Fostering Inclusivity Inside & Outside of Syneos Health
Important work happens every day across Syneos Health in collaboration with our customers and the patients we serve. It also happens outside of our company, through organizations doing incredible work to support diverse communities around the world.
As employees, we are encouraged to be involved in the communities where we live and work. Martina Trevisan, Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist, and Katalin Kuster, Talent Acquisition Specialist II, took time outside of their day-to-day Talent Acquisition roles to give back to their community in Madrid, Spain.
The Juan XXIII Foundation is a non-profit center in Spain that acts as a “care network” for adults with physical, intellectual, and sensory disabilities. The Foundation has a vision to offer solutions to those with intellectual disabilities to develop the skills and knowledge needed for employment.
Hear from Martina about her and Katalin’s volunteer experience and how this motivated them to bring their total selves to work.
What is the Juan XXIII Foundation and what stood out about Juan XXIII Foundation when deciding on an organization to partner with?
Syneos Health’s office in Spain has been partnering with the Juan XXIII Foundation for several years. We collaborate with them in different ways, as they are present and working in several sectors as well. Juan XXIII Foundation provides different services, using exclusively their own workforce, creating work and job opportunities for this segment of the society. For example, they have been responsible for our local catering for several years now, they manufacture their own products; from soaps, candles, key rings to food for special catering events. They help us raise awareness for our employees on how to include more and more people with different abilities.
Tell us more about your volunteer experience with the Juan XXIII Foundation. How did participating in this volunteer opportunity make you feel?
Katalin and I recently participated in a two-day volunteering experience with a group of twelve people with various mental disabilities. Those with a disability were attending a course on data recording. Our job was to give them the tools to perform a job interview to help them be able to get an administrative job in the future. We showed them some videos, with good and bad examples of a job interview and they were able to understand and point out the mistakes and those behaviors that are best avoided in a job interview. We also did some role-playing, where they had to answer questions as if they were performing job interview.
While volunteering, we noticed that all participants were always willing to help each other by giving advice or recommendations. Participating in this activity gave us the opportunity to appreciate our job even more, showing us that we can really make a difference in the lives of people. It was truly a humbling experience, and I would recommend anyone who can give back to the community doing some volunteering work!
What lessons have you learned from volunteering that can be used in your personal and professional life?
Thanks to this volunteering experience we both have learned some invaluable lessons; we can make an impact. It showed us that what we did in volunteering and what we do at Syneos Health is purposeful, and we help the world around us. This experience also forced us to think and act in a different way, not what we are used to in our day to day, but we were challenged to think out of the box to be understood. It’s an experience we will never forget!
How are the values of Syneos Health and Juan XXIII Foundation similar?
In one word: Inclusion. They are the excellence of this concept, and we can keep taking these lessons forward.
How would you describe the culture at Syneos Health?
Syneos Health’s culture is one of the most inclusive company cultures that I have been a part of. You bring your values in the company apart from of course your professional experience and all of us add up a diverse piece of puzzle to the whole and this is enriching.
How does Syneos Health encourage you to bring your Total-Self to work?
I feel that I can truly be myself here at Syneos Health. Thanks to this volunteering experience, I learned that I could bring my total self to work and not be afraid to show it. Not only were our line managers in favor of this volunteering experience but they encouraged us to do it.
At Syneos Health, we share the same values, inclusive of respect and the total acceptance of all our colleagues. We will continue to encourage our employees to give back to their communities in both their personal and professional lives.
Check out current career opportunities: https://syneoshealth.com/careers
