Italy's Human Resource Analysis:

International HR – Paludi
Nick Salvatoriello
August, 2008

1
The Country I selected to study was the country of Italy. My reasons
for choosing this country, outside of my Italian ancestry, is the fact
that I know so little about the management practices of this major
industrialized country. If my analysis on the labor market in the region
proves to be positive, I may one day consider expatriating to this
country for employment as well.

The Resources I am beginning my background study are as follows:

1.) European Industrial Relations Dictionary 2006: Human Resource

Management (HRM): Italy Supplied my M. Paludi, July 2008
2.) R. Sensi, U. Percivalle, Italian Labour Law Reform, (Article supplied
my M. Paludi, July 2008)
3.) G. Hofstede: Italy Analysis (Article supplied my M. Paludi, July
2008)
4.) P. Dowling, M. Festin, A. Engle, International Human Resource
Management: Managing people in a multinational context, (Thomson
Higher Education, Mason OH 2009)
5.) Public Administration Reform and HRM System in Italy. (2000)
(Article supplied by M. Paludi, July 2008)

Italy is a country comprising roughly 58.2 million people. Located in

southern Europe, it includes the island of Sicily in the south and
stretches up to the Alps in the north. The primary language spoken by
its citizens is Italian. Italy is a republic and has functioned as a unified
democratic country since the end of the Second World War. Within its
borders is the seat of the Roman Catholic Church (Vatican City).
Although the country has no official religion, the majority of Italy's
citizens are Roman Catholic.

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Italy has strong sectors in fashion and banking (which was originally
invented in the city of Milan in the Renaissance period). Opportunities
that exist in Italy for foreign investment and multinational employers
operating in Italy can expect labor reform efforts to continue
significantly in the coming years. The strongest areas are in the
fashion and finance industry. The banking industry has recently been
revitalized and will fall under the frame of a Nation Labor Collective
agreement. Human Resources structures and labor reforms have been
slow to develop here and a series of laws and reforms passed in the
1990's promise to bring a more structured environment into the labor
market. In a general sense the state of Italy's economy is strong
as one of the largest in Europe along with many of the larger western
European countries. Since Italy is a part of the European Union (for
better or for worse) their national currency is the euro.

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PART TWO: Human Resource Management Functions of Italy

Overview/History:
In the late 1990’s took steps to create specific human resource
management structures. The tasks of recruiting, hiring, retaining, and
providing competitive compensation structures were almost non-
existent in discussions on developing competitive international
corporations. Italian "personnel management departments" had, until
the 1960's, been almost non-existent even in large enterprises and
performed purely service related functions confined to the
interpretation of current regulatory provisions and tasks of an
"administrative and disciplinary nature”.1

It was from this relatively late point that Italy’s HRM system began to
evolve. It began as mainly a supportive structure in the 1960’s and
served the purpose of winning the commitment of employees to
company objectives. New management techniques were introduced
such as hiring selections based on testing, job evaluations and on-the-
2
job training for professional and managerial staff.

This was not enough for many industries however and Italy
experienced a period in the 1970s of industrial actions by the unions in
that country known as “the hot autumn.” This revealed clearly how
critical the need was for more sophisticated and powerful human
resource management structures. As a result, both personnel
management functions and company-level bargaining structures were

1
 Emire: Italy – Human Resource Management (HRM), 2003 
www.eurofound.europa/emire/Italy/HUMANRESOURCE MANGEMENTHRM/
2
 Emire: Italy – Human Resource Management (HRM), 2003 
www.eurofound.europa/emire/Italy/HUMANRESOURCE MANGEMENTHRM/

4
developed. Personnel department managers were now entrusted with
the direct function of mediation between company management and
employee representatives.

The 1980s and 1990s saw changes in the global context surrounding
enterprises and the attitudes of the actors of industrial relations
themselves. This led to a redefinition of the roles, activities and
perspectives of the personnel management functions within Italian
enterprises.3

Though there still an ongoing debate in Italy on the proper role and
place for the personnel department in modern Italian companies,
human resource management techniques, laws, and structures
continue to become more sophisticated.

An overview of the anti-discrimination laws in Italy:

The Hoffstede Analysis for Italy concludes that in Italian culture, great
emphasis is placed on masculinity. Italy is a fairly macho-centered
society but is it prone to discriminatory policies? The Hofstede Analysis
found that power distance is ranked considerably lower there than
other Western European countries that it’s score are similar to, such as
Germany. Italy’s lower power distance score shows that the country is
working to de-emphasize the differences between its citizen’s power
and wealth4.

