Way2Global supplementary agreement: a world of benefits

Today, sustainability has become mainstream, leading many companies to jump on the bandwagon with pretentious declarations that reek of spin control. However, at Way2Global we wanted to give concrete confirmation of our fundamental commitment to social impact, the common good and, above all, the central importance of people.

At the start of January we signed the second-level supplementary agreement, which we inherited from our parent company and which has been in force since the spin-off in 2017, to regulate aspects that are not covered by the National Labour Collective Agreement between workers, trade union representatives and the company.

This ratification marked a solemn moment that reaffirmed and consolidated our value system, our corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate benefit policies, and our sustainable vocation as a benefit corporation.

Tailored to employees and their needs, in perfect harmony with the company’s mission and philosophy, the Way2Global 2020 supplemental agreement goes far beyond legal requirements by regulating things like application of a robust incentive system to support personal income for all departments, tax relief on productivity bonuses, and maximum work flexibility (parental leave and absence, time banking, smart working and individual regulation of working hours) as the company’s organizational cornerstone.

Our 2020 agreement is therefore the result of experience, joint planning and dialogue between stakeholders. Its purpose, above all, is to raise the bar even higher and to experiment with a series of pioneering good practices geared toward social innovation, typical of a women-led start-up. It is a harbinger of innovation and reflects a wish to take care of people and the planet.

According to our game-changing philosophy, offering workers complete flexibility in terms of time and organization is a prelude to autonomous, reliable management of working times, in contrast to the old hierarchical organizational models based on command and control.

Our company culture aims to pioneer an innovative model of participatory, holocratic governance based on flattening of organizational structures. It focuses on the key concepts of trust, empowerment, delegation and involvement of employees in decision-making and co-designing, ensuring total transparency and sharing of information and resources.

The physical configuration of the company’s IT infrastructure reflects this corporate culture: It is an integrated ecosystem of platforms, networks and virtual, open work environments that nurture relationships with our community, including employees and professionals, for a new work ethos based on partnership, sharing, flexibility and win-win models.

“For those of us who consider business to be an extraordinary, transformative and regenerative force for society, the 2020 supplementary agreement is simply the next stage in our implementation of the statutory commitment to CSR, work-life balance, equal opportunity and benefits. It focuses on the happiness of all stakeholders as the company’s ultimate goal.”

Laura Gori, Founder & CEO of Way2Global – Translations

At Way2Global, we consider the company to be a “continuous experimentation laboratory”. With the 2020 agreement, we therefore wanted to introduce further maternity benefits, including optional leave periods when calculating days eligible for productivity bonuses. We are also introducing an original system of compensation for business trips beyond legal requirements and innovative reward criteria for staff in the Sales and Marketing department who acquire “sustainable” customers and prospects. This is all in line with the vision of the benefit corporation committed to networking with fellow benefit corporations in order to change the system and to make the world a better place.

This is what integrating the fundamental themes of benefits and social impact in its business plan means for Way2Global. The volume of company investment in worker benefits and shared benefits is a key factor that is measured and monitored on an annual basis through Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), which are also integrated into the ISO Improvement Plan for regulatory standards. These include things such as the percentage of spending on benefit activities in relation to both total costs and total revenue for the year, with results tracked and geared toward continuous improvement.

Way2Global’s other specific KPIs annually measure the impact of our benefit system in terms of employee benefits, commitment and retention. These parameters monitor, among other things, staff members’ average years of service, hours of participation in continuing education and fitness activities out of the total number of hours worked, the involvement of people in voluntary and civil engagement activities proposed by the company, etc.

However, Way2Global’s social impact is not limited to the confines of the company. In addition to involving all its collaborators (the employees and contractors in its community), with the belief that innovation should be for everyone, in the inclusive, interdependent manner typical of benefit corporations, Way2Global aims to extend the shared benefits beyond the company in order to initiate virtuous circles and to work collaboratively in the local area, actively involving all stakeholders and the local community.

“Because to change the world for the better, you have to start with yourself. This is what we try to do every day at Way2Global, working with considerable effort and conviction.”

Laura Gori