On Thursday, February 12, Juan Miguel Sucunza (Executive Vice President of group ) drew on his experience staff to explain what executives learn when managing a business large business and what changes he is promoting in his organization.
First, he outlined his career path: he studied engineering, worked for a year as an engineer, and decided to change direction because he didn't like it. From there, he moved into business functions (such as exports) and worked for a variety of companies in different countries and with different Structures . This variety, he said, allowed him to compare corporate cultures and management styles and understand which practices work best when seeking performance.
He then described the current context: he works for a company with around 80,000 employees, with a presence in Spain, the United States, and several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. He explained that EULEN provides many different services (he mentioned security, cleaning, maintenance, the environment, gardens, management , and work , as well as a technical business linked to airports). He highlighted a core topic understanding the difficulty of management: in Spain, they handle around 320 different agreements (provincial, sectoral, state, and business), which makes labor relations and work organization very complex.
The main thrust of his idea was this: changing a business is business just about improving processes, but also changing culture, and that requires responsibility and high standards. He said that when he joined the company, he perceived a culture of leave or performance leave and little accountability: people doing the same old thing without clear objectives or consequences. That is why he insisted on accountability (individual responsibility): for him, it must be clear who is manager each thing; he does not like "shared responsibilities" because they dilute control and no one is truly accountable. This approach is even leading approach to assessment systems assessment variable compensation, reviewing evaluation , salary bands, compensation, and internal tools (ERP and HR systems), because he believes that an organization of this size cannot be managed "like an SME."
He also spoke about the main obstacles: resistance to change, especially among long-serving staff with a average age, and in environments where the business operating for years with inertia. He explained that he tries to take a "soft approach" (explaining, training, accompanying), but when there is no progress, "tougher" decisions must be made: changing managers, reorganizing, promoting generational renewal, or measures such as early retirement. He linked this to another challenge: attracting and retaining young talent, because young people today change work ; therefore, the business modernize training degree program (he spoke of the need for upskilling/reskilling). He also mentioned operational problems such as absenteeism, which surprised him due to its distribution (low in Andalusia and higher in the north), and how the legal context can increase complexity.
In closing, he differentiated between a sense of belonging and real commitment: "wanting" the business identifying with it is not enough if objectives are not met. His final message was that an organization improves when each person knows what is expected of them, is accountable for their results, and there is a clear culture of high standards and accountability, especially in large and highly diverse companies.