Further sources on both the government and corporate side of Italy

3
 Emire: Italy – Human Resource Management (HRM), 2003 
www.eurofound.europa/emire/Italy/HUMANRESOURCE MANGEMENTHRM/

4
 G. Hofstede:  Italy Analysis  (Article supplied my M. Paludi, July 2008)

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show that the country is attempting to support a non-discriminatory
workplace. On March 6, 1998 Italy enacted Law No. 40 concerning the
immigration of non-European Union nationals. The law has been
supplemented with additional regulations since then. Further
regulations are needed however and comprehensive immigration laws
regarding both EU and non-EU nationals are being prepared5.

To understand how current anti-discrimination laws are taking effect

on the industrial side of the HRM system, I examined the hiring sites of
several major Italian companies. One of the companies I looked at was
Italy's flagship automobile manufacturer, the Fiat Group. The legal
notice posted on their hiring website states that Fiat Group companies
offer equal employment opportunities to male and female workers
without discriminating according to sex, pursuant to Law 903/77 and
Law 125/916. The citing of this law under the hiring practices of one of
Italy's largest companies is evidence that proper anti-discrimination
laws are in place and are taken into account in Italian corporations.

Data protection and sensitivity are clearly something Italy has been
focusing on in its HRM system. The individual's right to privacy is not
only acknowledged at Fiat, but on other corporate websites such as
Italy's famed gun maker, Beretta, as well. On Beretta’s website,
Article 7 of the Italian Data Protection Act is cited within the privacy
policy and so reads:

“Subject’s Rights: The subject to whom the personal data refer enjoys

5
 R. Sensi, U. Percivalle, Italian Labour Law Reform, (Article supplied my M. 
Paludi, July 2008)
6
 Legal Site, The Fiat­Group (http://www.job-fiat-
careers.com/fe/tpl_fiat01.asp?newms=INFO2), Aug 2008

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the rights specified in art. 7 of the Italian Data Protection Act,
including the right to obtain erasure, anonymisation or blocking of
data that have been processed unlawfully, and to object, on legitimate
grounds, to the processing of personal data concerning him/her7.”

Standard Hiring Practices in Italy

A review of my sources reveal some trends in the standard hiring

practices in both the private and public sector. The number of
modifications to Italian labor law occurred in the late nineties both
through new legislation and through court decisions that established
new precedents concerning employee-work environments. For
instance, the first National Labor Collective Agreement for employees
of temporary work agencies was signed. The NLCA covers issues that
are particular to the position of temporary employees such as union
representatives’ rights, levels of employees, hiring documents, and
probationary periods.8

Italy has also passed laws that protect the sensitive data of job
applicants during hiring procedures. In 2003 came Article 13 of
Legislative Decree 196/2003 "Personal Data Protection Code" which
required that all employers inform their applicants that all of the data
voluntarily provided by the candidates would be processed exclusively
for the purposes of hiring and evaluating personnel9.

7
 Beretta.com (Aug 2008)
8
 R. Sensi, U. Percivalle, Italian Labour Law Reform, (Article supplied my M. 
Paludi, July 2008)
9
 Hiring Site, The Fiat­Group (http://www.fiatgroup.com/en-us/joinfiat/),
August 2008

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In 1998, the Corte di Cassazione (Italy’s highest court) made decisions
No. 3043 and No. 7012 which affected the supply of workmanship in
the country. These decisions held that the supply of mere working
activity falls under the strict prohibition of mediation and supply of
workmanship, even if provided by members of a co-operative
corporation and not by subordinate employees. These decisions are
important for researching Italy’s recruitment procedures because of
there are many co-operative corporations offering their services in the
Italian labor market10.

Guidelines for Job Sharing have been put in place as well. In 1998 the
Italian Ministry of Labour issued Circolare No. 43/98 which was a
guideline on “job sharing” which, up until that point, had not been
regulated in Italy. The regulation was not made binding nationally
however as the government chose to leave that position up to the
national collective or individual employment agreements in order to
regulate this subject instead11.

Companies are in fact choosing to implement job-sharing (whereby

two workers share the same position) into their standard hiring
practices. In October 2002, a new company agreement was signed by
trade unions and management at Italy’s leading confectionery
manufacturer, Ferrero. The agreement contains a number of
innovations, most notably the experimental introduction of job-
sharing, variable pay and the future establishment of new joint bodies.

