Meet Majorel: Delivering maximum impact for global leaders

Here at Majorel, we know our people are the heart of our business. Every quarter, we take some time to sit down with a member of our team who exemplifies the company’s values to learn more about their job, their department, their background, and what makes them tick.

Today, we’re speaking with Louise McNab, VP of Account Management at Majorel. Since joining the company last year, Louise has quickly become an integral member of the company’s account management team, taking the lead for some of Majorel’s most high-profile clients.

Tell us a bit about yourself. Where do you call home?

Oh, well, I’m from the UK originally—that’s where I was born and raised, but I’ve bounced all over the world for work. I spent a lot of my career doing “boots on the ground” type assignments, so I haven’t stayed still for long. Right now, I live in Barcelona, and I have for a few years.

Can you tell us a bit about your role and responsibilities at Majorel?

I’m in account management, so my primary focus is ensuring that Majorel’s teams are fulfilling our clients’ needs. I really work with one client—which, sorry, I can’t tell you who—but it’s a very large, complex, and high-profile account, and we have teams working for them on multiple continents. My day-to-day involves overseeing operations for them, helping to identify inefficiencies, and working alongside their customer service leaders to develop plans for process improvements.

How did you come into the field? What drew you to it?

I came into the industry by chance, but the opportunities to see the world and make a difference in people’s lives are what made me stay. I started my career in business process outsourcing (BPO) after getting an account management job at a small BPO in Manchester shortly after graduating in 1996. I studied Computing in Business, so it was something different to what I had done before. I wanted to be challenged and I definitely was.

After five years managing call centers for them, I got a call from Barclays asking if I wanted to come manage vendor relationships in India for the company. I jumped at the offer, as I’d always had a bit of a travel bug—and I moved to Mumbai sight unseen. From there, I spent about 15 years traveling the world working for various BPOs in places like the Philippines, Jamaica, Las Vegas, Houston, and Barcelona.

Do you have any pets? 

I do! I have a dog named Tuki, and he is 10. I adopted him when I was living in the Philippines, and he´s come with me everywhere in between.

 What’s your morning routine like? 

I like to wake up early to get my head on straight for the day. I usually grab Tuki, and we go for a walk on the beach together. This helps me calm myself and find a moment of peace before the rest of the world is awake.

What do you find most exciting about your job? 

It’s really the chance to serve as a catalyst for positive change that gets me excited to go to work every day. Majorel’s ongoing commitment to uplifting local economies by creating career opportunities for workers from all walks of life is evident in the way it builds and runs its service centers, with an emphasis on inclusion and adaptability at its center.

Through my work, I’ve gotten to see people, families, and local areas transform in amazing ways. It’s something that pushes me to keep going even when things get stressful.

What policies and programs have you initiated for your clients? Are there any you are particularly proud of? 

I am very much a people person and having worked all over the world with many cultures, I know how important it is to create programs that are engaging for everyone, not just a select few. Nowadays, my team members are located all over the world, so I’m an advocate for bringing everyone together virtually on a quarterly basis to provide them with an update on the business and to stay connected.

Recognizing people for their hard work is also something I take pride in. People appreciate the thank you emails or texts at the end of the week, or messages wishing them a happy birthday or good luck before a big life event, it’s the small things that count.

You work in a high-pressure role. What advice would you give to employees experiencing burnout? To managers that see their employees are stressed? 

Take a breath, close the laptop, go and do something that makes you happy then come back to it – the world will still be turning. Talk to your manager or colleagues to get advice on managing your workload and see if they have any tips that can help. As I like to say, it’s okay to ask for help, but you need to meet them halfway.

You work closely with partner organizations in your day-to-day. Can you share your tips for fostering good partnerships?

Have open and honest communication, be transparent, and be yourself. Through clear communication, you and your partner organization can develop an understanding of expectations and grow mutual respect.

I am also a believer in that we should celebrate our wins, but if we make a mistake, we learn from it and come back stronger from it. This is where transparency comes into play and keeping partners aware of what went wrong and how we will execute successfully or improve moving forward.

What is your definition of success when it comes to your work?  

As with so much related to my work, my definition of success is focused on people. I feel successful when I see people enjoying and excelling at what they do. I know that my choices, as a team leader, affect people’s day-to-day lives.

The decisions I make aren’t about line items or growth metrics in an end-of-year presentation; they’re about helping the people I hire and work alongside become the best versions of themselves and build a better future for their families.

So, how do I know I’ve been successful? I hear it from my teams. I’m still a part of some of their lives, even years after I’ve moved on from a company or a location. It’s a much more rewarding achievement than meeting any KPI could ever be.

What do you like most about working at Majorel? 

The diversity and the travel, hands down. From a more selfish point of view, I love the travel. I’ve never stayed put long, so working for an organization where exploration is the norm is an obvious draw!

Taking a step back, though, I think the way the company amplifies marginalized voices is incredible. I’ve worked for a lot of companies and in a lot of places over the years, and I see the uniqueness of Majorel’s commitment to not only building a diverse workforce but valuing the diversity of insight that workforce brings to the table. Majorel makes a concerted effort to build its global footprint with in-house leaders, many of whom started as representatives, at the center. Uplifting those diverse points of view is a critical part of the company’s ongoing success as a customer experience leader.

What are your favorite hobbies? 

I like to take long walks and explore places—so the COVID lockdowns hit me hard, and I quickly realized I’m not really a hobby person. In 2019, I found myself having just moved to Barcelona for a new job with a travel company. Given the circumstances, that project ended quickly, and I couldn’t really go out and explore the city because, at that time, we didn’t really know what was safe or not. Thankfully that part of the pandemic ended quickly, but not before I got myself a walking desk and a treadmill pad.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten? 

“It’s OK to say no.” It’s simple but so important, especially for women in leadership. We’re constantly working harder to prove that we’re as good as our male colleagues, but part of proving that is knowing when to say no. It’s better to just admit when something will be too much for you than to scramble to get it all done. No one does well when they’re overloaded.

Keep an eye out for the next installment of our Meet Majorel series, where we’ll get to know another Majorel team member!