1. Drawing on your role as VP HR for LATAM at Clarios, could you share key strategies for seamlessly integrating HR with organizational operations?
Making the connection between business strategy with people is critical. As business partners, we must understand the internal and external dynamics that might affect the business. We need to talk business language, and enabling the HR team on these topics is one of my key initiatives to integrate our function with operations.
2. With a focus on aligning company strategies with business goals, how do you approach this in the HR domain?
Every single HR objective should be explicitly aligned with a business strategy. Our KPIs are connected directly with business metrics. In that way, we can see firsthand the impact of our role.
3. As a leader in building motivated teams, what advice do you have for fostering a positive work culture within HR?
Everyone is different and needs different things. Your role as a leader is to get to know everyone and adapt your style to use their full potential.
4. How can HR contribute to creating a safe work environment and impact overall business objectives?
Educating yourself. By understanding what psychological safety means, you could start creating environments where everyone feels included and safe.
5. Managing HR in a diverse LATAM region, how have you navigated challenges, and what lessons can other HR leaders learn?
LATAM is composed of a variety of countries, and with that, different conditions (political, economic, social), but most of them are in developing countries, which will bring more complexity to the equation. On the other hand, there is a lot of growth and investment happening in LATAM countries, so if you are not familiar with what is happening in this region, you might miss a great opportunity to grow the business with very qualified people available.
6. Given your experience in increasing productivity, how can HR initiatives drive employee productivity, and what metrics are the most valuable?
People have a direct connection with business results and, therefore, productivity. If you understand the link, your people strategy will have more impact. There are two key metrics: turnover and employee engagement. Both represent cost and efficiency to drive better results.
7. How do you foster a culture of creativity and continuous improvement within your teams?
Again, psychological safety plays a big part in this. If people feel secure enough to share ideas and thoughts, the innovation culture is given for granted. The best and most sustainable way to foster innovation is you embed these concepts and create a safe space for all.
8. Recently, Great Britain has introduced a pilot project of a 4-day working week. What’s your opinion about it? What advantages and disadvantages do you see both for employers and employees? Would you take part in the experiment, and why?
It depends on the work. I see it as feasible in an office environment, but in production and manufacturing, it would be challenging. It probably increases cost, but most importantly, could burn out physically our employees and therefore more propensity to have accidents within the shop floor. So there is no simple answer; it depends on the condition of each work environment.
9. Finally, what advice do you have for aspiring HR professionals aiming for leadership positions, and what skills are crucial for success in the dynamic field of human resources?
Understand the business, and be curious. HR is evolving more and more, and now we have a seat at the table, but you need to have the capability to make the connection between the function and the business.
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