10
 R. Sensi, U. Percivalle, Italian Labour Law Reform, (Article
supplied my M. Paludi, July 2008)

11
 R. Sensi, U. Percivalle, Italian Labour Law Reform, (Article supplied my M. 
Paludi, July 2008)

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The agreement confirms the hiring procedures applied at Ferrero which
generally proceed along the following stages:

1.) Fixed-term employment relationships on the basis of local

agreements
2.) 'Vertical part-time' open-ended employment relationships, on
the basis of local agreements (full-time work only during
certain periods of the week, month or year); and full-time
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open-ended employment relationships .

Compensation Structures:

Salaries vary considerably for the same job in different regions of Italy.
Expatraites working in Milan and other northern cities are generally the
highest paid, primarily due to the high cost of living, particularly
accommodation. Salaries are generally similar to those in Britain, but
lower than those in the USA. In the managerial category, staff may
receive from €2,900 per month, office staff receive from around
€1,300 per month, while manual workers receive from €1,100 and
agricultural workers around €1,600. A foreign executive may find that
his salary is much higher in Italy. Italian executive salaries were lower
than the international average in the 1970s and 1980s, but have since
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caught up and even surpassed some of their competitors .

In 1993, Prime Minister Amato launched the idea of a social pact which

12
 D. Paparella, V. Rinolfi, Job­sharing introduced at Ferrero, Eironline, 2003 
(www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2002/12/inbrief/it0212103n.htm)

13
 G. Chesters.  Living and Working in Italy  Survival Books Ltd.  London, August, 2007

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mainly concerned income policy and the reform of collective
bargaining. The policy’s list of objectives included a new structure of
collective bargaining on two levels with the national level in charge of
the safeguard of real wages and the secondary company level which
would be in charge of fair distribution of wages by index and new
union representation structure in the workplace. This new social pact
was approved by 67% of workers in a referendum and officially signed
on July 22, 1993 in the Prime Minister’s office. It created a new system
of income policy as well as a new system of union representation at
the workplace level14.

On the government-worker side, the Italian administration continues

to use polices encouraging performance based pay and places great
importance on it. An article I researched - Public Administration and
Reform and HRM System in Italy - states that, according to the
provisions of recent rules and collective agreements, public managers
are evaluated in respect to achieved goals and thus, their
remuneration partially depends on their performance.

Provisions for Integrating work and family roles:

Ferrero is one of the many good examples in the reading of how Italy
approaches work and family values. There are provisions in a couple
of organizations that define both their human capitals’ work and family
roles.

Job-sharing conducted at Ferrero plants show a respect for the needs

of their workers. For instance, their policy allows working mothers,

14
 Social Pacts in Italy:  July 22 1993.  International Labour Organization.  www.ilo.org

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hired on full-time open-ended contracts that have completed the
standard maternity leave that is provided nationally, to have an
additional time off until their child is three years old.

Ferrero’s job-sharing practice is further evidence of Italian provisions

for integrating work and family, as these new mothers who were
initially hired on full time open-ended contracts a allowed to job share
after giving birth and thus are allowed to start families without giving
up their right to work15.

5. Provisions For Italian Employees with Disabilities:

Although there was extensive coverage on anti-discrimination

legislation in the EU in general and many specific Italian initiatives
protecting racial/gender bias. The publications and companies I
researched lacked significant evidence of provisions within Italian labor
law for individuals with disabilities. The most encouraging evidence
was garnered from the EU monitoring and Advocacy Program,
eumap.org. This publication is run by The Open Society Institute. OSI
is a private operating and grantmaking foundation that implements a
range of initiatives to promote open society by shaping government
policy and supporting education, media, public health, and human and
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women's rights, as well as social, legal, and economic reform .

An article on the site referenced EU Charter of Fundamental Right by

the European Council in Nice in December 2000 that called on all EU
member states to provide not just a single EU market, but also a
15
 D. Paparella, V. Rinolfi, Job­sharing introduced at Ferrero, Eironline, 2003 
(www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2002/12/inbrief/it0212103n.htm)
16
 The Open Society Institute: “About OSI”  http://www.eumap.org/about/OSI (August, 
2008)

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 17
community of values . While this legislation does not reference
specific provisions for employees with disabilities in the Italian
workplace, it is evidence that Italy is part of a regional attitude shift
towards an accommodating atmosphere for the disabled.

