AirLife is the first company I’ve seen that has looked at the human side of their employees — they care for each individual.
In my younger years, before AirLife, I started very young as a buyer-planner, then lead of purchasing, then customer service, inventory control, production manager, and supply chain manager. While still in Mexico, I worked for the US government in the Inventory Control department.
Then the opportunity to change my residence came on board! I had to find a job in the United States in the Supply Chain areas where I could apply my energy. Salter Labs was the indicated! My first role at Salter /AirLife was as a Warehouse Supervisor at the EL Paso location. I have a lot of energy, so the fast pace, changing from one activity to another and solving problems attracted me to this position. I found very attractive all the coordination, planning, logistics and customer care that this distribution center offered.
As warehouse Supervisor I worked on many different projects: introduced new warehouse structure and implemented a receiving section. A year into my work at Salter Labs, we merged with AirLife. This gave me an opportunity to learn new systems and train our people. With the growth of the company, I saw an opportunity to open up a 2nd shift, and eventually the necessity for another facility – all this during the COVID pandemic. I was honored to be awarded “Employee of the Quarter” for my work. Soon after, I was promoted as Warehouse Manager and had the opportunity to assign people to roles which made us more efficient. While I believe that each process must have an owner, I strongly believe in all the benefits the cross-training provides me, my team and the company.
My path to Warehouse Manager was achieved by seeing opportunities and stepping in to help rather than waiting for someone to assign to me.
I’ve been very fortunate to have had the managers I’ve had. I learned from them how to recognize strengths and weaknesses and how to overcome challenges. Now, I have a manager who I can rely on. He is my mentor, takes time to help, to train, hears my suggestions and validates my thoughts.
There is a lot to learn and do! What I love most about my role is that I have an opportunity to lead people and participate in their growth and projection. I love my team and the dynamics of the job – making decisions and taking actions quickly. It challenges me. This role has opportunity for growth just as my people have opportunity, which is very important to me.
This career path at AirLife has taught me there’s always opportunity to improve and grow professionally. I’ve navigated challenges that have taken me out of my comfort zone to find solutions. It’s made me think! I also truly believe in my team. I learn and grow from them.
For someone considering working at AirLife, I’d say just go for it! There’s so much room to grow if you want – the opportunities are there. AirLife cares about us as individuals and that makes such a difference in a work environment.
I have worked for great companies that have helped my professional career, but AirLife is the first company I’ve seen that has looked at the human side of their employees – they care for each individual. This makes me want to keep going.