HR Top Voices: 9 phrases from HR leaders to play better as a team

During 2026, at HR Top Voices we spoke with nine Human Resources leaders from Latin America: people who are rethinking how teams are managed, developed and cared for. Each interview left an idea worth taking to the field.

At Desky we work every day with HR teams, and we know their work is a lot like that of a technical staff. Preparing the roster, taking care of the locker room, reading the game and adjusting tactics on the fly. Almost always, without applause.

That's why we put together this lineup: a phrase from each leader, the business data that backs it up, and the story behind it.

The numbers behind the phrases

If you're a founder or lead an HR area, you probably want to see the data before the quotes. Behind each phrase is a concrete business result.

Rafael Lellis, Clara

• The data: he analyzed 50 exit interviews one by one and turned what he found into concrete changes in structure and performance evaluation.
• To note: teams with better eNPS also showed better results. Engagement is a business variable.

Vanina Armesto, Escala 24x7

• The data: at Naranja X she led talent attraction and employee experience at the same time.
• To note: when attraction and experience are thought of together, the value proposition attracts and also retains.

Paulina Camacho, Nexu

• The data: she got to the strategy table when she started showing the cost of bad hires and early turnover.
• To note: measure turnover in dollars, not in percentage. That's when the conversation changes.

Iris Torres, Energyza

• The data: very low voluntary turnover, and the employees themselves are the main source of recruitment.
• To note: a team that recommends the company to their family is the most efficient recruitment channel that exists.

Javiera Lyon, Walmart Chile

• The data: at BHP, female representation in mining went from 12% to gender equity when it became a priority for the global CEO.
• To note: what the CEO puts on the agenda and works on in alliance, moves.

Melanie Quaglia, Mendel

• The data: Mendel already exceeds 150 people and keeps growing, with objectives that are redefined each quarter.
• To note: in hypergrowth, clarity is not having all the answers: it's letting people know what you know and what you don't.

Federico Manó, Mentify

• The data: more than 5,000 people went through his programs, and ten reverse mentoring sessions changed the dynamics of an entire team.
• To note: the knowledge you're looking for outside is often already inside, and developing it costs less than hiring for it.

Matías Ponce, Estudio Locht

• The data: 16 years accompanying transformations in Latin America showed him that resistance to change is almost never a lack of information, but fear of losing something.
• To note: lower the ambition of the plan, increase the frequency of adjustments and win people over one by one.

Pablo Killian, KLN Talent Access

• The data: in Argentina, 76% of companies fail to fill their vacancies, according to ManpowerGroup.
• To note: many positions are filled through contacts and never published. Network and employer brand are competitive advantage.

There are three patterns that repeat: turnover costs more than what the dashboard shows, HR wins the table when it speaks the language of business, and the talent already in the company is the most profitable bet.

Melanie Quaglia: leading doesn't depend on the title

«We all lead. It's not a title or a team to manage. You lead every time others need your clarity to move forward.»

Melanie Quaglia – People | Mendel

Melanie leads people at Mendel and previously worked at Despegar, Ualá and Naranja X. At age 22, as an analyst, she led the opening of Despegar's IT headquarters in Córdoba. No one had given her the captain's armband, and yet she did it.

The phrase comes from accompanying teams in difficult moments. When the context tightens, the team doesn't look at the org chart: they look at who gives them clarity. Like on the field, the person who lifts up a fallen teammate doesn't always wear the captain's band.

Vanina Armesto: retention is won in the second yes

«A good value proposition is not just one that convinces someone to accept an offer, but also one that leads them to reject an outside one.»

Vanina Armesto – Chief People Officer | Escala 24x7

Vanina is Chief People Officer at Escala 24x7, a company that operates in more than 20 countries. At Naranja X she led both talent attraction and employee experience at the same time, in one of the region's most competitive talent markets.

Signing someone with a good promise is the first step. What defines a value proposition is what happens when another club calls on a Tuesday afternoon and the answer is «thanks, but I'm good here». That yes is not won in the presentation: it's won every day.

Javiera Lyon: from accompanying to designing the system

«When People understands how the business works, it stops accompanying and starts designing the system.»

Javiera Lyon – Manager of People | Líder, Walmart Chile

Javiera is Manager of People at Líder in Walmart Chile. Before that she was CPO at a SaaS startup and ended up adding Operations, RevOps and BI as COO. At BHP she worked on inclusion at a global level, where female representation in mining went from 12% to gender equity.

Her perspective stems from a clear idea: many times what looks like a people problem is actually a design problem. Unclear roles, misaligned incentives or processes that don't support. Before changing the player, it's worth reviewing the setup.

