When news first hit that the coronavirus had made its way to a small town southeast of Milan, few could possibly imagine what lay in store for the region, the country, or the rest of the world for that matter. BonelliErede, with its headquarters in Milan, suddenly found itself on the front lines. Its professionals and employees travel daily across the Lombardy region and beyond, so decisions had to be taken – and fast. And BonelliErede wasted no time in taking action to protect its most valued asset: its people.

Even before Italy was put in lockdown, the firm established remote working arrangements and gave its people a monetary contribution for the purchase of home office equipment. It set up a Covid-19 internal working group, whose mission is to facilitate the firm’s operations and workflow, even remotely, and just as importantly, to provide the firm’s people and families all the assistance they might need. And it’s been bolstering the psychological well-being across the firm through its initiatives spearheaded by its livebetter team, with virtual social events, a firm-wide song-writing competition, a BonelliErede Spotify playlist, recipes from the firm’s head chef, online workout sessions, Instagram challenges, and much more.

BonelliErede is clearly a firm that genuinely cares about its people and is doing everything it can to help keep their spirits up and the sense of unity and camaraderie shining bright – ready for whatever challenges await!

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BonelliErede: people are the priority

When news first hit that the coronavirus had made its way to a small town southeast of Milan, few could possibly imagine what lay in store for the region, the country, or the rest of the world for that matter. Businesses and governments were simply not that prepared for the enormous challenges brought by the rapid spread of Covid-19. Not since the post-war period has the world seen a health threat of such magnitude – some are even comparing it to the misnamed Spanish flu in terms of the repercussions. 

BonelliErede, with its headquarters in Milan, suddenly found itself on the front lines. Its people travel daily across the Lombardy region and beyond, whether it’s commuting to and from the office or taking business trips that help fuel the Italian economy. Decisions had to be taken – and fast. Easier said than done, of course – we have all seen only too well how some businesses and governments have scrambled to respond to the health emergency. But BonelliErede wasted no time in taking action to protect its most valued asset: its people. 

Even before Italy was put in lockdown, the firm established remote working arrangements. And its internal health protocol – which naturally incorporates the health and safety measures introduced by the Italian government – has consistently been more stringent than what is required by law. Indeed, from the outset, BonelliErede has unfailingly prioritised safeguarding the health and well-being of its people – all while still managing to ensure 100% business continuity.

The firm strongly believes that it has a moral duty – not just to its people but to society as a whole – to do all in its power to curb the spread of infection. To that end, even though Italy has entered ‘phase 2’, the firm is continuing to have its people work from home to the extent possible. And for those who do have to come to the office, the firm is covering their private transport costs so they can avoid using public transport. The firm has also given a monetary contribution to each professional and employee for the purchase of home office equipment, to help them adapt more easily to their new working environment. 

Another core component of BonelliErede’s response is its Covid-19 internal working group. The group was set up with a twofold mission: to facilitate the firm’s operations and workflow, even remotely, and just as importantly, to provide the firm’s people all the assistance they might need. Through its dedicated email address, the working group has fielded all kinds of Covid-19-related queries from across the firm – from personal matters such as recommendations for doctors and clinics, to general queries about what is and is not permitted by local, regional and national legislation at any given time. And to enable all its people spread across EMEA to have all the information they need at the tips of their fingers, the firm set up an internal website (in English and Italian) dedicated to the health emergency. It is replete with a summary of relevant legislation, practical work-related indications and FAQs, useful links, and information on all the social initiatives the firm has launched for its people.

Indeed, at a time when ‘socialising’ as we know it almost seems a thing of the past, the firm’s social initiatives have played an even greater role in bolstering the psychological well-being across the firm. The driving force behind this? The firm’s livebetter team. 

The ‘livebetter’ initiative was launched back in 2018 to help people at the firm juggle work and personal commitments and to promote camaraderie. After all, the firm boasts over 750 professionals and employees spread out over three continents, so keeping a keen eye on everyone’s well-being and coming up with initiatives to meet their varied needs can be a bit of a challenge even under normal circumstances. But despite the public health crisis having turned things upside down, it didn’t stop the livebetter team from pushing forward with initiatives with even greater vigour. So although International Women’s Day fell after the lockdown was introduced, the firm continued its tradition of giving each woman across all offices a gift as a token of their appreciation. 

But when it came to the social side of ‘living better’ at BonelliErede, the undeniable effects of these hard times were all too clear. People are isolated from each other – and it is downright impossible to even grab a coffee together. Faced with these unprecedented circumstances, the firm had to come up with more creative ways to engender the sense of community and unity that makes BonelliErede such a unique firm also in terms of inclusion and diversity. So the livebetter team put their heads together and came up with some ideas that do just that and take everyone on a cultural journey at the same time. 