Further evidence of provisions for protecting the rights of employees

with disabilities in Italy is in the Amerterdam Treaty, signed and
applicable to all EU members, is a further legislation against
discrimination based on race, religion, disability, age and sexual
orientation.

The final provision protecting employees with Disabilities is “Article 26

: Intergration of persons with disabilities” in the Charter of
Fundamental Rights of the European Union signed by Italy in 2007. It
states:
“The Union recognises and respects the right of persons with
disabilities to benefit from measures designed to ensure their
independence, social and occupational integration and participation in
the life of the community18.”

This example joins many other being implemented by the European

Union, of which Italy is a founding member.

17
 J. Swiebel. Gay and Lesbian Rights and EU Enlargement. http://www.eumap.org/ 
(August, 2008)
18
 Charter of Fundamental Rights: the Presidents of the Commission, European 
Parliament and Council sign and solemnly proclaim the Charter in Strasbourg: Brussels, 
12 December 2007 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charter_of_Fundamental_Rights_of_the_European_Union) 
August, 2008

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6.) Recruiting Employees - Italian Style:

Italian labor law has become a major factor in attracting foreign

investors to Italy. Work employment relationships are regulated by the
Constitution, the Civil Code, the Workers Bill of Rights (Statuto dei
Lavoratori) and other Laws and Decrees. Terms and conditions of
employment are also periodically reviewed and updated by collective
labor agreements in different professional categories.

Decree 276/2003 introduced major changes to employment rules

increasing flexibility in the market to help reduce unemployment. In
my research, two major changes stand out:

1.)New types of contracts have been created to enable companies

to reduce labor costs significantly in periods of reduced output
2.)New provisions for independent contractors permit job
placement only where necessary for the performance of a
specific project.

Some of these new provisions are already in place and are being used
successfully by many companies19.

The public administration’s recent initiatives also make for a great case
study in recruitment. When it comes to recruiting the top talent of
their country, Italy's public sector did not get high marks. However,
recently they have implemented some novel methods of boosting
productivity and competition among managers in the public sector by

19
 Italian Trade Commission, Labor Market (2004­2007) National Agency for Inward 
Investment and Enterprise Development & ICE 
www.investinitaly.com/context_investmentguide/

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partnering with talent from the private sector.

A new law was adopted by the Italian Parliament in 2002 that aims to
reform the public management system. One of the aims of this reform
law was to create the new image of a more modern and attractive
public administration. The law applies to the recruiting procedures of
public managers and allows for the greater exchange of competencies
between public and private management and also encourages a higher
level of performance in both. In Italy, permanent managerial staff of
the State can be recruited now from two sources; the Senior school for
public administration and from professionals selected among private
managers. The Senior school recruiting procedure is typically done by
having a particular administration (or the school itself) host an open
competition and the managers selected during those competitions can
be appointed to public office.

The new private sector recruiting rule means administrations can now
also appoint managers that are currently in the private sector and
engage their employment for a fixed period of time. The professionals
appointed in this way do not become part of the organizational chart,
but have related experience and seniority to lend to the administration
they are appointed to service.

The addition of a private sector recruiting procedure ruling serves two

purposes; to increase competition among managers and to experiment
with new methods in public organizations by introducing professionals
with different experience20.

20
 Public Administration Reform and HRM System in Italy. (2000)
(Article supplied by M. Paludi, July 2008)

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7.) Italy & EU Retention Strategies:

Italy and indeed the EU appear favorable in the benefits they offer to
high level executives in order to retain their service. Many companies
offer a range of benefits for executives and managers that may include
a company car (although rare in Italy), private health insurance and
health screening, all expenses-paid holidays, private school fees,
inexpensive or interest-free home and other loans, rent-free
accommodation, free or subsidised company restaurant, sports or
country club membership, non-contributory company pension, stock
options, bonuses and profit-sharing schemes, tickets for sports events
21
and shows, and ‘business’ conferences in exotic places . Clearly, US
companies sending their next generation of top managers in Italy had
better be prepared to provide comparable benefits to their employees
lest they come off “too cheap” to provide an “adequate” benefits
package as lavish as those referenced above.

