Category: Terra News

Preparing for Company Expansion Scale Your Team Through Staffing Solutions
19/03/2024

Preparing for Company Expansion? Scale Your Team Through Staffing Solutions

Posted on | by Jacqueline De Marco | Leave a Comment on Preparing for Company Expansion? Scale Your Team Through Staffing Solutions

As businesses undergo rapid expansion, the demand for new talent becomes critical. As exciting as hiring can be, the process of acquiring and onboarding diverse skill sets and backgrounds can be more intricate than expected. In certain situations, expanding may even entail the creation of entirely new departments. Faced with these challenges, decision-makers must choose between managing the recruitment process internally or opting for staffing solutions. Let’s explore how staffing solutions can effectively address the evolving needs of organizations during periods of growth and change. 

What is Staffing and What Does it Entail?

Staffing encompasses the activities of a third-party organization that recruits, selects, and hires employees, subsequently assigning them to work for another organization. This approach enables the client organization to address its workforce requirements without directly handling the hiring process. Staffing services come in various forms, including temporary staffing for short-term assignments and permanent staffing for long-term positions.  

Key components of staffing services typically include: 

  • Recruitment: This process involves identifying, attracting, and selecting individuals with the necessary skills and qualifications to meet the organization’s specific needs. 
  • Onboarding: Ensuring a seamless integration of new hires into the company culture, this step equips them with the essential resources and information needed to thrive in their roles. 
  • Training and development: These elements are pivotal in maintaining a successful workforce strategy and fostering employee retention. Training and development contribute to individuals staying with the company for extended periods and developing a clear career path. 

Why and When You Should Consider Staffing

Companies looking to rapidly expand their workforce should assess their HR department’s capacity and resources to handle a time-consuming recruitment process. Staffing services provide a comprehensive solution for effective workforce management without overburdening HR departments, allowing them to focus on day-to-day responsibilities. This is particularly beneficial when dealing with highly technical or specific job requirements, global recruitment needs, and time constraints. 

The Team Up Boost!

Our own experience in building and growing teams has taught us there are additional aspects to consider during the hiring process: 

  • Multicultural recruiting: With the increasing trend of tapping into global talent, staffing partners can address challenges related to market traits, regulations, payroll, and logistics, ensuring diverse cultural backgrounds enrich the workforce. 
  • Company culture alignment: Ensuring new hires align with the company’s values and mission promotes talent satisfaction and retention. 
  • Follow-ups: Regular check-ins are vital to ensure smooth operations for both the organization and employees. 
  • Custom-made solutions: Flexibility is key. Effective staffing solutions should not only meet current needs but also allow for future adaptability. 

The Takeaway

Companies experiencing growth should carefully consider the benefits of staffing solutions. An experienced partner, such as Terra Team Up, can navigate challenges and act as an extension of the HR team. Choosing staffing solutions wisely can unlock the potential for seamless expansion and sustainable success—all while helping you build your dream team.

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Introducing Our New Service Terra Team Up - Portada
20/02/2024

Introducing Our New Service: Terra Team Up

Posted on | by Jacqueline De Marco | Leave a Comment on Introducing Our New Service: Terra Team Up

We are thrilled to introduce Terra Team Up, a new addition to our service lineup. This venture brings together a team of our seasoned HR professionals with a unique superpower—the ability to guide clients through their entire hiring journey and beyond, offering ongoing support, strategic counseling, and customized staffing services. 

Terra has provided recruitment and staffing services to many clients over the years, initially as a response to specific client needs rather than a predefined business model. Marina Ilari, Terra CEO, shares, “This decision comes from our hands-on experience in providing tailored HR solutions to various clients that had expressed the challenges they were facing on that front. This led us to the realization that it was time to make it official.” 

Why We Chose the Name “Team Up”  

When it comes to how we landed on the name, Natalia Quintás, Chief People Officer, explained that we believe that our name is not just a title but a philosophy. “It represents our belief in the transformative power of collaboration, aligning employers, candidates, and our experienced team for shared accomplishments. It embodies our goal to support our client’s journey, ensuring seamless integration and ongoing success.”  

At Terra, People Management is a collaborative journey that extends well beyond the recruitment process.

