In this episode of the EMEA Recruitment podcast, we speak to Lidia Niculai, the Global Shared Services Center Senior Director at Duracell.

“My aspiration in life was never making a living. My aspiration was to really make a difference.”

Lidia joins our Founder, Paul Toms, from her home in Barcelona, Spain, after a period of adjustment and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The conversation kicks off with Lidia explaining the need for getting more organised during the past 12 months. With such high levels of energy and enthusiasm, she explains the secret ingredient that drives her in life.

It’s interesting that someone with so much energy works for a company with the lively Duracell Bunny as its mascot, but Lidia explains that her determination came incredibly early in life, as the ninth of 11 children in Romania.

We explore the management style that Lidia finds works best with her colleagues across the business. She was entrusted with a high level of accountability when Duracell went global with its Shared Services Center, so finds it essential that she can adjust to many different cultural backgrounds and personalities.

Lidia also reveals the four critical steps that she took in setting up the Shared Services Center. Duracell boasts an excellent retention record, which Lidia believes is partly due to the passion she so enthusiastically leads with and passing this vision onto her team.

We look at how Duracell is using Business Intelligence (BI) and Data to provide visualisation and insights for key decision-making.

We finally discuss the steps Lidia takes to bring in people who follow the same vision as her team, as well as the individuals who have influenced her to think and work in the way she does. One of those people is her mother – at the end of the episode, Lidia tells Paul the one piece of advice she’d give to her younger self, which also relates to her relationship with her mum.

You can listen to the full episode below: 

You can also follow this link or listen on your favourite podcast platform: https://emearecruitment.libsyn.com/emea-recruitment-podcast-94-lead-with-passion-lidia-niculai

If you’d like to find a particular part of the episode, use the timestamps below:

01:11: COVID-19 - A period of adjustment and learning
03:14: Lidia’s secret ingredient for high energy
06:39: Inheriting passion from her mother
08:40: How Lidia gets the best out of her colleagues
13:14: Setting up Duracell’s Shared Services Center
19:35: How Lidia retains great people
24:13: How BI & Data will change the Finance function
29:05: Bringing in the best people
32:25: Who has influenced Lidia’s career?
37:26: The advice Lidia would give her younger self
38:24: How to reach out to Lidia directly

Click here if you’d like to connect with Lidia on LinkedIn.

We’re proud to support Operation Smile through the EMEA Recruitment podcast. Operation Smile is an international medical charity that delivers life-changing surgery to children with cleft lip and palate. It’s a cause close to Paul’s heart, as he too was born with cleft lip and palate. Please help us in any way you can by visiting emearecruitment.eu/operation-smile

This episode of the EMEA Recruitment podcast is hosted by Paul Toms and Rose Jinks, our Senior Marketing Executive.

To learn more about our international recruitment services, please visit our website: https://www.emearecruitment.com/

You can also find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/emea-recruitment-limited/

If you’d like to connect with Paul, click here.

Or you can follow him on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/paul_toms

If you have any ideas or topics for future episodes of the EMEA Recruitment podcast, please contact Rose by emailing: [email protected]