Most-respected employers 2004: where to work and why in Latin America

Latin Trade, Dec, 2004 by Leslie Contreras

Large multinationals squashed the competition on the 2004 LATIN TRADE Most-Respected Employers in Latin America survey. Nestle headed up the group in the No.1 position, and many of its consumer-goods brethren, the most-represented segment in the Top 25 companies, made the list as well. The high-tech industry made out particularly well, too, and the rest of the list was comprised of companies from the automotive industry, financial services, and airlines, among others. Twelve hundred survey respondents, primarily mid- to upper-management executives who expect to earn between US$60,000 and $100,000 in their next positions, picked the 25 companies in the region that best attract and retain top talent.

Bert Valencia, director of the global MBA program at Thunderbird University, The Garvin School of International Management, finds it interesting that all but one of the 25 companies selected were traditional global multinationals (the exception was Mexican media giant Televisa). It could be malinchismo, that Latin Americans tend to prefer the foreign to the domestic. Or it could just boil down to the money, says Valencia. Total compensation and benefits are often more attractive at large multinationals, and international assignments and the associated expatriate benefits, like free housing, are more common. "Many Latin Americans prefer to work for a multinational because they pay you better and give you better benefits," says Valencia. Judging from the testimonials of employees at these world-renowned companies, pay is important, but their dedication to their companies goes far beyond finances.

Swiss consumer-goods giant Nestle prides itself on its European approach to business. Maria Clara Esguerra, a logistics manager for Nestle Mexico who has worked in Venezuela and Colombia, says that her company is more people-oriented than some of the more numbers-driven U.S. companies. But that doesn't mean that Nestle managers hold your hand throughout the career. "I entered Colombia as a trainee in distribution, and after two months I was managing the distribution department," says Esguerra. Fernando Cesar, a consumer-marketing manager for Nestle Mexico, also lauds the accelerated advancement that's possible at Nestle. "I've had the chance to grow quite fast in a short time, and I see a clear future on where I can be working in a few years," he says.

The freedom to move around in the company, both internationally and between functions, contributes to this fast track to success. But Cesar advises that employees speak up when they feel ready to move. "No one is in the driver's seat of your career except for you," he says. But once upper management sees potential and desire in an employee willing to try something different, it is likely to move that employee around the operation to make sure that his or her skills become as well-rounded and adaptable as possible.

High potential. Such high-potential employees "eventually have the opportunity to take on an international role, running a country business, because there are so many of them throughout Latin America" says James Gerchow, a Nestle category marketing manager in Mexico. In fact, the chance for an international career was one of the primary drivers in Gerchow's decision to pursue a job at Nestle.

Outsider experts agree that Nestle is one of the most global of all companies. Its brand name is a powerful selling point to job-seekers as well. "You automatically make a connection with trust, reliability of the product," says Rodrigo Araujo, a senior consultant and practice leader in Sao Paulo with executive search company Korn/Ferry International.

Julie Lasa, director of operations for Central America, Colombia, Venezuela and the eastern Caribbean for FedEx Express, the package-delivery arm of Federal Express, places much importance on the company's people-first philosophy. Lasa recounts a story of a young FedEx customs agent in Guatemala who was walking to work when he noticed a woman in a long skirt bent over in the street, in labor. So he did what some passers-by would not: He stopped. "He helps this woman give birth to this baby in the middle of the street," says Lasa. "We call it the FedEx baby!"

Then there was the dispatcher in Caracas who received a shipment order for which FedEx couldn't get a scheduled pickup, so he rented a car and drove 100 miles on his day off to pick up the 300-pound package and deliver it personally. Random acts of heroism and bending over backwards for the customer are so common that FedEx has created special awards to recognize such sacrifices. The CEO himself presents the Purple Promise and Golden Falcon awards to the honored employees in a ceremony broadcast over FedEx's internal television station.

Luckily, FedEx treats its employees just as well as its workers tend to treat strangers and customers--and not just within the confines of their cubicles. Lasa, a.k.a. "Hurricane Julie," has helped coordinate hurricane-relief efforts throughout the Caribbean over the last decade for FedEx employees, their families, and for customers. After a hurricane struck the Caribbean island of St. Thomas in 1995, one FedEx aircraft visited the island just to deliver 1,000 cellular phones to residents stuck with no phone service.