Carlos Pérez-Herce

How is being a responsible company?

Being a responsible company is an obligation. It is to be an actor focused on corporate social responsibility, meeting the rights of employees, protecting the environment, and providing our contribution to minimize differences.

From a practical point of view, being a socially responsible company makes us more attractive to both our customers and shareholders, which helps us to be a leading company.

How is remote working affecting teams (positively)?

Remote work, which has been established itself in a very efficient and positive way in the last two years, has produced a 360˚ turnaround in the way that companies and employees work, compared to the historical format we were used to.

Finding the balance between home and office has shown that productivity has not been affected, but it has enhanced the employee motivation. The combination of family reconciliation with attendance and interaction with the team in the office has generated a positive effect that benefits both the company and the employees.

Employees have more freedom and autonomy, which makes them more responsible at the same time, as they are remotely linked with the rest of the team. And maybe the interaction between employees and the team in peak periods at key working times has been improved.

Remote work has been a litmus test that, I believe, has fully demonstrated our consolidation as "One Digital Team". We do not have to forget that smart working would not have been possible without the technological transformation in which we are immersed. 

What are the key factors for teaching CSR issues in the company?

In my opinion, the key factor in social responsibility is leading by examples and taking measures that grant our employees to take advantage of the corporate resources they have at their disposal. By doing so, they do good at the same time as they reinforce our corporate image in CSR.

Being responsible can also enhance the motivation of our employees in the workplace and this could lead to a higher productivity, which, without any doubt, has an impact on our business.

By implementing corporate social responsibility initiatives, we increase customer and employee retention and loyalty. We also have the opportunity to stand out from the competition because we create a positive and a high brand of recognition.

Describe the idea of responsible responsiveness.

Responsiveness is about being socially responsible and feeling motivated as an employee and being proud of the company in which the employee works for. It is also an effective tool to increase the team engagement. At Econocom, our aim is to attract people who make a difference with their performance. We know that, by thinking in collective effort, we can achieve substantial results, which increases responsibility at work and boosts productivity.

We are working and having solidarity projects with 4 Associations, as well as we are in contact with others for further collaboration:

• ASOCIACIÓN SONRISAS, aimed at providing joy and well-being to children who are ill anywhere in Spain
• CARITAS, promotes different social groups that are in a precarious situation or social exclusion.
• FESBAL, fights against hunger, poverty and food waste by distributing food to the neediest people and helping to improve the environment.
• FUNDACIÓN GIL GAYARRE, which aims at developing projects for people with intellectual disabilities and their families, defending their rights and duties as citizens.

This approach is necessary, and we believe that, as a leader in the sector, we must differentiate ourselves from our competitors in every possible way. And what’s more, these partnerships are also perceived very well by our employees.

How can we better develop the circular economy?

At Econocom, we have been involved in the development of the circular economy since a long time ago. The rapid evolution of technology makes a lot of equipment obsolete for some activities, but it is still useful for other tasks.

We have further developed this social responsible policy by automating the recovery and reconditioning processes. This activity is increasingly interest to customers and also allow us to reach new customers attracted in this specific matter.

Regarding Econocom Group in Spain, we are recovering more than 30.000 devices per year, and 95% of these devices have a second life. We have reconditioned the equipment, destroying only 5%, in compliance with environmental standards, which means significant savings in CO2 emissions, waste and litres of water saved by avoiding their manufacture.