We are delighted to announce that V.E.R.A. Consulting will become part of Friisberg & Partners in Milan, offering Executive Search, Assessment, Executive Coaching and Organisational Development Consultancy.
As part of our dynamic and forward-thinking approach, we are thrilled to announce the opening of our new office in the vibrant city of Milan, Italy. This strategic move is a testament to our commitment to global expansion, fostering innovation, and cultivating strong relationships with clients and partners worldwide.
This reaffirms our successful global strategy to develop solid partnerships based on shared values and mutual esteem, integrating diversified skills and experience to offer our clients bespoke, forward-looking and extremely effective solutions.
From our central offices located in Sant'Ambogio, Aureliana De Sanctis and Giovanni Mantica will be the Partners dedicated to Executive Search. Thanks to their extensive experience within specific sectors, we know that they will strengthen and expand the presence of Friisberg & Partners throughout national and cross-border territories.
Milan, often regarded as the financial and fashion capital of Italy, serves as an ideal location for our new office. The city boasts a rich cultural heritage, a thriving business environment, and a strategic geographical position within Europe. Renowned for its historical landmarks, world-class cuisine, and influential fashion and design industries, Milan provides a unique backdrop that aligns perfectly with our values of excellence and creativity.
Our strengthened team in Milan brings several benefits to our valued clients and partners:
Enhanced Service Delivery: Proximity to European markets allows us to provide faster and more responsive services, addressing the unique needs of clients in the region.
Cultural Understanding: A local presence ensures a deeper understanding of our clients' cultures and business landscapes, enabling us to tailor solutions that resonate with their specific requirements.
Innovative Collaboration: By engaging with Milan's innovation ecosystem, we open up opportunities for collaborative projects that drive mutual growth and foster innovation.
Our strategically important office in Milan reflects our commitment to providing exceptional services, fostering innovation, and building lasting relationships on a global scale. We look forward to the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead, confident in our ability to thrive in Milan's dynamic business landscape.
We are ready to work together as one close-knit Team!
Many talk about it, some countries have tested it, some governments have encouraged it and more and more companies are starting to experiment with it around the world.
We are talking about the 'short' work week, reduced to 4 working days, from Monday to Thursday, with a long weekend of 3 days - and of course, without a reduction in pay.
In the post-pandemic era, several economists and sociologists highlight how important it is for companies to consider not just offering interesting salaries and benefits but, and above all guaranteeing a work-life balance that allows a clear improvement in quality of life.
Among the voices that support the validity of the 4-day work week, is that of Juliet Schor, Economist and Sociologist at Boston College, committed to studying the experiments in progress of the short week around the world. Her research focuses on the intersection of work, society, consumption and climate change. From tests conducted in Great Britain, the United States, Ireland and New Zealand, in the public and private sectors, the results are very clear and all in favour of the short week: workers are less stressed, have a better social life, appreciate more their work and, while it might seem absurd, they are absolutely more productive. In fact, while spending less time at work, people are not working less, because in exchange for a free day to devote to family, hobbies or personal needs, they make better use of their working time by increasing their productivity, without penalizing the quality of results.
Companies that embrace the short week must be convinced that spending less time at work helps workers to find the physical and mental energy needed to be more lucid and focused.. In addition, they can support their employees with a reorganization of work, for example by eliminating or limiting, as much as possible, the less productive and non-essential activities.
Juliet Schor's research then highlights the impact that the reduction of the working week has on the climate crisis. With the four-day week, commuting is obviously reduced, creating a dynamic of long-term decarbonisation. Because when people are stressed by time, they aim to choose faster and more polluting modes of travel and daily activities, while when they have more time they tend to have a lower carbon footprint.
But the biggest reason has to do with the size of the economy. By choosing to work less, countries are choosing not to expand production to the maximum, thus avoiding additional emissions. As evidenced by the carbon-related success stories of Germany and Denmark which have low annual hours. France and the Netherlands also have low carbon emissions and working times.
And in Italy? Taking into account that our country is the second in Europe for the amount of hours worked per week (on average 7 more than those of Germany), the pandemic has led to greater work flexibility - an important development of smart-working and also to the phenomenon of the great resignations.
So in Italy some companies have also started experimenting with the short week. The first were medium-sized companies operating mostly in the digital, marketing and communication sector, but it is news these days that the largest Italian banking group, Intesa San Paolo, is proposing to its employees they reduce the week to four working days, spreading the 36 hours over 4 days, with unchanged salaries.
