We all know how often we make vows, promises and plans for the new year when we celebrate New Year's Eve. We invariably feel the need to do something different, to pursue a certain goal or dream.

Well, how many of us find ourselves, year after year, with desires, dreams or plans, which are passed on from New Year's Eve to New Year's Eve, from toast to toast, from raisin to raisin... And why don't we fulfill them? Why do we continue to aspire and the new year doesn't bring us the long-awaited result?

Well, that's why I'm writing this text to you as a reflection and a challenge.

In all the plans we make in our lives, whether personal or professional, we must always ensure that we balance ambition with feasibility, that we make plans, that we set goals, that we structure concrete actions. Let's see. How can we want to buy a car in the new year if we haven't defined that we'll set aside a certain amount each month, or that we'll go ahead and take out a loan, which we've already made sure has a monthly payment we can afford?

The end-of-year review is exactly what we need to improve, to fine-tune our action plans and to ensure that we make our dreams come true. It's with an end-of-year review that we realize: what we wanted, what came true, what we did, what had the desired result, what we thought, what we actually managed to put into action...

So how do I take stock? Where do I start? How will it lead me to fulfill the wishes that I will ask for once again in the raisins or in the toast, on the occasion of 2022?

Our suggestion is that we start by listing what we wanted in a table, recording what we achieved or obtained, and identifying why (not just the failures, but also what we succeeded at, because if it worked well in one respect, we can even replicate it in others). Then, when we realize that we haven't saved enough, or that an unexpected expense has come up, or that we've had a family problem, or that Covid has put a strain on our lives... we can assess whether we want to stick to that goal next year, or whether we haven't thought it through and haven't invested much in achieving it because our priorities and goals have changed.

Once we've identified the aspects we want to keep, we'll figure out how to overcome the obstacle that prevented us from achieving them in the previous year and define an action plan with tasks (e.g. put €10 aside every month in a piggy bank), intermediate goals (e.g. manage to have €60 saved in June), and ways of controlling the achievement (e.g. on the last day of each month, count up to validate how much money we already have and whether we have time off for a tighter month, or if we're short of money and have to use our vacation allowance).

This way, by monitoring all the variables that occur, we always know what's getting in the way and we can think of strategies to overcome it, either in advance, if we've already anticipated any expenses for a specific month (for the example I gave earlier), or in the moment, if something comes up that we hadn't considered. But the secret of balance is this: having control over what we do and what we aspire to.

The same applies to the hugs we realize we've missed giving, the phone calls we feel have been less frequent, or the volunteering we've been putting off and want to do so much...

If we don't analyze, we don't know, and we can't change...

Today is International Women's Day, the day we celebrate gender equality. To tell us a little about this topic, we spoke to Rita, our Human Resources Director.

Hi Rita, thank you for taking the time to talk to us about women at Contisystems. 

It's always a pleasure to be able to stop and talk for a while about topics that are particularly close to our hearts. 

How many women currently work at Contisystems?  

There are currently 56 women working at Contisystems, which corresponds to around 42% of the total workforce. 

Is this proportion historical or has the % of women changed?  

The % of women at Contisystems has grown overall, by around 8% in the last 5 years, and if we look at the % of women in management positions, we see that it has changed significantly over time. We currently have a woman coordinating one of our production areas and we have 3 women on the management team. Looking at Contisystems 10 years ago, we can really see a significant change in this area. 

Are most of the women in management or production? 

The distribution is very even, there isn't much of a difference, we have a rationale of 55% in Production and 45% in the administrative and support area.  

Is there any area where you can clearly see that there are fewer women? Can you explain why?  

In general we have an even distribution of both genders in the various areas, but we do have some areas where women are under-represented. 

 One example is the maintenance area, because it's rare to find women trained in this area. Another case is the printing and enveloping area in the Printing and Customer Communication Management divisions, where the jobs involve some physical effort, which is usually more easily done by men. The IT and Software area also has an under-representation of women, but we are gradually starting to see more women trained in these areas. 

On the other hand, we also have areas such as Compliance, Human Resources and Marketing, where the teams are made up entirely of women. There are also other areas where we have a much higher incidence of women in the teams, because historically they tend to be more delicate and meticulous, aspects that are critical to the successful execution of tasks, such as VAS (Value Added Services) or digitalization. 

I would say that we are a clear example of optimizing the skills that characterize each gender, and in our recruitment processes we never have any selection criteria associated with gender, but rather with the skills and professional experience presented.  

Although we can aspire to be able to perform any function, our physiological characteristics and our commitment to our individual development will enhance our suitability for different functions. 

As a woman, how did you feel your path at Contisystems?  

As a woman, I'm very proud to say that I've never felt diminished or devalued because I'm a woman. I know that what I've felt since joining the company would probably have been very different 10 or 15 years ago, not only because society has changed a lot in this area, but also because we mustn't forget that Contisystems comes from a graphic design background, an area where most of the work was done by men, and changing these paradigms always takes time.  

