Being in one organization you can change roles and develop in different directions at the same time. A perfect example of such a career is Celina, who joined Arla more than 5 years ago as a Lean Consultant, and today she is a Manager in the Talent Acquisition team.
I joined Arla 5 years ago as a Lean Consultant. Arla was then on the very beginning of a Lean Journey. Lean Management started to enter “office” work and there was a huge potential in Finance processes. We formed a small team with Jaijeet Choudhary and Paweł Falkowski, and our primary role was to support GSS Finance in implementing Lean Methodology, build knowledge and awareness, and in general positive vibe around the change in approach to processes management.
2. Tell us about your professional path?
I’m, as some could say, “role hopper” but I’d rather call it diverse and broad development path 😊 So I started as a Lean Consultant in GSS Finance. As GSS evolved and matured in time, our small team joined Service Delivery Team which was on their own transformation journey. Shortly after we have named ourselves GSS Development as our agenda was projects oriented around numerous areas such as Transitions, Knowledge Management, Lean in and outside GSS. We started offering our expertise to other functions who needed support in improvement projects. Our portfolio has grown and there was a need for a Product Owner role, which I took on a side with a Lean Consultant role. We had two main streams: bring more work to Gdańsk through transitions and continuously improve what’s already here. This naturally brought me to a Team Leader position for Lean, Automations and Knowledge Management. So as you can see there was already a great deal of learning opportunities. And now I’m a Manager in Talent Acquisition team 😊
3. Tell us about your current position? Why did it attract you?
I have grown to a Team Leader position in the function I knew. I became a Team Leader for my peers and friends which was challenging enough. An experience definitely worth having as it taught me a lot. But I felt that at some point in time I want to use my management skills in a function I’m not an expert yet but are curious about. This would allow me to stretch even further not only as a people manager but I will get a fantastic opportunity to gain expertise in a new area. And HR is a fun place to be! There is so much to do with fantastic people. Our team is forming and it’s a unique chance to build a team almost from a scratch and develop ways of working and processes together, adjust them as we see fit 😊
4. What you value most about working at Arla in terms of development / work culture.
I guess you can see that Arla offers fantastic development opportunities by my career path 😊 And I value this so much. It’s so comfortable to be able to grow not only vertically but horizontally as well. With every step in my roles I would hear from my friends or husband “oh, so now we will not see you anymore cause you’ll be loaded with work, extra hours etc..” and here I am writing answers to this article just before my 3-week holiday, and just today I put a green dot on the mood KPI (if you know what I mean 😉). Work is work, we all do important stuff and need to meet deadlines, but we are all humans, have families and private life which is truly respected at Arla.
5. What challenges have you faced in your career at Arla?
Many! Most importantly the challenges my managers put me against or I have found myself. Projects where there is little experience at Arla to build on so we needed to walk our paths. At Arla your manager will not tell A to Z what is to be done and I like it. It’s probably harder but so much more fun.
6. What organizational values do you identify with?
I think Arla Character is unique and what makes it such a great place to work. It wouldn’t’ be this way if we didn’t stress Lead, Sense and Create as much as we do in many of our interactions. In my view Lead is the one I value a lot and this is where it all starts in my opinion. With you/me and what you/I do in different scenarios. Lead is when you take the matters in your own hands and give it momentum, and this is where you can truly influence actions, one of the most critical motivators.
7. What would you advise other women whose goal is to get to where you are?
Be curious and brave. Take a step where you haven’t been before and see what happens. Worst case you’ll get some experience 😉