Negotiations with the trade unions are underway, but it is certain that the work of the 21st century goes in this direction and, as Juliet Schor also points out in her TED speech, it is necessary that governments understand the importance of reducing the working week and take charge of encouraging it, as happens in Spain and Belgium, to go beyond the enlightened companies that already see the virtues of this new work organization.
The talent pool in some markets is highly competitive, with candidates receiving multiple offers simultaneously. This is, in part, related to the “Great Resignation”, where approximately 4 million Americans quit their jobs in July 2021 while there were still more than 10 million job openings.
A survey run from Linkedin in 2021 on more than 2,000 adults in the U.S. found that 47% said the coronavirus pandemic changed how they feel about their careers.
While the Great Resignation was mostly driven by mid-career employees, Executives have also been seeking new opportunities at faster than usual rates.
Europe appears to be experiencing a different type of crunch, driven by long-term demographic trends. Each year, the number of executives in the Baby Boomer generation are retiring at greater rates, while the next generation is considerably smaller. In fact, the pandemic has likely sped up this trend, with many Baby Boomers either being forced out of the workforce or leaving voluntarily in order to maximize their quality of life.
There is a shift in generations in the labour force, including the leadership roles.
Voluntary resignation trend in Italy 2017-2021 (Labour Statistics Office)
With new challenges and rapidly changing market conditions, organizations need to redefine leadership roles in their organization. That can range from areas of responsibilities and structure, but it is as much about the soft skills a leader brings to the table as it is about their industry knowledge and expertise.
Former Best Buy CEO, Hubert Joly , interviewed by an MIT Research in January 2021, observes, “All of us have to rewire ourselves for a new way of leading. What’s the purpose of work? I’ve been CEO for 15 years, and the initial part of my time as CEO was much easier because it was purely about the business. But now it’s broader”
The same research reports that the 72% of respondents of more than 4,000 managers and executives interviewed , strongly agreed that it is very important to them to work for an organization with a purpose they believe in, but only 49% strongly agreed that they believed in their organization’s purpose.
They require a new executive’s mind set and leadership style:
| Profit | Purpose & Values |
| Hierarchical Pyramids | Network of Teams |
| Business knowledge | Digital & Business Disruption |
| Directive Leadership | Supportive Leadership |
| Rules & Control | Trust and Self Control |
| Business Hours at office | No boundaries home/work |
Donatella Paschina
Associate Partner, Milan
There are Christmas traditions in Italy that are widespread practically everywhere in the country, such as the Christmas tree and the nativity scene. To be fair, however, the Christmas tree is much more common in the north of Italy, while the nativity scene in more common in the centre and south.
In some areas of northern Italy, it is not Santa Claus who brings the gifts, but Saint Lucia. This tradition persists, for example, in the provinces of Cremona but also Brescia, Bergamo and Verona. In particular, the tradition of Santa Lucia is very much felt in Lombardy and Veneto: in Verona it is said that during the holidays of 1200 in the city an epidemic spread that affected the sight of children and that, to avert it, the mothers decided to make their little ones go on a pilgrimage asking for the grace of Saint Lucia, protector of the blind. To persuade the children, they promised that the Saint would have them find gifts on their return. From that moment, on the night between 12 and 13 December, Veronese children, like the Lombards, are waiting for Saint Lucia to carry the gifts on the back of her donkey.
A typical custom of Trentino Alto Adige is that of the Advent Wreath. Each family makes a wreath with fir branches and intertwined red silk ribbons, inserting 4 candles on this wreath. Every Sunday before Christmas day, families gather to light one, waiting together for December 25th.
In the centre of Italy there is another widespread custom, that of bagpipers - that is, musicians who roam the streets of the villages playing typically Christmas songs with their bagpipes. Sometimes they even knock on doors, cheering with their music in exchange for an offering.
When it comes to Christmas traditions regarding food, while in some regions there is a tendency to celebrate in style during the Christmas lunch, in others the most noteworthy event is that of the Christmas Eve dinner on December 24th. Just think, for example, of the Christmas traditions in Sicily: in some mountain villages, on the night of the 24th, bonfires are lit to warm the Child Jesus. Furthermore, many families, after the usual dinner, tell tales and legends to each other, to entertain the children waiting for Santa Claus.
