Ida's Blog

The WAC experience

Hi!

Now we are almost finished with our Alcan programme. It's been an interesting experience which I will sum up now.

Laura's job as a Human Resources manager.

Laura Ferrari has been my coach over the last couple of months. She's a really nice person who was more than willing to teach me more about the work as a HR and work at Alcan. I spent one and a half day with Laura at the Alcan plant in Lainate, close to Milan. In that period I took part in the daily working day of a HR.

Before attending the WAC programme, I did not have too much knowledge of the work of a HR. Learning more about the job was the main reason I chose Human Relations.

I have discovered that there are pleasant as well as some un pleasant aspects of the job. The human resource manager is in charge of selecting new candidates as well as further trainging of existing employees. It's very interesting to be able to offer the employees possibilities for further learning.

I also got to experience a difficult part of the job; having to let employees go. In Milan, Alcan was closing down a plant which was not productive enough, this meant that Laura, togeter with the management had to find solutions for the workers of the other plant. That was not a task I envied her, but of course it is something that has to be done.

In my opinion HR is an interesting area of business, even though it might not be my choice of work. For those who are interested in HR, I suggest that you get a good picture of what you want to do, and what this position offers. For sure, you will never be bored as a HR!

My personal assessment

The WAC programme has been an interesting experience for me. I have been able to see how theory is put into practice in a new and unknown area. I have learnt alot about various aspects of business, and I have had the chance to get to know other students from all over Europe.

I don't think HR is the area in which I will work in the future, but for sure this experience has shown me what HR managers do, which will surely be positive in the future.

Due to a lot of schoolwork in this last semester of university, I have not had the possibility to write wery detailed reports, but I have for sure had a nice experience with WAC.

Best regards Ida :)

Third topic: Innovation

Hi everyone!

Here's my contribution to the 3rd topic: Innovation.

My coach Laura has been on holiday, so we didn't have time to discuss the topic of innovation untill now.

Here's what she said about innovation in the HR at Alcan in Milan:

This is a really difficult topic as the innovations concerning human relations are not very concrete. Actually the innovations, also when they don't involve the research of a new product, can be in various ways: how you decide to do a selection, what type of structure to use and how to put it to use, which development politics to adopt and how to spread the information etc.

It all represents an innovation! Often the changes in the human resources department are not very "tangiable" and therefore they bring innovations and therefore changes in what is called the company climate or the company culture. These attributes characterize the companies and very often makes them more credible , and they are thereby attractive to the employees.

Second topic..

When I met my coach Laura for our second appointment last Tuesday, we discussed the second topic; International.

Here's her answer:

Actually my role is dedicated to an Italian plant, and therefore there are not that many international aspects. I am however, taking part in work at an international level considering the application of human resources policies, like the annual questionnaire from alcan which includes questions for all the workers considering the work satisfaction, security at work , continuous improvement etc..

Another international aspect refers to the code of conduct which is distributed to all the workers in the whole world, and discusses Alcans fundamental values and how tho act in order to always make the "right choice".

Every country is a part of a cluster (for Italy, the southern Europe includes Spain, Portugal and Marocco) and therefore my reference HR cluster asks me to inform him frequently considering various topics in order ti help him to create a HR policy which is coherent and shared.

In addition to this, the central directors in Paris include me in programmes like the "WE ALL CAN" programme!

As you see even a HR manager has some international aspects to their work, although their energy is mostly directed towards each single plant and its workers!

Ciao! Ida

First topic..by Ida

Hi everyone!

Well now I'm back.. I've been having a very stressful period with exams, and that's why I could only answer my first topic now..

For those who don't know, we will discuss various topics about Alcan in our blogs, and this is my first contribution.

The question is as following:

1. Clients / Suppliers

In the business chain, you can easily identify a company's clients and suppliers, but what about its employees'?

2.    Each of them also has clients and suppliers ?and we are not only talking about sellers and buyers!

Here's what my coach Laura answered. I apologize for any small mistakes, but it is translated from Italian(which is my 4th language..)

