As
I am so accustomed to interviewing entrepreneurs, I was interested in the path
of a Human Resources professional for such an international corporation with
over 500 employees. So, I'm happy to present an interview with Katia Solano the
Director of Human Resources for Mossack Fonseca & Co (MF).
Established
in 1977, Mossack
Fonseca is a leading global company which provides comprehensive legal,
trust and accounting services.
Katia's
been at the company for more than 20 years. She's moved through many different
positions, learning different skills along the way, from reception to filing
and then as the personal assistant to one of the founders of the company.
"I
worked with the founder when MF was a pretty small company; we were around 30
employees at that time. Later, I worked on accounts receivables and payables,
and then I came to the human resources department."
Give me an overview of the
work that is done in the human resources department.
"Human
Resources is a company-wide department, so it has to do with the human
resources policies for the entire MF group―the hiring process, candidate
selection, training and development, performance evaluation, benefits and
salaries, internal communications, leadership development, deployment,
cascading goals, the company culture, and induction, amongst others. I work
closely with the CEO and the management team. I deal with all the managers of
the different offices around the world. I have a team of six employees."
To what degree do you keep
your finger on the pulse of hiring?
"I
meet at least once a week with the Recruitment and Selection Specialist―she
reports directly to the Human Resources Coordinator―but I meet with her once a
week because the recruitment process is a key process in any organization. However,
I don't interview candidates unless we are going to hire someone for a key
position, like for example a lawyer or a management team member―somebody of a
high level―whether here in Panama or in any of the offices abroad. In Panama it
is very difficult to hire good people because the labor market is so
tight."
Katia, what do you do to
recruit qualified employees, whether in Panama or abroad, when faced with a
shortage of available talent?
"Well
it is very helpful that we have a well-known, highly respected name here―so
lawyers, in particular, want to work at MF; I'm always receiving resumes in my
inbox or through LinkedIn. We usually advertise our positions online. Plus, we
are involved with universities―we maintain close contact with them and they always
refer people to us for internships. We do the same thing with high schools―we
usually have maybe 15 interns that are about to graduate from high school, so
they do their internships here―many times when they finish their degree
programs they apply to work here. In addition, we try to be involved in all the
job fairs."
Your internship program
with students from high schools and universities sounds like a great way to
evaluate talent.
"Definitely,
because when they come to intern with us we really do make an effort to teach
them as much as possible. I insist that all our managers make sure to give them
as much training and experience as they can handle. There are many companies
that simply have their interns do menial tasks; however, I insist that we don't
do that with ours. At MF, the interns learn about the company, its mission,
culture, and values, and usually they like it and they go back to school or
university with a good impression. They share that information with their
friends and we usually receive some resumes from other students of the same
schools that want to do internships with us. Also, there are many professors
who know that we really train their students and they refer candidates to
us."
How important is it keep
personally connected to the process of adding new personnel to the MF team?
"It
is very important because our recruitment process is integral to the future of
the company―so to me recruiting talented people is directly related to the
strategy of the company because we offer our clients specialized services so we
really need to have talented people to be able to provide our clients with
excellent service. "
Do you have any hard-fast
rules that are followed in your own selection of team members or those who will
be working close to you?
"Selecting
a new employee is kind of tricky because it is not only that you want to have
the person with the perfect profile, but you need a combination of skills and
attributes―you need somebody who has the capacity and desire to do the job they
have applied for―somebody who has a clear vision of what they want in the short
and long term―and they have to be a good fit with our company."
Do you have an anecdote or
philosophy to share that comes to mind that would sum up your thoughts about
hiring?
"To
me, attitude is everything. You may have a good candidate with the perfect
academic background and experience, but if the person does not really want to
do the job they are applying for, then we are wasting our time. Usually I hire
people with little to no experience and then we train them; they appreciate
that and they tend to stay for a long time."
Katia's
priorities and methodical approach align with Hiring Truth 1: Be diligent, not
desperate from my book The Naked Interview: Hiring without Regret. She is
ensuring the candidates are carefully selected and that they are cared for with
training to help them stick.
"Now,
I know that millennial are different. I have millennial on my team and you have
to know how to manage them to keep them interested and motivated. One way I do
that is by assigning them various projects―you needs to work differently with
them."
"We
keep them interested and motivated by offering them attractive benefits,
continuous training and education―and the opportunity to move laterally (to
work in a different department) and up―depending on the individual's skill set
and our company needs. Another advantage of MF is our multicultural and
international environment where they can work and interact with our colleagues
and clients all over the world."
"Everything
is different now. I mean the usual human resources process is different now
because you cannot plan their careers anymore; they have their career already
planned and they evaluate the company to see if the company meets or exceeds
their expectations and in particular, what the company is going to give them,
so everything has changed."
What is the best interview
question you have ever used?
"I
use a combination of questions. When you are going to interview a candidate,
you have to be clear about what you or the manager needs, and of course, what
the company needs. Sometimes you need to help the managers to identify what
they need. When I am doing an interview I pay attention to everything and
usually I write down everything they say, so I will ask questions like: How do
you see yourself (as a professional) in two years? ― What do you want to do? ―
Why? ― What kind of company are you looking for? ―What would be your ideal job?
I ask about previous bosses and companies to get an idea of what type of boss
and company culture they like―or dislike."
What has driven your
personal success at Mossack Fonseca Group?
"I
like to serve people. I am proud of being a member of MF and also of the human
resources department. I feel that we support MF―its management and reputation.
I tell my people every day that we are service providers. To me, it is critical
to be willing to serve our internal and external customers, and to maintain the
highest professional standards."
Interview by
David Lee Jensen
