Department responsible for people wellbeing created

The creation of the Feel Good Manager position is an important milestone for the work-culture at Inuru towards a human centric structure.

Inuru’s is on a mission to electrify the world through visual interfaces, that allow everyday things to communicate with people actively. Aside from being visually stunning, those products help to create a safer, healthier and less wasteful society.

The ultimate vision is to end single-use products and transition the world towards a circular economy. The path is long. To turn this vision into reality, it needs to be executed by a team that loves what they do, that can’t wait for Monday to come.

Inuru therefore needs to be more than a place work. It needs to be a place where people feel good.

„Soon after we started searching for a head of HR it was clear to us, that this was not what we wanted. If we spend at least 8 hours of our awaken life at work, we need to make sure that people feel good here and that all their needs are looked after. We need a caring, warm person. We need somebody to make everyone feel good at work. It goes beyond the contacts and the desk work. And this is the philosophy behind the position.“, explains Marcin Ratajczak, CEO Inuru.

And after a long search we have found Silvia Malo Rasinski. A Mexico City native with an interesting career in branding and advertising. She held leadership positions in Mexico and the US (NY City) before moving to Germany with her family. With this article we would like to shed some light on how work culture at Inuru is going to shape. Find the Interview below:

Malo, it is great to have you here. You come from an advertising field, not the exact fit for this role. Why did you apply to the Job Position?

The short answer is: Because this is a meaningful job. My husband saw this position in LinkedIn and suggested I looked into it.

What struck my attention was that this approach to the management of people was completely different from what we all know an HR manager does, and at the same time, very much in line with my nurturing nature.

As employees, we might feel that the HR task is to manage the people in a horizontal way. I understood what Marcin was saying as more of a vertical idea, where you go deeper instead of going wider.

Marcin used the word “benevolence” in the job description. I knew right then and there that this was a job I wanted to land.

Because this was about being kind, honest and about focusing on people as much as focusing on the company -After all, the organization is an “us” idea… I know it can sound obvious but in many, many cases it is more of a “we and you” kind of thing.

So how does that work together with your marketing experiences?

In one hand I have this nurturing nature, and I also have my advertising persona. After my husband suggested this job and I realised I really wanted this, I had to think hard how to give my experience as an advertising strategist value and relevancy.

Then I realized that during my years at the advertising agencies, I nurtured and created positive, productive relationships between agency and clients and also between brands and consumers. So this was just another area in which my nurturing skills would come in handy.

And on that same idea of healthy, productive relationship, I believe that brands connect with the outside as much as they connect towards the inside.

Inuru has something to say to the people that power it as a brand. The commitment to sustainability speaks to all of us as individuals and hence it should touch us as professionals. To me, this is a fascinating challenge…

You are mentioning it - what Inuru stands for. For many people this is not clear, can you described the company vision that has been presented to you?

The vision is something completely different from what many of us have seen or even experienced. For Marcin and Patrick, it is clear that everything in the organization revolves around its people and the people the product reaches because the product behind the Inuru brand is about technology improving our everyday life.

And inwards, Inuru’s key principle is that people are core of the organization. Since neither Patrick or Marcin can dedicate the time to take care of the people they way they’d like to, they searched for someone that can extend and execute this principle by looking after the team in a very dedicated, wholesome fashion.

What does it mean to take care of people?

It starts with the fact that the Feel Good manager role stands at the center of the organization. It goes from procuring a pleasant work environment (physical and emotionally speaking) to acting as a work coach.

Clearly, I am not the office Fairy, nor I pretend to be one, I am here to help people work happy. Simple. We have a pretty awesome team. So let’s empower every single person in it!

I am responsible for personal matters (as it pertains to the work environment) as well as for how the company is furnished, which food we have on the table so that people eat something healthy.

But beyond that, I have been trusted to keeping our processes in check, and ensuring that our structure is solid and will stand strong as we transition to something bigger.

How do you see the culture of the company so far?

Inuru is super diverse in terms of personalities. We have this impressive roster of engineers in their own inventive world, and then we have our sales and marketing team with their special energy or the chemists, in charge of the OLEDs doing their magic in the lab.

We also come from all corners of the world, but when we are here, we are a team by definition and not just by addition, we all have a common “want”.

It is hard to combine the different competencies?

In my view, no. People are social in nature. We need interaction. I am convinced that teamwork is the best work: when we see what the others are doing and how they are doing it, we get inspired. So, my task It is to figure out ways to make that interaction happen.

A pleasant room might elicit a very productive conversation, for example… Or another example: I love to cook. Cooking for the team and eating together makes everyone happy. It shows care and dedication, and people appreciate that. So this becomes part of our company culture.

You already mentioned what Inuru looks like today. What about tomorrow?

We are pushing for more women in this company. Even during the recruitment process. We simply don’t get enough female applicants. One of my tasks in terms of our environment is to find a way to speak to women and their needs. Women should not have to decide between job and family, for example. We can do something about it. So let’s get on it!

Ok so maybe one last thing. How was the first month at Inuru so far?

To put it shortly, AMAZING! The entire team was very welcoming and open to having someone in my role. Everyone has a different voice, and I love hearing all of them!!!

About Silvia Malo Rasinski

A Mexico City native with experience in branding and advertising at leading agencies like Ogilvy & Mather. She held leadership positions in Mexico and the US (NY City).

https://www.linkedin.com/in/silvia-malo-rasinski-39a7945/