Our Team  

We are proud of the HR team we assembled to oversee and execute Team Up. Our experienced HR team has worked with a dynamic and varied client portfolio, collaborating to overcome complex challenges. Whether you’re a startup searching for dynamic talent or an established enterprise requiring strategic HR solutions, our team is here to ensure your success. We recognize that a strong People Management Strategy isn’t a one-time transaction, but an ongoing partnership aimed at unlocking a company’s full potential.  

What Sets Us Apart 

Team Up encompasses staffing solutions, recruitment, and consultancy. Our distinctive features include: 

  • Focus on long-term fit. We prioritize a “perfect fit” in the recruitment process, aiming for employees to stay with the company long-term by aligning leader preferences with company expectations. 
  • Personalized approach. Committed to offering adaptable solutions, we tailor our services to meet the unique needs of each client. 
  • Robust candidate base. Leveraging our experience as a translation and localization company, we have built a diverse candidate base capable of filling various roles. 
  • Integrated support. Our integrated approach provides continuous support, utilizing technology to ensure seamless alignment with our client’s organizational values and efficient integration of new team members. 

Cynthia Tortesi, Talent Manager, emphasizes, “At Terra, we believe that effective people management is not just a strategic advantage but is also essential for the lasting success and contentment of our clients and their teams.” Federico Colombo, Customer Success Manager, feels similarly, “Our objective is clear—to serve as your trusted advisor, assisting you at every stage of your growth trajectory.”  

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Terra's 2023 Highlights A Year of Innovation, Empowerment, and Social Commitment
26/12/2023

Terra’s 2023 Highlights: A Year of Innovation, Empowerment, and Social Commitment

Posted on | by Jacqueline De Marco | Leave a Comment on Terra’s 2023 Highlights: A Year of Innovation, Empowerment, and Social Commitment

At the end of every year, we enjoy pausing for a moment to look back and acknowledge all of the hard work our team put into servicing our clients and helping our community over the past twelve months. While reflecting on 2023, we realized that Terra had quite a busy year. Let’s take a look back together at some of its highlights. 

Terra Localizations Brand Refresh  

Did you notice things looked a bit different around our video game division? That’s because we gave that brand a major visual overhaul. Terra Localizations embarked on a brand refresh to align its identity with the core values and passion of its team while reflecting the overarching ethos of Terra. CEO Marina Ilari’s vision was to infuse the company’s essence into the branding, ensuring it resonated authentically with the gaming community.  This revitalization signifies a pivotal moment in the division’s growth, emphasizing its commitment to quality, innovation, and a deep understanding of gaming culture. 

An Enhanced Commitment to Diversity and Wellness  

As the comfort and safety of each member of the company are of utmost importance to us, we worked on creating programs where their well-being is our top priority—always ensuring that they feel supported and taken care of.  

To start, we launched our diversity policy. This diversity program evolved from ingrained values into a formalized policy with the guidance of the Institute of LGBT+ Public Policies. Although diversity and inclusion have been inherent at Terra since its foundation, articulating these values required structure. An internal committee played a pivotal role in the creation of this policy. Their expertise and direct engagement with Terra’s collaborators shaped the program, ensuring it authentically reflected our core principles. Marina explained why this program is so important to us. “I believe this policy will give our efforts a clear framework so that not only can our team members refer to it, but also potential collaborators and clients can learn more about our positioning and actioning on this important topic.”  

To help boost our team’s wellness, we strengthened our existing Wellness Program with a Skillbridge initiative. This initiative offers a confidential listening and support space for collaborators who need help tackling a complex situation in the workplace or want to improve their interpersonal and communication skills. This enterprise is carried out by the members of our Human Resources team, who are mental health professionals. Their goal is to help Terra’s collaborators become more effective leaders and team players.  

Industry Conference Attendance  

Our team attended several virtual and in-person industry conferences this year, giving them a chance to learn and connect with their peers. Some of them included CLINT, ATA64, and GALA.     

On the video game front, our team also had the chance to be present at Game Developers Conference (GDC), Pocket Gamer Connects, LocWorld 49, LocWorld 50, Game Quality Forum, Gamescom, and Tokyo Game Show, among others.    

