“We would live in a better world if we put people first – ahead of power, money, technology, productivity and growth”

In our NORMAPeople series, employees around the world talk about their day-to-day work, how they came to the company, and what they appreciate most about their jobs.

Ivette Gutierrez is the Digital Marketing Systems & Web Architect at NORMA Group. She is located in Barcelona, Spain but works in the Global Marketing Team. In this interview, she talks about her current projects, her hopes for the future and what she learned from stress.

Ivette, what tasks are involved with your job?

My job’s main goal is to align and harmonize the digital presence of NORMA Group in order to ensure customer-centricity and show one face to the customer across all digital touchpoints and to find synergies to improve performance, optimize effort and reduce costs.

We want to provide an easy and straightforward digital experience for our customers and prospects to continue to make NORMA Group the preferred company for joining and fluid handling technology.

What does your daily work routine look like?

There are generally a lot of meetings in my day. I live in Barcelona but work for the Global Marketing team, so I work from home. We have a lot of virtual meetings to keep in touch and up to date. I also deal with strategy development, presentations and discussions with internal stakeholders and external parties. Occasionally, I also go to the office and meet my colleagues from other departments.

What are you working on right now?

We are currently creating a strategy for the website ecosystem of NORMA Group, a project included in the NORMA Group e-commerce strategy. The objective is to create a website that works as an effective sales tool by fulfilling customer needs and attracting new customers while being cost efficient and ensuring synergies.

What do you like most about your job?

I like to think strategically and analyze things. But digital marketing involves so much more than analysis and strategy – there is also a great deal of creativity. This mix makes the job interesting – it never gets boring.

And what are the greatest challenges?

We are currently in the middle of a digital transformation project. A major step for a company, and one that brings with it a great deal of change. And change is always hard for an organization and for employees. With that in mind, the challenge is to drive this digital transformation forward, to understand needs of all stakeholders and to address the difficulties that are involved.

What skills are important for the work that you do?

Communication and understanding the needs of colleagues and customers. My work is not only about the company, but more importantly about the people behind it. Having good relationships at work is crucial, for our performance and also for our well-being. Fortunately, I have great colleagues who warmly welcomed me at NORMA Group a few months ago when I joined the company.

What motivates you every day?

My ultimate goal is always to stay healthy and happy.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I do a lot of yoga. I used to be a yoga teacher in my free time. I currently offer courses in stress relief and resilience through my online platform.

Sounds like there are few points where your work and your hobbies overlap?

Absolutely. And yet they help me every day in my work life.

In what way?

A few years ago, I was searching for answers and started learning a lot about stress: Why do we have stress and why do we feel stressed? I discovered that it’s not necessarily external circumstances that are relevant, but your own mindset. Stress is something that is very subjective: While a certain situation may make one person feel challenged and happy, the same situation may make another person feel burnt out. I learned that thoughts and the way we perceive reality can generate stress, and I wanted to share my experience with other people.

What are your hopes for the future?

I hope for a more friendly and more feminine future. There have never been so many opportunities for humanity to make a difference. I think, we would live in a better world if we put people first – ahead of power, money, technology, productivity and growth. If we take care of each and every individual, progress will happen easily.

And finally, please complete the following sentence: I love my job because…

…I can combine my analytical approach and planning skills with creativity and interpersonal communication.