Let's also not forget that until a few years ago this wasn't the case, but gradually women have been taking on some management positions more and more easily, especially in the area of Human Resources, due to the high number of women trained in this area, compared to operations management or the areas of information technology. However, I would say that we cannot expect a different reality if we see few women interested in investing and developing skills in these areas. Whether it's due to cultural history, or physiological predisposition / suitability, we have to accept that different areas have different gender distributions, but I don't see this as discrimination, just as a fact that reflects our individual characteristics.  

Finally, and still on this subject, I must stress that at Contisystems we have many proofs of our respect for people, regardless of their gender, and our openness to the integration or promotion of women to any type of position. I would say that I am an example of this, because at no time did I feel that Duarte's analysis and decision to invite me to join the management team were influenced positively or negatively by my gender, but rather by my competence, my alignment with Contisystems and my growth potential, and I think that this is a symbol of a very healthy company with enormous potential. 

Would you like to say a few words to the women of Contisystems on this day? 

I would just like to say that I see this day, more than Women's Day, as a day of gender equality, a day of respect for our individual differences, more than our gender differences. I see this day as a time to remember the many women who have been a fundamental part of our emancipation, and to promote the path that in some areas has yet to be built. 

Hugo is one of our Software Engineering programmers, he's been with us for 10 years and decided to share a little about his journey to Contisystems and the challenges of teleworking as a new father.

Hi Hugo, welcome and thank you very much for taking on the challenge of telling us a bit about yourself.

Do you want to start by telling us where you come from?

-I was bornin Arouca, where I lived with my parents and brother until I left home. I went to school in Arouca until I went to the CET (Technological Specialization Course) in Oliveira de Azeméis at the Escola Superior Aveiro Norte (ESAN - UA) where I studied Software Development and Systems Administration.

What made you choose this area?

-It was, and is, a growing area. I saw the growth of the Internet and was always curious about it. After the CET, I took a degree in Information Technology at the Águeda School of Technology and Management (ESTGA - UA), as a student worker, where I had some equivalences and did some courses.

Where were you working at the time?

-At thein2b company where I was an intern for 6 months. That's where I met Hugo Santos and Carla, and we've worked together ever since. In the meantime, that company was bought by Netual, a company that was already in the process of integrating with GFI Portugal and where I met Ricardo Costa.

What did they do in that company?

-We have developed various systems ranging from hotel alarm systems, multimedia kiosks, corporate TV, teacher management, spa management software.... wide variety.

So how did you get to Contisystems?

-In fact, several of us left GFI for Contisystems in 2010, challenged by Duarte to work on a new project. That group included, of course, Hugo Santos and Carla.

Have you always had the same job at Contisystems?

-Yes, at Contisystems I've always been part of the development team, although I've worked in various areas and in various programming languages. The areas ranged from website content management platforms, child tracking systems, festival access control, development of factory and sales support systems... a lot!

Again, a lot of variety... where does our current Customer Communication Management system come in?

-It started in 2015 when one of our clients identified this need, and since then it has grown a lot.

And what's it like working in a small team in Aveiro when the rest of the company is in Lisbon?

-It's easy and works very well. There's always been collaboration on both sides and I've never experienced any difficulties. Of course, it's important to have regular visits and to be with people, but we're always very close, the geographical distance doesn't make it difficult to get the job done or the relationship. There are actually advantages because there are only a few of us and we can be much more concentrated and focused without anyone interrupting us in the room with other matters. It's very different to be interrupted by an email or chat or by a person in person. But at the moment there isn't even this Lisbon/Aveiro difference, now we're all the same!

Now the reality is different, what has it been like for you working from home?

-It's been a challenge. My wife is a nurse, so she doesn't have the chance to telework, and we have Diogo who still needs a lot of attention as he's not even 2 years old.

Working and looking after Diogo must be hard...

-É. Because of the risk my wife is exposed to, we try to avoid Diogo having contact with his grandparents and I've been trying to work shifts with my wife so that we can take turns looking after Diogo. It's complicated because it's very rare for us to have three-way time, and that's very much missed. In the meantime, he's already spending a few days with his grandparents, but I hope that the nurseries will open soon and that can change, and he already misses school a lot.

And do you still have time for any hobbies?

-Nowit's unthinkable. I'd love to be able to keep up with my exercise routines, but I'm not. In 2013 I lost 30 kg in 8 months thanks to greater discipline in exercise and nutrition, but some of that 30 kg has come back... but I'd really like to get back to that discipline. Apart from that, I've been volunteering at TEDx Aveiro since the first edition (2010), where I'm responsible for managing ticket sales and also helping with access control on the day of the event.

If we asked someone close to you to describe you in one expression, what do you think they would say?

-I thinkit would be the fact that I'm a caring and close father. I don't help, I'm part of it, I think they're quite different things.

Thank you so much for your time, it was great to get to know you better!