Our participation in these events also included presentations on topics such as:    

Great Place to Work Certification  

We went through the Great Place to Work recertification process for the third time and passed, seeing improvements in the overall results. Wait—it gets better. This year, we went for a triple certification: USA, Spain, and Argentina. This certification, awarded through a rigorous process by Great Place to Work (GPTW), acknowledges companies with outstanding workplace cultures. It involves employee surveys and a company questionnaire, combining feedback with independent analysis. The uniqueness lies in its reliance on both sources, making it a credible indicator for job seekers looking for companies with genuinely positive and exceptional corporate cultures.  

Recently, Terra was recognized as a Great Place to Work across borders due to our efforts to create an outstanding employee experience in the U.S., Spain, and Argentina.

Terra Cares  

In 2023, through Terra Cares, we proudly extended our support to organizations like Chicas en Tecnología, Doctors Without Borders, and Sustentabilidad Sin Fronteras, contributing to projects totaling 98,136 translated words.   

Despite our fully remote operations at Terra, our team members continue to travel worldwide for conferences, meetings, and networking. As part of our commitment to environmental responsibility, we are actively engaging in climate compensation efforts by contributing to initiatives that capture greenhouse gases. To this end, we’ve joined the Eco Park “Vida Libre” project, facilitating the planting of 518 trees. This initiative not only enhances the sustainability of our business activities but also fosters new opportunities for nature development and conservation.  

We are so proud of everything our team accomplished this year and are looking forward to reaching more goals together in 2024.  

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Announcing Terra’s Reforestation Initiative to Offset Carbon Emissions 
09/11/2023

Announcing Terra’s Forestation Initiative to Offset Carbon Emissions

Posted on | by Litzaqueline Briceño | Leave a Comment on Announcing Terra’s Forestation Initiative to Offset Carbon Emissions

At Terra, we take a global approach to work. While our operations are 100% remote, members of our team travel around the world to attend conferences, meetings, and networking events. It’s important for us to take steps to reconcile the benefits of business development through travel with the impact it makes on the environment. We know that compensation does not justify environmental degradation but is a way to increase the sustainability of business activities while creating new opportunities for nature development and conservation.  

One step Terra is taking towards climate compensation is to make conscious contributions to projects that capture greenhouse gases at a level equivalent to the emissions we cause. 

The Motivation 

At first, our focus was on internal communications to raise awareness within our team, which consisted of recommendations for the conscious use of energy and resources. Additionally, as part of the Terra Cares program, we reached out to Sustentabilidad Sin Fronteras, a non-profit environmental association, and translated their website and their annual report. 

This year, we wanted to take it a little further. We were interested in taking actions that would have a positive environmental impact and looked at environmental protection non-profits that would help us in our mission to compensate Terra’s carbon footprint. Before we knew it, the project was right in front of us, and we hadn’t seen it. We knew that we wanted to support an initiative that would help us move the needle with climate change. Daniel Ilari, the father of our CEO, Marina Ilari, happened to be working on an eco park project called “Vida libre” in Venado Tuerto, Argentina, her hometown. His work inspired us to do something in collaboration with that project. 

What is the “Vida libre” Eco Park Project?  

It is a private initiative led by Daniel. He is an agricultural engineer and he had this idea for a long time, but it wasn’t until a few years ago that he actively started working on it. This is a massive project that will be executed on a piece of land that has 60 hectares and will be divided into four main areas—a recreational area, a production area, a nature reserve, and a small forest. The hope is for this park to become a great spot for a family outing, where kids can play, walk on pathways, and get an overlook of the place from watchtowers. 

Honoring our Roots 

It was exciting to collaborate on a project of high environmental impact in the city where Terra was born. Beatriz Cirera founded the company in this beautiful city and dreamed about growing the family business there.  

According to the estimates calculated during the first semester of this year, we needed to plant 550 trees to compensate for our carbon footprint. As serendipity would have it, after scheduling and rescheduling the planting several times due to weather conditions, the activity finally took place on International Translation Day, September 30. Local volunteers planted a total of 518 trees and we have plans to continue working on this project. The trees are now between six and eight inches tall, in 12 years, we will start to see a young forest.  

This project had a substantial impact on Daniel. “It means a lot and it is truly beautiful, because I know what this will pass on to my children,” Daniel said, “I’m 64 years old, and these trees will have grown in 12 years. Matías and Marcos, my two sons, have been helping me for a long time. We have planted willows and some canes in the entrance to the park. We are able to have the entire area wooded with various trees thanks to Marina’s collaboration.” 


