SNAM S.p.A.

06/07/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/07/2021 03:03

Blog Post - Wellbeing starts from the company: Snam and Fondazione Snam's commitment to employees and the community

Initiatives for mental and physical wellbeing, for children and for job satisfaction, and always with a regard to solidarity.

Health and wellbeing, but also training and social activities. Snam, either directly or through its Foundation, provides a number of welfare activities for its people as well as for the communities in which it operates. Ranging from support in the private and family spheres to work and the public sphere, activities not only involve employees, but also a wider audience, from school and university students to the beneficiaries of social initiatives.

More broadly, the commitment to the social dimension has become even more significant after the pandemic, which highlighted the important role that companies can play in fostering people's wellbeing, both internally for employees and externally for all stakeholders. This is what the 'S' of ESG is about, and it is also why Snam has further strengthened its range of services and activities aimed at promoting the wellbeing of its people and doing good for communities.

Mens sana in corpore sano (A healthy mind in a healthy body)

In the area of health, initiatives in recent months have focused on countering the effects of the pandemic, in particular by setting up a COVID-19 insurance policy for all the company's employees, together with offering free sierological tests and swabs on a monthly basis, which were also been made available at special prices to employees' family members.

At the same time, a number of initiatives were also put forward to promote people's mental and physical wellbeing by fostering a healthy lifestyle and a good work-life balance. Snam has also continued to offer free subscriptions to online gyms and launch recurring initiatives including workshops on healthy eating. Amongst these, the company has also provided the option to request free nutritional advice, and the possibility of attending seminars on the importance of digital detox, as well as webinars on mental and emotional detox, and online sessions on yoga, pilates, mindfulness and postural gymnastics.

Internal engagement activities

In order to preserve the sense of community within the company, especially after months of social distancing, prolonged smart working and remote working, Snam has continued to invest in engagement activities launched last year aimed at making everyone feel #distantimauniti (apart but together), a campaign which, continuing in 2021, has encouraged digital exchanges and interaction between people. Over one year after the onset of the pandemic, many colleagues have shared, on the company intranet, the lessons they have learnt over the past few months, starting with the CEO himself, who reminded everyone that the sense of community and of belonging in Snam remains strong and firm.

Children and parenting: help for all

Snam has also increased the range of services offered to support families and parents, which has become even more critical in light of the needs arising from extended remote working and the temporary closure of schools. Numerous activities have been dedicated to employees' families, from financial support via vouchers for babysitting expenses, to study support services, platforms and content for edutainment and online learning for little ones, as well as the School-Work Guidance Programme provided by the ELIS consortium, and the organisation of a 'digital parents' workshop to help families manage remote learning. Finally, in order to offer further help to parents during the summer period and provide occasions for social interaction for children, Snam is continuing to support the participation of employees' sons and daughters in summer camps, investing to ensure the necessary safety conditions are in place even during this difficult period.

Space for training activities at work: from new recruits to managers

With a view to promoting its talents, Snam is also keen to advance activities for the continuous training and professional development of its people. Through its in-house corporate university, the Snam Institute, which has been digitally overhauled to meet recent challenges, Snam offers a series of courses for all types of careers. For example, all new recruits take part in an Induction course, as well as a training and development course and webinars ranging from first arriving at the company (Welcome to Snam) to a Virtual Coffee with the CEO, an informal opportunity to meet the head of the company.

For longer-term employees, Snam offers training activities such as the group coaching programme dedicated to under 30s and a Leadership School to foster the adoption of a managerial behaviour which is in line with the organisational and managerial development model that Snam is pursuing. Dedicated to people managers, the course focused on the development of the most critical skills: time management, remote empathy in managing teams, work organisation and workload management, rules of conduct and 'respect in teamwork'. With a view to promoting diversity and inclusion, and supporting the participation of women in succession plans, the YoungWomen@Snam programme has also been launched to support leadership development and growth of females within the company.

