Can you describe a day at HCA?
When I come in, I will check through my emails, incoming TI's, etc. and I will see what's still open. I will work together with our sample prep tech to see where and what needs to be done. I work together with my boss to say... hey, which takes priority? I may have five different things that need to be done. We will actually work together with sales, too. You know... we know we have these customers that need these... which one of these do we need to work on first to get to them? We will work through that together. We also make our samples, package them out, get them out to the customers, and then we will contact customer service when our samples are done to let them know so they can move forward to getting them to shipping.
I do like that there's a routine, but I also like that no day is the same. I like that, when I come in, I may have a plan and I do have a routine that I go through. But what I love about my job is the creativity we get to have. And there is a lot of freedom in our job to be able to work with multiple things. There are times where I come in and get to work on an aspect that I've never done before, so that I can contact R&D and I can talk with them and I can get their input. So I I love that part of it, as well - that I'm constantly learning.
What makes working at HCA so enjoyable for you?
The atmosphere here is fun, we work hard and also enjoy our time together. It’s a very good place that I've, honestly, had the luxury to kind of grow up in. I started here right out of school. And I would say the atmosphere that has kept me here is the push to always want to do better. And hearing that sometimes it's OK when you make a mistake, if you make a mistake, you learn from it and you will keep moving forward. It is really a family feel.
I've worked in production, in receiving, in shipping, in international customer service and in HR. And now I work in the lab. I have learned something from every position I've worked in and I've been blessed to see the bigger picture and how it all ties together. I enjoyed moving to different positions, now colleagues joke about which of these was my dream job. When they ask me if I have found my dream job, I answer: ‘’For today, yes I have.”
What role does teamwork play in your daily responsibilities and what makes working together so important?
We all must work together to make sure we are getting the best product to our customer that we can. I work closely with many different departments every day. For example, we work a lot with Sales. This way, we can look together at how we can best meet customer needs. They give me all the information to be able to do my job, so that I can provide them with the best fit for their end-customer. I also have to work together with Process Control because they match the color when it first comes in. If I don't formulate the color right, they won't be able to run it in production. So, we all have to work together to make sure we are getting the best product out to our customer that we can.
Working together is important because there are always going to be struggles, and I think we really work together to say "What else I can do to help us succeed?" And that's a top-down thing. We will do this together. And that's part of what's kept me here.
Which 3 words do you think best describe HCA?
Sustainability, Innovation and Teamwork
Anything else you would like to share about your experience with HCA?
We want to be sustainable, and we've continued to grow, to be sustainable. When you look at what we've done over the last 20 years, I would say sustainability is a big part of our core culture, as well... what we've done to try and reduce our carbon footprint, what we've done to do other things, to make sure we not only are providing color, but also trying to be but the most responsible company we can along those guidelines.
Question from Nicky: What skills or qualities have you developed by taking on responsibilities in your role?
The quality I have developed by taking on things in different roles, I think, involves dealing with discomfort. I would say it's one of those situations where you're comfortable being uncomfortable because that's how we grow and that's how we learn.
It gives me a good sense of achievement when I can do those things that I never thought I could do.
Which question would you like to see answered in the next interview with another colleague?
I want to know what advice they would give to a new colleague on the first day.
