From one peninsula to the next: making comparisons in the HR world.

Keeping our fingers on the pulse and taking inspiration from everything that happens out there. This is what we try to do every day at Jobtech, listening to the stories of small and large companies that want to bring innovation to the HR sector.?

Just as we did with Giovanni Crocco, Global HR Business Partner from 2019 and more recently Head of HR Iberia (18-month assignment) at Bomi Group, who told us about some of the differences between Italy and Spain when it comes to the management of HR and cultural change.

First steps in the legal world.

A Law graduate, Giovanni - known as Gianni - continued his career in the legal field at the School of Specialisation for the Legal Professions (“Scuola di Specializzazione per le Professioni Legali” - SSPL) and his university career as Assistant Professor.?He was in the legal profession for many years:

“That was the path I took: I did 18 months of legal training, I qualified as a lawyer after my first state exam and I practised the profession with passion and dedication”.?

His career seemed to be mapped out for him but then came the first twist. In 2015, following a university conference, Gianni came into contact with a London-based professor who, impressed by his presentation, offered him a position as a scholar at SOAS University of London.?So Gianni left for the British capital:

“In the mornings I worked at the university as an editorial assistant and in the evenings I was a waiter in a luxury hotel chain, SoHo House”.?

It all started as a part-time job that would enable him to learn English: he certainly wasn’t expecting to have his first decisive brush with the world of HR here.?

Pivot towards HR management.

It was in the corridors of SoHo House that he was noticed by the HR Business Partner who, intrigued and impressed by his legal and academic background, offered him a position as HR Business Partner Support. However, the role would only be confirmed after he had completed a master's degree half-funded by the hotel chain.?

While certainly tempting, the offer involved a radical life change and a major financial investment: Gianni reluctantly decided to turn it down but the experience was nonetheless valuable. In fact, before returning to Italy he had already decided to go back to his studies and enrol in a Master's in Human Resources. So in October he headed to Rome to embark on a new adventure that would produce excellent results. Then came an offer from Bomi.?

An organisation perfectly in tune with Gianni's aspirations.

A company with global presence, Bomi - part of the UPS Group - is a leader in the logistics and management of high-tech healthcare products. Founded in 1985, over the last thirty (or almost) years the Bomi Group has specialised exclusively in the healthcare sector, developing into a dynamic and cutting-edge enterprise that is expanding rapidly thanks to its 60 warehouses in Europe and Latin America and over 3000 employees.

Talking about his experience, Gianni tells us:

“Bomi was the perfect organisation for me: I was going to join as HR Generalist, a role that suited me well because I wanted to explore the whole world of human resources. I wanted a company that was not too big, but still structured and international in scope. A strong company in the market, growing quickly but still family-owned. It was the opportunity I was looking for, the right project to invest in”.?

And so he joined the Bomi team in 2016, holding various positions of increasing responsibility and developing a comprehensive understanding of HR.?Between 2018 and 2023 he was HR Business Partner, a role in which he was involved in acquisitions and mergers, the structuring of HR departments from scratch, the design and implementation of global processes, and identifying talent across the Bomi universe. And, for the past year and a half, he has been country manager of Spain.?

Italy and Spain: a working comparison.

Given his close association with Spain, we had a very simple question for Gianni: "What are the biggest differences between Italy and Spain professionally speaking?" And he gave us some interesting insights.

• Culture. The first difficulty that Gianni encountered, even if this is more typical of a new place in general rather than Spain in particular, is the cultural aspect, something which is especially noticeable in management. "When you go to a new country, there is generally a lot of resistance to change and this is the first big hurdle you have to face. It is important to have Change Management skills”. In his case, Gianni had to implement a matrix organisation that did not exist. It was a complex process because it represented a structural change in an organisation that had been entrenched in its practices for decades. His advice? To make people understand why things are changing, showing your colleagues why a new approach is needed, demonstrating the benefits of the change you want to make - using data and trends - and winning them over. Always with the right dose of politeness, respect and understanding.
• Turnover. Gianni tells us that he hasn’t seen any particular differences in talent acquisition in the Spanish and Italian markets. One thing he has noticed, however, is the difference in notice periods. In Spain, the timeframe is very short: in general, notice periods are about 15 days. This is a problem when it comes to the handover process. The only remedy is good internal organisation. Once again, Gianni has some advice: always have a backup for those positions, i.e. someone on your staff who knows the job well, and be ready to implement Plan B and, if necessary, Plan C.

• Diversity & Inclusion. On this issue, Spain “is much further ahead”. Gianni uses the example of work-life balance, supported by a recently implemented law related to the family and the reconciliation of work and home life, a law that has made positive provisions for employees with family, but also for women who need special leave or extra days of remote working. “In terms of diversity & inclusion there is no backwardness, quite the opposite I would say, and not only in the workplace but in many other areas of the personal sphere. Spain is certainly a model to follow”.?

• Protection of workers. One major point of difference between Italy and Spain is the protection of employees, which is much stronger in the Iberian peninsula. Here there are guarantees and rights to safeguard those who work. Some examples? Changes to working hours must be approved by a comité de empresa (our trade unions or workers' representatives) and the worker themselves, who must accept the conditions of the change. The same applies to the collective transfer of workers (a 15-day consultation period with the comité is required to try and reach a compensatory agreement). Even to implement broader home working policies than those provided for by law (approx. 6 days per month), it is necessary to inform the comité and draw up an agreement with the employee. In this case the employer is also obliged to provide financial compensation for utilities such as energy or internet costs. "The key to success in these cases is clear and constant information and communication with the comité".

• Salaries and expendable income. Compared to the Italian market, the Spanish market provides an annual salary increase of a certain percentage, normally defined by the convenio (the CCNL - national collection labour agreement - in Italy), calculated and communicated according to inflation and spending power. In addition, antigüedad (seniority) also has a strong impact on payslips and increases salaries considerably as the employee’s number of years’ service in the company creeps up.

• Redundancies and partial retirement. Gianni does not see any major differences with the Italian market when it comes to the end of the employment relationship except for the final compensation or payout, which is higher than in Italy. For him, the most striking difference is the partial retirement scheme that has been introduced in Spain: here, approximately two years before the end of your working career, you are entitled to apply for partial retirement. In this case, your working hours are reduced and geared towards training your successor. Therefore, if an employee decides to take partial retirement, the employer is obliged to hire a new person to fill the vacant role and with the same financial conditions as their predecessor.?

• Mental health. One final difference that caught our eye concerned mental health. In Spain, employees can request extended leave if they feel they need to take time off work (due to tiredness, stress, workplace anxiety). In this case, the employer is obliged to freeze their position for one or two years and re-hire them when they return from leave with the same salary and in the same role. As Gianni points out, this too, known as excedencia, is a great protection measure for workers.?

Gianni's assignment is coming to an end and we already know that he is about to take on a challenging new role at UPS Healthcare as HR Transformation & Change Management Lead. His experience in Spain has undoubtedly helped to enhance his change management (including cultural change), organisational design and leadership skills, key qualities for those who aspire to top positions in a complex international organisation. Gianni therefore encourages his younger colleagues

“To be open to change, to accept new professional challenges without fear and to see change as an opportunity, as a chance to evolve and not just as a risk”.?

With these insights into the Spanish working world and this last piece of advice, Gianni has certainly sparked our curiosity and given us a taste of professional life in another European country.?