Credem continues its investments in initiatives that make it possible to enhance the life-work balance of the people who work in the Group. In particular, in the first six months of 2019 there was an 87% increase compared to the same period last year in the number of people using the smart working, which allows you to work remotely for a few days a week without the space and time constraints of the office. It was chosen by over 1.640 people, equal to 39% of the potentially interested workforce of the Group (26,3% of the total workforce). This way of working makes efficient time management possible and empowers people who can work away from the office up to two days a week.
The initiative is part of the well-structured welfare program which the Group has adopted to improve the work environment and understand people's needs to support them in achieving personal goals. The initiatives put in place concern health and well-being, personal support, work-life balance, free time, purchasing power, protection and prevention. With regard to this last aspect, by the end of 2019, the goal is to offer Group personnel almost 4 free medical visits.
They also continued assumptions with 149 new people, over 77% of whom are new graduates and high school graduates and a particular focus, at group level, in financial consultancy and private banking.
Finally, the centrality of people in the Group's business model has led to a growth in investments to be allocated totraining level for employees, which includes the development of managerial, behavioural, commercial, technical, regulatory, digital and product skills. In detail, an average of more than 5 days of training per capita were provided in the first half of the year.
The excellence in the working conditions offered to the employees, in the training and development policies spread at all company levels and in the people management strategies are the elements that have allowed the Credem Group to obtain for the fourth consecutive year the certification of Top Employers and for the first time in 2018 the certification of Great Place To Work, which is awarded to companies worldwide that achieve the highest standards in employee working conditions. Credem is also the first Italian bank to have obtained in March 2018 thedeclaration of conformity of employment relationships (Asse.Co.), certification issued by the Order of Labor Consultants in collaboration with the Ministry of Labor to companies that guarantee the highest labor law and regularity standards in the management of employment relationships, with the aim of promoting and disseminating the culture of legality.
The Credem Group is present in 19 Italian regions with 638 branches, business centres, financial shops and over 6.200 employees.
