Putting people at the centre in order to grow together: this is the creed of Volkswagen Group Italia, which offers its employees a wide variety of benefits.
The continuous dialogue with the Company Council, the core of the co-management model adopted in Volkswagen Group Italia for many years, has led to the definition of a series of conditions that are better than those set out in the National Collective Labour Agreement, oriented towards an optimal organisation of work based on personal needs.
It is the case with smart working - already introduced in the company a few years ago, now to all intents and purposes a supplement to in-presence work - which allows flexibility, autonomy, and a good work-life balance. A particular sensitivity is paid to pregnant employees, who can benefit from this working formula without a limit on the number of days.
Among all employees with tasks compatible with smart working, the adhesion rate to this work formula is 99 percent. Volkswagen Group Italia has provided the necessary tools, assigning laptops and company smartphones to each employee in line with the requirements.
Other options that guarantee flexibility are the possibility of signing a part-time contract - with different modules of 4, 5, 6 or 7 hours - and tools such as flextime and the time bank, which are useful for better managing work priorities and personal and family commitments. For those in need, there are different types of paid leave: for example, the parental leave for the main caregiver, in excess of the legal minimum and a family care leave, up to a total of 24 hours per year. In addition, the Company shows openness in assessing special needs for periods of leave. All these confirms Volkswagen Group Italia's willingness to meet employees’ needs as far as possible.
A solidarity ‘bank of hours’ has also available, through which each employee can make available some of their paid leave hours to support colleagues in particular situations of difficulty. VGI Employees can also have access to paid leaves, up to 24 hours per year, for voluntary activities – not only for public emergency services, but also for activities with associations that are consistent with company values.
A further benefit concerns completely free access to the company restaurant for employees, who are also given the opportunity to use the take-away service at favourable prices.
The performance of each employee is evaluated on the basis of objectives shared with the direct supervisor and assigned annually - using the MBO (Management By Objectives) method - for which the Company calculates an individual bonus in addition to the productivity bonus.
Training is a priority issue for Volkswagen Group Italia: employees have the opportunity to attend language courses, IT courses and in-depth courses on ad hoc topics. At the VGImobilityLAB, an 18,000 m2 test area within the Company, training sessions including test drives are organized for employees.
In parallel, the Company activated a dedicated welfare plan, "VGI Welcare". The offer, constantly enhanced, includes services in different fields:
- education and care: refund of expenses incurred for the education of children, care of elderly and disabled family members, public transport; packages for services dedicated to the care of children and elderly family members, provision of specialised training sessions at agreed institutions, school repetitions, packages for school/work orientation and skills development, contribution to the fees of day-care centres or babysitting services, monthly fees for accommodation in rest homes/nursing homes or care services, fees for summer centres/schools;
- health, welfare and mortgages: membership in health insurance funds and specific supplementary health plans, medical advice (also online), packages on healthy eating and lifestyles, gym subscriptions and entrance to wellness centres, supplementary welfare, repayment of interest on mortgages;
- culture and entertainment: travel and weekend packages, tickets for cinema, museums, amusement and theme parks, magazine subscriptions, experience boxes and PayTV subscriptions.
Volkswagen Group Italia also makes numerous agreements available to its employees: from hotels for holidays to language schools, from car parks to sports and leisure, from nursery schools to amusement parks, from groceries to restaurants and delicatessens, from home appliances and furniture to beauty centres, from clothing to home utilities, from banking and insurance services to social and health services.
In addition to being able to benefit from agreements with rental companies and service dealers for cars and motorcycles, employees are offered the possibility of leasing a car of the Brands represented by Volkswagen Group Italia or a Ducati (a Brand of the Volkswagen Group) motorbike, on favourable terms.
In addition, Volkswagen Group Italia has taken out a supplementary health insurance policy with the trade funds for the medical expenses of employees and family members, which is free of charge for employees.
Also, Volkswagen Group Italia employees are offered services such as filling out their tax returns or receiving flu shots directly at the headquarters.
The Company encourages Team Building activities by actively supporting two associations which are very appreciated by employees: the Cultural Group and the Sports Group.
Both of them organise initiatives and activities in various fields - cooking, photography, travel, cinema and theatre - and for various disciplines - football, skiing, tennis, padel, golf, fishing, karting - with the aim of fostering moments of meeting and getting to know each other in non-work contexts.