Marina, is very eager to visit the site in the future, “I have not had the chance to go back to my hometown in many years, so it would be extra special to see Terra’s contribution to the area!” 

In the future, we plan to participate every year in a project that has a positive environmental impact and we’re already considering different options for 2024.

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10/10/2023

Terra’s Wellness Program: Prioritizing Well-Being for a Thriving Workforce

Posted on | by Jacqueline De Marco | Leave a Comment on Terra’s Wellness Program: Prioritizing Well-Being for a Thriving Workforce

At Terra, the health and well-being of those who work with us are a top priority when it comes to talent management. Although we have placed great emphasis on wellness since the foundation of the company, with the accelerated growth we experienced in 2021 and with new perspectives gained during the pandemic, we created the Wellness Program to provide a comprehensive response to various staff needs.

The health crisis we experienced worldwide with COVID made it evident that for operations to work and people to prosper, professionals must enjoy good health. Taking into account that professionals spend a considerable percentage of their time at work, companies are increasingly interested in providing tools to improve overall well-being.

With a strong emphasis on physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being, our program is designed to address the diverse needs of our team, fostering a positive work environment and supporting individual growth.

Here’s a closer look at our wellness program.

What “Well-Being” Means at Terra

At Terra, we are dedicated to cultivating a culture of corporate well-being through a comprehensive action plan. We recognize that well-being encompasses four essential perspectives: physical, mental, emotional, and social. Our goal is to prioritize each of these perspectives through strategic initiatives that enhance the overall quality of life for our people.

Through our wellness program, we aim to achieve several key objectives. While the benefits of a well-being plan are diverse and sometimes unforeseen, our primary focus is on the following:

  • Reinforcing our interpersonal relationships
  • Establishing spaces for constructive dialogue
  • Sharing practices and spaces with colleagues from other areas
  • Preventing work-related stress and maintaining an excellent work environment
  • Strengthening the spirit of teamwork and our sense of belonging
  • Reinforcing the concept of self-awareness and self-care

Examples of Initiatives within the Wellness Program

The actions planned by our Human Resources department are driven by a holistic perspective of overall well-being. Our dynamic wellness plan evolves annually to cater to the specific needs of our teams. Here are some examples of the initiatives we implement:

Terra's Wellness Program Prioritizing Well-Being for a Thriving Workforce
  • Weekly active breaks: These engaging sessions include activities like stretching and mindfulness. We also share resources such as informative articles on physical and emotional health through various communication channels.
  • Coaching and one-on-one conversations: The members of our Human Resources team who are mental health professionals provide coaching sessions and personalized discussions to support the well-being of our team.
  • Work climate meetings: Individual interviews and team-specific meetings are conducted to discuss and enhance the work climate, fostering a positive and inclusive environment.
  • Workshops on Emotional Intelligence and Team Building: We offer optional workshops that focus on developing emotional intelligence and strengthening teamwork among our team.
  • Diversity and inclusion: To consolidate a safe space where everyone can be their authentic selves, we have established a Diversity Policy. This policy encourages free expression through different communication channels.
  • Annual meetings: Whether conducted virtually or in person, these meetings serve as opportunities to strengthen bonds and nurture a sense of teamwork.
  • Coworking space: While Terra operates completely remotely, in 2022 Palermo Studio opened its doors to offer a coworking space where people from different teams can meet and enjoy each other’s company while working.
  • Flexible working hours: We understand the importance of personal and family well-being. Therefore, we offer flexible working hours to accommodate personal or family medical issues and to support parents with school-age children.
  • Personal days and birthdays off: Our team has access to personal days to attend to personal matters when needed. Additionally, if their birthday falls on a working day, they can enjoy a day off to celebrate.
  • Social commitment: Through our Terra Cares program, team members can suggest non-governmental organizations (NGOs) whose mission aligns with their beliefs. We provide pro bono translation services to these NGOs, and our team has the opportunity to contribute as project managers, translators, editors, and more.

Our initiatives may vary from year to year, but the underlying principle of prioritizing well-being remains constant in all actions facilitated by our Human Resources team.

The Takeaway

Terra’s Wellness Program demonstrates our commitment to the well-being of our team. By addressing physical, mental, emotional, and social aspects of well-being, Terra creates a supportive and thriving work environment. As the program evolves each year to cater to changing needs, Terra’s dedication to our team’s well-being remains unwavering. By investing in the wellness of our team we hope to set the stage for mutual growth, engagement, and fulfillment within the organization.

