The HR footprint: meeting with Ruggero Rabaglia (Barilla)
Every second Tuesday of the month, the Performant by SCOA team gathers for a company brunch, a moment for discussion, team building, and sharing, often featuring a guest speaker.
In September, we invited Ruggero Rabaglia, HR Director for Barilla in Italy, for an insightful conversation. Below is a summary of the key points and the many questions raised by our team.
What kind of leader does a company like Barilla seek? How does leadership evolve within such a large organization? And how does an iconic company, known worldwide, approach employee care, from corporate welfare to equality?
These were just some of the themes addressed during the meeting with Ruggero Rabaglia, who has been with Barilla’s HR team since 2000 and has served as HR Director for Italy since 2017. Being from Parma, like the company he represents, Ruggero described how Barilla has always invested in initiatives to enhance employee productivity and well-being. Over the course of a long conversation, organized by topic, Ruggero shared several programs Barilla’s HR department has implemented and their impact on the company.
Global Parental Leave: A Major Step Forward
“In 2023, we introduced a global parental leave program, encompassing over 8,500 employees across Barilla’s worldwide operations. Whether for maternity or paternity leave, all employees can take 12 weeks of fully paid leave, regardless of local laws. This applies to both parents, even if they both work for Barilla. For example, in the United States, parental leave may be as short as a few weeks.
In Italy, mothers are entitled to five months of mandatory leave, covered at 80% by INPS. We already offered 100% pay during this period, but for fathers, there was no provision—except in cases of adoption. Now, we’ve extended the 12 weeks of fully paid leave to both parents, regardless of circumstances.”
“This initiative saw high uptake, mainly because of the 100% pay, which made it more accessible. Some might think this is simply a way to boost the company’s reputation without much cost—it’s certainly more effective than an ad campaign. But at Barilla, a company committed to social responsibility, we see parenthood as a growth opportunity for people.
This thinking aligns with the leadership style we want to promote, breaking away from old paradigms where leaders are always on the clock and can’t be involved in family matters. In the kind of leadership we’re aiming for, empathy is essential. Without empathy, it’s hard to be a good leader.”
Corporate Volunteering
“The second initiative we’ve introduced in recent years is corporate volunteering, in collaboration with Dynamo Camp. Initially, we had a small pre-COVID partnership that mostly involved product donations. Now, we’ve expanded this into a full partnership, where Barilla employees volunteer at Dynamo Camp and are compensated for 50% of their time spent volunteering.
In the first year, we had over 50 volunteers from our Italian office of about 900 employees. In the second year, that number doubled.
The feedback from volunteers has been overwhelmingly positive: despite the physical and emotional demands of volunteering at Dynamo Camp, people returned energized, saying they’d learned a lot and gained new perspectives.
This corporate volunteering initiative not only helped the children at Dynamo Camp but also strengthened our employees’ soft skills, particularly empathy and leadership through generosity—the ability to give to others, which I see as fundamental in both an organization and a good leader.”
How has this impacted Barilla’s leadership?
“All these programs reinforce the company’s values and promote a leadership style that’s effective, responsible, and generous, in line with Barilla’s ethical traditions.
A leader’s behavior has a direct impact on team performance, and in this context, empathy becomes crucial for healthy and effective leadership. A good leader listens to their people, helps them grow, and supports continuous improvement, ensuring each individual’s contribution is valued and aligns with the company’s purpose—ultimately improving the well-being of the communities where Barilla operates.”