Rafael Lellis: organizational design as strategy

«Organizational design is not drawing boxes on an org chart. It's designing the capacity the company needs to execute its strategy.»

Rafael Lellis – People | Clara

Rafael leads People at Clara. At Superside he accompanied more than 300 people across more than 70 countries in a 100% remote setup. He's a psychologist, did an MBA at USP/Esalq and built his career on the more analytical side of HR.

One of his reference cases is a post-Series A startup where a founder concentrated much of the decision-making. The answer was to give each area a clear owner so the company could scale. Putting eleven names on a whiteboard is easy; making that lineup win games is hard.

Iris Torres: Human Capital as a service area

«Human Capital is the most important service area in any company.»

Iris Torres – Head of Human Capital | Energyza

Iris is Head of Human Capital at Energyza, a renewable energy company. She's been in the area for 12 years and built people teams from scratch more than once, in industries like poultry, retail and restaurants, where she managed 600 people across 9 locations.

From restaurants she took the value of service: listening with true intention to understand. That's why, when she arrives at a new company, the first thing she does is talk with employees at all levels. Before changing the structure, she gets to know the team.

Federico Manó: learning has no hierarchies

«The vulnerability to learn has no hierarchies.»

Federico Manó – Founder | Mentify

Federico is a psychologist, coach and founder of Mentify. More than 5,000 people went through his mentoring programs, with a network of more than 50 mentors across six countries in the region.

Behind this phrase is a concrete story: at a company using Mentify, a recently hired intern ended up mentoring a director. In ten sessions, the director changed the way he listened and his team's dynamics. Sometimes the young player teaches the veteran to kick with the other foot.

Paulina Camacho: small moves also change games

«Sometimes a small move generates a big change.»

Paulina Camacho – People Business Partner | Nexu

Paulina is People Business Partner at Nexu, where she supports Technology, Data and Product. She's a psychologist, has nearly nine years in Talent Acquisition and People and a postgraduate in HR from UNAM. She earned her seat at the decision table by speaking the language of business: the real cost of turnover and bad hires.

Her phrase works as an antidote to analysis paralysis. You don't always need to change the entire system or add dozens of new benefits. Sometimes it's enough to move the defensive line forward a meter.

Matías Ponce: change is accompanied, not imposed

«Change is sustained with relationships, not memos.»

Matías Ponce – Founder | Estudio Locht

Matías is founder of Estudio Locht and lecturer at UBA and Di Tella. He's spent 16 years accompanying organizational transformations in Latin America and directs Escuelas River al Mundo, which brings formative sports to the international level.

His main learning: resistance to change is almost never a lack of information, but fear of losing something that took years to build. That's why he proposes accompanying instead of convincing, lowering the ambition of the plan, raising the frequency of adjustments and winning people over one by one.

Pablo Killian: networking is built before you need it

«The best networking is what we do when we don't need it yet.»

Pablo Killian – Director | KLN Talent Access

Pablo is Director of KLN Talent Access, a selection consultancy for SMEs in Latin America, and consultant in career development and personal branding for senior professionals.

He compares it to a bank account: you have to deposit value in the network first before you can draw from it. Many opportunities are never published and are filled through contacts. On the field it's the same: the teammate who always lent a hand in training gets passed the ball by everyone in the final.

What unites the nine voices

Placed side by side, the nine phrases say something similar. None of them talk about winning alone. All of them talk about listening, understanding business, building before needing and making room for the other. Nine leaders from different countries and industries, from mining to fintechs, reaching the same conclusion through different paths.

Thank you to Melanie, Vanina, Javiera, Rafael, Iris, Federico, Paulina, Matías and Pablo for sharing what they learned.

Do you know someone in HR who should be the next voice of HR Top Voices? Write to us.

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Frequently asked questions about leadership and people management

What is HR Top Voices?

It's the Desky interview series with Human Resources, People and Workplace leaders from Latin America who are rethinking how teams are managed, developed and cared for.

How can HR earn a place in strategic decisions?

By understanding the business in depth and translating the impact of people to metrics that leadership already uses: cost of turnover, productivity, retention of key talent and execution capacity.

How can talent retention be improved?

By thinking through talent attraction and employee experience together, measuring the real cost of turnover and listening to teams before designing benefits or programs.

Why do many organizational change processes fail?

Because they treat resistance as a communication problem, when it's usually fear of losing something. Change is sustained by accompanying people and adjusting the plan frequently.

How to facilitate in-person meetings in distributed teams?

By centralizing access to workspaces and meeting rooms with a single provider, with billing based on actual use. Desky offers this model in Latin America and Europe, with no fixed costs.

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Published by the Desky team — November 2026