Supporting the customer, as well as our managers and employees, is very important to me. It is rewarding to be able to apply my knowledge and help in any way that I can to advance their mission.
Supporting the Army sector within the Defense division as an HR business partner is an honor for Kobra Martinez. Her husband is an Air Force retiree with more than 20 years of service, so working with the military is more than just a job. She is also a member of the HONOR Employee Resource Group (ERG) where she shares her own experiences as a military spouse.
Enabling our employees to succeed. My team owns it.
My work in human resources brings a new challenge every day, whether that involves helping a customer, helping a manager with resources, or providing guidance about benefits to an employee. I feel the impact knowing that I’m able to assist someone with information they need on a daily basis.
One thing I love about my role is supporting internal mobility. Internal mobility at GDIT has the full support of leadership so it’s not frowned upon when someone wants to make an internal move; in fact, it is encouraged. I am proud to be a part of that process by working with our talent acquisition partners and managers to get employees where they want to go next in their careers with GDIT.
I am a success story of internal mobility. I was in another role and felt like I was ready for that next step, so I applied for a new role and became the director that I am today.
The importance of ERGs
I came to this country as an immigrant, so knowing that there are others with experiences similar to mine is important in making me, as well as many others, feel included.
Although I am not a military veteran, I joined the HONOR ERG from the perspective of a military spouse. I was able to participate in a session where some of the spouses of military veterans talked about how their spouse being in the military had an impact on their lives. I shared my own experiences from when my husband was deployed overseas, and I was taking care of three children while he was away. It was meaningful to learn from and share that experience with others.
Leading employees during a pandemic
Being in HR has been a tremendous challenge during the last few years because of the impact of the pandemic on our employees and managers. It was a very emotional and stressful time for everyone both personally and professionally, as everyone was still trying to meet mission requirements during this tumultuous time.
Providing resources to employees needing assistance was one of the first priorities that we had, making sure that they knew how to get help for themselves and their families. Taking care of mental health was also a high priority. With support from the company, GDIT empowered me to be a leader—to be able to deliver those resources to the employees and managers as they needed them. I felt proud that I could support our employees in this way.