While some of them have been collaborating on these types of projects for years, others are new to this working method. All of them consider it a great opportunity to collaborate with employees who have other functions and to generate change from within. They highlight the importance of constant learning and support among team members.
Araceli Campos Navarro
Head of Business Development, Motors, and Damage, MAPFRE Mexico
Project-based work stimulates creativity, teamwork, and motivation. I encourage you to try this new style of work.
Since I started project-based work in 2019, I have collaborated on a variety of projects, such as developing a sales action plan, the motors plan, the home model, exclusive networks, sales team productivity, and the portfolio conservation center. I’ve also worked on implementing and optimizing technological solutions, in the sales classroom, in intermediary selection tests, etc.
I’ve collaborated with several colleagues from different areas, and they have taught me a lot about functions and activities. As a result, I have more knowledge that I can use to resolve any concerns or problems that arise, and I now respond more directly, and above all, more rapidly and effectively.
He participado con varios compañeros de distintas áreas y me han dejado muchas enseñanzas en cuanto a funciones y actividades, esto ha aumentado mi conocimiento ante cualquier duda o problema a resolver y me he vuelto más directa y sobre todo rápida y eficaz en la respuesta.
Erika de Vasconcellos Gazeta
Strategic Projects and IT Portfolio Management, MAPFRE BRAZIL
Participating in projects is an opportunity to be part of changes and to contribute my know-how to the creation of processes and improvements.
My experience in projects began a little over a decade ago in other companies in the tech sector, but I started here at MAPFRE two years ago, at the beginning of the pandemic. This involved many challenges and knowledge exchanges in terms of business and systems, along with all the life and work adjustments we had to make.
Faced with many changes, MAPFRE leveraged the new situation to introduce collaborative actions, training modules with business experts, and agile methodology, as well as courses available to us on the SuccessFactors site. That was how my project experience began.
To me, participating in projects is an opportunity to be part of the company’s changes and to contribute my know-how to the creation of processes and improvements. One example was my participation in the project-based work pilot with the Human Resources team. With the help of project managers, PMOs (project management offices), and business teams, we were able to define a new work model focused on the use of corporate tools and the application of de facto practices.
As a project manager, I was in charge of the 2020 Global Connection program, providing support to the actuarial, operations, and motor areas, and in 2021 it was expanded to the assistance, Life, finance, resources, people, claims, HR, and communication areas. As a result of this expansion to the different lines of business, I learned how to handle everyday setbacks, keeping my sights set on delivery and the satisfaction of all my internal clients.
In the current structure, I report to IT and work on projects with different support areas, such as: IT contract and investment management, economic control and metrics, testing quality, functional, standards and processes, technological solutions, infrastructure, architecture, cybersecurity and compliance.
Working with projects at MAPFRE gets me involved in different areas. For example, there are times when I’m with the business team discussing topics related to what they do, and then I participate in a forum on new technologies. These interactions have helped me to develop a thorough understanding of the company’s portfolio of products.
Eric Martínez Meléndez
Manager Support Information Technology. MAPFRE Puerto Rico
Things have changed at MAPFRE, and the work we once did as part of a department is now project-based at all levels.
Project-based work at MAPFRE has shown me how objectives can be met in an organized and consistent manner. Over the years and with experience, we gain knowledge that helps us do our daily work more efficiently. However, working on projects has given me a much broader view of my objectives and how to meet them. My individual work results impact many people’s results, so following a project-based working methodology is the most important thing I can do to meet all my goals.
I work in the IT department, so I’ve been using project-based methodologies since I joined MAPFRE in 2000. Times change and everything evolves, and I’ve also observed how MAPFRE has changed, and the work we once did as part of a department is now project-based at all levels.
Participating in projects is very important to me: it has allowed me to grow professionally, expand my knowledge, and have an broader view of all the pieces that must be considered, like in a puzzle.
Every year we work with strategic planning at the country level, which is in turn linked to global planning. The highlight of this year for me was my participation in the IFRS 17 implementation projects for corporate MAPFRE and the implementation of the RE21 tool for ceded business.
These are important projects that involve many people from different countries, and they have taught me to be more organized and work with teams other than the ones I’m familiar with. This adds to my experience and makes my work more rewarding.
In short, working on projects has allowed me to meet new people who perform functions that are very different from mine. It’s been an opportunity to learn about their work and functions, as well as about goals and how to achieve them, and this has definitely made me more knowledgeable about MAPFRE.
Jesús Molina
Quality and methodology analyst, MAPFRE TECH
Working on projects with people from different areas gives you a broader, more diverse picture of the company-
I’ve been collaborating on projects since I joined MAPFRE two and a half years ago; however, in the past year my participation has become more active and direct.
Collaborating on projects has allowed me to have a clearer perspective of my contribution to the company. It’s shown me how I add value to the company, and it’s been rewarding to watch the project grow and evolve, and to see a company as large as MAPFRE integrate something with my team’s name on it.
The project that I’ve participated in most actively is DevOps, which has taught me a lot, not only about the technologies involved, but also about how to adopt a different way of working, more oriented towards the fast and efficient delivery of value. This project is transforming IT towards more automatic models, and it will improve the Time2Market of MAPFRE’s applications.
Due to the nature of the project, the team is made up of people from different areas and with different training, and each person contributes their knowledge. They also share their vision of the business, which gives you a broader and more varied picture of the company. Personally I have learned a lot from all the members of my team. Not only in terms of knowledge, but also about how I work.
Aside from having a good attitude and trying to help as much as possible (even if it isn’t your field), my best advice is to take advantage of all the resources in the project, mainly human resources, and to rely on your team as much as necessary to achieve your objectives.
Antonio Crespo García
Head of ágilNSE development (Non-Life Issuing) MAPFRE ESPAÑA
The most important thing is to understand that this is about PEOPLE creating products and projects for other PEOPLE.
I work in the technology area, so project management is something that’s already part of my area’s DNA, and I’ve been participating in different company projects for many years.
It’s rewarding to feel that your participation in projects is helping to build the company’s future and to address the needs or challenges it has identified.
Thinking about some of the most significant projects I’ve taken part in, I would go back to 2005, when I started out and was still a collaborator, and helped create Gesalud, an application that our sales network still uses today. I then participated in many of the projects to upgrade the application, and I have especially fond memories of the projects that made it possible for health products to be sold online or through different banking channels. For the past two years, I’ve been involved in an incredible project to integrate the health line into the new issuing system. This poses a business and technology challenge, and we have decided to approach it with an agile mindset, which represents a different way of approaching these kinds of projects. Here we learn new things every day, and the biggest lesson concerns managing uncertainty and relying on technology, which is obviously a tremendous enabler. The most important thing is to understand that this is about PEOPLE creating products and projects for other PEOPLE.
I’ve been fortunate enough to learn from many colleagues, and that is definitely helping me to understand the company in a more transversal way. In particular, I love to observe and learn from other people and see how they perform their functions within the projects.
I like to emphasize the importance of listening more than talking, and connecting with the other members of the team. Everyone makes mistakes and everyone learns, especially in these uncertain times, when changing conditions force us to adapt along the way and make decisions based on the information we have.