and we finance everything: the plane ticket, the stay there, if they have to pay anything … And, in addition, they have our support if they need anything.

We have different activities throughout the year. At Christmas, we have an event called “The Solidarity Toy”, in which we organize a day in some special place and as “entrance fee” our professionals bring a toy that we donate to an NGO. We also organize “The Solidarity Cinema”, which is a morning session of the last premiere whose entrance is at a symbolic price (3€), and where Deloitte, in addition to paying the rest of the entrance, donates the same amount to one or more NGOs. We also have “The Penny Wallet”, in which all of us can voluntarily donate our cents from the payroll.

Another event is the “Impact day” which consists of one day a year all the offices in the world doing solidarity activities. Our people dedicate that day, voluntarily, to participate in different events such as a soccer game with children with disabilities, to create solidarity bracelets or to plant a tree.

Do these activities arise from workers or from above?

We have a social action committee, made up of about 30 people and led by Human Resources, from where the initiatives arise. Then each of the lines of business has social action subcommittees. The goal is for initiatives to emerge from this committee and to act as ambassadors for the rest. At the beginning we had a hard time getting people to participate because they had a lot of work, we organized activities and we did not have enough people to participate. And what did we say? Let’s go find ambassadors! Who cares? Who is sensitized with this type of issue? We detected these key people and, next to them, created the Social Action Committee that is responsible for transmitting the actions to the rest of the organization. Anyone regardless of their category can participate in this committee, the important thing is that they believe in this type of social action.

The current involvement is of the entire organization, for example, in the annual meeting of partners and managers, which we do every year in September, we dedicate a space for this type of action, with activities such as making toys or rehabilitating a forest.

We take advantage of any Firm action to participate in social action issues, for example, at the Alumni meeting last year we had a photographer who had a visual disability, with 10% vision and with magnifying glasses who was in charge to photograph the entire event. Furthermore, all vending machines are provided to us by an association whose employees are people with disabilities. Likewise, we are going to buy many of the things we use daily, for example, from Fair Trade, and we have many actions of this style, which are led by this Social Action Committee.

People first | A project by Eurofirms

People First es un espacio de inspiración donde compartimos contenidos con un eje común: las personas. Desde distintas ópticas y sectores, abordamos varios temas, tendencias y noticias de interés humano.

La entrada Deloitte: “The actual brand building is done by employees” aparece primero en People first.