Just Landed!

Officially one of the Dufry team since late September, Katrin Volery, Chief People Officer and member of the Global Executive Committee as of January 1, 2023, landed in Dufry with the main challenge of putting people and talent at the forefront of Dufry’s strategy, making Dufry a great and rewarding place to work. Born in Germany and holding a Swiss passport, she has a special ability to pick up languages and speaks seven, including German, French, English and Spanish!

Could you give an assessment of your first months at Dufry? What has struck you the most?

Overall, I believe that Dufry is a great company to work in and for. People are very open and as such, it is easy to reach out and talk. I have travelled throughout the main regions and visited the offices in Madrid, London, Miami, New York. Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Buenos Aires. It is important to me to meet people in person, getting to know the business leaders, the employees and of course the HR community.

If there is one thing that can describe Dufry from the years since the pandemic to today, it is "change and adaptation". Organizational, leadership, business, ways of working... How do you think that might affect the culture of a company like ours?

I think coming out of a pandemic such as the one we just had was a new experience for pretty much everyone in the world and all companies - this was not only the case for Dufry. Having said that I think what is apparent to me is that Dufry can count on its employees. I have seen a very loyal and dedicated workforce across the company, as I have travelled around the business. We need to make sure that we stabilize the business and the culture, that we recognize and value our existing talent and also succeed in attracting new talent. It is equally important that we support and train our employees accordingly so that they can continue to be their true selves and are also able to meet all the challenges that may come our way.

What´s your plan for the HR function?

As I said, I´m currently in the process of meeting teams, understanding what we have in place and what the main challenges are. At the same time, we cannot lose focus of the recently presented strategy, Destination 2027, which maps out the priorities and the growth lines of the company for the next five years.

With all this in mind, we are currently working on refocusing the Global HR function to establish Centers of Excellence. A Center of Excellence (CoE) is basically a group of sub-functions within HR that uses best practices to develop and support critical capabilities, that align with the organizational priorities. These CoEs are:

1. Global Total Rewards that includes compensation & benefits, payroll, benchmarking, HR KPI’s and Analytics and most importantly, the streamlining of global HR Information Systems.
2. Global Recruitment, Talent Management & Development, D&I. Recruitment, onboarding, induction, performance management, talent management & succession planning, career design, plan and development
3. Learning & Training, focusing on online and in the shop training for our front office people, plan for career path and succession planning. Redevelop content for back office people. Drive Assessments and development for top management.
4. Global Policies, Rules & Regulations as well as Organizational Design and Change Management
   

Xavier explained he will strive at creating a Dufry that mirrors the diversity of our customers. What´s your view on the status of D&I at Dufry and can you make an assessment of the results of 2022 D&I Survey?

As Xavier speaks about Destination 2027 he clearly says that we need to make customers happy. In order to have happy customers, we need happy employees. A work environment where each one of us feels that they are being seen and heard; where we strive for a shift in culture in the way people think about diversity and inclusion. A diverse and inclusive workplace is one that makes everyone, regardless of who they are or what they do for the business, feel equally involved and supported in all areas of their work.

The D&I Survey is something to celebrate in my opinion. Not just because of the nearly 16,000 responses received – 63% response rate on average. But also because it is an opportunity for each of us to express our views and contribute in building Dufry´s D&I agenda and the areas to prioritize.

I´m working closely with Sarah Branquinho and the rest of the team to analyze the responses received and we will be sharing results with everyone.

The D&I video training campaign, consisting of 6 videos that cover different areas of D&I, is another initiative that I feel proud of, as it is serving to increase general knowledge about D&I and how each of us can help in building a more diverse & inclusive, and hence, a better workplace for everyone.

In your opinion, what is needed to support employees in the task of looking after a family and advancing their professional careers, and succeeding in both fields?

Regardless of the gender, we all have personal and professional challenges to deal with and in addressing the topics of work-life balance, the involvement of everyone in Dufry is essential. That´s a topic that came up in last year´s D&I survey – and I think it is always on the agenda.

No one should see themselves in the situation of choosing between one and the other. I think there are many live examples within our organization that are testament to successful professional careers, that have also allowed people to meet and fulfill their family obligations. Again, creating the right corporate culture that allows any of us to raise ourhand when needed, with the confidence that they will be heard and understood is key.

Tell us about yourself… what it is what you like most doing in your free time?

I love to travel which suits me very much in my global role. In summer I go swimming and running, in winter skiing. I also like to relax with a good bottle of wine.