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Employees who enjoy the benefits of mobility

Did you know it is possible to live an adventure in your own company? MAPFRE helps you, offers you the tools and prepares the way, but you are the protagonist of the adventure. Our adventurers in this issue agree on the fact that stepping forward and clicking on the mobility platform changed their lives, certainly for the better.

TEXT VIOLETA MATEO ROMÁN | PHOTOGRAPHS MAPFRE | ILLUSTRATIONS ISTOCK

And one day… there it is! The job of your dreams – or the opportunity you were seeking to take your career in a whole new direction. Do we take the plunge? You can rely on the full support of your HR team and your superior is going to encourage you. Worried about the new language? You will never have a better opportunity to improve it. And you will surely feel butterflies in your stomach before clicking on the registration tab, yet, at the same time, you start feeling the excitement. We now tell you how it was for Fernando, Sebastián, Isabel, Matheus, Carolina and Autumn.

Our colleague Fernando García de la Santa de Meer spent three years at MAPFRE Global Risks as a Risk engineer while completing an online degree course in Economics and Finance. “I’ve always been interested in the financial markets and that’s why I contemplated a career move. So, as soon as the chance arose within MAPFRE, I didn’t want to waste it,” he tells us.

Fernando wants to underscore the enthusiasm he felt from the very outset of this process, despite confessing he was “a bit worried, as you’re about to embark on a new phase in your professional life, even though you know you’re academically prepared and really interested in it. It’s also rather disconcerting leaving colleagues with whom you’ve worked for years and shared good times.”

“This change is an enriching process and, of course, it’s also an incentive to follow a career path related to my intellectual and personal interests. In a nutshell, I’m really pleased with this change.”

Fernando also highlights how welcoming his female colleagues in this new department were: “the most important change is that I’m now the only male in the department! They even made me wear reindeer antlers for the MAPFRE Christmas video!”

For Sebastián Brugo, who was an automobile accident claims handler and now works as an organization, processes and quality advisor at MAPFRE ARGENTINA, “the change  came about because I’d been in my previous position for five years and, despite the fact that I knew how to do my job and I was comfortable and happy in the sector, my daily work lacked that motivating sensation of facing new challenges. And so, when the chance arose of moving to this new sector, it sparked my interest right away, as it offered me an opportunity to learn new tasks and continue developing within the company.”

Sebastián did not hesitate when he visited the mobility section on his Success Factors platform: “The process was very simple; I saw an opening in the Processes sector that caught my attention and I began investigating what it involved. I was immediately interested, as it posed a challenge to learn these new tasks I had never done. It was not just about changing my job position, but also the management area and, even, the floor within the corporate building.”

Sebastián was able to demonstrate during his interview that he was the ideal candidate. Apart from conveying his enthusiasm, he also took the opportunity to clarify his doubts: “I applied via the system and Human Resources contacted me to arrange an interview with them. A week later they called me to set up a further interview, this time with the area manager.” Before he actually started the new job, he had a face-to-face meeting to make him feel more at ease: “I was invited to breakfast with my new work colleague so we could get to know each other” and, a month later, he was already working in this new sector.

“It’s been a total change, as I’ve moved to a purely technical profile. And I must say I love it.” She agrees with all the others in this article that one of the best experiences in the whole change process is the personal support: “I’d highlight the day I moved here. An incredible welcome, from both managers and colleagues, ensured I didn’t feel alone at any time.” In addition to her new task, Isabel remarks with humor that, even in your own country, it’s also possible to have to learn a new language: “arriving in a highly technical department, those first few days it seemed like everyone else was speaking a different language.”

During her mobility process, Isabel had fundamental help: “I think the relationship with Human Resources was impeccable; I must thank them for their kindness and patience… The feedback was really helpful; there can be no doubt that they make great companions on this journey.” Isabel has also moved to another city and greatly appreciates the unconditional support of her husband and children, although they were unable to accompany her.

Matheus Vinicius Ferreira Gallo changed language, country and, even, hemisphere when he joined the Processes Department of the Technology and Processes Area at MAPFRE GLOBAL RISKS in Madrid. His international vocation was plainly evident from the moment he joined MAPFRE BRAZIL: “Among my personal projects was the wish to acquire international experience; in fact, that is one of the reasons why I wanted to work at MAPFRE, a company with a global presence.” Matheus underscores how starting the mobility process was a great opportunity, as he longed for “the profile of a global employee. What’s more, I feel that working closer to the strategic sector at the head offices will complement the experience acquired at a MAPFRE subsidiary, which means a great deal of added value for my professional career.”

For him the key is to maintain a “receptive, optimistic stance” to overcome every hurdle and he believes this is very different from other selection processes in which he has participated. Coming from a Brazilian, his words say a lot about the joy that Matheus felt the day they announced his application had been accepted: “I felt the thrill of winning a soccer World Cup.” Moreover, “The last day at work in Brazil and the first in Spain are memories I’ll cherish for the rest of my life – the affectionate farewell and the warm welcome from my new colleagues.”

In a change that involves overseas travel, visas, etc., the role of the Human Resources area is fundamental: “I lived out the true “te cuidamos” MAPFRE experience, as I felt welcomed and really proud of belonging to our company. I had administrative and legal support to handle absolutely all the necessary paperwork.”

The main change, therefore, entailed transforming my way of thinking about social life and relationships of trust with other people. Despite being far away from my Brazilian relatives and friends, for example, I feel the ties have been strengthened,” he concludes.

Autumn Hicks, from MAPFRE INSURANCE, had no doubts: “In the early days of my career at MAPFRE, I promised myself that I would keep learning and would never make do with settling into a routine job.” For her, even the reason why she accepted her first job at MAPFRE was “the freedom to grow and change” offered by the company.

After nearly five years working in several posts and departments at MAPFRE INSURANCE, specifically in the Claims Department, Autumn confesses that “I wanted more and I needed to grow. I looked at the position of Compliance specialist and found that it offered room for learning, engaging with departments and business areas with which she had never worked before, and development of new skills.”

Autumn stresses the importance of the relations she had built up in her previous posts: “When the opening for a Compliance specialist arose, I contacted several colleagues who had previously done this job and others who were currently doing it, just to be sure that I could achieve my goal of growing and advancing professionally.”

In addition, she had other valuable assistance, both before and after each change: “Our Human Resources team conveys the feeling that you and your experience really matter, and that makes all the difference.”

Carolina Rodríguez Alcalde had been in the same department ever since she joined MAPFRE, “and, while my functions there had varied over time, in essence the work remained the same and I felt it was necessary to see other different things, or at least learn another approach to questions that made up my daily workload.” It was this restlessness that led her to initiate her mobility process when she saw an interesting vacancy in Success Factors.

“At first I was a little unsure about the whole mobility process,” she confesses, “not due to the uncertainty regarding whether or not I would finally get the job I had opted for, but rather because of the selection tests I’d have to face, given that this is something we are not so accustomed to. However, everything went so smoothly that, regardless of the final outcome, the whole process proved really pleasant and less tense than I’d expected.”

“What’s more, even when actively sought, change is always a bit worrying, since, ultimately, you are facing something new, in a different environment. In my case, I went from the Benefits Department to the Insurance Ombudsman Office. What we do there is analyze, from a legal perspective, those complaints which, as a last resort, policyholders send on to us in case of some dispute with the company. We then seek to resolve them in keeping with the contract and current legislation.”

The human factor was also key for Carolina: “I’d underscore the work environment, which is conducive to resolving matters more smoothly, and the team with whom I work every day, always ready to deal with any doubts that may arise”, as well as the support of her Human Resources team.