Interview with Daniela Ruiz, Global Director of Human Development
You can click here to read the article published in Expansion Magazine, and below the full interview with our leader:
1. xpd global doesn’t think about “bosses” and “employees” like other companies, right?
That’s correct. Part of our organizational culture is based on the concept of being your own boss. We value a person-centered leadership, talented professionals being fully responsible for generating as much value as possible, encouraging better decision-making.
Thus, at xpd global we are not employees, we are not collaborators, we are talents, and we are valued for our skills and abilities. We don’t have bosses, we have leaders, people with experience who can build the paths for talents to use their full potential to grow as people and professionals.
2. Your “organizational culture” sounds very interesting. What are the most distinctive values of that culture?
The key to maintaining our philosophy and this “organizational culture” is to seek out and select people who have a positive and ambitious attitude, always try to give their best and finding a way to make things happen, in each daily challenge.
We call this a winner’s culture.
It is about getting ahead of the facts, seizing opportunities, and preventing risks. In short, it’s about being proactive.
We value people who prioritize their self-learning, develop their creativity, and seek innovative ways to better serve our customers, putting them at the center of what we do to show our passion to serve.
Last but not least, we value a social conscience, respecting nature and communities with our actions, and to embrace diversity to maintain a high standard of integrity in what we think, say and do.
3. You also talked about daily challenges. What has been xpd global’s trajectory until being recognized as a Super Company, particularly for women leaders?
Beyond any other characteristic of a person, we look for professionals capable of a great performance and living every day the values I’ve mentioned above.
In this environment, women have always had the door open to opportunities for growth, to prioritize our professional career plans and, with motivating leadership, to make them a reality.
For us it is very important to balance our professional and personal life, to feel like we don’t have to choose one over the other. That’s why we have developed have special benefits that allow us flexibility in work. We know that this has been essential to have achieved this recognition as a Super Company for women.
4. And how does xpd global help your employees (ops… talents!) to continuously develop as people and professionals?
We offer flexible work schemes -from home, in the office or hybrid-, with schedules that can be accommodated to the day to day and the different needs of each talent. We also fiercely defend that motherhood is not at odds with our talented women professional career.
We have a diversity committee working on different topics, including best recruitment practices so that the focus when interviewing is on the person’s skills and experience. Our leadership development plans are equitable for all.
As for salary compensation, it is linked to objective indicators and evaluations that are personally build each year with and by our talents, so they can reflect well their annual performance.
We know that the covid-19 pandemic days brought an increase in situations related to mental health, which is why we also implemented a program of monthly talks that attend to the mental, emotional and physical well-being of all the people who work at xpd global.
Similarly, we have financial support programs for therapy or psychological help and other benefits with laboratories, educational institutions and companies dedicated to travel, mobility, gifts, etc.
Finally, to motivate our talents and teach them that we care about their well-being as a person, we have an “unlimited vacations” program, which applies from the 3rd year of each professional at Europartners.
5. Let’s talk about innovation and digital transformation. How is xpd global incorporating new technologies to your operations?
Our vision is to incorporate technology in a simple and practical way, to tackle real problems.
To do so, we set up innovation cells that identify problems, translate them into challenges, look for solutions that can be tested and, when we have positive results, we incorporate them into our processes.
We like to see the essence and simplify. For example, we are in the logistics sector, which translates into transporting materials and products at the time and to place they are required. Deep down, it’s people who make things happen. Therefore, our goal is to create tools that help them fulfill a mission entrusted to them.
An example of a recent problem that we addressed is that there are delays because people did not get information in time, and this caused a deviation. The challenge is: how could we help logisticians have the information at the time they need so they don’t have to wait to do a task or make a decision?
Tackling the challenge has brought us solutions that we have been incorporating and evolving to, for example, connect with live tracking platforms that report deviations.
Speaking about people, what strategies does xpd global develop related to positive social impacts and equity?
In recent years, we have worked to make a positive impact on the planet through our annual event, EP Day (which is usually on our our anniversary). To celebrate another year together, we support a specific cause or organization.
We have carried out reforestation activities, cleaning lakes and rivers and other activities involving volunteers. In 2021 we made an alliance with Techo.org, which seeks to improve housing and habitat conditions in irregular settlements with high poverty levels, to change the reality in these communities, with projects that bring basic services and dignity of life to a community infrastructure.
7. So xpd global offers more to society than business objectives. But speaking of those targets, what does logistics mean for xpd global?
It might sound very dreamy, but it is literally moving the world, as our transformation proposal (MTP) states: connecting minds to move the world.
When we transport our customers’ shipments safely and efficiently, we support economic activity around the world, connecting different countries or regions so that all people have access to products and services first-hand.
To make this possible, we base our day to day on a brand promise: to be “always fast, friendly and dedicated” for our customers, to provide a dedicated, fast and above all warm service, where although there may be difficulties, we can solve them by maintaining a positive and winning attitude.
8. And in addition to the MTP and the brand promise, what have been xpd global’s keys to be globally successful over the past 20 years?
At the business level, definitely one of our strategies is to devote a lot of attention and care to our relationship with decision makers in the global manufacturing industry.
Achieve pre-established, long-term business agreements where we can be more than a freight forwarder. We want to be their strategic partner, a reliable, experienced ally that brings options to the table in the face of such a changing logistics industry, especially post-pandemic.
Additionally, I could mention maintaining the same organizational culture, with values and principles defined regardless of the number of people or countries where we are growing. Prioritizing training and keeping these principles alive on a day-to-day basis is key to building relationships based on trust and a job well done.
9. To conclude, let’s talk about the future. What are xpd global’s plans and your vision for 2030?
Today we have talents in 30 countries. We have plans to expand to the markets of Asia and Europe. The idea is to open offices in those regions to reach 2030 as the #1 provider of time-sensitive and critical cargo logistics solutions for customers in specialized industries around the world.
Our talents are the most important pillar for that growth. We seek to have the next generation of world-class strategic leaders, where we are confident that women will be protagonists in the implementation of our vision of connecting minds to unite the world.
Click here to read the article published on Expansion Magazine (in Spanish).
Take a few minutes to watch a video about our transformation in xpd global
Our #gratitud to the talented women who empower this article with their images:
Mariana Meza, Alejandra Tamez, Brenda García Monsivais, Irma Marín, Dulce Castañeda, Georgina Gómez, Ana Paula Acosta and Lilian Maleny Hernández.
