The 22-23 edition of the Sectoral Conferences came to close, marking the post-pandemic return of an initiative that inspires excitement and a sense of belonging. We spoke to Sebastián Cabezas, the Tecpetrol University Manager.

We are all connected in so many ways. As part of its mission, Tecpetrol implements different cross-sectoral processes to consolidate ties and shorten distances. Today’s account takes us to the latest edition of the Sectoral Conferences, which this year attracted a record number of participants. Sebastián Cabezas, in charge of organizing this event together with the Tecpetrol University team and the leaders of each sector, explains how it all went.

“The Sectoral Conferences are an opportunity to meet face-to-face as part of our mission to achieve three main objectives: collaboratively building or enriching short and medium-term strategies, sharing knowledge and best practices, and encouraging integration at team level in the regions where we operate,” begins Sebastián.

This edition was unusual in several ways. Many adjustments were made to the format based on input gathered from the 2022 Pulse Survey: "Both directors and sector leaders were actively involved in creating the best possible space for exchange and learning, which resulted in the greater participation of more employees."

Reaching a much greater audience than ever before, the Conferences got underway in 2023. Between March and May, five meetings were held, one per area involved: Administration and Finance, Human Resources, IT, Supply Chain and Facilities. All followed a similar agenda, where speakers and leaders from each department shared new processes, tools, projects and best practices with their colleagues from other operations. Sebastián adds that, "one very positive point was that we invited external experts to talk about the latest findings in the area of technical or managerial learning." An opportunity to share knowledge and dive into multiculturalism, but above all a space for interaction. “There are all sorts of ways you can interact, either during the formal proceedings of the day or outside these, where you meet people who do the same as you from another operation, so you can share problems and solutions, challenges and achievements. These meetings create very deep bonds.”

“For the Tecpetrol University team, each Conference represents a great deal of work, both in the lead-up to the meetings and as regards coordination. Organizing five meetings, reaching over two hundred employees, some simultaneously, was a huge challenge that we felt very proud to overcome with such success.”

María Laura García, the Chief Officer of Human Resources who headed up the DIRH Conference, shares that, “I found it super interesting. Our meetings brought together over forty colleagues from all regions, and we were able to share the achievements and the challenges of the last years. We talked about the employment value proposition that Tecpetrol offers going forward, and how we can align actions in each region to involve everybody in a strategy taking us to where we want to be in the future. And there’s no doubt that we all very much enjoy being together and socializing!”

María Laura’s testimony dovetails with the high-quality feedback received after each Sectoral Conference: “For me, this underscores the importance of creating synergy between colleagues from different operations, which enables us to adopt the best strategy for each sector,” closes Sebastián.