The value of diversity
People
The value of diversity
Prysmian launched a new global initiative across the Group called ‘Side By Side’ to further overcome barriers and spread its inclusive cultural approach.
Prysmian aims to promote the value of diversity for p ersonal enrichment and as a tangible asset for the Group by sharing professional and personal stories of company employees. But Side By Side is more than just a programme. It aims to fulfill Prysmian’s policies through a campaign of awareness based on 3 pillars: specific activities such as focus groups and team building; constant updating of the Group’s diversity policies, and communication as a tool to tell the ‘diversity stories’ of company employees.
“Diversity is something that we don’t find within ourselves. It must come from others. In line with our growth mission, we need new ideas, new perspectives, and more talent”. These are the words of Hakan Ozmen, President and CEO of Prysmian North America, and Marcello del Brenna, President and CEO of Prysmian Latin America, to define the main reason for the project. The project originated from the awareness that dealing with diversity means first understanding how people perceive the subject and how it can be turned into value for the entire company.
AMBITIOUS GOALS
Some objectives of the Side By Side project are numeric. By 2020 there should be at least a 10% female presence in top management; an increase from 6% to 12% of the total female workers in executive roles, and an increase from 30% to 40% for white-collar positions. Besides numbers, the ultimate goal is cultural; spreading Prysmian’s way of dealing with diversity – rooted in work, research, innovation and equality – beyond the current boundaries of the factories and the headquarters, to diffuse and strengthen a new industrial culture of inclusion.
FOUNDING PRINCIPLES
Prysmian has addressed the themes of diversity and inclusion since its very foundation, with the realised goal of creating a modern, functional and respectful working environment. The company developed its Diversity and Inclusion Policy – adopted in every Prysmian facility all over the world – with the purpose of creating an internal industrial culture shared by all employees, in dialogue with local traditions but aimed to the future.
PryVileged customers
Exclusivity. Loyalty. Engagement. Continuity. These are the prime values underlying the Customer Loyalty Programme.
The exclusive PryVilege Membership Club, composed of key customers from around the world, aims to be a constant link between Prysmian Group and its top customers for the cable distribution market. The PryVilege Club’s purpose is to create a sense of belonging and group identity for Prysmian’s key customers. It is also ‘the place’ where this relationship will be consolidated and strengthened through high-level initiatives and tools such as a dedicated website and annual meetings used to deliver all information and communications.
So far, four PryVilege events have successfully taken place with great satisfaction expressed by the hosted clients. The latest was held in Nice, France, and introduced by Lorenzo Caruso, Corporate and Business Communications Director, with a focus on both the power cables business and the digital revolution that is affecting the industry. Two topics were explored by Hans Nieman, SVP Energy Products, who investigated the trends, strategies and investments in the electrical cable business, and by CIO Stefano Brandinali, who explained how the digital revolution is affecting the cable sector. Formula 1 executive Mark Gallagher was also among the panelists at the event.
The first ‘Linking the Future’ PryVilege meeting was held in Dubai at the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower and an icon of Prysmian cable and system excellence, while the following two took place in Sorrento, Amalfi Coast, and Mallorca, Balearic Islands.
Remote working arrives
Prysmian cares about its employees and their private lives outside the workplace, and has resolved to introduce flexibility and smart working for more satisfying work-life integration.
The need for a ‘work-life balance’ is becoming an ever-more discussed issue in the media. In fact the technological evolution has completely turned the traditional ideal of work on its head, moving it away from the idea of just one physical space. This widens the idea of smart working – involving a larger autonomy in the choice of personal spaces, schedules and tools – with the focus shifting from innovation to the enhancement of the worker’s private life.
Prysmian is now inaugurating a programme of ‘work-life integration’, with the goal of setting new standards in the flexible use of personal time and seamless integration between private life and work.
The first step in the process was the building of the new HQ, which completely changed the traditional use of Prysmian workplaces and defined a new, more fluid way of living and working, consistent with the innovations of which the company is a champion.
The most important changes towards this new balance will be introduced at the beginning of 2018, when remote working will make its official entrance into our practices, welcoming in a new era for Prysmian’s way of doing things. It will be yet another feather to add to the cap of the global leader’s innovative and caring corporate culture.
Improving technology for humans
Aimed at students of Bachelor and Master degree courses in engineering, physics and materials science, and launched by Prysmian in partnership with the Human Foundation, the second edition of the ‘Technology for Human Beings’ contest was a roaring success.
Six out of the 43 theses submitted, assessed on the basis of criteria concerning their originality and quality of research, received awards at the Annual Meeting of the Human Foundation.
The theses were selected by a commission made up of:
• Attilio Citterio, Professor at the Polytechnic University of Milan
• Marcelo Andrade, Prysmian Research & Development SVP
• Roberto Galimberti, Vice President of the Human Foundation.
Winners in the Bachelor degree category, the winners were as follows:
• Natalia Scarcelli, of the University of Calabria
• Eugenio Roberti, of the University of Tor Vergata, Rome
• Luca Longoni, of the University of Milano-Bicocca.
Winners in the Master degree category were:
• Simone Ghio, from the Polytechnic University of Turin
• Nicola Viafora, from the University of Padua
• Luca Buono from the University of Palermo.
All received a cash prize, and the top candidates in each category
were also offered a six-month internship at Prysmian.
A STRENGTHENING CONNECTION
Prysmian Group has re-launched Viewpoint, the initiative focused on listening and responding to the needs of its people, to further strengthen the powerful connection between the company and its employees. With all members of staff involved for the first time, a high percentage completed the survey. So stay tuned to discover the outcome in the next Insight issue!
