What’s it like to work at Aon? Read about Emily’s journey to Aon in Krakow and the role of Global Mobility at Aon.
Emily joined Aon as a part of Human Resources in Chicago in 2013 and recently re-joined in 2017 in Krakow as a member of the Global Mobility team. She has held various positions in Human Resources and has managed performance management, payroll and benefits, onboarding, and most recently was a business partner. In her free time, she likes to travel, read, and experiment in cooking.
If you are interested in working in Global Mobility team, see the offer HERE.
I recently joined the Krakow office in the fall of 2017, after relocating from Chicago with my husband. You can imagine all the work that you put into moving across the world – all the details, planning, organization. When you step on the plane, knowing that you’re leaving your home and going to live in a new country and a new culture, your life changes.
After going through an international move myself, it was natural to join the Global Mobility team, a team that is tasked with managing all international moves for Aon globally. My unique personal experience was able to translate directly into my role.
Being a global employer, Aon has offices in 120 countries. As you can imagine, there is quite a bit of travel and movement between those offices to meet client needs, build teams, share knowledge, increase collaboration, and to deliver our best work. Global Mobility plays a critical role in ensuring this goes smoothly. As a team, we are uniquely positioned to interact with colleagues in every region and country where Aon has offices.
Even our team is global – with members in Krakow, London, and Prague. Building relationships and working cross-culturally is fundamental not only in doing our jobs well, but also in working as a team.
Like many departments and groups across Aon, we’ve created a team that is supportive of each other, effective in our roles, and valuable to the organization, despite only having the chance to see each other a few times a year.
A successful team hinges on effective communication and as a global team, this is embedded in the way that we work. Aon also works to ensure that we have the technology and equipment we need to build the right working environment, especially at a distance.
Working with a global team is just the beginning. Success in our roles depends on working cross-culturally and building relationships across the globe. There are many factors that can help or hurt a relationship when working across borders – language barriers, social customs, work norms, and time zone differences, to name a few.
To successfully navigate working in what can feel like a minefield, I’ve found that by being respectful of others’ hours and time zones, limiting my use of idioms and colloquialisms, being open and honest, and working to build trust, I can start to bridge the gaps between cultures here in Krakow and across the globe.
Having worked in the United States and in Poland, I can attest to the importance of being fluent in multiple working cultures. It not only strengthens soft skills like building relationships, appreciating diversity, and increasing empathy, but also leads to a better work product. Working for Aon provides the opportunity to build these skills and empowers you to do your best work in a world and environment that is becoming increasingly globalized.
