iTALent - The Pfizer Italy project

By the editorial staff

No one knows where a talent might be hiding until ‘talent meets opportunity’, as Seneca would put it. And Pfizer knows this well. The multinational biop harmaceutical company has for years been committed to its journey of valuing differences by promoting an inclusive environment, where the almost 90,000 employees, who come from over 100 countries, have the opportunity to work in different geographical and cultural contexts, continuously exchange experiences and thoughts with colleagues who work in all different capacities and all over the world, and have international career opportunities, including in Italy.

‘This not only allows us to attract the brightest talents, but ensures that everyone can work in a harmonious and multicultural environment, where diversity and inclusion are an integral part of corporate and individual life,’ says Roberto Tocci, Sr. Director HR Italy & Biopharma Cluster, IDM. ‘Our values represent who we are with regard to colleagues, but also to patients and all our stakeholders; how can we interact with a highly diverse external world if we are not diverse internally?’
Diversity brings with it a rich range of ideas and vision and, therefore, innovation. For this reason, Pfizer Italy has decided to focus on talent development, including the different aspirations and talents of each colleague. Hence the iTALent - Growing Enterprise Leaders of Italy project, an initiative aimed at creating a structured process to develop the Enterprise Leaders of the future, a cultural change that will enable the growth of Italian talents and enhance their visibility at Pfizer.

Enterprise Leaders have a holistic view of the organisation and encourage the achievement of collective results by working on behalf of the whole organisation, rather than focusing exclusively on the objectives of their own business area, function or team. Metaphorically, an Enterprise Leader is also able to use their peripheral (lateral) vision in addition to frontal (siloed) vision, having to reconcile the interests of their team in achieving their goals with a sense of responsibility for the success of the entire business.
The iTALent project is based on 3 important pillars for people development:

1. Recruitment,
2. Assessment and
3. Growth.

‘With iTALent, Italy will be one of the first countries to “test” the initiative as early as 2021,’ explains Roberto Tocci. ‘It is a project that intends to transform process and mindset. On the one hand, it analyses current processes and, by leveraging the varied experiences and knowledge of colleagues in the working groups, proposes actions to improve these; on the other hand, it wants to promote a cultural change regarding the professional growth and development of people, dedicating time and attention to everyone. In fact, depending on the activities that each workstream will develop, colleagues from distinct functions and at different hierarchical levels will be involved. We will soon launch a communication campaign to make colleagues aware of the need to rethink their own growth and development in diverse ways (horizontal, diagonal, vertical), encouraging everyone to look for opportunities to enhance their experiences outside of their comfort zone.’

One important innovation in development plans is zig-zag development, a non-linear experience of growth that allows people to be more flexible, curious, highly agile and inclusive of diversity. Not only does this help you to improve and enhance your skills, but it also makes your typical career path more flexible and therefore better suited to your individual needs, opening the door to the Next Generation of leaders who will have an ever-expanding “toolbox” and the ability to choose from 4 possible career paths:

• Be the Best! - Be the best in this professional role. This means increasing your capabilities in terms of performance, leadership and awareness by staying in your role, expanding your knowledge in specifc areas related to your area, acquiring new experiences that will serve to become the best and to gain the most experience in the role.
• Next experience - Horizontal Growth. Acquire new knowledge and experience aligned with your function or area of expertise to develop a broader perspective.
• Cross-Functional - Diagonal growth. Taking on roles in different areas outside of your initial function or area of expertise can be a wonderful way to increase key experiences and gain a broader, more holistic perspective of the business.
• Next Level - Vertical Growth. Grow within the organisation by moving into a position of greater responsibility, leadership and level of challenge.

We are convinced that these investments in human capital, this ongoing, consistent attention will bring great benefits to the individual and to the organisation as a whole, which grows and changes with us, in a consistent search for excellence and innovation.