Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the contributions and influence of the Hispanic culture in the U.S. To join this celebration, Crowley engaged Hispanic team members in the U.S. and Central America shared how their Hispanic culture influences values, relationships, communication, and high performance at work.
Crowley is a privately-owned marine, transportation, and logistics company providing worldwide solutions since 1892. We have over 6,000 high-performing team members in 35 countries, including Latin America and Caribbean territories. To succeed, the company has initiated programs through its Diversity & Inclusion Council to leverage inclusion among its employees’ array of talents and experience. While this blog includes six different speakers from various Hispanic communities, we acknowledge that this represents a small percentage of Hispanic heritage. We acknowledge that this is a small percentage of the total Hispanic heritage and that every Hispanic community and its influence is important.
Hispanic Values + Crowley Values (Integrity, Safety and High Performance)
Working in a place that matches your own purpose and set of values is essential no matter where you are.
“Our cultural and Hispanic origin has always been very aligned with Crowley’s values. They are reflected in everything we do,” said Hannia Ortega, senior account executive for six years at Crowley Logistics, who is of Costa Rican heritage. “In Costa Rican culture, integrity, ethics and solidarity have always been fundamental, both personally and professionally. Since our youth, our ancestors have taught us to value work and always commit ourselves to do our best to achieve our goals and high-performance.”
“Coming from a Cuban immigrant family, we know the importance of hard work, education, family solidarity, and community support,” said Tony Otero, vice president, finance and planning for Logistics, who has spent 22 years at Crowley. “Through these values, my family overcame significant challenges when leaving Cuba and coming to this great country. I see the same values at Crowley every day. High performance, ongoing development, and team are not just words; these are ingredients to the recipe for success that I see at Crowley and what I know through the Cuban experience. I use those values to support and serve my customers.”
Cross-cultural Communication
Communication is critical in any work environment. Crowley’s Miguel Moreno and Ivania Elias shared their insights about how their Hispanic culture influences how they communicate effectively across cultures.
“Fortunately, the hospitality, kindness, and joy I inherited from my Dominican culture make it easy for me to be pleasant when communicating with clients and peers at work,” said Moreno, a warehouse supervisor for Crowley for two years
“Hispanics definitely have a different way of communicating,” said Elias, accounting supervisor for Global Processing Services, who is of Salvadoran heritage. “Salvadorans use many body and facial expressions to convey our messages directly and clearly. This openness in communication and dynamic language allows us to exchange ideas, processes and strategies with our internal clients and our teams.”
Cultural Alignment at Work
Leveraging cultures traits and background can show up in people’s ability to navigate their roles and impact their performance and contributions.
“My role is based on communication and organization, mostly. That’s why, from my perspective, my cultural background helps me go along perfectly with my role. We, Puerto Ricans, are charismatic and enthusiastic; we love to understand and help others succeed,” said Karina Jorge, coordinator, Logistics.
“In Honduras, we have always been known for our collaboration spirit. I recently had the opportunity to be part of the facilitator’s team for Crowley’s Central America safety leadership program,” said Carlos Garín, director, marine operations “But more than being part of this team, we had the opportunity to support our entire team in the United States to adapt and translate all the content into Spanish. This allowed the safety message, which is the company’s number one value, to eliminate language barriers and reach all the trained leaders. With the right information, it helped them understand and adapt that message to our day-to-day operations.”
Hispanic Heritage Month is always an opportunity to learn and share the uniqueness and similarities of different cultures and how they enrich our work and lives while providing innovative solutions to our customers and peers. To conclude, they shared insights into why Hispanic contributions are so significant not only to the U.S. but also to society. You may relate to more than one:
We know the importance of family, education, hard work, and community support. - Otero
Collaboration and communication between teams are implicit in our culture, which allows us to unify ideas and create integrated strategies. - Elias
In the most difficult times, our high level of creativity allows us to bring out our best. - Garín
Safety and protection are a priority in Hispanic culture, both professionally and personally. - Ortega
Dedication and effort run through our veins; because we benefit and prosper from a job well done. - Moreno
We are passionate about what we do. No matter where we are, we will always find a way until we succeed. - Jorge
Learning about different cultures empowers all of us to grow in understanding the various dimensions of diversity and how this ultimately supports the ways in which we can be more inclusive at work.
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