Cultural Competency Is Crucial for Global Mobility 

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Fabiola “Fabi” Zuniga is the embodiment of global mobility. The staff vice president for corporate talent acquisition and global mobility at FM has lived in four countries (Costa Rica, Taiwan, in the UK, and the US) and six states. The Costa Rica native’s passion for traveling began early. She grew up tutoring Taiwanese workers in Costa Rica in Spanish and hoping to one day travel to Asia. She lived in Taiwan and studied Mandarin for a year before ultimately moving to the UK to begin her career.

With more than thirty years of HR experience, Zuniga has worked in multinational settings at companies like IBM, Intel, and Walmart. She has excelled in areas including talent development, program management, and global mobility. She came to FM in 2021 to support talent acquisition for the global company.

“I have moved around a lot, and global mobility is an area I’m passionate about because it’s so easy to put myself in the shoes of the people I’m supporting,” Zuniga explains. “Moving is very personal, whether we think of it that way or not. It might mean moving a family and pets, but even if it’s just yourself, it’s a stressful process. I love supporting people on that journey.”

The executive says that cultural competency is vital for anyone who works in a global setting. For example, the more rigid hierarchical structure of corporate culture in many Asian countries demands that superiors do most of the talking and reports speak very little. If you don’t understand these cultural differences, you risk not engaging appropriately.

Zuniga remembers meeting with an Israeli company for the first time and thinking that she picked the worst possible day to visit. It looked like a full-scale, heated argument was taking place in front of her. “I called one of my peers after the meeting to ask what I had missed, and she just started laughing,” Zuniga remembers. “She said that was just their culture. But it was something I had to learn.”

Zuniga advises anyone meeting with someone outside the US to do their homework on cultural expectations. In some cultures, it’s important to engage in small talk prior to jumping into more serious discussions. It can be seen as rude to move straight to business. In other cultures, it’s completely normal to bypass polite discussion, which might find it disrespectful of the person’s limited time.

Understanding these nuances is key to building effective relationships, as Zuniga knows well. At FM, she currently focuses solely on corporate talent acquisition for the US and Canada, but as the company expands globally, her role is evolving.

“FM is looking to spread to other locations, and we’ve created a great foundation to support that kind of expansion,” Zuniga says. “My job is to support talent growth and make sure that as we expand, I’ve helped nurture talent that can be recruited internally to take on new roles and responsibilities. Something I like about this company is that they are looking to create career paths for internal employees, and I want to be one of those people helping others achieve their dreams.”

Zuniga is passionate about mentoring and has two mentees of her own through the Women’s Forum ERG at FM. The executive encourages more people to both mentor others and to seek out mentors of their own.

“It’s always important to learn from someone outside yourself whom you admire,” Zuniga says. “At the same time, they can play devil’s advocate to tell you those things you don’t always want to hear. They can harness your motivation and help drive you.”

Zuniga’s willingness to mentor others is partially due to her never-ending curiosity. The executive says she tries to learn something new every day, and mentoring has provided a two-way street to learn more about herself while being of service to others.

“No matter how far you go in your career, you have to keep learning,” Zuniga says. “If I have free time, you will see me watching a webinar or reading. I’m learning about AI and how I might use [Microsoft] Copilot to enhance my work. I’m never bored because I have a desire to learn new things.”

Outside of her role, Zuniga is a passionate traveler. She worked her way through Africa recently and is moving on to Europe. She has also recently taken up Pilates and rounds out her holistic health by seeing a therapist monthly.

The executive says she hopes more people will focus on their mental health. The effort to understand yourself is more of a continued conversation than a moment cemented in time. Zuniga knows that being happy isn’t about a certain place in particular, because she’s been all over. The real happiness comes in loving yourself.

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