In recent days, the usual annual meeting took place between the trade union organizations and the corporate functions of the Piedmont North, Valle d’Aosta and Sardinia regional management: Industrial Relations, Personnel Management and the Retail, Exclusive and Corporate Commercial Directors.
The meeting opened with the interventions of the three commercial directors: Agostino Deiana for the Enterprise segment, Paola Lecci for Exclusive and Giulia Del Prete for Retail illustrated the results obtained by DR in 2023: in summary, despite the difficulties encountered in the first part of the year caused by uncertain market scenarios and geopolitical tensions in 2023 the commercial performance was overall very positive, particularly in the last quarter of the year.
The only decline in credit disbursement was mainly due to the ECB’s restrictive monetary policy and the resulting interest rate environment. However, the data is already improving in these first months of 2024 with the increase in applications and active subrogations.
In the commercial field, also for 2024, the Company has reiterated the centrality of the net flow of managed savings and of the consultancy evolved through the Valore Insieme tool. The assets currently within the perimeter stand at around 8 billion.
As regards the Agribusiness sector, the company data shows: 40 new entries throughout Italy, 10,000 customers transferred to the Agribusiness Department, now having a completed portfolio.
An increasingly central role for Global Advisor colleagues is expected, both in terms of number and responsibility in client development.
The personnel function also intervened in the person of Ilaria Ferrauto, Head of Personnel and Assistance for the Northern Piedmont, Valle d’Aosta and Sardinia Network, who provided the following data: the staff of the Regional Directorate is made up of 3,220 people, of which 1150 in Turin alone. 2024 opened with 68 new hires, of which 48 Global Advisors and 15 Small Business managers. Regarding the use of 4×9 in the pilot branches in which it is currently active, 82% of the colleagues involved have given their support.
As Trade Union, while expressing satisfaction for the undoubtedly significant commercial successes achieved thanks to the commitment and professionalism of workers throughout the DR, we have renewed our doubts on a series of transversal issues that the Company seems to pose always in the background in front of the resounding results:
Shortage of staff and workloads: we have once again underlined the now chronic staff shortage affecting our DR with branches increasingly having difficulty managing daily operations, holiday planning and flexible training.
The achievement of excellent commercial results by the Banca dei Territori division (2 of the 7.7 billion in 2023 profits come from BdT) is the result of the precious work of an increasingly smaller team.
In particular, basic managers are now an “extinct species”: this leads to a further burden in operations and the loss of skills, acquired over many years of work, which are important for the correct management of values and MTAs, just to give a few examples
Flexible working and 4×9: we continue to see strong resistance from Branch Managers to the granting of Smart Working, as well as difficulties in planning 4×9 in some pilot branches. We have also reported some extremely incorrect cases in which the authorization for the Smart working day was “granted” only upon a promise to make at least 4/5 remote offers. Answers like “if I grant it to you then I should grant it to others too, I don’t want to create a precedent” are unacceptable and only demonstrate the lack of that planning ability which is so important among the skills required by the company from the various managers.
Flexible training: we have highlighted how many branch managers have not yet understood that there are 8 flexible training days per year and that they should be rightfully used by their colleagues. We are also aware of cases in which flexible training days are not authorized if colleagues do not have at least 7 and a half hours of mandatory courses uploaded into Apprendo. In this regard, Enzo Vozza of Industrial Relations reiterated to us that flexible training has as its object not only the compulsory courses uploaded pro tempore but the entire training offer present on Apprendo: the planning of the 8 days of flexible training must therefore not be in in no way subject to the presence of compulsory courses.
As OO.SS. we had asked that the longest courses that most involve colleagues (such as the annual updates from Ivass and Consob) be uploaded starting from the first months of the year, so as not to have to concentrate the planning of the days in a few weeks : we appreciate that the Company accepted the request and uploaded the first modules as early as last March. Also positive is the willingness of the personnel function to organize further meetings in order to raise awareness among branch managers on the topics of Flexible Work and Flexible Training, placing particular emphasis on the need for regular and punctual planning.
Disciplinary complaints: given the significant increase in disciplinary complaints sent to several DR colleagues for irregularities in the management of suspected counterfeit banknotes captured by the MTA equipment, we have highlighted how the contested errors are in all cases very similar and attributable, often clearly, to machine malfunctions. We therefore asked for a technical analysis on the MTA equipment currently in operation and the provision of blocking pop-ups that prevent reports from escaping the eyes of colleagues.
Cleaning: we have reiterated our reports on the deteriorating situation in which most of the company premises find themselves, especially the branches of the network. The cleaning service is absolutely insufficient to guarantee the decorum and healthiness of the rooms. If it is true that the branches are still the main showcase for our Company, we do not understand why a situation that has persisted for years and is progressively deteriorating has not yet been remedied. During the meeting we were guaranteed attention to the issue with inspections to remedy the most serious situations and a corporate transfer with the supplier.
SURVEY, climate analysis: Enzo Vozza communicated to us the results of the 2023 climate analysis, specifying that this is the most positive survey from 2013 to today. Participation compared to the audience of colleagues involved was 70%. As OO.SS. we wonder if, in our daily dialogue with colleagues, we always and only address the 30% who did not participate in the survey given that the climate they describe to us is always very tense and of little personal and professional satisfaction. We would like to point out that we were not provided with a weighting of the data that would allow us to understand the composition of the participating colleagues.
Digital Branch: to the digital branch personnel manager Enrico Pezzolato, we highlighted the need to start a process of reporting and protecting colleagues subjected to verbal attacks by customers. The company informed us that it has already started this process, in collaboration with the Physical Security functions, to integrate the current path present in Megarete. Specific training for staff will therefore be necessary.
English language skills: we asked for a check on the methodology for obtaining the skill through carrying out the course uploaded to the platform, given that some colleagues, despite participating and passing the test, did not have the relevant skill recognized and we are awaiting a response from the company who took charge of the report.
Management of working hours: for the umpteenth time we have highlighted the great difficulty of reconciling work-life times, requests for leave, holiday plans, PCR, flexible training. Added to this in the last period has been a worsening of the “quality” of shifts: knowing that shifts are assigned by an algorithmic program does not solve the problem of colleagues. Perhaps integrating such an aseptic system with “human” interventions aimed at reducing the impact of less comfortable shifts would be the solution.
We therefore reiterated that we will carefully follow the developments of the commitments undertaken by the company, the concrete attention that will be dedicated to our requests and the needs of colleagues, and the initiatives to guarantee effective effective management of the changes underway.
As usual we will keep you constantly updated.
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