Career

Mexico is in the spotlight because the EA888 engine is also produced in Silau. We have a close relationship with them, with regular knowledge transfer. And because they wanted local help, my management offered me the opportunity. The change also supported my personal career path and was in the interests of the Group. I discussed all this with my partner, who luckily was very open-minded about it, so of course we came to Mexico together, and to our great joy, our first son was born during the posting.

Why did you take the assignment?

GYO:  I was attracted to a whole new culture. And also the challenge of how I will be able to integrate and grow as a person in a completely unknown environment. It was very exciting to get to know a country with such a fascinating culture. I'm not a polyglot, but I love foreign languages, so the opportunity to learn Spanish on the spot, as well as English and German, was very appealing. I agree that learning a language is the best way of learning about a culture.

What are your daily tasks? 

GYO: My job at the Mexican engine plant is production support. This includes implementing processes that have worked well in Győr, dealing with acute cases, introducing long-term measures to deal with these, ensuring the availability of machinery - and of course attaining the right volume and quality. A concrete example is providing support for the integration of the EVO5 type, which is still ongoing.. It is very exciting to work with local Mexican colleagues and posted staff. There were delegates from Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, India, Brazil, so it's a very colourful team. A real intercultural experience! It is also an excellent opportunity to find common ground and achieve our goals together, despite our different cultural backgrounds.

What is your relationship like with your colleagues in Mexico?

GYO: It comes from Mexican culture that they are direct and open, which is one of the reasons why I have developed very good relationships with many of the staff. They value community experiences, both inside and outside the factory. Achieving milestones at work is as important as celebrating birthdays and private successes, or sharing a meal together. Attendance is almost compulsory at these events to gain their trust and to integrate promptly. Additionally, friendships are quickly made over a good Mexican tequila. The posted colleagues are also very cohesive. It's a relatively small team, with at most 15 of us in the entire factory. Everyone knows about everyone else and empathises with one another. There are a total of three Hungarians on secondment from Audi.

What are the main differences between the Hungarian and Mexican workplace cultures?

GYO: The organizational structure is characterized by a looser, flatter hierarchy, making it easier to reach higher levels of management. Personal connections are important, so the staff here found it difficult to keep their distance during the Covid, for example. Very often they touch and hug each other, which is not very common among us. It is often easier and faster to ask for information in person than by e-mail or phone. They like to organize themselves into groups and work together. It's also important for them to celebrate small successes, which we might miss in the rush of the day. At the same time, it would be beneficial to have a break and give credit to smaller successes. Mexicans are a very religious nation. Crucifixes can be seen in several places in the factory.

It is very spectacular and touching when on the Day of the Dead, individual business areas build altars to honor their dead. An unusual but very interesting sight in a powertrain factory.
 

What do you think are the personal and professional qualities that are essential for someone to succeed in a posting? What do you recommend for someone who is going on an assignment abroad? What is the first thing you should do?

GYO: Be open to new things! Open to new people, a new culture, new processes, a new mentality and the new ways of looking at things. Along with tolerance and patience, there should be a desire to understand why people think or do something differently. You need to be curios and interested in things! And one more thing: you have to step out of your comfort zone! And posting abroad should be seen as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get to know a culture and nation from the inside. Of course, posting overseas also means being a long distance from home, in both space and time. You can't just go home for the weekend. Even a simple phone call home isn’t the same because of the 7-8 hour time difference. It’s also worth mentioning that dealing with the bureaucracy at home is also a complex task. Therefore, resilience (our mental ability to cope with obstacles and difficult life situations) is a quality worth having. What is certain, however, is that the posted person will improve this ability spectacularly.

How do you spend your free time? What have you seen in the area so far, where have you made excursions to? What has been the most beautiful, the most spectacular, the most memorable? What is something you would definitely like to see and visit?

GYO: It's not every day that you have the chance of getting to know America better. Of course, we visited the most popular tourist attractions in Mexico, which are typically located in the Yucatán Peninsula - such as Tulum, Cancún and Chichen Itza.

But the most memorable would be the pyramids at Kalakmul. From the entrance, we had to drive another 60 kilometres into the jungle to reach the structure, one of the few pyramids that can still be climbed.

At the same time, we have been to Mexico City, Puebla or Puerto Vallarta, on the Pacific coast. It's an unforgettable opportunity to see parts of Mexico that you wouldn't go to as a tourist, but they are beautiful on the one part, and also a great way of learning about the local culture. We also like to explore Mexican cuisine, which is very exciting, colourful and tasty.

We also visited Guatemala, and I enjoyed every minute of my visit to the NASA headquarters in Houston, USA. I love hiking in high mountains, which is particularly useful here as Mexico has many mountains, several of which are over 5,000 metres. It would be a big milestone for me to reach above such a height... I would like to achieve this.

What do you miss most about things at home?

GYO: Family, friends, Hungarian food. On the work side, the processes we already have in place at home, the highly process-oriented approach and the structured way of working that I'm used to back home.

How often do you travel home?

GYO: I have been back home twice so far. First, because of the birth of my son. The second time was when he was old enough to travel. Then the three of us flew back to Mexico.

Could you imagine living abroad even after your posting period is over?

GYO: I have no plans for an extension, I would like to continue my leadership development at home. But looking into the distant future, I... Never say never.

If you look beyond the work, there are aspects that make Mexico attractive, such as the lifestyle, the weather, the tourism and the food. But there are critical aspects - such as public safety or transport - that are fundamentally different from what we are used to in Europe. I would not be able to adapt to these on a daily basis.