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“The only way to do a great work is by loving what you do”. – Steve Jobs

A passion for work is essential to doing great work; commitment, love, empathy, and polite treatment are key to be a great social worker.

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She started as a field manager, but due to her performance and the work she was doing at the shelter, the company promoted her to lead the social responsibility department, and later to coordinate this very same department in its largest operation, in Aguaruto, Culiacán; going from serving a population of over 300 migrant workers to over 2,000 in Campo Batán, in Culiacán.

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She was in charge of the standardization process of the social responsibility department in both operations as coordinator of social responsibility of the company; and since 2012 she also coordinates the processes of the SR area in the Jalisco and San Luis Potosí operations in such a way as to offer the same educational, health, facilities, celebrations, training services for the benefit of workers, as well as the same documentary follow-up, and reports for management in all the operations from the company. The development of a committed team in the various operations has been key for results to be so positive and make a difference in the lives of workers.

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A day in the life of Monica Benitez

As a working mom, mornings start very early around 5:30 am and are a little bit chaotic, doing several tasks simultaneously, waking up my daughter, giving her breakfast, having a nice cup of coffee and getting her ready for school, and me for the office. Recently, I am also responsible for recruiting staff, so from time to time I get to review some production requirements with regards to workers before leaving my house and taking my daughter to school.

By 8:00 am I am in the office, reviewing my tasks pending by email; and then I get my second cup of coffee to continue with my duties. Early in the morning, I like to review our weekly, monthly and annual calendar, where we list the activities we must develop and see if that requires my attention: purchases, requests with other departments to analyze how we will move forward with the day. I check the department indicators and based on that, send the reports needed to management.

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After about an hour that I devote to administrative activities, I make a field trip to see how things are going. This is one of my favorite activities; finding out how the workers are doing. After this trip, I make my follow-up calls to the other operations in La Cruz de Elota, Jalisco, and San Luis Potosí, and I get to resolve any situation that arises from these calls.

I feel lucky for having a committed work team. I believe that having a committed team with clear goals and indicators is key to achieving positive results. This way, I am able to coordinate several activities because I can delegate to my colleagues with the confidence that things will be done in a timely manner. Also, I feel happy to feel the assistance and support of management to do my job well. I feel that I have the necessary tools, and if not, I feel absolutely confident to manage what I need in order to do things better. When I look back at my career, I am very proud to know how far I have come.

So many issues, so many challenges and all the opportunities that have been presented to me and that I have taken, have shaped me to become the professional and the person I am today, and that makes me feel happy.

Del Campo y Asociados offers significant benefits to its migrant workers, such as: housing, educational services from daycare to middle school, and also education for seniors. We have a medical office for front-line healthcare. We develop celebrations,   gatherings, all the things necessary for the well-being of our workers. This is why in the afternoon I check to see if there is a need to stock up on anything in these facilities; medicines, stationery and any need for housing and services covered by the social responsibility department, etc. So that everything remains in optimal condition.

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Once a month, we hold a meeting with both the social responsibility team and the medical team to review the activities that are scheduled throughout the month, and the requirements for supplies that are needed to develop them. Also, we review the schedule for the previous month, the activities developed, how they were developed, and if there were some that could not be done, to define why they did not. In these meetings we reallocate the commissions and responsibilities of each one.

Celebrations are activities we are very thrilled about. We try to be part of these gatherings with the families who come to work. We have even dressed up as cartoon characters. For example, on Children’s Day, us social workers have dressed up as princesses and clowns, all to surprise the children.

One of my favorite activities, which fills my soul and one of the reasons why I love my job so much, is going to the shelters and being able to talk with the workers. I love listening to their life stories, having a glass of coca cola with them and listening to their wisdom, the experiences that have shaped them and, at the same time, their joy of living, appreciating and treasuring the most beautiful moments we have as humans, which are family, cohabitation, and their vision of gratitude towards work and effort. I have no choice but to learn from them and do everything in my power to serve them to the best of my ability.

I love walking through the shelters and suddenly feel the embrace of tender little hands, with those charming smiles, hearing one of the workers yelling my name and greeting me, telling me about how a situation was resolved and, at the same time, striking casual conversations with all the workers who feel so close and confident to approach me for any issue or need they have. Being hugged is everything, I am very much into that, feeling emotions, feeling affection, that disconnects me from tiredness and routine, it makes me feel happy.

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From my point of view, people are the most important asset that companies have. We all have an essential role so that the clock ticks on time, so that things are done as they should, for the company to be competitive, with high quality products such as Del Campo y Asociados.

Treatment to workers is key for farming companies. We can confirm that with the employees who return season after season to work with us, it is a win-win situation – For the company it means productivity, for them it is home; many of them tell us “coming back to work here is like returning to my second home”. Seeing familiar faces, the daycare facility, the infrastructure we already know is here, gives them a sense of belonging and stability and in turn, as a company, it motivates us to increasingly improve the social responsibility services, which ensure us to have them one season after another.

We have asked workers directly why they come back again to work with us, and a frequent answer is because of the services they have at the farm; the daycare facility, they like that the school is within the facilities of the company, it gives them certainty. They feel comfortable working, knowing that their children are safe, getting good education, food, playing sports and having various recreational activities where they can see them happy.

With regards to coordination with Management, it is key, for things to work out and for improvements to be made in the services of the social responsibility area, there must be a commitment by decision makers. We are very happy to feel that support in order to do our job well. We have the tools and we are able to manage the resources to resolve the needs that arise on a day-to-day basis. We have the metrics by which we measure our results, and we are confident for being in close contact with Mr. Diego and Mr. Juan José Ley. They are accessible people and they are even the ones who check the internal complaints mailbox from the company. We have phone numbers and an email address where workers can submit a complaint anonymously and this has been very helpful. We check it once a week because what the worker thinks and wants and what they do not like is very important to us, and that is what we work on. This mailbox is for all staff and it has worked because we have made changes based on the comments received through this means, and this in some way gives them peace of mind, security that their complaints will be addressed.

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This is how I spend my mornings. Some days more of some activities, some of others. At noon I go out to pick up my daughter, we eat together and I return to the office. My day ends regularly at 7 pm, after lunch I try to do most of the administrative activities, such as payment processing, any pending authorization or finishing up details with the production team staff.

In conclusion, I can say that working at Del Campo y Asociados is a great experience to me. In these 17 years, I have been able to witness various positive changes in the social responsibility area; from creating the department, standardizing its processes in all the operations from the company, this represents continuity; having these processes makes the activities happen even if there is staff turnover. You have an activity calendar that must be followed, and this is of great benefit to workers, as they feel they are treated the same, continuous improvement of their services season after season, one of the reasons why they return to work at Del Campo y Asociados.

I have been a witness of the positive cultural change our migrant workers have had. The transformation has been seen a lot in those values ​​as a family, the openness to learning new things. We have seen how the role of women in the family has evolved, in birth control, in a more respectful and fair treatment. Now they have a more active role. They also work with the confidence that their children have quality care and education. We have also been able to see the change in their professional aspirations. New generations, the children of field workers go to university, some of them stay to work in the company in administrative positions.

Lastly, in my experience, as I said before, social responsibility chose me and I can only be happy and grateful to be in a company where I can do something I enjoy and that makes me feel fulfilled, and having both the opportunity and the support to get things done, to serve, to have no limitations on how far I can go with my activities. Here, I found the opportunity to develop professionally, and that led me to discover abilities I did not think I had. I feel happy because the profession has chosen me, and twice as blessed for working at a company that gives me the tools and the opportunity to work.

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