In our latest Q&A, we catch up with Carmen Andrade, CCC’s Human Resources Coordinator in Seville (Sevilla), Spain.
DD: Hi, Carmen! Please tell us a little bit about your professional background. I also see that you attended the Universidad de Sevilla. What was that experience like?
CA: Hello, happy to speak with you, David. My degree is in Business Administration & Management. I have very good memories of my days as a student at Seville University where I made great friends, and I am still in contact with them. Once I finished my degree, I took the civil service examination to become a tax inspector. I learned a lot from that experience, especially about perseverance and dedication. Finally, my first job was as an economic and administrative manager in a Seville company related to bullfighting. I also had to manage schedules and organize events in different bullrings. This taught me to deal with a wide variety of people and that aspect of the human resources role.
I spent about five years with that company. Then I was offered the opportunity to work on the Ixxus team, which (as you know) became part of CCC. Originally, I worked in the financial and office manager areas. It became like my second home. . Currently I am totally focused on HR. The “family” grew and organized a move to a larger office until we settled in at the current location. I am delighted that, thanks to CCC, the family is continuing to grow.
DD: What does your role as HR Coordinator entail? What are the most interesting (or challenging) parts of that role?
CA: It involves constantly working on multiple aspects of the business. I help manage the system to support the selection of candidates for the various jobs we have available in Seville. I am also in charge of managing the entire benefits package for current employees so that it is appropriately applied in all cases, as well as curating the information that affects the personnel of the office. Aside from my administrative profile and focusing on people, in our department we recognize the importance of the Onboarding process. We continue to improve and expand upon it, as well as making it as humane as possible under the current circumstances. For me, the Onboarding process has been the most challenging —and at the same time most satisfying —aspect, since carrying it out entirely from home requires more involvement. While in the office it is easier to pick up on the needs of the employees, working remotely requires a more constant monitoring in the first days to be able to make sure employees are comfortable and have all the necessary information right from the beginning. There is nothing more gratifying than receiving positive feedback on this process since it is not only the task of Human Resources but also of the employee’s own department, the manager, and all those involved in providing help.
DD: What is your overall experience of working for CCC in Seville?
CA: I have been fortunate to be part of the office since its creation. The little family that we once created has grown thanks to CCC. All the colleagues have always been welcoming of new ones and (I am happy to observe) the good atmosphere has remained. Each and every one of the colleagues in the office contributes an added human value to the company, as well as to overall personal growth. The avenues for professional growth are also an important point with ongoing options and improvement training in multiple ways.
DD: In the current (2021) environment, what has your experience of working from home been? Good? Challenging? Both?
CA: Working from home has been a totally new experience for me. A couple of months before the pandemic started, I had my second daughter. Once my maternity leave was over, I was fortunate to be able to enjoy her more. For me, the beginnings were complicated, since I had to learn to differentiate home from work. Once I overcame that, I learned to see the advantages. Speaking personally, I appreciate CCC for the policy decision to allow to us work from home and in that way keep all of us safe.
But, to be honest, I really miss working in the office, being able to talk to colleagues face-to-face every day, knowing how everyone is doing. An excellent work environment had been created in the office from the beginning and that is very important since many hours are spent there. There I played foosball for the first time and the truth is that now I´m hooked on it, and we had a good time with the games during our break time. A side anecdote… Our house rule is that the team that loses without scoring a goal has to crawl under the table. I have to confess that I have been one of the unlucky losers who that has happened to the most, but I have also enjoyed it.
DD: If you had one thing to share with a prospective employee, to encourage them to come work with CCC at the Seville Office — or anywhere — what would that be?
CA: Many companies have the sole mission of making profits at the expense of staff. They forget that the fundamental pillar is the employees; for CCC, however, this is not the case. One of the things I value most in the company is the involvement with employees. The general work environment with colleagues from CCC is unbeatable, as is the atmosphere that is present in the Seville office. When we were working from the office, we had the opportunity, if we needed it, to be able to disconnect and recharge batteries with the option of different activities such as ping pong, foosball and video games. And all the coworkers welcome the new ones with a great sense of humor and camaraderie. For me, that is one of the main reasons for the success of a company – that the workers feel happy. In the CCC Seville Office, it’s happening.
