CIC energiGUNE, a leading Basque research center in electrochemical energy storage and conversion and thermal energy storage and conversion, has been one of the three finalists of the "Mutualia Award for Diversity in the Company", awarded to companies and entities that stand out for carrying out an advanced and efficient management of diversity in the workplace. The awards ceremony took place yesterday at Mutualia´s headquarters in Vitoria-Gasteiz.
"We have a rich and diverse workforce in all aspects - origin, gender, culture, language, functional diversity... - and managing this reality is a challenge that helps us to grow in all aspects", said Mercedes Ellacuría, CIC energiGUNE´s People Area technician, after learning of the center´s status as a finalist. "In addition, I believe that our proactive approach in managing this diversity has a decisive weight in creating an integrated and inclusive work environment," she said.
The finalist position of CIC energiGUNE was announced yesterday morning, after the final phase of public exhibition of the project. CIC energiGUNE´s candidacy competed in the final phase with Gamesa Gearbox and KL Katealegaia. The latter candidacy has achieved the highest joint assessment by the expert jury and the public present in the room, who have had the opportunity to learn about the projects through rapid presentations.
In this sense, CIC energiGUNE -which has a staff of more than 200 professionals from 30 countries and where there is parity between men and women at all levels- has presented two initiatives framed within its diversity management strategy: The Onboarding Plan and the "Buddy System" initiative. In the first case, the objective is to systematically accompany people from their incorporation to generate alignment with the center´s values, as well as to homogenize information, team building and facilitate rapid integration both in the research center and in the environment, which is continuously monitored within the first year.
The "Buddy System", on the other hand, focuses on facilitating an effective transition of new incorporations not only to CIC energiGUNE but also to the Basque Country. To this end, employees of the center are connected with professionals who are going to join and act as hosts. These hosts, who work on a voluntary basis, are essential to create relationships beyond the work environment and facilitate the integration of people, especially those from more distant cultures.
The Mutualia Awards, now in their tenth year and with the collaboration of CONFEBASK, ADEGI, CEBEK, SEA and OSALAN, aim to promote health and safety at work. In the specific case of the Award for Diversity in the Company -an award is also given for Innovation in Occupational Risk Prevention- the specific objective is to recognize the projects aimed at adapting the working conditions to the characteristics of the people who make up the organization, favoring non-discrimination among people on the grounds of gender, age, race, language or functional diversity, among others.
