Operating in the field of HRTech, Wexplore‘s team is one of those selected by Fintech District to help fintechs in their growth, post covid19, through the Marketplace of professionals. Alessia Di Iacovo tells us her point of view and her special approach to HR issues.

From your point of view, what are the concrete challenges of working today, especially for those operating in the innovation and tech sector?

I believe it will ultimately come down to the ability of individuals to keep being relevant for their organizations, so that the business will continue being relevant for their customers – and viceversa: companies must also do their share in providing the right conditions for their people to bring value and to find meaning, purpose, and growth at work.

Now, the definition of “relevant”, “purpose”, and “growth” depends on industry, location, size, lifecycle stage, and business model of each company, but some common denominators could definitely be:

• the ability to think and act with a global perspective
• the ability to set up internal processes that avoid both bureaucratic stiffness (too much process) and the messiness of having to reinvent the wheel each time (too little process)
• the ability to embrace change and evolve, which passes through developing awareness of self and the context
• the ability to practice true open and transparent communication
• the ability to connect, communicate and work in a “phygital” way, adapting to both online and offline interactions and platforms – which, by the way, are two different experiences and not just a replica on online or offline channels

Definitely we can see how the crisis induced by coronavirus has strongly enhanced all of these challenges, and it will take a conscious and ongoing action towards these topics to set the foundations after the first initial urgency – building a new normal from the pandemic.

What services and skills does Wexplore offer to start-ups and scale ups and what is your approach ?

We are an HRTech startup, so our approach strongly resonates with the digital and lean approach of Fintech startups and scaleups. Because we are familiar with the specific culture and nuances of the startup world, we focus on providing solutions that are hands-on and agile; we like to leverage on the wealth of each team while also acting as sparring partner, providing a different angle and fresh insights. We can work with startups/scaleups on a single People&Talent topic, or support them 360° as an in-house HR would. Our range of services include:

1. Recruiting & Onboarding – enabling startups and scaleups to source the best talent, build their employer branding, and effectively optimize the initial months of new hires
2. Training – we put no limit to the variety of approaches, formats, and tools we use to deliver workshops. The key goal is to develop the teams’ skills to best succeed in their business
3. Operations – HR is also about “harder stuff”: contracts, compensation, and other policies that can contribute to cost saving and employee satisfaction as the team grows (such as welfare and parental policy)
4. Knowledge Sharing – we provide access to VIC (Virtual Interactive Consultant) our knowledge sharing tool to sustain the scale up or the development phase, reducing complexity and improving effectiveness across diverse and remote teams.
5. Performance – set up a feedback and growth process that impacts on personal development and business performance: “you only improve what you can measure”.
6. Exit Management – because startups evolve so much faster, the skillsets they require to thrive can vary over a short amount of time, causing a change in the team. This is a tough moment, but we can help you manage it in a respectful and caring way for both the leaving and the remaining colleagues
7. International growth – we have a specific a rock-solid expertise on international careers, as well as an international network that enables us to follow a scale-up company as it opens up new markets.
8. Leadership Coaching – 1:1 support to grow managerial skills, facilitate leaders’ performance, development, and creativity at work, increase effectiveness and maximize their potential.

In connection with the coronavirus emergency, have you put any special initiatives in place?

The global pandemic has given us the opportunity to sharpen our focus on remote teams, realizing that “remote” does not necessarily mean culturally diverse or based across different geographies and time zones – it can apply even to those teams who were used to sitting next to each other every day, and who suddenly cannot benefit from a spontaneous glance or cannot gather across a flipchart to work. We have realized a custom version of our virtual consultant VIC dedicated to smartworking.

We have gathered inputs from different experts to share key answers to the recurring questions and challenges that teams and people are going through at the moment, offering tips and tricks on how to benefit from remote work without losing collaboration, engagement, and productivity. This virtual consultancy (available in Italian) has been selected for the government-promoted initiative #SolidarietàDigitale. It is totally free and can be accessed by everyone at this link.

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