For the workers of Europ Assistance, a company controlled by Generali, a new office arrives, in the “Offices in the green” complex in Assago, in the province of Milan, and a new way of working that has been called Nuova Eura. The project revolves around a smart working that will allow greater flexibility for those who have children or who have to face complex situations, such as the need to take care of other family members. There will be great attention to diversity & inclusion, night shifts and holidays that can always be carried out from home.
At the inauguration of the new headquarters, Fabio Carsenzuola, CEO of Europ Assistance Italia, explained that “we are experiencing a complex period due to the pandemic and all its repercussions, but we wanted to consider it an opportunity, courageously renewing our way of working” . So after 35 years, the company that in Italy closed 2020 with a turnover of over 265 million euros and has a staff of over 820 people and more than 10,300 service centers, has changed headquarters and moved to the new building in Assago which was studied also considering what emerged from listening and internal surveys carried out among workers. The manager explains that he is “satisfied that the new model has been built in concert with our people, we are at the beginning of a stimulating challenge for each of us: we have defined the ideal framework and now we must commit ourselves to show that flexibility and efficiency can coexist. Innovation will be the protagonist of the next few years, not only for our company but for the entire Italian and European entrepreneurial fabric. We want to be protagonists of this season of great changes: we wanted to make a courageous choice by looking to the future with optimism ».
The new headquarters was designed thinking that, on a voluntary basis, each worker will be able to work in smart working for three days a week and will also be able to distribute the days differently on a monthly basis, coordinating with their team. The new way of working requires a lot of attention and particular flexibility for parents and for those who take care of the elderly or are frail. Furthermore, there is also a right to disconnect which is ensured outside the working hours, also by making the most of the potential of digital technologies, for example in the automatic hourly sorting of e-mails: regardless of the time in which they are sent, they will be however delivered at the beginning of the work shift. To make it easier for workers, since the Europ assistance operations center is always active, they are given the opportunity to work shifts at night or on holidays from home.
The spaces of the new headquarters have been designed to foster collaboration and stimulate
creativity and productivity. To functional areas of workstations, meeting rooms and services
smart and lounge areas alternate characterized by informal ways of working. Individual offices disappear and work management becomes open at every level. In addition, the procedures for the passage of internal documents have been changed and the number of printers is drastically reduced for a potential saving of about half a million fewer sheets every year. As Benedetto Giustiniani, head of Southern Europe Region at Generali Real Estate, says, the change process of Europ Assistance “has resulted in the transition from the traditional office to a new dynamic and flexible space, designed to facilitate opportunities for meeting, sharing and collaborative work, in line with our goal of
provide quality services in all our properties aimed at improving the well-being of the occupants ».