Annually, FINCA Guatemala gathers all the personnel of the whole country in one place, in an event that has become a tradition. The event is classified as the annual Olympic Games and each year a special title complements this name. In 2015, the event was also the launching platform for our internal brand campaign, which is why it was called “Creating Successful Futures.“

The event requires about two months of planning, as FINCA employees are responsible for each of the details. This year more than 450 staff members participated in the rally to win the trophy for their region. The only way to achieve this is to accumulate as many gold medals as possible in each of the sports and talent shows on the day. FINCA Guatemala is divided into commercial regions according to the geographical location of the Agencies and the Headquarters also counts as a region for competition purposes. In order to decide who will represent the region on the special day, preliminary rounds were planned by each of the Managers in the region with their staff. All publicity for the event included the graphic elements of Warmth, Trust and Responsibility, printed on everything including the shirts that all the staff wore that day. (The colors selected for the shirts represent the rings of the Olympic Games).

The Olympic Games began with the opening speech of our CEO Elmer Zepeda, who focused on the slogan “Creating Successful Futures” and what it means for the institution. The national anthem was sung by all attendees and then each of the regions prepared an allegorical baton that was also evaluated by the judges. The sports competitions included a 5k race, football, 100 meter race, relay race, obstacle course, rope pulling, relay swimming, and individual swimming (all disciplines were done in the female and male category). Everyone enjoyed a barbecue for lunch offered by FINCA. The competitions continued in the afternoon with a talent show with the same dynamics of winning medals. A singing show and a dance show were presented by each of the regions. After the presentations, the global medal count was made and the winners were revealed.

This year the winning region was the metropolitan area, which revealed “teamwork” as the reason for success. At the closing ceremony, the Head of Marketing addressed all staff with the official launch of the “Start With Me” campaign, explaining each of the brand’s attributes and the importance of giving life to our brand promise. The announcement of staff training by agency, referring to this initiative was also announced. After the induction to the trainers in charge, the visits to the agencies will begin in June.

A break was taken after the awards ceremony, in order to get dresses for the star party that was held in the same place at night. Everyone played a character from the show of their choice. It was interesting to see the effort devoted to clothing. The party was held to celebrate that FINCA Guatemala was awarded as one of the best companies to work for in Central America (Great Place to Work). The Human Resources Manager commented on the meaning of this award, and officially handed the award to the Board of Directors.

This is an event that takes place every year and allows the interaction of all the members of our staff in one place. This event is an example where we practice our warmth, trust and responsibility. Creativity, teamwork, discipline, are some of the great ingredients of the recipe for success in events like this.