Of course, these are just some of the Christmas traditions scattered around Italy. While not covering all regions, however, they represent an excellent starting point for a symbolic journey which, we hope, can help to put our international Friisberg family into a merry Christmas mood.
After two years of absence in light of the pandemic, September 2021 represents a new beginning for the city:
Milan is going through a slow and gradual reopening - it is seeking a new way of restarting.
Milan Design Week was one of the most anticipated design events to take place in Italy, and it has finally opened its doors to visitors. From the 5th- 10th of September, more than 350,000 architects, designers, artists, and craftspeople from all around the world had the chance to explore new design innovations and exchange ideas about interior design, furniture, and lighting. During the week-long event, Salone del Mobile, the renowned furniture and interior design event of the year, hosted local and international exhibitors at the Fiera Milano, Rho, along with interventions by world-renowned architects across the city.
New this year was the Supersalone, the special event of the Salone del Mobile, curated by the architect Stefano Boeri, that marks the restart in our
post-pandemic city. There were 425 brands in the four pavilions and 1,900 projects on display with spaces dedicated to companies and small consumers. The emphasis was on the smart component and the rediscovery of the home as an environment in which to live. There were 30,000 tickets only on the first day (the expectations were 50,000 for all six days), of which half were foreign visitors. And as we walk through the pavilions, the amount of visitors is undeniable.
"Milan is moving and, with Milan, Italy is moving again," said the Mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala. "It is an event that brings to the world the positive image of our city and the country. I welcome and endorse the invitation of President Mattarela, who I thank for his presence, to assume our responsibilities. Milan takes responsibility and wants to lead the restart.".
Guglielmo Sallustio
Partner, Milan
The Italian Experience...
Digital transformation is now a strategic priority for companies in all sectors and the past year, due to the pandemic, has highlighted even more gaps in larger companies.
Digital technologies are present in our daily lives and are also forcing companies to change - it is no longer possible to procrastinate.
The increasingly widespread adoption of the Cloud, the introduction of the IoT (Internet of Thing), the need to give value to the enormous amount of data, are causing to all industries to undergo a radical change in processes, in their ways of working and in the corporate culture itself.
Research conducted by Accenture The European Double Up: A twin Strategy that will Strengthen Competitiveness of 4,051 executives of European companies was presented at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum last January. It underlined that for European companies to return to levels of profitability before the pandemic would take 18 months and only 32% of companies expect to realize an increase in profits in the next 12 months. These latter realities, defined as "the leading companies of tomorrow", will focus on the adoption of digital, together with the implementation of sustainability actions. The study shows that around half (45%) of European companies are prioritizing investments in both digital transformation and sustainability, with 40% of companies planning to make large investments in the field of artificial intelligence, 37 % in the cloud and 31% in sustainability.
In Italy, a survey made by the European Investment Bank, still highlights a low focus of Italian companies on innovation with just 17% having concentrated investments in innovation relating to the introduction of software and digital technologies. Proof of the benefits of digitization is the analysis of the productivity level which shows that digitized companies perform better and are more dynamic than non-digitized ones. The EIBIS survey shows the average productivity of digital companies in Italy is 12.3 %, more than 11.7% of non-digitized companies. Furthermore, in the last three years, companies that have undertaken innovations in the digital field have had a growth trend of the workforce higher than that of companies that have not implemented digital technologies. There is no doubt, in fact, that digital transformation requires a profound cultural change and the acquisition of new skills and profiles, which often come from the digital world.
The technologies that drive this transformation are many, such as:
Production and logistics managers as well as network managers will need to acquire more and more new skills in this area to be able to lead the change.
Guglielmo Sallustio
Partner, Italy
Talks with: Guglielmo Sallustio, Partner, Friisberg & Partners Italy
The risks and opportunities during this phase of radical change have been the subject of much analysis, but making forecasts on the future structure of the business is not always easy and trying to draw conclusions about what has changed is potentially premature.
Nevertheless, a key concept is that organizations must question themselves. It is time for creation: big and especially small companies need to use their imagination to think about new models of work. Also, we must be conscious that many of the challenges we are dealing with may not be only transitory.
Technology remains the engine of this business transformation, and it is necessary for enterprise resilience.
The use of collaboration tools is a trend that enables new models of interaction within companies. IT and Intelligent Automation, AI and data analytics are for sure the most influential technologies for helping organisations increase operational efficiency and transform existing business processes while cloud technologies enable and power the other emerging technologies.