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Terra Recognized as a Great Place to Work Across Borders 
26/09/2023

Terra Recognized as a Great Place to Work Across Borders 

Posted on | by Jacqueline De Marco | Leave a Comment on Terra Recognized as a Great Place to Work Across Borders 

Recently, Terra was recognized as a Great Place to Work across borders due to our efforts to create an outstanding employee experience in the U.S., Spain, and Argentina. The Great Place to Work (GPTW) Certification is a recognition and verification process for companies that want to showcase their exceptional workplace culture. 


What makes this certification unique is that it relies on both employee feedback and independent analysis to determine a company’s scores. This means that job seekers can trust the certification as a reliable indicator of companies that truly provide a positive and outstanding corporate culture. 

 
We spoke with Natalia Quintás, our Chief People Officer and head of the HR department, for her insight on what it means to Terra to earn this certification. 

Why We Pursue GPTW Certification 

The GPTW model allows us to assess the vital aspects of the organizational culture we’d like to foster at Terra, which is based on values and the well-being of our team. It is a global model that evaluates the same aspects with the same system in every country. For us, this is useful because it provides us with invaluable information and indicators that can be analyzed in depth and compared to make the best decisions for our teammates around the world. 

In the last three years, Terra grew both in the complexity of the business and the size of the team. We now employ people of 27 different nationalities. “As we keep growing and incorporating more and more diversity, transmitting our culture and values so that everyone embraces them becomes a top priority and a great endeavor,” Natalia explained, “This inspires us to up our game in terms of internal policies and processes, not only within the HR department but in the management of the people in different sectors as well.” For example, our operations leaders faced new and bigger challenges guiding their teams and the other departments stepped up to the plate to provide them with the support needed. 

Applying in Three Regions 

This year, we decided to expand our business operations to Spain. Now, with three strong hubs in terms of operations and concentration of talent, we saw the need to have more detailed information to gauge what is happening with our people in each of these hubs, but also to be more aware of what is happening in the markets where we operate. For us, positioning our employer brand in each of these locations is crucial, and being able to be surveyed and measured in three distinct regions shows what Terra has really become—a global company. 

Recently, Terra was recognized as a Great Place to Work across borders due to our efforts to create an outstanding employee experience inthe U.S., Spain, and Argentina.

“Getting the three certifications is a very rewarding treat for our HR team and team leaders,” Natalia shared, “It is a huge accomplishment for us, and it shows the commitment we have to create action plans where the people and their wellbeing are at the center of everything.” We also know that it entails a great challenge, as it is a starting point to continue improving and thinking about the best interests of the team. However, it is not only the result of the work done by the HR department, but the individual contributions of every member of every department are key. The team spirit truly shows.

What We Learned 

“Every single statistic we get out of the survey is important to us,” Natalia said, “But still, knowing that 96 % of the people consider Terra a great place to work means the world to me. It speaks for itself.”

 
Other impressive statistical findings include: 
 

  • 99% of the people say they feel welcomed when they join the organization 
  • 98% of the people feel team members care about each other  
  • 97% of the people feel management promotes inclusive behaviors 
  • 97% of the people say they feel proud of working at Terra 
  • 96% of the people would recommend Terra to friends looking for a job 
  • 95% of the people think leaders are approachable and it is easy to talk to them 
  • 95% of the people feel it is a fun place to work 
  • 95% of the people say they can count on the help of other team members 

The Takeaway 

Terra Recognized as a Great Place to Work Across Borders - GPTW

According to Natalia, this certification measures credibility, pride, respect, fairness, and camaraderie in the three countries where our operations are centered, confirming that our cultural framework is consistent and strong in a multicultural context. This survey is the backbone of our strategic plan for human resources management. Gathering this much information allows us to truly listen to the different voices in our company and enables us to create action plans that have a meaningful impact on every individual who works with us. 

 
“I could not be prouder and more excited about obtaining the certification,” Marina Ilari, CEO of Terra, said, “For Terra, this means we are on the right path to providing a welcoming and safe work environment for everyone who interacts with our company. For our leadership team, it means we have more tools and more information to continue to do better and be better.”  