It started with a different take on a newly minted livebetter tradition: the Friday Toast, a monthly gathering at which BonelliErede offices around the globe offer their people a before-dinner snack (in the Italian aperitivo tradition) with alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. It’s normally a great chance to socialise with colleagues and let loose a bit after a hard day’s work – and sometimes with special guests to boot! But Covid-19 has put paid to get-togethers for a while at least. What did BonelliErede do in response? The firm took advantage of technology and went virtual! In fact, going virtual allowed the team to organise a truly international after-work get-together last month: over a whopping 500 people connected from around the world, with several sharing how they were living through – and coping with – the lockdown wherever they were, be it Milan, Rome, Genoa, Brussels, London, Cairo, Addis Ababa or Dubai. The intimacy of seeing colleagues in casual dress in the comfort of their own homes – and even with the odd surprise guest (children will be children) – instead of being trussed up in suits and boots at the office, made this Friday Toast that much more special. It also brought home an important message: we’re all in this together, and we’ll all get through this together.

It was during that virtual happy hour that the firm announced another initiative – or better, some ‘healthy’ competition: the Alma Mater International Challenge. In a nutshell, the challenge is to come up with what will become BonelliErede’s ‘official’ anthem. This song-writing contest is open to all the firm’s people, who are encouraged to team up with each other to take part. It’s a chance for people to show off their musical/lyric-writing talents and, more importantly, to join forces on something other than work-related matters. It’s also fostering a strong sense of belonging and firm pride at a time when office events and firm retreats are not an option.

Music is certainly a language that brings people together from all walks of life from wherever in the world, and so the firm went a step further. Everyone was asked to share some of the songs they’ve been listening to most during this period, with the goal of putting together a special playlist for everyone to enjoy and share in. And from there was born the BonelliErede Quarantine Vibes playlist, launched on Spotify a few weeks ago. Contributions came in from here there and everywhere, with songs in Arabic, English, and Italian. The soundtrack is truly a multicultural melting pot of musical delights that reflects the firm’s people, offers a glimpse into their mindsets (a good mix of irony and optimism) and, above all, gets everyone working to (and at) the same rhythm – and on the same wavelength – no matter where they call home.

But as the saying goes, good music is best enjoyed with good food. And so the firm’s Milan-based chef, Maurizio Bosotti, has been instrumental in helping BonelliErede’s people make the most of their time at home and unleash their creativity in the kitchen. By sharing videos, photos and written recipes, Maurizio lets the firm’s people indulge in their urge to experiment – and even take some risks. The video recipes are also posted on the firm’s Instagram page (like the Spaghetti cacio e pepe recipe) – incidentally, Instagram has proven to be a great window into how the firm engage with its people, and not just over the last few months.

With all that good food – and with everyone essentially confined to their homes – it seemed only natural to introduce some regular workouts to burn off those inevitable extra calories. So live online sessions with a professional personal trainer are held four times a week. From low to high intensity, there’s something for everyone in the firm. Each person receives a personal Webex invite, so joining the workouts couldn’t be easier (keeping up with the trainer perhaps less so for lifelong couch potatoes). 

One of the firm’s most successful social initiatives is no doubt, however, the BonelliErede Quarantine Challenge. Since April, the livebetter team has been sending out a weekly challenge, with people entering by submitting a photo of themselves nailing the challenge. The welfare committee is tasked with awarding 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, with the winning photo being posted on Instagram. And all three on the winners’ podium get a bottle of bubbly delivered to their door.

Entries have poured in from people across the firm’s offices: enlightening and at times even astounding photos with moving stories to go along with them. It’s a testament to the fact that, despite lockdowns, high stress levels, and cramped quarters, nothing can keep down people’s enthusiasm and positive attitude. The ‘constructive’ and, for sure, creative side of people has shone through – and what everyone’s been saying is how great it is to see a side of colleagues that they might not have had an opportunity to see at the office. “Rediscovered Passions” brought out the painters, origamists and dancers among BonelliErede’s ranks; “Home Office Situation” confirmed that, like so many around the world, people at the firm have seen their children, other halves and pets become regular office companions; “What if BonelliErede were a cake?” was the perfect chance for the firm’s talented and creative cooks to pay homage to the firm’s colour and logo; and “Camouflage Challenge” played to people’s inventiveness as they found all sorts of ways to hide in plain sight. These challenges have brought to light connections that people didn’t know they had and just goes to prove that more things unite us than divide us.

Undoubtedly, BonelliErede’s livebetter team has spearheaded engagement with the firm’s human capital. But clear support and messages have to come from the top too: through monthly Webex meetings, the firm’s leadership has made it a point to keep everyone up to date on the measures being taken to face the emergency and the outlook moving forward. And let’s not forget about all the behind-the-scenes work that must go in to getting the livebetter initiatives off the ground. Department heads and practice managers are also encouraged to have weekly (if not more frequent) video calls with their teams, even if just to check in on everyone to make sure they’re doing okay and exchange a bit of banter to lighten the mood. After all, pandemic or no pandemic, it can be a challenge to juggle work and personal commitments – and now those spheres have literally been thrust under the same roof. 

Conclusion

No one knows what the future holds, but one thing is certain: never before has it been so important to keep people’s spirits up and focus strong. The businesses that will ultimately come out on top will be those that tend to their people’s needs as exactly that: people. That means getting extra creative in harnessing the power of positive messaging, direct engagement and concrete actions.