1.

The workers surely have different profiles from company to company.

There are many things that influence the type of work, such as the percentage of workers, the work areas of the company, the company “climate” etc.

Considering Alcan Packaging Italia srl- Lainate, it’s important to specify that we’re talking about a factory in which flexible packaging for the commercial sector is produced. We’re dealing with a company that has existed for 25 years and which has later been bought by the multinational company Alcan.

65% of the people working there are factory workers and many are specialized in working with complex machines where there is not mass production.

In order to be a machine chief of printing, at least four years experience is required, a machine chief of assembly about 2-3 years and a cutter at lest one to two years.

There are also less specialized people like stock workers etc

In the area of administration there are people with all kinds of backgrounds doing work like administration, human resources, commercial work, graphic offices, purchasing R&D and quality.

2.

That’s right! We all have internal clients and suppliers.

The Human Resources department, which is an area, which crosses the whole organization, maintains in contact with all the company departments.

The Human Resources are principally serving as help for the directors. Therefore I would say that the clients and suppliers could be all the functions in the company.

The Human Resources department is usually related to the management. (In the case of Laura, this is the plant manager.) This is especially important for organizational issues such as selection, formation, development, industrial relations, coordination with the office that deals with payment etc.

However, the “service” can deal with various types of tasks (sometimes it even has a “confessional” role) and even in some cases, working as a coach trying to support the worker in personal and professional matters.

I hope you got a litte bit wiser! Greetings from Ida

Some pictures from the "italian group" in Paris

I'm back again!

I just thought it might be nice to post some pictures from our days in Paris...

I think I've already said it but I will surely say it again Je aime Paris! (sorrry for any spelling mistakes;) hihi )

-Hope it's ok for you that I post these pics, Valentina, Fabrizio and Davide!

Big hugs from me!

My Alcan day 1st part..

Hi everyone!

Actually the first part of my Alcan day was the Monday after we got back from Paris.. I guess I was one of the first ones..

I had an appointment at Alcan Packaging, which is situated in Lainate, in the suburbs of Milan. I don't know why, but somehow I thought it was closer to the City (probably thought it was Linate..) Luckily I had a fried who knew how to get there, so it was no problem!

-The problem though was that I had to take the taxi to the Alcan offices. And- being a foreigner in Italy, I think the taxi driver really took an advantage of me!! The taxi ride was supposed to take about 10 minutes, but i ended up having to pay 22 euro!! It's not always easy to be a foreigner when you don't know the place that well! In Milan however, I know exactly the shortest ways, and I always give the taxi drivers a hard time if they try to fool me!

I met my coach Laura Ferrari an we first had a coffee and got to know each other better. It was really easy to talk to Laura, and she was always there to answer any questions i might have.

Laura works in the Human Resources department of Alcan Packaging in Milan, and shares the office with another woman. To begin with, we went  over the things we had to do that day.

The most important task for the Human Resource managers in this period is a very delicate case. As a production plant was not making profits, and the wages of the workers were too high compared to other production plans, the management had decided to close down the ineffective plant. However they would also offer some of the workers a job at Alcan in Lainate.

The task that Laura and I had to do was to develop a wage offer to those that would be offered a new job. We had to calculate their new wage level, comparing them to existing workers at Lainate and according to various rules. We had a book that guided us through the process, telling what amount should be added for a certain work period within Alcan, for skill level etc.

I found this aspect of the job very interesting. It was really nice to be able to take part in a task that is so important for the Alcan branch in Milan at this moment.

At ten o clock we had a meeting with a representative for a company teaching informatics. Laura had prepared a list of workers who needed informatics courses, and we had a meeting to plan the process and to discuss the cost. (As Laura told me, it is always important to cut costs as much as possible!)