There are less excessive retention strategies being implemented in

Italy as well to retain their workers and protect their jobs. One of
these is making their taxation system more “employment friendly.”
An article on employement in the European Union wrote that over the
last 15 years the development of taxation systems as well as social
security contributions have been unfavourable to employee retention in
most Member States. The implicit tax rate on employed labour has
increased steadily from 35% in 1980 to over 42% in 1996, on
average, in the Member States. In response, Italy is carrying out tax
reforms by shifting the financing of the national health system from
payroll taxes and contributions towards the general taxation system,
21
G. Chesters. Living and Working in Italy Survival Books Ltd.
London, August, 2007

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respectively through a program called Imposta Regionale sulle Attività
22
Produttive (IRAP) . The goal of Italy’s program and those like it from
other Member States is a gradual reduction in the fiscal pressure on
labor and non-wage labor costs, particularly for the relatively unskilled
and low-paid workers in the country, without jeparodising their
government benefits.

Both of these examples show the range of public and private efforts
throughout Italy to provide HRM strategies for retaining both the
management and line-level employee.

Health and Safety in the Italian Workplace:

According to the Italian Department of Trade, employers must adopt

all necessary measures needed to preserve the physical and mental
safety of employees at their given place of work. This means that, by
law, Italian employers must carry out dedicated risk assessments and
organize prevention and protection systems. Employees and their
representatives have the right to check the implementation of health
and safety standards. The ITC also claims the country’s labor
proceedings are faster than ordinary proceedings thanks to special
provisions in the Italian Code of Civil Procedure that require allegations
and evidence be submitted with the first statement of defense23.

Moreover, insurance against accidents at work is compulsory.

Compulsory insurance provides employee coverage in the event of

22
 Working Document:  Analysis of the National Action Plans on Employment 12/05/1998 
(http://europa.eu/rapid/) August 2008
23
 Italian Trade Commission, Labor Market (2004­2007) National Agency for Inward 
Investment and Enterprise Development & ICE  www.investinitaly.com/context

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damages incurred between the employee’s home and the workplace or
between different work places24.

This policy is overseen by the INAIL – The Workers Compensation

Authority and designed specifically to protect workers involved in risky
activities and to reintegrate those workers injured on the job back into
the labor market as well as their social life. An overview of the
mandatory policy on the INAIL’s website states:

“The safeguard of workers is now more than ever an integrated

protection system - as a result also of recent innovative provisions of
law-ranging from prevention on the workplace to health and economic
benefits, medical treatment, rehabilitation and reintegration in the
social and working life of victims of physical damage consequent to a
work related accident or professional disease25.”

In closing with regard to the human resource management functions

of Italy, the agreements and decisions on the part of public and private
organizations within the past twenty years have created stable and
recognized rules and provisions in the country’s HRM system. Social
dialogue, innovative practices by major corporations, and government
action all demonstrate that Italy is working hard to catch up and
provide workers the support and protection shared by other leading
global economies.

THIRD SECTION: Lessons Learned

24
 Italian Trade Commission, Labor Market (2004­2007) National Agency for Inward 
Investment and Enterprise Development & ICE  www.investinitaly.com/context
25
 INAIL:  Workers Compensation Authority (Updated to April 2001) www.inail.it

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Human resource practices in Italy that intrigued me:

I was intrigued to find that the practice of human resources neglected

for so long as a serious strategic part of companies operating in Italy
and indeed in the national economy. I was also intrigued to learn how
incompatible Italy’s business structure was with the rest of the EU in
terms of bureaucracy and government centralization before the 1990’s.
Research into articles published by the Italian Ministry of Economy and
Finance admit that Italy had to undergo its profound legal reforms in
the public and administrative sector in order to be on par with the rest
of Europe. This was a requirement in order to become part of the
European monetary union. Were it not for these requirements agreed
upon in the EU, Italy’s economy may still be mired in cumbersome and
ultimately uncompetitive business regulations and practices.

Italy also has a much more extensive welfare state to support than I
initially realized. Italy’s government size is bloated and fiscal freedom
is hampered by such a large percentage of pensioners in the
population to support in the population. As a result, tax revenues
equal 40 percent of their GDP, and government expenditures equal
nearly half of GDP26. Though I have documented reforms in the
government, an inefficient bureaucracy still remains a barrier to
outside investment.

