AN INTERVIEW WITH
Quiana Barbee
Supply Chain Ops Sr Manager, joined NCR in 2021
AN INTERVIEW WITH
Quiana Barbee
Supply Chain Ops Sr Manager, joined NCR in 2021
Could you begin with a brief overview of your background, career journey and what brought you to NCR?
I was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio. I attended college in Bowling Green, Ohio, at Bowling Green State University, where I obtained my business degree specializing in supply chain management. Once I graduated, I moved to Indianapolis to start my first job as a procurement buyer. I spent a year in that job before deciding to move to Illinois. At the time, I was figuring out what I was going to do next. I had goals at my first job that were related to supplier diversity and became familiar with organizations that certified minority and women owned businesses. These goals and my familiarity with these businesses led to my first opportunity as a supplier diversity specialist. In this role, I was a liaison between procurement and minority-owned suppliers. I lived in Cincinnati, working in supplier diversity for 10 years before applying to NCR.
What is supplier diversity? Why is it important?
Supplier diversity is a program that encourages an organization to use minority-owned businesses in their supply chain. This includes women, minorities, and sub-categories such as veterans, disabled veterans, disabled, LGBTQ+, small businesses and many other groups. At NCR, I am tracking that the companies we work with meet those certifications. We are a member of third party, non-profit organizations that certify those different categories.
"We want everyone at NCR. Supplier diversity gives everyone a place here in order to make it a better place to work."
Supplier diversity is used for so much. Supplier diversity has helped us to attract customers and employees that align with our internal morals and the value of inclusivity. Diversity is important in all aspects of recruitment, because a diverse company helps to diversify our supply chain. We also utilize supplier diversity in identifying how we can support our NCR business resource groups.
What are you excited to see at NCR as a result of this initiative?
I am excited to see awareness and diverse spending continue to go up. Third parties look at our supply base and reach out because of our awareness. By continuing to track what we’ve done to create awareness both inside and outside of sourcing, I am excited to see us increase our sustainability. In our work so far, top level leaders throughout the company have all gotten involved and found ways they can benefit supplier diversity in their respective areas.
“NCR continuously seeks to cultivate diversity that encompasses the whole company.”
Before accepting the job offer, what important factors did you consider prior to making your decision?
It was very important to me that supplier diversity was an initiative backed by leadership. When presented the offer from NCR, it was clear that supplier diversity is heavily supported by the Executive leadership team (ELT), board of directors and leadership of the Product & Service Operations (PSO). NCR has made the conscious decision to focus on supplier diversity and that is very important to me.
During the time I was interviewing, hundreds of companies were launching supplier diversity initiatives. I was interviewing NCR as much as they were interviewing me and the responses really stood out. I remember asking our chief human resources officer and an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) team member, “What did you learn from Covid and the political unrest?” They both stated that these experiences further developed their understanding of the importance of diversity, inclusion and culture.
“NCR has a very strong company culture that fits and values me. There is no limit of what you can be at NCR and there are many promotion opportunities.”
I recall being nominated to present on a topic in a meeting and my nominator told me, “I want it (the presentation) to be you, let it come from you.”
“They want me to show up as myself and let me know that whatever I want to do, they will support it.”
How would you describe #NCRLife culture?
I would describe NCR culture as very fitting for me.
“NCR gives you the opportunity to explore your interests and not be siloed in one area.”
My team members are an army for advocating and always ask how they can support supplier diversity. Leadership encourages sharing good stories and wins. These stories affirm the work that we are doing and overall result in a very engaging and innovative culture. The Green Room stories of employee and customer features are great examples of how we’re encouraged to share our culture and wins.
Outside of work, what are you most often doing/where are you most likely to be found?
Outside of work, I can be found exploring the city. I live with my man in Marietta and we are looking for a new place. So far we have visited so many cool areas. One day, we went to the Interlock to get food and there was a big party. We also visited the Battery where Truist Park is located.
What advice would you give to prospective candidates?
Identify what is important to you. For me, culture, the people I work with and opportunity are important to me. When looking at potential jobs, I knew that I wanted to be in an environment where I could show up as my whole self. My tip is to come up with a list of three non-negotiables that are important to you, outside of pay. I had a friend who doubled her salary at a company and was miserable. I can’t tell you what factors should be important to you, but work life balance and looking at whether the company is a good fit for you will determine how much you enjoy your work. If you interview and you are not connecting with the company, follow your intuition.