Would you hire them again today? The staff question

A necessary premise

In Italy this is a sensitive subject, so a premise is necessary. The strategic goal is always to create value and create jobs. Even at the cost of necessary staff cuts in the very short term, thanks to which the company gets back on its feet and the accounts are put back in order; that way, over the medium to long term, the staff is bound to grow again. The net employment balance will be positive: so, if you have any qualms, you can rest easy.

I won't talk about productive employees, because there are dedicated courses that teach you how to motivate, set targets and everything else you might need. What penalises the company is the unproductive employee.

The unproductive employee

An unproductive employee is someone who may be tired of working in a certain position. I won't go as far as saying they put no passion into it, but they may get in the way of other people's work and stir up arguments internally. An unproductive employee penalises and demoralises motivated new staff, especially the young.

When an unproductive employee loses their job, it is their responsibility, and the entrepreneur is not answerable for it. The question you have to ask yourself is this:

Would you hire this person again today?

If the answer is yes, carry on and think about new responsibilities and targets for them. If the answer is no, you need to find a way to show them the way out.

In the course I list it among the three things no system teaches: the will to work, a clear vision, and the ability to see when something isn't working and be cynical about cutting it. That applies to suppliers, to customers, and to people. It's what allows the company to stay open and, over the medium term, to hire again.

More qualified people, lower costs

The other challenge, for companies like ours that have to watch costs, is to have more qualified people and fewer expenses in the income statement. Here's how it's done.

First, every newcomer must start as an intern, unless you need to fill a role with an experienced person who solves a problem that would otherwise stop you producing or growing. In the offices, every newcomer starts as an intern. And the internship must be paid fairly; it should be clear that it is still an internship, so the person is on trial.

The internship lasts six months, after which the intern may or may not be confirmed for another six, with a higher allowance. After those further six months, the person may be hired on a permanent contract, or not. In my case, the hiring rate is 50%.

Sell the dream

Sometimes it's the interns themselves who tell me they don't want to stay, because they think the work is too much or because they have other goals in life. To follow this path, obviously, you mustn't be a commodity: nobody wants to go and work for a commodity.

What you have to do is build a brand and sell the dream. I know people who resigned from permanent jobs, on contracts dating from before the Article 18 reform with every protection that comes with them, to start a training path with us that begins with an internship. The person who comes to us dreams of one day working in the Milan showroom, in the city centre, elegantly dressed, perhaps taking a percentage on sales. They want a career; if they speak languages, perhaps they go to New York or Miami. It's a career dream, and it's tied to the brand. If I'm a commodity, nobody will ever come in on these terms. Or I find people who come in out of necessity, but they're not the people I'm looking for.

What can this dream be? For customers, an emotional product: the product has to convey emotions. For those who sell a service, a service that improves people's condition, from a state of discomfort to one of well-being. For the employee, the dream is a career, making sacrifices in the short term to grow in the long term. And the dream has to be sold to investors too: in Italy, that means the banks. To the bank I'll have to present a serious business plan, based on the numbers and on potential growth, demonstrating my ability and selling a dream in which tomorrow I could be the new Cucinelli, so as to pay back the money it lent me.

Marchionne's model

This is how Sergio Marchionne communicated when he was at FCA. Brand, vision and mission at the centre; then came customers, employees, and change that looked to the market. In cascade, the people inside perceived the value of the brand, the company's vision and Marchionne's own mission. The market, in turn, rewarded that effort.

We too, on our small scale, must be able to do this work: communicate the company's change, from before to after, to the market, so that both customers and internal staff perceive it. A company that can't explain where it's going finds neither the customers nor the people to get there.

From my book Direct from Milano and my classroom courses. Figures and examples updated to September 2026.