Lessons that the United States can learn from Italy’s HR

reforms:

26
 Index of Economic Freedom, The Heritage Foundation, 2008 
(http://www.heritage.org/research/features/index/country.cfm?ID=Italy)

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If the United States could take one thing to learn from Italy’s HR
experience, it would be the country’s extraordinary efforts to integrate
themselves with the new economic order.
Reduction of fiscal pressure and tax rate on corporate tax

Following rapid reduction of the public deficit in the 1990s to ensure

Italian entry to European Monetary Union, the fundamental drive of
Italy’s financial policy has focused on the decrease of pressure by the
government tax system on companies. The government seems to
have chosen to do this through the lowering of corporate taxes in
particular, in order to foster an increase in internal demand and
provide fresh resources for investment. The current level of “fiscal
pressure” (which the Italian Ministry of Finance and Economics defines
as tax revenues in relation to GDP after capital taxes) has therefore
dropped from 42.9% in 1999 to 41.3% in 2003. During the same
period, corporate tax has decreased from 2.7% to 2.2%27.

These efforts and others show that Italy has made significant changes
and sacrifices to be a part of the new global economy on equal terms,
not just it’s own. The United States, whose citizens are harboring a
great deal of anxiety facing a rapidly changing world of work, must
work hard not to turn inwards. Make integration a national priority
and people’s attitudes will adjust to the necessary and difficult
changes.

Another thing the US can learn from Italy’s HR practice is how some of
their corporations have address those young workers who are “early
school-leavers” and at risk youth. Since 1998, one of Italy’s leading
27
Ministry of Economics and Finance, 2008
(http://businessitalia.finanze.it/inglese/background/background)

19
domestic electrical appliance manufacturers, Indesit, has been running
a project which offers employment to young people who are mainly
kids who left high school before graduation and also young offenders.
The ‘Jonathan’ project, as it is called, is named after a local non-profit
which provides Italian young offenders with an alternative to prison.
Indesit employs the young people on a fixed-term employment
contract to start with and then follows with a process in which they
may continue the usual route adopted by other workers who are on
open-ended contracts28.

The author documenting this great example found on the European

Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working conditions
writes, “The key elements for the project’s success lie within the
commitment of the non-profit organization in selecting the right
people to place at work, the company’s willingness to hire people
considered ‘difficult’ and the workers’ representatives in appraising the
ethical aspects of the initiative among Indesit’s workforce29.”

I found this to be a unique example that the US could learn from

considering our over crowded prison system and the vicious circle of
crime it can send many of our nation’s youth into. Here, Italy has
used an innovative HR strategy to instead give their “early-leavers” a
chance.

Five Recommendations for US expats working in Italy:

28
 D. Dazzi, Indesit, Italy:  Integration into the labour Markey of people at risk of  
exclusion – early school­leavers.  Foundazione Istituto per il Lavoro, Bologna, 2007 
(http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/areas/qualityofwork/betterjobs/cases/ito3indesit.htm)
29
 D. Dazzi, Indesit, Italy:  Integration into the labour Markey of people at risk of  
exclusion – early school­leavers.  Foundazione Istituto per il Lavoro, Bologna, 2007 
(http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/areas/qualityofwork/betterjobs/cases/ito3indesit.htm)

20
 In addition to the lessons learned from Italy’s HR experience, there
are several things US expatriates should consider when preparing for
living and working in Italy.

1.) First of all, all future expats should prepare early, as this process
will take time. As Americans who are not part of the EU, we do not
have the right to simply work in Italy. One of the easiest ways to work
in Italy would be to have citizenship in one of the EU countries. With
that, expatriates, their wives and children have the right to leagally
work there. One would still have to deal with paperwork and
bureaucracy but a visa would not be required and would thus save all
parties a great deal of time and stress.

2.) Should an American employee not have EU citizenship, than I

recommend they start at their local Italian consulate to apply for their
visa, then be prepared to work progressively towards the local Italian
municipality you will be working in. Italy has just recently
decentralized a great deal of its government functions to reflect the
local needs and experience of public administrators working there.
However, to get a work visa, the expatriate’s company hiring them
should supply the many documents needed to get started.

3.) In preparing for Italy’s unique culture, one should review the test
results about how Italian cultures behave be mindful of lower power
distances but a more macho centered society. Advisory websites and
blogs set up for expatriates living and working in Italy reveal some of
the finer points from a first hand perspective as well and should be

21
well read both by the expatriate and those HR staff at their company
who will be supporting them.

Information posted here can be very insightful. A simple example

would be shopping for fresh vegetables. Here’s an example mentioned
from ExpatsinItaly.com: “When purchasing veggies at supermarkets,
you will need to first put on a glove (provided next to the bags) and
then bag and weigh each item. When you weigh them you will have a
machine and you will need to select the correct item from the screen.
Then a tape will be printed with the item’s name, the weight, per kilo
price and the total amount. Stick this to the bag and continue on...”
As this entry shows, even the familiar Western experience of grocery
shopping can be a little bit different in Italy.

