Ricardo Bacchini is the most eclectic, versatile HR director I’ve ever met. He has led the HR team of the Volkswagen Group España Distribución since 2014 and has developed his HR career within companies such as Unilever or Bombardier. Beyond his corporate role, Ricardo is also a co-active coach, professional wildlife photographer, (www.ricardobacchini.com), he’s just published a book with spectacular pictures (www.ricardobacchini.com/wildlife-photography-book), he is a digital marketing expert and he collaborates with universities and business schools as a lecturer and speaker.
We met two years ago at the annual event of his company. It was my first time as a speaker in the car industry. I found a team who was very willing to embrace change in a very challenging industry. Nowadays, Volkswagen Group España Distribución is a company with plenty of best practices regarding digitalisation and cultural change respecting the brand’s authenticity.
1. Volkswagen Group España Distribución found out very soon that the history within its sector would be written in a very different way. How did you project transformation and what has been the human role in this project?
From the very first moment it was crystal clear to us that the digital transformation was a cultural transformation, and from such a perspective, people should be at the heart of every single step we took. We created a project called Digical which involved digital change in a technological, business and cultural context. Within Digical we rethought the skills and behaviours we needed to see in our new organisation. They were also introduced in our learning paths. We were 100% positive that change should happen through people, otherwise we would not make it.
2. Your internal customers are, basically, sales and marketing. Both areas are very close to the client. What HR strategy do they need?
It’s a very demanding profile, since they are very educated professionals, with high expectation levels. My strategy is, on one hand, to make sure the basics are perfectly implemented and, on the other hand, to bring new, meaningful HR tools and products to the organisation that add value at that specific moment.
3. How do you manage innovation within the company?
When developing Digical, we decided that innovation should be integrated as one of the processes of our organisation, since we needed a sustainable transformation. That’s why we created iLab, an innovation lab whose goal is to keep the company updated about technological developments that might appear in our sector. Within the iLab, we have the iLab Accelerator: an invitation to everyone in the company to present innovation projects that may become a start-up. Last year more than 140 employees participated in the initiative. 22 projects were presented. 12 passed the first round, then 6 and, after a hackathon, we have 2 projects in prototype stage. The employees who belong to these 2 teams have 1 day per week to work on their project, which also receives a grant of 50,000 euros. The final award is a trip to Silicon Valley. The 2nd edition has just been launched in July and it will be open until September. This year, the trip will be to Israel, which is the place to be nowadays when talking about start-up culture. With the Accelerator we want to foster innovation and we also want people to participate in raising new topics: innovation linked to mobility, new ways of building a relationship with the final user, … We want to engage people to innovate and create multitasking teams which break down the silos … The whole process is the perfect scenario to put in practice real digital skills.
4. In your company, HR is actively involved in the evolution and construction of the new organisational framework. What are your tips for making HR amongst the agents of transformation?
To be very close to the business, to understand the company’s needs in the mid-long term and to bring solutions which add value. Maybe it sounds too common, but this is really what this is about, in a very authentic way. I try to break away from the traditional HR point of view and apply common sense. To me, it is essential that HR does not only know the business, but its people and act in a transparent, trustworthy way to amplify our positive impact.
5. Where do you think the HR role is evolving to, especially in those companies where the change in their business model is more acute?
I think we are evolving towards organisations with more flexible, dynamic and changing structures. Roles and tasks based on projects, relationships based on networks and where the same individual will have different roles in different projects. We must learn to put aside concepts such as job description or organisational chart in the most traditional way. This will happen in the long term but, for now, HR should work on branding to attract talent, employee journey, what’s the value proposition which will make the company attractive. It’s compulsory to understand the new rules between companies and talents. We must shape environments where people feel they can grow and develop.
Many thanks for sharing your experience with us, Ricardo!