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Fostering Inclusion and Embracing Diversity: Terra's New Diversity Policy
29/08/2023

Fostering Inclusion and Embracing Diversity: Terra’s New Diversity Policy

Posted on | by Jacqueline De Marco | Leave a Comment on Fostering Inclusion and Embracing Diversity: Terra’s New Diversity Policy

Terra recently launched our official diversity policy. Federico Colombo—the HR Generalist who led the initiative— shared insights into the inspiration behind the policy, its creation process, and its expected impact. CEO Marina Ilari and Chief People Officer Natalia Quintás also provide their valuable perspectives. Let’s break down what they shared with us.

Diversity Policy: The Journey Begins

The idea for Terra’s diversity policy was the result of several conversations around diversity and inclusion certifications. Adri Carbajal, Operations Lead at Terra, suggested we look into different organizations and explore ways to effect change. And while we had always embraced inclusivity, the need to officially document our commitment to diversity and inclusion became evident.

There were several factors that contributed to the need for such a policy:

  • Increasing awareness: The global conversation around diversity, equity, and inclusion has been gaining momentum in recent years. We’ve become more aware of the tremendous benefits that come from fostering diversity and creating an inclusive workplace.
  • Changing demographics: With our expansion into global markets and collaboration with diverse populations, we recognize the importance of embracing different cultures and perspectives. As a multicultural company with teams all over the world, it was crucial for us to establish a policy that respects and values this diversity.
  • Ensuring fairness: We understand the significance of providing fair and equal opportunities to all candidates. That’s why we’ve adopted blind recruitment processes, which help reduce biases during the hiring process. This commitment to creating a level playing field for all applicants demonstrates our dedication to fairness.

“By implementing this policy, we aim to foster an environment where everyone feels valued, respected, and included,” Federico shared, “We believe that embracing diversity will lead to enhanced creativity, collaboration, and overall happiness within our team.”

Building on the Foundation

Terra’s journey toward the diversity policy was an evolution rather than a creation from scratch. Although there was no previous written policy, diversity and inclusion were always fundamental values at Terra. The challenge lay in organizing and articulating these values into a cohesive framework. To aid this process, Terra sought assistance from the Institute of LGBT+ Public Policies, whose expertise helped shape the action plan and timeline.

Employee Input and Insights

Terra actively values employee feedback and involvement. Every year, we participate in the Great Place to Work survey, and this time, we specifically wanted to gather insights from employees regarding diversity and inclusion. This was incredibly valuable to us because we were able to capture their thoughts and feedback, which we then incorporated into our policy. Their input played a significant role in shaping our approach to diversity and inclusion.

The Committee’s Crucial Role

Recognizing the importance of diverse perspectives, Terra formed an internal committee comprised of Adri, Angie, Marcelo, Marisol, Natalia, Paula, Santiago, and Federico himself. Their collective expertise and direct contact with employees made them invaluable contributors to the policy’s development. By actively involving the committee from the outset, Terra aimed to create a policy that truly reflected its values and principles.

“The creation of the committee allows us to create an internal and safe space to run debates looking for improvements in our policies and procedures to ensure that we are taking care of our people at Terra in all aspects,” Natalia shared, “Our desire is that every person at the company feels that Terra is a great place to work and that they can be authentic and feel respected for their individuality.”

Policy Pillars: A Comprehensive Approach

The diversity policy at Terra encompasses a range of pillars: gender, sexual/LGBT+, generational, functional, neurodiversity/neurodivergence, and ethnic or national origin diversity, as well as interculturality. These themes form the bedrock of the policy, ensuring that diversity and inclusion are integrated into all internal processes.

Aligning with Company Values

Marina Ilari, Terra’s CEO, emphasizes the policy’s alignment with the company’s core values. “We’ve always been fully committed to diversity and inclusion; this is woven into our fabric as a company and it’s part of our mission,” Marina explained, “But I believe this policy will give our efforts a clear framework so that not only can our team members refer to it, but also potential collaborators and clients can learn more about our positioning and actioning on this important topic.”

Looking Forward

Terra recently launched the diversity policy company-wide. Training sessions are being conducted with leaders and employees to foster awareness and understanding of the policy. Additionally, Terra aims to share the policy with clients, showcasing its internal operations and commitment to diversity and inclusion. Looking ahead, Terra has identified three key steps: Training and Education, Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), and Ongoing Measurement and Accountability, to further enhance diversity and inclusion within the organization.