The Snam of the future: projects for students

In order to attract new talents, Snam has been implementing an employer branding strategy for several years now. This includes a series of initiatives to help make the company known, positioning itself as an Employer of Choice for potential candidates. In this respect, Snam organises meetings with students and recent graduates to illustrate all the roles within the company, with a particular focus on digital and on growth paths in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) field. It also does this through participation in Digital Career Days, webinars, round tables and digital interviews, as well as through targeted actions to promote the recruitment of women and encourage girls to study STEM subjects, contributing to break down gender stereotypes. These include initiatives such as InspirinGirls, which involves 65 role models amongst Snam employees, inspirational breakfasts and podcasts, the STEMGirls event, and the provision of nine scholarships for female STEM students with the Polytechnic Universities of Milan and Bari, as well as a series of special employer branding projects dedicated to schools and universities, including the 'Guess My Task: women in technical roles' initiative.

Diversity and Inclusion: a topic under the spotlight

Snam pays particular attention to creating a welcoming work environment, encouraging diversity and inclusion with a view to promoting a cultural transformation. Over the last year, the company has launched a series of initiatives that have already seen the participation of more than 1,800 people and that, in addition to raising awareness among the company population on these issues, also aim to maximise objectivity in the candidate selection process, ensure equal opportunities for internal and external candidates and consolidate diversity and inclusion in the leadership model by disseminating inclusive language (link to the Manifesto) that leads to virtuous behaviours and fosters connection with others. On the whole, a more welcoming environment is also a better working environment.

Socialising and wellbeing as the basis for the new headquarters project

Caring for people is a philosophy that is also reflected in the characteristics of the group's new Milan office, which will become the company's headquarters from 2024. As part of a major urban regeneration initiative in the Symbiosis district south of the Porta Romana neighbourhood, the new building has been designed by placing at its core people and the working methods of the future, and will be integrated with the city and with green spaces. Indeed, as well as housing flexible and efficient offices, it will feature a number of inclusive spaces dedicated to social interaction and will alternate working environments with spaces for collaboration, creativity and innovation, all accompanied by services that will help to ensure high levels of wellbeing. One of the key features will be the seamless integration between outdoor and indoor green spaces. And outside, there will be a park that can be opened up to the community.

Fondazione Snam and its commitment to communities

Finally, thanks to the commitment of Fondazione Snam, which operates mainly in the areas of Environment, Children and Youth, Female Empowerment and Wellbeing, Snam is conducting a series of activities that contribute to creating a support network for people and communities throughout the Country. More specifically, the Foundation's actions are aimed at the regeneration of run-down urban areas, fighting against energy poverty, enhancing the country's environmental assets, combating educational poverty and the NEET phenomenon (i.e. school drop-outs) and social exclusion, and fostering gender equality. In addition, Fondazione Snam is also concerned with improving people's wellbeing on a broader level, promoting the inclusion of the social dimension in economic measurements.

Through its initiatives, the Foundation not only supports the most vulnerable groups and local communities, but it also encourages employee involvement in line with the social company approach adopted in all its activities. It thus makes the skills of Snam people available to third sector organisations and, at the same time, by facilitating the inclusion of the third sector network and social issues in the corporate world, it also contributes to everyone's sense of belonging and social purpose.

As revealed in the 2020 annual report published in May (link), Fondazione Snam has indeed operated engaging more than 1,200 Snam volunteers, who have made their time and skills available to support the country. Initiatives such as volontariato di competenza (skills volunteering) and payroll giving (i.e. donations from employees doubled through match funding from the company), which were launched again this year, have given and continue to give employees the opportunity to contribute to the company's social purpose by participating in initiatives such as supporting remote study, or contributing to the development of projects by selected third sector organisations, as well as the possibility of donating hours of their salary to those in need.

Some of the initiatives supported through payroll giving this year will be dedicated to the set up of summer camps, which support parents and ensure socialising for children. Last year, Snam and Fondazione Snam already supported the launch of six summer camps between Milan, Brindisi and Palermo, involving more than 300 children.

Overall, the actions implemented by the Foundation in 2020 enabled it to reach over 700,000 people throughout Italy.