Work Hard and Network: Expanding on Traditional Latino Values to Bring Mentorship Programs to Employee Resources Groups

Today we are featuring a blog written by Hilti Compensation Manager, Cynthia Platero, who also serves as the Professional Development Chair for the Hilti North America LatinX Employee Resource Group (ERG). Throughout her career, Cynthia has learned that great mentorship and sponsorship can make a meaningful impact in career growth, something that was at odds with the work hard and keep your head down mantra she was raised with. To support others, Cynthia has worked to bring a mentorship connection program to the Latinx ERG, which has recently been expanded across all North American Employee Resource Groups. In this blog, Cynthia shares the journey that prompted her to introduce this program, and the resulting impact.

Bridging Traditional Latino Values with Corporate Mentorship

Growing up in a traditional Latino household I was taught many things: make your bed daily, go to school, get your degree, “portate bien”, and most importantly, work hard and keep your head down. Some of them stuck and some of them didn’t. I am a classic middle child; we are not forged to keep our heads down, even when we try. But if there is one thing I had down to a science, it’s my work ethic – it’s practically my brand.

Navigating corporate environments and seeking career advancement opportunities can often feel unpredictable, especially when systems often don’t cater to unique backgrounds. Fortunately, throughout my career I’ve had the support of senior leaders who have generously invested in my growth and development. I am very competitive with a constant desire to get better and feedback, whether positive reinforcement or constructive, is a tool that I have leveraged to either keep doing what I was doing or get better. Leaders have seen in me this desire to develop and knew their time and efforts would not be wasted.

Reflecting on the relationships I’ve built, I now understand these were my mentors and sponsors. I’ve had several who have had a meaningful impact on me professionally as well as personally. Because I am introverted, talking about accomplishments, abilities and aspirations does not come naturally to me – instead, I hope my work speaks for itself.  Like other skills, advocating for myself takes practice. While I have not yet mastered it, I am leaps and bounds beyond where I started. Thanks to all these incredible people who have supported me, I have developed in ways that I couldn’t have imagined, and I am much stronger for it. I have an exceptional network whom I love and respect.

Enjoying some traditional cuisine at a recent Hispanic Heritage Month event!

Getting Connected to the LatinX ERG and a Hilti Mentor

I became an active member of the Hilti North America LatinX Employee Resource Group (ERG) shortly after it launched a few years ago and met colleagues that I wouldn’t have otherwise met within my day-to-day work. This community afforded us the opportunity to be vulnerable with one another; to share lived experiences and career aspirations, and to get to know each other on a personal level. The ERG programing also provided opportunities to learn how leaders from the organization navigated their careers. I found it fascinating to hear the different paths that brought them to their current leadership role. I noticed that networking was a reoccurring theme – having mentors, sponsors, a personal champion.  Ultimately, the goal is for people to speak about your talents when you are not in the room. 

For some, networking seems to come easily, and for some...not so much. It can be daunting to think about meeting new people and even more intimidating to ask someone you know for a long-term favor. Yikes! Then, add the more complicated-cultural-layer into the mix. Remember the keep your head down and work hard mantra that was instilled in me? I didn’t know the importance of networking and connecting with people for the sake of connecting - so, I didn’t. I was working hard and hoped that my support of immediate and extended teams would be clear, noticeable and recognized. I was doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing – my job. But what was I doing for my career?

Eventually, during Hilti’s standard ‘My Development’ session with my team leader, I was assigned an official mentor. I had no clue how this was supposed to go, let alone lead these discussions. Cue social anxiety!

My first mentor was assigned during Covid, so it was a long time before we could meet in person. However, we had plenty of virtual interactions, and he passed the vibe check.  This is so critical for me because I knew that for a mentorship to succeed, I had to feel able to bring my true self. Without authenticity, the chances of receiving meaningful feedback and guidance were minimal. I had clear goals to achieve, but I needed help setting a roadmap. And as I have experienced time and again, achieving goals is not always linear.

As time passed, I leveraged the new relationship, and with my mentor’s support and guidance I continued to grow and develop on my own terms. Having someone whose unbiased feedback I can count on, who challenges me out of my comfort zone, who calls me out, and who advocates on my behalf has been a real game changer. I am a much stronger professional and have built an even bigger and stronger network in the process.


Volunteering with our wider HR team

Expanding our Networks: Creating a Mentorship Connection Program

If mentorships are critical to achieving professional goals, why aren’t more people engaged in these types of relationships? It’s possible that some folks may not know how or who to ask. If a mentor wasn’t assigned to me, I may have needed help finding someone and asking for a mentorship. I began to wonder if perhaps other folks might also need that type of support too.

After much thought on my experience and that I may not be alone, an idea came to me during an event – we could create a structure for connecting ERG members to mentors they might not have had exposure to otherwise.  I contemplated the “how” for longer than I care to admit (about a year) but it was always clear to me that this idea was meant to be leveraged and collaborated on by all the ERGs. I didn’t have the details worked out, but I shared it with the LatinX ERG leaders and they loved the idea. Mid-summer of 2023, the LatinX ERG kicked off the initiative, connecting all pairs during Hispanic Heritage Month. 

I tapped my network and recruited senior leader mentors from across all functions with diverse experiences. The mentee application created was short and effective, its intended purpose was to get to know the member’s short- and long-term career goals, as well as desired focus areas with their eventual mentor. The applicants were matched with two potential mentors based on career aspirations and focus areas. Each pair was scheduled for 30-minute speed networking sessions with the purpose to check compatibility, a “vibe check”, if you will. To help the mentees best prepare for these networking sessions they were provided with a suggested structure on how to lead the sessions and possible questions to ask. Other helpful resources were made available including office hours with the ERG Professional Development Co-Chairs prior to the speed networking sessions. After all sessions wrapped, the pairings for the year-long mentorships were finalized and delivered. Then it was up to the mentees to hop in the driver’s seat of the mentorship. The ERG continued to connect with the mentees throughout the year to provide support for a successful mentorship.

The LatinX ERG now had a blueprint of what was deemed a very successful initiative, and it was scaled to all ERGs this year as planned. All ERGs were represented in this year’s mentee cohort with final mentee/mentor pairings being delivered before the end of October. Professional Development is a core value and priority of all ERGs, and I am gracious that they saw the value in this initiative. I can’t wait for the mentee pit stops where we get feedback to continue tweaking and creating a better experience while providing guidance or ideas on common topics.  While improvement of the program is important to me, my absolute favorite is listening about the successes and wins of the mentees. Everyone’s measure of success is different - yet what they have in common is the way their energy shifts as they share their story.

Our team at the Annual Sales Meeting running the Tool Refurbishment stand

Work Hard AND Network: Expanding on Traditional Values

“Work hard and keep your head down” had its value and served its purpose. I imagine it was a way to protect oneself in a place where one may not feel a sense of belonging. It makes complete sense that my parents wanted to protect me. Classic middle child syndrome and generalizations ring true for me, I am a nonconformist. This lesson no longer serves the original intent and doesn’t serve me as I am. So, in the spirit of tweaking things and making them better by borrowing from the past and adjusting for the future, I have tweaked the lesson to “work hard and network”. I have worked hard to model and instill this refined lesson, in my son, a Junior Film major at UT Austin who can attest to the opportunities this valuable lesson has already afforded him.

Explore Opportunities at Hilti

At Hilti, we are committed to creating opportunities for our team members to connect to one another and develop meaningful and long-lasting careers with impact. Learn more and explore our opportunities in North America and worldwide here: Jobs | Hilti Careers