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What Does Continuous Improvement Mean for Terra
18/07/2023

What Does Continuous Improvement Mean for Terra?

Posted on | by Jacqueline De Marco | Leave a Comment on What Does Continuous Improvement Mean for Terra?

The concept of “continuous improvement” in the business world involves making regular small changes with the goal of improving a process, a product, or other key element of a business. For us at Terra, continuous improvement has become a cornerstone of our culture. We’re constantly identifying areas for improvement so we can provide the best possible service to our clients. Being ISO-certified also encourages us to strive for quality and excellence in all that we do.

Continuous improvement is something we take very seriously, and it permeates multiple areas of our day-to-day operation. Let’s take a closer look at how we incorporate continuous improvement into all areas of Terra.

Culture

At Terra, we are lucky to enjoy the work we do and we owe that enjoyment largely to a culture that is rooted in authenticity, inclusivity, and transparency. Terra puts a focus on the whole person and there is a significant emphasis on personal and mental health. Our stronghold on a healthy and supportive culture directly manifests itself in the company’s year-over-year retention rate of 95%.

Additionally, we are also GPTW certified, which means we survey our staff every year to learn about how they are feeling and what can be done in different areas of the business to improve the work environment and well-being of members.

Feedback

Feedback is a key element to our success at Terra. We thrive off of feedback as it helps feed our insatiable desire to be better. For us, feedback isn’t just about what didn’t go right. It can focus on what could be better or what went really well. Feedback on what we do well helps us identify how to replicate that success.

As part of our processes, leaders provide regular feedback to their reports, but also encourage them to provide feedback back to them. We believe that feedback is a two-way street.

Training

How we train employees is also an area we continuously look to improve upon. Terra’s training model combines a broad spectrum of topics according to the needs of different teams and roles. Employee training may include detailed instruction on the use of CAT tools and periodic training in the latest features from each tool, project management skills, diversity and inclusion workshops, deep dives into subject matter knowledge, or soft skills. While most training initiatives originate from the human resources department, operations leads are given the autonomy to execute ad-hoc opportunities to address the needs of their team.

Process

Terra prides itself on being a boutique service provider, which means we create customized solutions for our partners. When we begin a new partnership, we make it our mission to learn on a granular level the scope and needs of the project to then design, mold, and redefine a workflow that meets our partners’ needs. In the spirit of continuous improvement, that workflow is then evaluated over and over again, implementing micro-adjustments (or macro-adjustments) as needed to ensure the best possible experience is provided.

As we grow, we know that our internal processes also need to be revised and improved upon. This is where the feedback from our people becomes crucial, as these processes have a direct impact on the way they work every day.”

The Takeaway

A core belief at Terra is that we can always do better—for both our clients and our employees. Continuous improvement is a priority that we will always share as a team and we look forward to making our client and employee experiences better every day.

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New Collaboration_ Terra Cares & SSF - Portada
06/06/2023

A New Collaboration: Terra Cares & SSF

Posted on | by Jacqueline De Marco | Leave a Comment on A New Collaboration: Terra Cares & SSF

We could not be more thrilled to announce that we recently started collaborating with Sustentabilidad Sin Fronteras (SSF) through our Terra Cares program. Through this program, Terra supports non-profit organizations to help overcome language barriers that prevent them from achieving their goals.

In this blog post, we want to share the mission of SFF and how we will work together to help them reach their goals as an organization.

What is SSF?

SSF is a non-profit organization founded by a group of professionals with the aim of fighting climate change in Latin America. Their mission and vision are to address and fight climate change by raising awareness and working on mitigation and adaptation projects with key stakeholders. They also do some advocacy work to accelerate climate action.

Both Terra and SSF are committed to making a positive impact on the communities and the environment.

How It Started

Terra Cares aims to help organizations whose mission we believe in as a company or organizations that members of our team feel passionate about. This program opens the door to all Terra members to suggest organizations they believe we can help. In the case of SSF, it was María del Carmen, Organization & Methods Manager at Terra, who proposed this organization.