4.) Communication training and preparation are also very important

for expatriates seeking to succeed in Italy. Hoffstede’s analysis on
communication cautions against discussing WWII, religion, and
politics. Shelteroffshore.com, a blog for expatriates in Europe adds
that Italy is very much a country built on networking and that the
expat will hear of opening and opportunities in the local café or bar
before they are ever advertised elsewhere. Another good piece of
advice offered is if the employee’s profession has a trade body or trade
press, then one should find whether there is an Italian equivalent or
whether they have ties with any companies or bodies in Italy. This
could be good advice for the relatively unconnected American to begin
associating with Italians in their field.

5.) Ultimately, Americans doing business in Italy must bear in mind

that while this Southern European nation is one of the world’s top ten

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economies, it is not on the exact same page with the US business
wise. Its companies may bear well-known brands such as Ferrari,
Prada, and Beretta, but they are all mostly medium in size and lacking
the breadth and flexibility and expansiveness of the largest American
corporations. Familiarity with Italian business names should not be
mistaken for familiarity with how Italians do business.

Over the last few years, the Italian labor market has evolved with the
emergence of new attitudes of workers to different forms of
work/types of contracts and a progressive diminution of long term
contracts in favor of temporary relationships and more streamlined
relationships, as well as greater mobility of the workforce from one
firm to another and from one economic sector to another.

Recommendations for training US expatriates returning to the

United States are:

If the expatriate assignment is going to be a successful one, a proper

re-entry training program and communication strategy are essential
for all stakeholders involved.

1.) To begin, I would make sure that the repatriation process is well
planned out in order for returning executives to properly reintegrate
themselves with the home office and are given proper opportunity to
share their learning and experiences.

2.) Secondly, if one was not assigned to them already, the returning
expat should be assigned a mentor who hopefully has had experience
working in Italy. This mentor can supplement the lines of

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communication between the company and the returning executive
during the repatriation training process.

3.) Obviously, work-related communication exchanges are a vital part

of expatriate assignments. Communication from the home country
throughout to assignment in Italy should have been filled with task-
oriented information that include changes in office staff, power politics,
strategic objectives developed back home and lighter, less work-
related information. These communications between mentors, HR
staff, and other contacts back home should reach a crescendo in the
weeks immediately prior to the expat’s return30.

4.) In order to make sure the returning expatriate feels at home and
connected with the greater office team, rituals or ceremonies should
be practiced within the company so that the employee is recognized
for their service and allowed to share their experience. If done
properly, such rituals show the returning employee and his home
country peers that the company values assignments such as these and
the integrated global perspective they provide.

5.) Companies should also have a career development plan in place

for the returning managers from Italy so that they know their place
and career trajectory within the organization. The data in our
textbook on the percentage of expatriates who complete an
assignment and then leave the company is disturbing. The GMAC
Global Relocation Services, LLC global surveys provide data on

30
 P. Dowling, M. Festin, A. Engle, International Human Resource
Management: Managing people in a multinational context,
(Thomson Higher Education, Mason OH 2009)

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repatriate turnover. Firms in the 2006 survey indicated that 23% of
repatriates left the company within the first year. The 2006 survey
notes that, for surveyed firms, retaining expatriate talents remains a
considerable challenge31.

In conclusion, I was very intrigued about the challenges and changes

Italy has taken on in the formation and integration of their HR system
in the past thirty years. While Italy has had to enact reforms to
further develop and modernize their HR practices, I have a new
respect for the culture of the country and the role in plays in shaping
the way we work. Italian history has played a crucial role in the
modern business world. As I said in the beginning, their contributions
range from banking to fashion, to even double entry bookkeeping32.

The Hoffstede analysis, corporate case studies, and international trade

publication confirm that Italy is a country that is not unlike its Western
European neighbors in terms of quality of life, economic structures,
and legal frameworks. However, my study has instilled in me a deep
respect and intrigue about the possibility of living and working in this
fascinating country someday….

31
 P. Dowling, M. Festin, A. Engle, International Human Resource
Management: Managing people in a multinational context,
(Thomson Higher Education, Mason OH 2009)

32
 G. Hofstede: Italy Analysis (Article supplied my M. Paludi, July
2008)

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