Employee Spotlight: Q&A with Anette Mullis, Head of HR at Arelion

We often talk about meeting ever-increasing traffic demand and customer quality expectations within our industry. But another critical audience is our workforce and the expectations of current and future employees. How companies work and recruit new employees has been a hot topic over the past few years, fueled by remote and hybrid work due to the pandemic, social unrest, discussions on diversity and inclusion, and environmental challenges across the globe.  

These are all important topics that challenge corporations and Human Resource (HR) departments every day. Figuring out how to work smarter instead of just working harder is something Anette Mullis has been doing in her HR roles for over 30 years. We interviewed Anette for the blog to understand her background and how she sees Arelion supporting the growth of staff through sustainable business initiatives. 

Q: Tell us about your background?

I was appointed VP of HR at Arelion in August 2021. Prior to this, I have lived and worked in Europe and North America in international retail, pharmaceuticals, and high-tech industries. I have a passion for employee engagement, talent management and competency development. Additionally, I love the concept of lifelong learning, and the future of work topics. As the new VP of HR, one of my first priorities is surrounding the sustainable business goals of Arelion. Arelion defines their sustainable development goals as not just related to climate change and environmental sustainability, but also internal sustainable business practices such as diverse hiring practices and staffing goals.

Q: What does Arelion look like on the inside? 

Currently, 40 percent of Arelion’s management team is comprised of women, including the recent appointment of Sophie Reinius as CFO in November 2021.

With offices across 20 global markets, much of Arelion’s staff is inherently diverse with many nationalities represented. While these statistics are something to be said for current hiring practices, the long-term vision and goal for Arelion is to support more visibility of women working in telecom and for the workforce to reflect the diversity of all Arelion markets.

To continue supporting the growth of women in tech and building a sustainable business, Arelion must be part of a broader vision, connecting with university students and entry levels, and getting girls involved in STEM and technology at an early age.

Q: What are some of the key goals for HR? 

In addition to recruitment goals and involvement within the community, Arelion is also focused internally on training managers in unconscious bias, diversity, inclusion and belonging. In addition, we plan to introduce interview panels representing a broader diversity including gender.

Q: How will you accomplish these goals?

I have previous experience at both large and small companies and as part of a global HR group, and I think what we have done within our HR group at Arelion is focus on working on incorporating more agile and intuitive HR products. We are focused on supporting a healthy organization, not just providing an Employee Assistance Program or health insurance, but also through having good, strong leadership and a non-toxic, supportive environment that supports and encourages women in tech.

Q: Anything else?

A sustainable business is not only a corporate goal, but an expectation from current and future employees. This includes the expectations for employees to work with environmental engagement, diversity and inclusion, business ethics, transparency and supporting the good health and well-being of the staff. These goals and expectations are not only good for business and the world, but it is also a talent draw as more candidates and employees want to know they are supported in these areas and have the desire to contribute back to the world.

As a stand-alone company with a new brand, Arelion has many goals for the coming years. However, with the support and direction provided by the strong management team paired with our diverse staff and future employees of Arelion, we believe we will accomplish these goals.

Curious about joining us? Check out open positions at Arelion.