Why did welfare and wellbeing become the new basis of all HR strategies over the last years?
Since 2020 we have all experienced a series of unprecedented challenges and transformations accelerated by the pandemic (and partially still under way), which had an impact on our lives and emotional state. Pirelli has worked to respond to the specific needs that emerged during these challenging times with a number of initiatives and services to support its people, keeping them healthy and engaged.
Now that a “new way of working” has become our “new normal”, it is more important than ever to understand if our people are happy in Pirelli, to identify their needs and to find the best possible solutions to improve their wellbeing.
People wellbeing has indeed become a key engagement factor, which impacts and influences the overall organizational effectiveness.
What are the latest trends you’ve integrated into the company’s employee welfare and wellbeing strategy?
Covid pandemic has strongly affected people’s lives and will continue to do so in the near future. We therefore feel a stronger need, as employers, to keep engagement and performance high, leveraging on people’s solid wellbeing and sense of being physically and emotionally safe.
The remote working for the majority of employees has been implemented rapidly and broadly for ensuring people safety but on the other hand it has been kept as an option for more than the half of the working week to offer a concrete work–life balance to the people.
At the same time, the new hybrid working environment has highlighted the need for active participation in company’s life (socially and professionally) when working from the office.
Our Company’s new main focus will be to provide broader employee wellbeing as a leverage for high performance, moving from massive welfare programs to customized wellbeing and specific initiatives.
Employee Surveys will be used, as in the past, to gather more focused wellbeing requests to better design wellbeing and welfare activities, differentiated from country to country.
Pirelli is working hard to make its wellbeing and welfare portfolio a key driver of its employer proposition at global level.
Share with us some specific examples of how a health and wellbeing strategy benefits your company?
Using specific wellbeing leverages, such as wellness programs, parenting support initiatives, health prevention campaigns, programs to support mental health (and so on…), while supporting the creation of inclusive and flexible workplaces, where everyone can express his/her own uniqueness, we can strongly support people engagement and thus employee performance.
Let’s see a concrete example on health prevention: during the outbreak of the Covid pandemic Pirelli decided to devote one of its plants to the production of face masks and distributed them to its employees’ for daily protection (this was done when there was a general shortage of face masks and they were very difficult to find worldwide…): thanks to this choice Pirelli became rapidly – and it is still now – independent from third parties in purchasing this important personal protection tool. This generated a widespread sense of gratitude in our employees as the company demonstrated profound care of its people which enhanced their sense of belonging.
As far as wellness is concerned, over the last 2 years we have introduced a great number of virtual courses to support physical and mental wellness, such as mindfulness courses and dedicated training paths on how to develop a positive attitude and mindset.
Finally, a sound portfolio of programs and practices relating to diversity, equity and inclusion has become increasingly vital over recent years. It is essential for creating a positive and inclusive workplace that is conducive to the health and wellbeing of all employees. As many studies demonstrate, healthy, inclusive, and positive workplaces, where employees feel inspired, motivated, and supported in their work, have higher productivity levels in the long term.
What challenges have you faced while developing and implementing a new well-being strategy in 2022?
The implementation of our new wellbeing programs has been challenging for various reasons. Listed below some of the most critical issues we faced:
- Finding the right and most effective balance between virtual and in-presence activities
- Promoting and facilitating the return to the office in the new hybrid world, strengthening the purpose and sense of belonging of our people
- Fostering an inclusive culture in the workplace that puts wellbeing first
- Continue to nurture a sense of belonging, safety, and purpose for employees in tough times, helping to increase productivity long-term
- Collecting people’s concerns and needs through dedicated and individualized listening processes, to grasp local and global trends and to provide both specific and common plans to the Company branches and affiliates.
In order to deal with these issues adequately, the Company had to delay part of its original plans and generate new activities to support the related transformation process. Flexibility and a quick reaction time has been the key success driver of the new well-being strategy implementation.
What makes your HR strategy at Pirelli stand out from the rest of the companies?
Pirelli is its people: we all are truly passionate about the Company, the brand and our jobs. In fact, Pirelli is made up of committed professionals, who like calling themselves “Pirellians”, and who feel part of Pirelli’s community and proud of a culture that comes from almost 150 years of industrial heritage, producing high-value, technologically advanced products, and services.
Our Company constantly drives for excellence, innovation, and sustainability, with a focus on R&D, and always moving forward. Being associated with a brand that has become known as an icon of technology, excellence and high-end style, Pirelli’s employees enjoy a place where they get the chance to be the best they can be.
Managers support their people all the way, with a set of digital tools in place for learning and career development, to help them flourish, nurturing their talent to enable them to take responsibility and achieve their goals.
Employee engagement is supported by our Company’s organizational culture. On the other hand, we concretely support our people by offering specific and personalized well-being and welfare solutions, thus creating a sense of belonging to the Company and making employees feel part of a community.
We encourage and enhance new agile ways of working and make our work environments increasingly inclusive, collaborative, and stimulating. Pirelli believes, consistently, that an inclusive and collaborative workplace helps foster innovation by being open to everybody’s contribution and providing an environment in which all can freely express their identity and competency.
Last but not least, the international environment and the multi-cultural teams are key for Pirelli, which operates in more than 160 countries in 5 continents: in this multinational framework, people express a great source of diversity, whilst respecting each country’s cultural differences.
If you’re looking for new ideas, fresh perspectives and insights on the future of work, then you’ll want to attend HR Vision Events. This is a two-day event with 3 streams running in parallel, enabling deep dive conversations focused on the future of work, digitization, leadership, L&D, culture and employee experience.