Organizations in all sectors should really put themselves in the customers’ shoes, in other words they should reinforce a customer centric approach as their first challenge. They should then develop solutions to improve customer experience, offering digital services primarily but without losing the human connection on their virtual channels and therefore their connection with the client.
This is the best time to rethink our leadership model too. Remote working necessitates being authentic and having the courage to experiment in order to create a real “digital world”, in which it is possible to develop the sense of belonging and share team values and goals. In this context, the harder challenge for organizations is probably succeeding at switching to a model in which everyone can be evaluated only by their achievement of goals that have to be clearly identified and shared.
Until a few months ago ideas came mainly from a direct exchange of ideas, but now we need a cultural revolution. To enable this soft skills, flexible reasoning and empathy are crucial to define a right balance in both customer relations and team coordination.
Finally, organizations need to invest in green transition: I believe that sustainability must be the focus of corporate strategies to create greater value in the long term, radically changing the relationship between companies and customers.
By Silvano Joly, Sales Country Manager, Centric Software Italia.
When one accepts a job and decides to work for a company it is for several interconnected reasons. We can call them Personal Success Factors (‘PSF’). As a person and a manager, I summarize them as the ‘4 C cluster’: C-ash, C-areer, C-ompany, C-ontext. Both when I am evaluating or proposing a job, I try to use this scheme. Every organisation, with a genuine strategy or not, proposes its own mix of PSF, which in turn is successful or not depending on the people who do it and are part of it. It can be applied both for attracting talent or for retaining the best people in your team.
Let's develop, as an example, some concepts around the ‘4 C’ and about why a someone enters and remains in an organization:
C-ash
i.e. the Salary - Everyone has a salary and expectation of what they are worth. The minimum threshold is variable, whereas the maximum one might not exist. Satisfaction with one's salary level is based on a delicate balance between your salary when compared to the external and internal market. Salary is the foundation of the contractual relationship between employer and employee, and it is also the foundation of trust. Remuneration is directly related to performance and mainly related to your quantitative and measurable results.
C-areer
i.e. the organisation and development - This factor combines several elements:
• Positioning within the organization - i.e. status (Director, Executive, Supervisor);
• Job title and description;
• Growth potential plus learning opportunities, visibility in the community, prestige of the company;
• Skills needed and recognized to perform the role
Where your role is not clear or where you have no possibility of development, learning and/or your professionalism is not well identified and recognized the salary may therefore need to be variable.
C-ompany
i.e. Work environment - This factor is divided into three parts:
• Acting values and reputation of the organisation;
• Relations with the management;
• the work environment in general - in fact a safe and big company can be considered the best and safest place where to stay.
No money can compensate for having a bad manager, bad relationships with colleagues, an unhealthy work environment or the bad reputation of an employer.
C-ontext
i.e. Work-Life Balance – This is a very important factor and it can be vital. It includes the type of contract and actual behaviour encouraged by the company in terms of minimising stress; physical security; and location - i.e. not monetary benefits. More and more people consider this balance before taking a job – especially millennials and younger people.
We have seen how important smart working has become and how strategic a company must be in organizing it for its workforce. This can be measured both by tangible benefits, like health insurance, yoga coaching or a nursery in the company and intangible ones like a low levels of stress, frustration; reduced commuting time, clear working hours and a high level of general organisation.
So, my balance in the old and our new normal follows the PSFs and my 4 Cs:
• Within an organization, there may be different mixes of Personal Success Factors, depending on of departments or offices - don’t assume the candidate in front of you is the same as you.
• Ask your HR department to do more than to pay salaries. Have them work with you and discuss together your PSF and those of the team;
• The mix of PSF constitutes your Value Proposition as an Employer, so give one to your candidates and employees as you give one to your sales prospects.
In the last 15 years, I have had the opportunity to work with Guglielmo, splendidly, I have always had quality results thanks to his work and commitment. His return to Friisberg as a Partner will increase many projects, especially at an international level.
Talks with: Guglielmo Sallustio, Partner, Friisberg & Partners Italy
Nobody can say today that they were ready for this pandemic. Fortunately in Minsait, an Indra Group Company, we faced this health emergency with unity, calm and commitment, trying to maintain professionalism and constant effort.
Today we can definitely say that due to our actions, the impact has been limited.
We are a global technology and consulting company and we firmly believe in flexibility at work, focusing on trust, autonomy and the responsibility of our professionals. From the very beginning, we tried to work with our colleagues demonstrating that their safety was our first priority.
