In this blog series, we are going to interview all our Partners and learn how the pandemic is affecting different countries around the globe.  

INplacement has been part of InHunt World since the very beginning and has four offices in Italy. All their partners are from multinational environments with specific experience in leading companies in global consulting, management, and human resources. 

Last week, we had a chance to talk with Alessandro (CEO of INplacement), and we asked him a few questions: 

First of all, how are you? We hope that you and your family have stayed healthy during this pandemic.  

We are all fine at the moment, thanks! We take all the precautions required by current regulations. Each country has its own, and even in Italy, there are different behaviors to respect depending on the region people live in.  

How’s Italy at the moment, or how has it been the last 6 – 7 months?  

Well, the last months have been quite difficult as you can guess, but I can say we are reacting positively. As I said before, each Italian region takes different precautions, and this implicates risks for those who travel for work because citizens are not always responsible, and this often leads to superficial behaviors causing new covid outbreaks that could have been avoided. 

And what about business and the general atmosphere? How the companies are holding up, have there been a lot of layoffs?   

Immediately after the lockdown for many companies has been challenging. They have had to front the real consequences of this unexpected tragic event. Each company has been damaged and has reacted differently.  

Some sectors like tourism, small commercial activities, or automotive production companies, and satellite activities have suffered big losses because of the closing. On the other side, sectors like large-scale organized distribution, linked to primary consumer goods, supermarket chains linked to fresh products, like fruits and vegetables and perishable goods, have recorded an important revenue growth and increased personnel demand. The transport and the stock of goods in the warehouses have also seen a large increase of the activity. Last but not least, the IT and cybersecurity sectors have also recorded strong qualified personnel demand, which led to revenue growth. Let’s say that these last sectors have also had to reorganize their structure in terms of personnel to be hired. 

Talking about the layoffs, for now, there have not been so many, even because the government has managed the crisis giving aids to companies and denying the possibility to fire during these months. The chance of internally reorganizing and optimizing human resources regarding the layoffs is currently still blocked. This will allow families to still take advantage of social welfare programs, but it is not excluded that in the short term, an essential phase of both corporate reorganization and internal requalification is coming.  

However, now many people are starting to increase their professional skills to be more competitive and attractive to the near future market. 

How do you see the end of 2020? And what about 2021? 

I like to keep a positive attitude. Considering what has happened worldwide, it is challengin to make economic analyses or forecasts. Obviously, there is a great desire to move forward. We can see this with our customers who have resumed their selections and are working forward to include more and more competent and competitive personnel within their companies. We are working well with Finance selections, for profiles like Financial Direction and Management Audit, and with the IT sector because expertise in cybersecurity is more and more requested by Italian companies. 

In conclusion, if it is possible to change the individual’s attitude and the management by rediscovering a new way of working that is equally performing, it will be the winning turning point for the companies of the future.  

Anyway, I think we will have to wait for the first quarter of 2021 to have a clearer vision. 

What do you think about the future? What will be the most significant difference in Italy when you compare the situation before the pandemic and the possible situation after? 

In my opinion, what has happened, although dramatic for the entire global economy, has given important teaching in both internal professional retraining of roles and the management of remote work. This, known as smart working, requires different management rules.

The new managerial profiles of 2021 will all be oriented, in addition to the technical skills required by the role. Also to strong new “smart” leadership skills, where the visual control we were used to will be lost, thanks to new tools technologies that help us to manage the office remotely. From cloud CRMs to video conferences, managing the resources with clear and shared objectives, and not relying on the time spent in the office. 

Only those companies able to understand this big epochal change that must start from the highest levels will be able to grow and adapt to modern times. 

We hope everyone has become more aware that this can bring a positive change as already happened in many companies. 

What kind of roles do you think companies are going to need the most after the pandemic? Do you think there’s some significant difference before and after COVID regarding recruitment and headhunting? 

As I said before, I believe that we will move more towards managerial roles that will be able to coordinate the work at a distance. Management focused on the objectives rather than the number of hours spent in the office. A leadership that is able to listen to the team’s needs and impart security, stability, and a sense of belonging, where the result of both the individual and the team is equally important, will be in high demand. 

In Italy, this is a very big change, but it is also true that we are always ready to adapt to new contexts, and that’s why Italian profiles are often the most requested amid top management roles. 

The recruitment and hunting of new profiles will increasingly go towards a careful analysis of the soft skills that concern these changes. Flexible managers that are:

  • Ready to listen and transmit trust and serenity not only with words
  • Who do not impose their style but followed because of their way of leading
  • Aimed at company results but also caring about individual resources’ needs

Change is always a trauma, but when well managed, it is often an opportunity for improvement, and I am confident Italian people will be able to do so. 

We can already notice a change in the selections rules: new, innovative, but not less correct tools, like video-calls that are now a must, make us able to understand who we meet as well as before. 

In conclusion, we are confident in both a strong recovery and improvement in working style. 

What tips would you have for foreign job seekers who would like to come and work in Italy? 

Italy is always open to welcoming new skills and professionalism. Professionals in the IT sector, new technologies or robotics-related area, are the most requested. Anyway, any profiles need to have a spirit of adaptation and strong interpersonal skills. Knowing how to deal and communicate with resources is getting more and more critical, as well as being able to set an example for the younger generations is, basically, the root of success. 

Furthermore, it’s essential to keep in mind that Italy is a country full of many traditions, so it’s crucial for those who come from abroad to embrace those and make their own to have an interpersonal tool and get better integrated into the community. 

InHunt World is a Global Headhunting Network that connects the best local headhunting companies around the world. Our Partners are always carefully selected and tested before joining InHunt World so that our Customers can trust that they will receive the best headhunting service every single time, no matter where in the world the need is located.

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