Norma Sanchez is a Line Leader at our Texas facility. She has been with PRO-TECH for almost five years and during that time has progressed from a temporary contractor to a full-time Line Leader. It is a testament to Norma’s hard work and skills that she has grown to be an indispensable part of our company. So, we thought she would be a perfect person to shine a light on this month.
To begin, let’s start with a story about how Norma came to be hired by the company. At the time she found us, she had had a baby less than six months before and was looking for a job. Unfortunately, she could not leave her baby with someone, so she needed to take him with her. She was going door-to-door to companies in the Arlington area and asking if they had any openings, and she literally knocked on our door with her baby in a stroller.
The person who happened to answer the door that day was our President, Aaron Swanson. He was visiting the Texas facility, and just by coincidence happened to be the one nearest the door when Norma and her baby rang. He welcomed her in, heard a little bit about her story, and asked the hiring manager to interview her on the spot. Five years later, she is a key piece of our operations in Texas, and that fortuitous knock has resulted in a leader who has continued to grow and shine.
That same person who interviewed her five years ago, our Production Manager, Jonathan Contreras, was asked to describe Norma, and this is what he said…
“She is very hardworking and has been a very loyal employee to the company. She is always willing to learn new things and likes to take on new responsibilities. In my 10+ years with the company and 100s of employee’s I’ve had throughout the years, she has been one of the best. I get a lot of compliments from visitors/customers on how well she does her job and is engaged in production. She is a great line leader because she has a lot of patience, she’s kind, and is always eager to help others.”
At the time that Norma joined PRO-TECH, she did not have any experience in contract manufacturing or the medical device industry, but Aaron and Jonathan recognized someone who wanted to learn and had the desire and commitment to succeed. And, now five years later, she is a trusted leader in the organization who teaches others how to be successful.
As evidence of this, Norma starts her day by checking the work schedule every morning and figures out how to best organize her production team for the day. When she and her team start a new project, she takes the time to learn the assembly instructions, walks through it herself until she knows the process like the back of her hand, and then trains her team with enough detail and background so that they can be successful. She is also very conscious that the final device might save someone’s life, so she reminds herself and her team about the importance of what they do and how they directly contribute to the well-being of patients.
One of the things that she likes most about PRO-TECH is that it feels like a family. Everyone looks out for one another and if she needs to take time off to do something, like take one of her kids to a doctor’s appointment, her managers are incredibly supportive, and she feels like they value her as a person, not just as an employee. She also feels like the company is a place where she and others can build a career, where they are valued, and where they are doing important work that they can be proud of.
Outside of work, Norma enjoys playing basketball when she can. By the way, she is not happy that Luka was traded from the Mavericks to the Lakers, so do not ask her about that. She also likes to exercise and listen to music along with spending time with her family. She has found a nice balance of work and life and thinks that PRO-TECH can be part of that equation for a long time.
Thank you, Norma, for all that you do!