From September 15 to October 15, Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated across the U.S., recognizing the Hispanic Americans' contribution to the country's prosperity. With a workforce mosaic of over 380,000 people across 83 countries, Teleperformance is bringing this celebration into the world stage by honoring heritage rooted in all Latin American countries and the contributions of our Latin American employees.
During this month and throughout the year, we will be sharing the story and accomplishments of our multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, and multi-lingual employees. We believe it is essential to elevate the voices of our Latinx employees and acknowledge their importance in Teleperformance's growth and internationalization. We celebrate their unique and colorful cultural richness and thank them for bringing that into every interaction, from agents to C-level roles. Take the example of Margaret Hutchison, born in Barranquilla, Colombia, but now based in Santa Clara, CA, U.S.:
"And if you ask me, 'Is the Latino culture represented?' Yes, the Latino culture and the Hispanoparlante culture are absolutely well represented across support. So, for this Hispanic Heritage Month, I want say thank you, Teleperformance, for embracing us, for embracing diversity and the Latino culture."
- Margaret Hutchison, Director Teleperformance Innovation Experience Center (TIEC), U.S.
Our Latin American employees’ contributions reach beyond any wall or borderland and even beyond their immigration status. Teleperformance believes that no person willing to work and provide for themselves, their families and communities, should ever encounter intolerance. Under this solidary, inclusive, and tolerant spirit, TP Colombia hired 2,000 Venezuelan refugees in 2020, and many more were employed around the globe. In the words of Maria Fernanda Ordoñez:
"At Teleperformance, diversity is a priority and the Latino community has a huge representation within the company. And this reflects the richness and the diversity of the Hispanic community. Here, you can learn, you can grow, you can make friends whether you're a man, woman, you're Asian, you're Latino. At Teleperformance, you can be the best version of yourself."
- Maria Fernanda Ordoñez, Communication Manager, Argentina
More enlightened social attitudes and employment discrimination laws have contributed to the fact that corporate business environments have become more inclusive and tolerant in the past decades. At Teleperformance, we don’t need more evidence that intolerance, incivility, ostracism, bullying, and harassment remain severe problems and are responsible for increased interpersonal conflicts, greater stress, and anxiety at work, resulting in drops in individual and organizational productivity.
We firmly believe that intolerance gives space to a hostile working environment and destroys organizational culture. It should be clear as water that a business powered by tolerance, and a management team that celebrates the variety and richness of cultures in their workforce, is setting the example and laying down the strong foundations to its success. So, we must unite against intolerance in any form, starting by examining our own shortcomings, prejudices, and differences, and keep building bridges to civility and acceptance among our teams. Gustavo Mir’s testimonial is just another example of our words matching our actions:
"I have never experienced discrimination as a Latino in TP. And proof of that is that my career has been developed by being Latino and my growth has been exponential and the company always carries very proudly my Latino DNA. But even more of how inclusive for all ethnicities Teleperformance can be is my own team composition. From Brazil to Portugal, Mexico to Colombia, Argentina to China, and the USA – all of these amazing blends make us unique and a really diverse team."
- Gustavo Mir González, Chief Client Officer Ibero-Latam, Mexico
Despite the progress we have made over the years, much work still needs to be done, but higher morale and improved productivity are bound to follow if we keep creating tolerant, welcoming, and inclusive workplaces.
All individuals deserve to be evaluated by their achievements in the workplace and ability to perform their assigned tasks. So, let’s reinforce our organizational culture of acceptance and individual dignity, where the contributions of everyone are valued. It’s a win for everyone.
“Diversity matters. Diversity makes us stronger!”
- Liliana López, Global EVP in IT, U.S.
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