We came in contact with SSF through Nasha A. C. Cuvelier, Co-Founder of SSF. “When we spoke with Nasha at the very beginning of our collaboration, she mentioned that her team at SSF had been thinking about expanding beyond the Spanish-speaking community,” Cintia, Operations Lead at Terra shared, “However, the major drawback they had at that moment was that their budget didn’t allow them to have a professional linguist translate their content into English. Nasha mentioned that it was truly a blessing when Terra reached out to them to help them exactly with what they needed the most.”

How Translation Brings Opportunities to SSF

Terra translated the SSF website into English. With this update, SSF hopes to be easily found by international organizations and other NPOs whose missions are related to sanitary justice, the fight against poverty, gender equality, etc.

In addition, SSF recently worked on their 2023 Climate Change Annual Report and they presented it on April 27th, 2023. This report—created in collaboration with Uno.Cinco (a Chilean NGO) and with as many as 22 co-authors—has great significance, as it addresses topics like damage and loss, biodiversity, fair ecological transition, climate finance, artificial intelligence, and climate change—among others.

The Terra team had the honor to attend this presentation through Daniela, Victoria, Noelia (members of our operations team who have worked on their projects), and María del Carmen.

What’s Next for Terra Cares & SSF

Soon Terra will help SSF translate the 2023 Climate Change Annual Report into English. Having this report translated into English will allow them to go beyond Latin America and share it with international organizations like Climate Action Network. They will also present it next November at COP 28 in the United Arab Emirates, which is the biggest climate change conference.

When asked if she had a message for those who participated in the project, including both the project management team as well as the linguists involved, she said, “Thank you. Thank you so much! Without your help, we would have never dreamed about having a report in English. Widening our organization’s horizon is critical for us to accelerate climate actions. Thank you for being part of the solution to this global challenge with us!”

Our whole team is truly proud of having had the chance to do our part for a cause that greatly impacts our planet.

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A Year in Review 2022 with Terra
27/12/2022

A Year in Review: 2022 with Terra

Posted on | by Jacqueline De Marco | Leave a Comment on A Year in Review: 2022 with Terra

Every year our team likes to pause and reflect on some of our favorite moments from the past 12 months. Which is why we are so happy to report that 2022 had a lot of highlights. Let’s take a closer look at some of the top moments of the year, so we can all celebrate together.

“I’m so proud of what we accomplished as a team with Terra this year,” CEO of Terra Marina Ilari said, “What makes me most excited is the fact that we continue to work with our values of quality, inclusion, and team-spirit front and center of everything that we do!”

Now let’s spend some time together reflecting on 2022!

We Got New Branding

We started the year off on a strong note by finalizing Terra’s brand refresh. We felt a call to refresh our branding, as Terra evolved significantly over the past few years and deserved branding that illustrated that evolution. The main goal during this refresh process was to highlight our strong company culture and our commitment to partnership with our clients.

We Grew Our Team

Our team has grown so much in 2022 — by 97% to be exact! A significant part of that growth is thanks to our LQA work where we specialize in 13 different languages. We keep welcoming new members to the Terra family every day.

We Came Together

After two and a half years, we finally had our annual in-person event in Buenos Aires in August. It was a lovely weekend where we had the opportunity to meet people in person who we had only met on video calls and over digital chat. This event gave us a chance to get to know each other better thanks to team-building activities and a party joined by freelance linguists that collaborate with Terra on a regular basis.

We also had the chance to connect with each other and other industry colleagues by returning to industry conferences now that the world is opening up more. Members of our team attended:

We Achieved Certifications

At Terra, we pride ourselves on being a nice place to work and having a strong company culture. We went through the Great Place to Work (GPTW) certification process for a consecutive year and passed, seeing improvements in the overall results. This certification allows us to be considered for several rankings and during 2022 we ranked in the following (in our segment, which is up to 250 collaborators):

We also achieved a new honor and landed a spot on the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies in America list. Our CEO Marina Ilari also received recognition as the CEO of one of the 19 fastest-growing LSPs.

We Gave Back

Giving back to our community is a value shared by everyone at Terra. In 2022 we continued our support through Terra Cares to organizations like Chicas en Tecnología, Doctors without Borders, and Asociación de Desarrolladores de Videojuegos Argentinos. Their projects amounted to 113,832 translated words in total. We look forward to all the exciting challenges and achievements that 2023 will surely bring and can’t wait to share how the year unfolded this time next year. From everyone at Terra, we wish you a healthy and happy new year!

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