What is truly unique about Henkel?
Henkel gives you the opportunity to really craft your own career. My biggest professional ambition was to build up an international career, so when I joined Henkel, I was quite excited about the number of opportunities that existed to make this happen. If you’re sitting in the driving seat of your career, Henkel gives you all the support you need to become the professional you want to be.
Ivan's Career Path
Within Henkel, you explored five different countries. How did Henkel support your career development?
Henkel has a fantastic development ecosystem composed of leaders, mentors, and truly collaborative colleagues. You have access to comprehensive trainings and plenty of learning opportunities on the job. These great transformational development alternatives supported me during every international assignment. I can’t recall a single moment where I didn’t have extraordinary support from the company.
What is the biggest difference between Europe and Latin America when it comes to HR?
It’s difficult to choose only one! There are several differences, some of them very funny! I have plenty of stories about the different times where I had to deal with cultural differences in the HR role. Each time I learned some very interesting practices, regulations, policies and general ways of doing HR along the way. Furthermore, I also had the opportunity to exchange practices from my region. In general, I would say that the most interesting thing I learnt was the differences in mindset regarding topics like stability in the job, teamwork, work life balance and productivity.
Which step has been the most impactful one for your own development?
When you have an international career, each assignment really makes a big impact on you. Dealing with a new environment, language, culture and different people, puts you totally out of your comfort zone. This all gives you the opportunity to prove your flexibility and adaptability and totally enriches you as a human being. If I had to choose the experience that taught me the most about myself, it would definitely be my assignment to Germany!