Our people

Banca Generali considers employee training to be a fundamental tool for supporting the Company’s success and competitiveness, in both the short and long term.

Our employees' personal and professional growth and the improvement of their managerial and technical skills are fundamental pillars to achieve the challenging objectives of the Strategic Plan.

Training is delivered through constant and continuous paths over time, in line with the needs and talents of People to orient them towards individual responsibility and motivation, in accordance with the values of our Company.

Offering quality training, whether in the classroom, on e-learning platforms or in hybrid mode, is essential to the upskilling and reskilling of all employees, while also making Banca Generali an increasingly authoritative market player. Among the training activities for the benefit of our employees, we offer programmes to develop managerial and behavioural skills, in-depth courses on technical skills, and programmes linked to regulatory and security topics that may focus on Anti-Money Laundering, Banking Transparency, Privacy and Market Abuse, without overlooking the special attention paid to Cyber Security, considering the new strongly digital-oriented landscape.

Our People also conduct annual mandatory training on the fundamental rules of conduct as enshrined in the Code of Conduct, which includes among its minimum standards the promotion of a working environment free from all forms of discrimination or harassment and the promotion of diversity and inclusion within the Banking Group.

The figures relating to the training activities carried out bear witness to the continuous attention paid by the Bank and Top Management to the development and continuous updates of employees’ technical and managerial skills, preserving social relations and developing a strong sense of belonging to the Banking Group. This stimulates the desire for growth and fosters the creation of a positive work environment marked by high engagement, facilitating relationships of trust and increasing people engagement.

In 2023, a total of 65,995 training hours were provided in Banca Generali (60,153 in 2022 and 55,145 in 2021), of which 679 hours were targeted to young interns.

In line with the previous years’ trend, the amount of average training hours received by each employee increased to reach 61 in 2023.

We consider sustainability as one of the pillars of Banca Generali’s Strategic Plan, in line with the Company’s Vision and Mission statements: in this regard, in starting from 2022, we launched a programme of ESG initiatives aimed at raising awareness of this topic and enabling us to reach the Plan’s challenging targets.

Within the framework of this programme,  we developed the “Banca Generali and Sustainability” training courses, addressed to all employees and focused on topics such as sustainable finance, sustainable investments, Banca Generali’s environmental commitment and the numerous ESG initiatives.

In 2023, with a view to ESG-related upskilling, we also realized several advanced training courses, namely:

• two advanced training courses on green, social and sustainability bonds;
• a training course to delve into the new European regulations on ESG reporting (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the new EFRAG standard);
• a training course with a focus on environment and climate, both in terms of strategic actions and initiatives and through a risk-based approach;
• a training course reserved to BGFML specialists aimed at further analysing ESG risk topics.

 At the end of 2023, 87% of our people participated in at least one course as part of this comprehensive sustainability programme.

2023 also saw the continuation of an important digital innovation initiative called Digital Minds Program: an ambitious programme which aims to strengthen digital skills and innovation in line with the Strategic Plan. At December 2023, 89% of Banca Generali’s population participated in at least a Digital Minds session.

The semi-annual process consists of six different phases:

• Self-Evaluation: a phase introduced in early 2023 that promotes greater involvement of Collaborators in the process, in order to make them increasingly active participants. In fact, each Collaborator has the opportunity to insert his or her own qualitative evaluation.
• Performance Appraisal: the phase of assessment of overall performance;
• Feedback Dialogue: a structured meeting between employees and their managers during which the focus is on the results achieved and individual strengths and areas of improvement;
• Individual Development Plan (IDP): a formal document in which specific development actions are defined;
• Goal Setting: the phase in which the goals for the following year are set.
• Mid Year feedback: a phase aimed at fully supporting and disseminating continuous feedback within the organization. Each Manager defines a mid-year meeting (June/July) with each Collaborator to keep track of the performance, give a feedback on goal achievement and performance, revise, if necessary, the goals entered at the beginning of the year in Goal Setting.

In 2024, we introduced a great innovation into the process, namely the possibility of obtaining feedback from other colleagues, with a view to continuous improvement, regarding projects and activities carried out in 2023.

In 2023, 100% of “eligible” employees received a performance evaluation, confirming the interest of People Managers and all employees in the process, aimed at concurrently creating greater closeness and trust.

In order to be at our Clients' side to meet all their household and corporate needs, we have always paid attention to train our Financial Advisor network.

Training plays a fundamental role in developing technical and relational skills and in responding to growing professional challenges.

To ensure a quality training catalogue, we complemented our online training — offered through the BG Lab training platform and available to all our Financial Advisors — with face-to-face classrooms: in 2019, we inaugurated our Training&Innovation Hub in Milan, a dedicated space where most of our training activities are held, in addition to the courses provided locally.

The training programmes for our Financial Advisors are organised based on two main areas:

• managerial and relationship management training, in support of the role of Financial Advisors and for developing the skills and behaviour that set them apart from the rest of the market;
• high-profile technical/commercial and institutional training, which takes account of the Customers’ evolving needs over time and the regulatory developments.

In 2023, in partnership with Borsa Italiana Euronext, we launched the innovative My Academy project, the Academy offering Banca Generali’s strategic training courses on the topics identified by MiFID 2 Directive.

