‘When you put your employees first you get a happy, engaged, and productive workforce,’ says Amadeus North America

As the Senior Vice President of People and Culture at travel technology company, Amadeus, Robert Ortiz is a veteran leader in the HR space, overseeing more than 3,300 employees working across 19 sites and 17 cities, from Canada to Argentina.

In leading the People and Culture area, Ortiz is responsible for employee wellbeing, talent retention, and recruitment, to name just a few areas.

But he believes that he has found the secret to success: People-centric cultures.

In an exclusive interview with UNLEASH, Ortiz shares how and why Amadeus has created an environment where its people are at the core, as well as why other businesses should follow suit.

Creating people-centric cultures

At Amadeus, a people-centric culture means having an environment that is attractive to top talent and fosters a purposeful, inclusive, and engaging culture allowing employees to become their best selves.

For Ortiz, personalization plays a huge part in this, as he believes that recognizing each colleague as an individual, with different needs, ambitions, and abilities will create the space for them to thrive.

One way in which Ortiz has implemented this through Amadeus is by providing a mentorship program, as a way to deliver specific training sessions to upskill employees.

To do so, a variety of regional mentoring programs are offered across Amadeus in the Americas, covering different profiles and development needs – from technical to leadership roles, from junior to senior profiles, as well as specific mentoring programs for women.

"Through our mentoring program, our most senior leaders support the development of our future leaders,” Ortiz says.

“Mentors share insights, knowledge, and experience with the mentees, focusing on supporting both their professional and personal growth.”

At the same time, Amadeus offers employees over 2,100 blended learning opportunities, including face-to-face, virtual, and online training sessions on soft and hard skills.

“Whatever our colleagues need, we can create a curated training program, focused on their personal requirements to grow within Amadeus,” Ortiz adds. “This is a people-centric culture in action.”

This is particularly important for businesses to address, as the world of work has drastically changed over the past five years, and is continuing to do so.

“We need to be more aware of the challenges our teams and leaders face,” Ortiz explains. “Remote work increases the chance of isolation, stress, and burnout if not properly managed.

“We must therefore create a people-centric culture with a focus on wellbeing, and the mental health of Amadeus’ employees.

“Conversely, creating flexibility, and valuing each member of the team as an individual, can drive engagement and boost morale.”

To showcase this, Amadeus’ teams in the Americas can work anywhere in the world for one month a year, for example, and flexibility is offered when colleagues are required to attend the office.

“With the aim of enhancing our culture, we last year increased the frequency of our engagement surveys, up from typically once a year to three times a year, so we can get a better and faster understanding of the views of our people, in turn enabling us to be more agile on best practice and areas for improvement,” Ortiz shares.

When you put your employees first, offer them the flexibility they need, and allow work to take a healthy place in their life, this results in a happy, engaged, and productive workforce that helps the entire organization succeed.”When you put your employees first, offer them the flexibility they need, and allow work to take a healthy place in their life, this results in a happy, engaged, and productive workforce that helps the entire organization succeed.”

As Ortiz currently oversees more than 3,300 employees working across 19 sites in 17 cities across the Americas, he understands that different locations have varying expectations around what flexibility means.

He therefore believes that it’s the leader’s responsibility to develop policies that are acceptable to these diverse opinions.

He explains: “When we work with a multitude of people across many different countries and cultures across the Americas representing more than 81 nationalities, it’s critical to understand that a one-size-fits-all approach is not going to work.

“Giving employees what they need to succeed is the cornerstone of a people-centric workplace, and that means we need to be constantly talking to and listening to them as well as adjusting our policies.”

Attracting talent and improving retention

As a direct repercussion of prioritizing employee wellbeing and happiness, Amadeus’ has seen positive benefits, in terms of retention levels.

Happy and satisfied employees will generally stay in their roles,” Ortiz highlights. “This not only means giving them what they need to succeed but also providing them with the career progression they are looking for.Happy and satisfied employees will generally stay in their roles,” Ortiz highlights. “This not only means giving them what they need to succeed but also providing them with the career progression they are looking for.

“Talent attraction, development, and retention are crucial to the success of our business. We want to be the employer of choice for the best talent from all backgrounds.”

For this reason, Amadeus continuously evolves its people processes, which are aimed to be simple, transparent, and fully flexible, including constructive feedback.

Ortiz adds: “We also work on enhancing the candidate’s experience in our recruitment process. Virtual recruitment is here to stay, but we recognize that the human touch is still vital.

“Our talent review process is part of a strategic approach to ensure the sustainability of our business by identifying organizational gaps and assessing our talent pool.

“It consists of a series of structured, facilitated meetings where our employees are reviewed in terms of their key strengths, areas for development, career goals and possible career moves.

What’s more, a major part of attracting and retaining talent is having a solid employer brand, which Ortiz champions through Amadeus’ corporate social media channels and recruitment tools.

“Our place at the center of the travel ecosystem is a tremendous asset,” he shares. “Travel is an exciting space in which to work, helping us attract creative, driven individuals.

“The next generation is eager to work with companies who are making a difference, and at Amadeus we emphasize how we fit in with the wider industry and global environment and communicate that better to them.”

At the same time, Ortiz recognizes that good communication drives performance, which is why Amadeus informs employees about its business strategy, technology landscape, and key events both external and internal.

“We build a sense of belonging by sharing stories that unite us as a global workforce with common values,” he adds. “We work to empower our employees at all times by encouraging greater exchange, input, and dialogue.

“We also enhance our brand through our ESG programs, which not only show our commitment to the environment to our employees but allow them to be involved as well with initiatives like Amadeus Volunteer Month.”

For Amadeus, this is particularly important as hybrid and remote work has meant that talent pools have shifted and expanded beyond the traditional hub cities. Workers and companies are therefore competing for jobs nationally and globally.

People now more than ever want to know what your company stands for, and that your company shares their values,” Ortiz believes. “Companies that are able to communicate this well and explain how they are making a positive impact on the world will benefit as a result.”People now more than ever want to know what your company stands for, and that your company shares their values,” Ortiz believes. “Companies that are able to communicate this well and explain how they are making a positive impact on the world will benefit as a result.”

When asked to summarize, Ortiz drew attention to three fundamental factors that he believes HR leaders should know and understand, in order to create people-centric cultures.

“Firstly, treat your people as key partners in your company’s success and involve them in the process, and empower them with trust and flexibility to reap productivity and benefits in the long run.

“Then, understand what people want from companies, and ensure your organization is on the right track to deliver.

“And lastly, make sure you communicate the differences your program makes, so your company truly becomes a place people want to work at.”