Reni Dimitrova, Senior HR Advisor, Cargotec Bulgaria: The Nordic culture of respect and open communication is what differentiates Cargotec
AUBG will hold its tradition Job and Internship Fair online on March 30. One of the employers recruiting students at the fair is Cargotec (Nasdaq Helsinki: CGCBV). The company enables smarter cargo flow for a better everyday with its leading cargo handling solutions and services. Cargotec's business areas Kalmar, Hiab and MacGregor are pioneers in their fields. Through their unique position in ports, at sea and on roads, they optimize global cargo flows and create sustainable customer value. Cargotec employs around 12,000 people globally.
Cargotec Business Services was established in Sofia, Bulgaria in 2017 to provide Finance, Human Resources and Indirect Procurement services to Cargotec’s global businesses. Today, over 80% of all Cargotec employees use the services of Cargotec Business Services. In Bulgaria, the company employs around 400 people. In addition to the main location in Sofia, Cargotec Business Services has an APAC hub in Singapore, and hubs in the USA, and Poland.
To learn more about the company and the job opportunities for AUBG students there, we spoke to Reni Dimitrova, Senior HR Advisor at the company. She started her career as part of global IT companies among which Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard. She later moved to the HR area and spent six years in different HR roles in HP companies. During this period, she has been holding both global and country specific roles, participated in different projects and gained experience in a multicultural environment. After that, Reni joined Sutherland Global Services acting as an HR Business Partner and in December 2018 she joined the Cargotec team. In Cargotec, Reni is working with the Record to Report and Invoice to Pay departements supporting managers in their daily duties and creating better employee experiences. She is also responsible for onboarding all new hires and is involved in different programs and projects. One of those programs is the Cargotec Internship program, which was launched in 2019 and has been very successful.
You joined Cargotec over two years ago. What were your first impressions at the company?
Yes, I have been with Cargotec for over 2 years now and I can honestly say that this is a great place to work. I have a lot of experience in other companies and what differentiates Cargotec from the others is I would say first of all the company culture. Cargotec is a Finnish company with Nordic culture of respect, open communication and care for the employees’ wellbeing, not the typical corporate culture. And this is not just something I am saying. Recently, we asked our employees in Sofia to say what makes Cargotec different from other employers and the Nordic culture was the main thing that they pointed out: the respect and the fact that they can have ownership of the projects they are assigned. Our people said they have a great environment to learn and develop and they feel that the work-life balance is something the leadership takes very seriously. I can only confirm the impressions of my colleagues.
What is it like to work at Cargotec? What does your workday look like?
I work in the HR team and our days are always very dynamic, this is what I love about my job! The daily contact with people is also something that I really enjoy in my work. Generally speaking, working at Cargotec means to develop yourself, learn and progress while being involved in meaningful projects, both local and predominantly international. You get to meet colleagues from around the world and learn about an amazing and important global business - the cargo industry. Feeling that you are part of something big and purposeful brings a lot of satisfaction and a sense of self-fulfilment. We are very proud that Cargotec is among a list of global companies who have committed to tackling climate change and want to make a real difference for the future generations. This is something that goes beyond the pure business goals and is something deeply embedded in our company culture.
What should the AUBG students expect after they become part of the company? What are the perks and the career growth opportunities?
The quality of the talents at AUBG is impressive and we will be happy to meet potential future colleagues from the university.
As I mentioned before, I believe that the company culture will be a magnet for talent as people have a lot of opportunities to grow, to express their opinions and be heard by the management. We also have very flexible working arrangements where people can choose to work from the office or from home. Even after the coronavirus situation improves, we will still keep a very flexible set up as far as the home office is concerned. Cargotec Bulgaria’s office is in one of Sofia’s most modern office buildings in the center of the city and the office itself is spacious, beautiful and with plenty of opportunities to concentrate, relax or have a team meeting. We also offer a great benefits package to our regular employees - 25 days of paid vacation, additional health insurance, transportation allowance, meal vouchers, discounts in different shops etc. Another great perk are the groups of volunteers we have that organize different sports and cultural activities, charity events etc. One can really feel the sense of community.
What job and internship opportunities does the company currently offer -- in both the HR and the other company units?
We launched our Internship Programme in 2019. So far we have had more than 30 interns in Finance, Indirect Procurement and HR and we are looking to expand the program to other functions as well. You will have the opportunity to learn from one of the best in their areas, use world top technologies like different SAP based systems, Service Now, Success factors , Evalua and see how paperless end-to-end accounting, HR and Procurement work. Each intern is assigned their own mentor who guides them during their journey with the company. The program is for 3 to 6 months and provides a unique opportunity to work on real business projects in the field of Human Recourse, Finance, and Indirect Procurement, and to learn from experienced colleagues.
The job opportunities at Cargotec are many and we are always looking for smart and determined people to join us be it in junior or senior roles. You can check out all of our job ads in jobs.bg.
What advice would you give to the AUBG students on successfully preparing for a job interview at Cargotec? What kind of people are you looking for to join your team?
What we are really looking for in a candidate is motivation and a will to learn and develop. We know talent when we see it and that does not necessarily mean tens of years of experience in the field. Our future colleagues should be motivated, determined, willing to learn and develop, open-minded and ready to take on new challenges. If you like working on international projects and be part of a company with a great purpose, we will be happy to meet you!
How has the pandemic affected your operations? Do you work online, partly online or on-ground?
As most of the companies globally, Cargotec was also affected by the pandemic. After a period of downturn last spring, the company is bouncing back and we have a positive outlook for the future. In terms of the working set up, we managed to very quickly switch to a fully virtual working mode in just one day last March when the pandemic was announced. Thanks to the excellent IT infrastructure at Cargotec, all colleagues started working remotely and there was no interruption to the service we provide to our internal Cargotec customers. Currently, we have a very flexible arrangement for working from home. You can choose whether you want to work from home or from the office and of course we take into consideration all people’s personal preferences and situation in these trying times. After the COVID-19 pandemic is over, we are planning to keep a high level of flexibility for our people in terms of working from home arrangements.