From warehouse to leadership: Egija Klavina’s journey at Lantmännen Unibake

I had studied business administration in Latvia but ended up working in a warehouse picking clothes for a retailer when I moved to the UK in 2011. After a while, I realized that to get an office-based job, I had to move outside the warehouse – otherwise I would get stuck in there. I started applying for different jobs and received one rejection after another. I changed my strategy, focused on job openings within supply chain, applied for a job at Lantmännen Unibake Bedford and was hired as a supply chain analyst before I later moved to procurement.

At first, I thought I would only work at Lantmännen Unibake a couple of years, but I have been here for more than 10 years. I have always been involved in different projects and had different roles, so my jobs have never become boring. I think the company is good at supporting you if you want to develop. You can join courses, receive extra education, have an international career, and so on. On top of that, you get to work with a lot of interesting people in various teams.

I have four people in my team – a buyer, a lead buyer, a packaging technologist, and a cold store manager. Chemistry in the team is an important factor when we look for new candidates, but I also like problem solvers. People who are happy when a challenge is thrown their way. Of course, that’s a balance. If you come to a job interview with a know-it-all-attitude, I don’t think you fit into the Lantmännen Unibake culture. I’m not looking for solo artists, but for someone who likes to play in a band.

As a leader, I believe in openness and honesty. If I have an opinion about something, I will always share it regardless of who else is in the room, and what seniority they have. I won’t wait until the meeting is over and whisper my opinion in the office afterwards. I’m here to contribute.

People from Latvia can come across as very direct, and I have been told that I can be the same way too. When I moved to the UK, it took some time for me to adapt to English culture and the English language. When British ask for something, they use ‘please’ a lot, and they small talk about the weather, about football, and so on. It’s not that I’m not polite or anything like that, that’s just not what I’m used to from Latvia. I try hard to work on my attitude, and how I appear in the eyes of others.

Working in procurement, a large part of my job is working together with suppliers and negotiating contracts. My strategy in negotiations is to be very open. If I say we have other options in terms of having other suppliers on hand, we do have other options. If I was bluffing, I would quickly lose leverage in future negotiations. I use my openness to get the best prices and join in long lasting partnerships with suppliers.

The best advice I have ever received is to implement a 80/20 mindset if you want to succeed in a job. You can’t do everything 100%. You don’t have the hours or the energy. 80/20 is good enough on a general level, and then you have to focus on the important stuff. Stay sharp on what matters, and don’t sweat about the small things.

One of the things that has surprised me most about myself is my never-ending hunger to face new challenges. I didn’t think that I was like that when I worked at the warehouse. But today when I see an opportunity, I grab it. It’s nice to find out that my inner self

wants to do that. When I was in school, my math teacher used to say that I needed to find a rich husband. I wasn’t the best at doing calculations. Today, I’m negotiating big contracts even though I’m still not the fastest one around to do calculations in my head. It just shows me, that when you like doing something, you find ways to work it out. I would like to show my math teacher where I am today.