Firms with more advanced welfare systems achieve productivity performances that are decidedly above the average, and grow much faster in terms of economic results and employment. This is what emerges from the seventh edition of Welfare Index Pmi 2022 report by Generali Italia which was attended by over 6.500 companies, triple the number of the first edition, from all production sectors and of all sizes. The results of the study were presented today in Rome in the presence of the Minister of Labour, Marina Elvira Calderone, the Country Manager & CEO of Generali Italia, Giancarlo Fancel, the General Manager of Generali Italia, Massimo Monacelli and the representatives of Confindustria, Confartigianato, Confcommercio, Confagricoltura and Confprofessioni.
"Welfare is a driving force capable of increasing productivity, thanks to a better involvement of workers in company processes", declared the Minister of Labor and Social Policies Marina Elvira Calderone. “Knowing and accompanying the needs of employees is that attention that denotes a clear and precise desire to give work a wider dimension. An involvement that is almost always repaid by a renewed dedication to the corporate mission capable of increasing efficiency and productivity”, added the minister.
The numbers of corporate welfare in Italy
Over 68% of Italian small and medium enterprises has passed the basic level of corporate welfare, while the number of SMEs with very high and high level doubled, going from 10,3% in 2016 to 24,7% in 2022. The share of companies with high level of welfare this year reached 70,7% (+6,6% compared to 2017) among those with over 250 employees and 66,8% (+7%) in SMEs of medium size between 101 and 250 employees. Instead, they doubled from 7,7% in 2017 to 15,1% in 2022. micro enterprises with 6-9 employees with a high level of welfare.
But what are the reasons for the success of corporate welfare in Italy? According to CEO and Country Manager of Generali Italia, Giancarlo Fancel: “Corporate welfare is a strategic factor for businesses and a priority for the country, also for achieving the objectives of the Pnrr through a partnership between the public and private sectors”.
“Today, our Welfare Index Pmi report certifies that those with advanced welfare programs are more successful as a business, investing, among others, in Healthcare, Training and Social Inclusion” – continues Fancel.
Going back to the numbers, SMEs with more advanced welfare “contribute much more than the average to growth in employment of women and young people”, underlines the survey carried out by Generali Italia, according to which companies with a high level of welfare contribute more than the average to occupational dynamics. Speaking as a percentage, 43% of these companies recorded strong employment growth (against an average of 27,3%), with a positive balance exceeding 3% of total employees. Also noteworthy is the share of women in responsible roles it touches 30% in companies with an initial level of welfare and rises to 38,7% in those with a very high level, 43% of which implement programs for equal opportunities and for the enhancement of female leadership.
Not only that, in 2022 companies that conceive welfare as strategic lever of sustainable development have doubled (from 6,4% in 2016 to 14,1% today) and 87,5% of these companies generate a high-level social impact against a general average of 38%.
The relationship between corporate welfare, community and turnover
Welfare has a positive impact on company results who use it. In collaboration with Cerved, Generali Italia carried out a dynamic analysis on the financial statements of 2.600 companies from 2019 to 2021, a period marked by thecovid emergency and from the subsequent recovery. According to the data, companies with a more advanced welfare system have registered a higher level of productivity on average, they grew faster in economic performance and employment.
The survey underlines that the turnover per employee increases with the increase in the level of welfare, as does profitability. Last year, profit on turnover of companies with a very high level of welfare was double that of companies at a basic level: 6,7 against 3,7%, while the productivity index Mol /turnover it grew by 1,6% (from 9,4% in 2019 to 11% in 2021), compared to an increase of 0,2% recorded by companies with a basic level. Furthermore, firms with higher welfare rates have proved to be more resilient, better withstanding the blows of the pandemic and showing more momentum in the second half.
Corporate welfare and its contribution to the renewal of Italian welfare
Generali Italia presented for the first time the Position Paper signed by the experts of the Welfare Index Pmi Steering Committee entitled “The contribution of corporate welfare to the renewal of Italian welfare. According to the data, the total expenditure of public and private welfare in 2021 it amounts to 785 billion: 80% of this figure (627 billion) is paid by the State, while 17,4% (136,6 billion) is paid directly by families. A third share, equal to 21,2 billion, 2,7% of the total is paid by corporate and collective welfare. The paper underlines how “corporate welfare” can “represent a decisive tool through which invest more resources in key sectors and of great importance in the projects of the Pnrr”. In fact, it is no longer a complementary sector of public welfare, but "it has also become a factor of innovation of traditional systems, capable of generating new service models and accelerating the transition towards sustainable development models", reads the document.
By virtue of what has just been said, "the corporate welfare experience will be able to expand and make a significant contribution to the general renewal of welfare systems if public institutions activate partnerships at all levels with companies".
“There is a need for a new pact between public and private welfare. Resources are needed because it is not possible to carry out the necessary innovation in health care, in schools, without encouraging the social initiative of companies. It is a message to politics that has recently given an appreciation for corporate welfare but we hope that we will go in a systemic way in this direction", he said Aeneas Dallaglio, Cerved group innovation team and head of the Welfare Index Pmi 2022 research, during the presentation of the survey.
The 121 Welfare Champions
During the event the Welfare Champion was awarded to 121 companies maximum rating 5W which indicates supervision and innovation in all areas of welfare. These are companies with extraordinary stories behind them that have engaged in issues relevant to the country and have carried out numerous initiatives in various areas of corporate welfare, contributing to "generate significant social impacts on internal and external communities", underlines Generali Italia .