At Banca Generali we pay great attention to communication skills, through the provision of several advanced training courses on the subject, dedicated to the entire FAs Network, to support our Financial Advisors in their relationship with Customers. They represent valuable opportunities to learn more about the mechanisms that characterise the relationship of trust, to analyse the decision-making process of customers and the various factors that affect investment choices, with the aim of developing a winning connection/relationship with customers.

Since 2018, we have been investing considerably on sustainability matters, with a view to creating and consolidating a culture linked to sustainable investments among our Financial Advisors and offering our Clients an informed advisory service on ESG investment solutions.

In this regard, in 2023, all of our Financial Advisors took at least two mandatory courses on ESG topics, focused on ESG regulatory updates, responsible investments and the 17 UN SDGs. In addition, we also offer our Network ESG advanced training, which includes a training course carried out, –on an exclusive basis with MIP (Business School of Politecnico di Milano) – and aimed at achieving EFPA ESG Advisor certification, together with training sessions on sustainable finance. At the end of 2023, the percentage of Financial Advisors with ESG advanced training was more than 30%.

We also enriched the portal with an innovative section called “ESG HOME”, in order to promote and delve into all sustainability-related topics.Testifying to the fundamental importance of sustainability to Banca Generali Group, the end of November saw the presentation of the new Sustainable Advisor position: we are talking about highly specialised Financial Advisors whose commercial activities focus particularly on ESG products and services.

Moreover, the recent reorganisation of the Financial Advisor Network, aimed at enhancing and better supporting clients throughout Italy, we introduced new strategic managerial functions, one of whom is dedicated to the support and cascading of ESG initiatives within the Network.

At Banca Generali, we also invest constant attention in developing training courses dedicated to the protection of clients' personal data, in accordance with current data protection laws, to anti-money laundering practices and, in line with technological development, to the prompt in-depth study of Cyber Security issues.

In 2023, a total of 132,147 hours of training was provided at Banca Generali, in line with 2022The average number of hours of training provided to each Financial Advisor was 58, both through classroom sessions and online activities.

The enhancement of people, diversity and inclusion policies are an essential element of the Bank’s People Strategy.

For this reason, at Banca Generali we are always attentive to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI), as factors for union and dialogue within the organisation.

In order to concretely integrate the DE&I values starting from the highest levels of the organisation, in 2018 our Board of Directors approved the Diversity Policy for the Members of the Company Bodies, which is reviewed at least once every two years.

The set of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion principles is also at the basis of the selection and recruitment processes, which are based on impartiality and respect for diversity with the aim of identifying and selecting the best profiles.

 

To enhance female talent and foster the creation of inclusive work environments,  few years ago we began organising a series of women empowerment development initiatives. In 2023 as well we carried out courses dedicated to talented women in the organisation, with the aim of  increasing women’s sense of power and confidence in their own abilities and resources and in achieving their goals.

In addition, in support of gender equality and the enhancement of the role of women in society and in the business world, we signed commitments for the promotion and enhancement of female talent:

• Since 2022, we are among the signatories of the Charter “Donne in Banca: valorizzare la diversità di genere” (Women in Bank: enhancing gender diversity) of the Italian Banking Association (ABI). In accordance with the principles promoted therein, we are committed to enhancing our corporate policies according to the equal opportunity principle, promoting an inclusive work environment, open to all the values of diversity.
• Women&Tech - Association for Women and Technology: we are part of a network of companies and people who pool their skills to realise women’s potential in innovation with the goal of promoting projects and actions against gender stereotypes and discrimination.
• SheTech: we supported the participation of a young women talent pool in the association’s events, training and activities, which has the goal of tangibly bridging the gender gap in the digital and tech sectors.
• WEPs (Women’s Empowerment Principles): we are among the signatories of the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles, which set out the business guidelines on which to base tangible actions for gender equality and female empowerment.

In line with the Group, our ongoing commitment to the elimination of the pay gap is reflected in an integrated approach that includes actions focused on remuneration policies and broader initiatives, which reflect the skills, abilities and professional experience of each employee, thereby ensuring the application of the principle of equal opportunities.

To promote a culture based on equal gender treatment and equal pay, at Banca Generali we participate in and support the Generali Group’s project aimed at identifying the Gender Pay Gap and the Equal Pay Gap, instrumental to developing specific measures to mitigate the gaps identified, with the aim of gradually reducing them.

Spreading an inclusive culture is a key element of Banca Generali Group’s DEI strategy and translates into training, communication and awareness-raising initiatives for all people, at all organisational levels.

Specifically, a webinar on inclusive language, called “Do you speak inclusion?” was organised to introduce and delve into this topic by involving the entire population. Following this webinar, a survey was conducted so as to identify the topics to be covered throughout 2024.

There are also many listening initiatives that involve the entire corporate population with the aim of understanding their perceptions and needs, providing valuable insights for the definition of the Group’s inclusion action plans.

In 2022 as well, the many well-being and work-life balance initiatives carried out fostered the consolidation of a highly inclusive work environment. 

We also constantly guarantee working conditions in a safe, healthy environment, in accordance with applicable laws on the protection of occupational health and safety.

The buildings of the Company and of the Group undergo constant checks to ensure compliance regarding specific architectural constraints and the need to provide all employees with suitable workstations.

With regard to disabilities, this year as well, on the occasion of the International Day of persons with disabilities, we participated in the Embrace Your Abilities | Be All Of You initiative, a webinar that, thanks also to the testimony of a differently abled basket player, made it possible to discuss the topic of disability.