We focused on:
Personally I decided to extend my relationship with my international colleagues in South America, USA and Europe, and it was great to share with them every single experience we were each facing. With my team, I changed from our traditional to “speed-date” meetings to have each team member share the good and bad moments of their week during lockdown.
This emergency can be an opportunity to accelerate the evolution towards new and more collaborative working models. I believe that we have the opportunity to build what we called in Minsait “new bridges”, a metaphor that I particularly love.
Our “Bridges to the Interior” has resulted in innovative tools and methodologies which are even more collaborative and our “Bridges to the Exterior” improves our relationship with our customers, sharing their needs and growth prospects.
Now more than ever, I feel close to my colleagues, customers, partners and providers.
Nobody can say exactly. In the meantime we have a civic and professional obligation to protect our colleagues, to never leave them alone. Change is hard and, in a crisis like Covid-19, it gets very complex. Leaders are faced with keeping their workforce engaged and productive, while keeping the business running and building for the future.
In the meantime, we have to invest in a transparent, purposeful messaging, trying to ensure communications which are clear, consistent and easily accessible to all.
We must limit the social, organizational, and economic impact of this emergency. We have amazing technological tools, and we have the opportunity to leverage them with internal and external experts who are able to support us all in this phase of rebirth, always putting people at the centre of our consideration.
For example, today more than ever, it’s necessary to focus on training as continuous improvement. It is a time for discussion and confrontation, otherwise we risk organisational chaos which could be difficult to control and could lead to a feeling of dissatisfaction - with important impacts on performance and corporate image.
Yes, absolutely! I’m always optimistic that what's to come is better.
My sector is the Industry and Consumer Goods Market, so it’s probably one of the most affected industries of this crisis. I know that each and one of us have to think about the “needs” of our people, as employees, fathers and mothers of families.
This is the time to accelerate our transformation in order to come out of the crisis even stronger, to become better people working in better companies.
Talks with: Guglielmo Sallustio, Partner, Friisberg & Partners Italy
Nobody can say today that they were ready for this pandemic. Fortunately in Minsait, an Indra Group Company, we faced this health emergency with unity, calm and commitment, trying to maintain professionalism and constant effort.
Today we can definitely say that due to our actions, the impact has been limited.
We are a global technology and consulting company and we firmly believe in flexibility at work, focusing on trust, autonomy and the responsibility of our professionals. From the very beginning, we tried to work with our colleagues demonstrating that their safety was our first priority.
We focused on:
Personally I decided to extend my relationship with my international colleagues in South America, USA and Europe, and it was great to share with them every single experience we were each facing. With my team, I changed from our traditional to “speed-date” meetings to have each team member share the good and bad moments of their week during lockdown.
This emergency can be an opportunity to accelerate the evolution towards new and more collaborative working models. I believe that we have the opportunity to build what we called in Minsait “new bridges”, a metaphor that I particularly love.
Our “Bridges to the Interior” has resulted in innovative tools and methodologies which are even more collaborative and our “Bridges to the Exterior” improves our relationship with our customers, sharing their needs and growth prospects.
Now more than ever, I feel close to my colleagues, customers, partners and providers.
Nobody can say exactly. In the meantime we have a civic and professional obligation to protect our colleagues, to never leave them alone. Change is hard and, in a crisis like Covid-19, it gets very complex. Leaders are faced with keeping their workforce engaged and productive, while keeping the business running and building for the future.
In the meantime, we have to invest in a transparent, purposeful messaging, trying to ensure communications which are clear, consistent and easily accessible to all.
We must limit the social, organizational, and economic impact of this emergency. We have amazing technological tools, and we have the opportunity to leverage them with internal and external experts who are able to support us all in this phase of rebirth, always putting people at the centre of our consideration.
For example, today more than ever, it’s necessary to focus on training as continuous improvement. It is a time for discussion and confrontation, otherwise we risk organisational chaos which could be difficult to control and could lead to a feeling of dissatisfaction - with important impacts on performance and corporate image.
Yes, absolutely! I’m always optimistic that what's to come is better.
My sector is the Industry and Consumer Goods Market, so it’s probably one of the most affected industries of this crisis. I know that each and one of us have to think about the “needs” of our people, as employees, fathers and mothers of families.
This is the time to accelerate our transformation in order to come out of the crisis even stronger, to become better people working in better companies.