After the meeting we had made an agreement for two various informatics courses, one for new beginners and one a bit more advanced. We were also considering to give a one on one course to an employee who already knew a lot about computers, so that he could serve as a sort of reference to other employees, should they have any problems with the computer. The price, we still had to wait for.. (I'll give you the answer in part two!)

We had lunch in the company's canteen. I think it was a great place as everyone, both the people working in the offices, as well as those working at the plant had the possibility to eat together. I think it is a good way to mix all the employees, ad make all feel as part of the Alcan team.

There I also got the possibility to get to know some of the other employees, among others one who told me that he had been in Norway several times to negotiate with a customer. When I asked him what he thought about Norwegian people, he had to base his judgment upon his work contacts, and he answered:very precise! -Never happy until it's perfect! -Well I guess there's some truth in that, but hopefully mostly on a professional level! ;)

The rest of the day we spent preparing the offers to those from the other plant, as Laura had to go to a meeting, presenting the offers the next day. I don't envy her exactly that part of the job as most of the workers would earn less at Lainate than what they did at their former plant.

I will go back to Lainate on Tuesday the 22nd, and I will give you an update on the development after that date!

I have to say that I had a great time working with Laura, and I a m happy to be able to say that I now I have gained a lot of knowledge about the work of a Human Resource manager!

If you have any greetings or comment, please don't hesitate to contact me!

Greetings from Ida!

A warm welcome to all!

Hi everyone!!

You are all very welcome to my first blog ever.. "Ida's Blog" Oh.. I'm so excited!!

-I hope you'll enjoy it, and of course I hope that you will let me know if you have any questions or comments!

Hopefully my blog will be a help to  fellow students who want to get to know more about ALCAN, and the job as a Human Resource manager. -I definitely know how difficult it is to decide what to do in the future..

You will also get to know more about me, and of course my coach Laura!

Feeling a bit like Bambi on ice.. but here we go..

Ciao ciao! Ida

About me

Hi everyone!

About me..

Well.. This is me.. My name is Ida and I come from a town called Ski in Norway. (Yes.. it means "to ski", but unfortunately we don't have that much snow at the moment..)

I'm 22 years old and I'm currently in my last semester of a bachelors degree in Business Administration at Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi in Milan, Italy.

I have to say that I love Italy. It's a great place to be a foreigner! People really treat you as if you're a part of the family, and they make you feel welcome immediately! -I recommend living in Italy to everyone!

Norway..

Now, however, after almost three years abroad I'm starting to miss Norway a bit, mostly my family and friends, but also the way of life. Milan is a wonderful city for young people, with great clubs and discos, but after living abroad I've also discovered that Norway has a lot to offer as well!

As you see from these pictures Noway is a beautiful place. In my opinion it's almost a bit mystic, with the midnight sun during summer, the wonderful northern light and a lovely nature. (If you think I'm just bragging about it, come and see for yourself!)

If anyone is interesting in tips about traveling in Milan or Norway,just ask! -As I've experienced it's always an advantage to ask someone who knows a bit about the place!

   

Here's a small picture from my home in Norway.. People in Italy always think I'm joking when I say that most of our houses are med of wood.. But as you see it's very true..

My hobbies...

I absolutely love to travel and to meet new people! Studying abroad has definitely been a awesome experience for me! Last semester I was on exchange in Germany, at the University of Cologne. It was a great period, (everyone who has ever been on exchange knows that!) and I was able to improve my German, which had completely disappeared after learning Italian. (Even my teacher made fun of my strange mix of German and Italian, and the occasional Norwegian words at the beginning..)

I have traveled a lot both in Europe and Australia, and I have to say, not just to please all you french people: Paris is the most beautiful pace I've ever been to!    

I really love sports, and I played handball actively from the age of 6 to 18. Now I have to admit it's more the occasional trip to the gym..  But I just bought a new pair of skis, so I'm hoping for a couple of skiing trips when I'm going to the mountains for easter!

Living in Italy..                                                             

This is a picture of me and some of my friends from Italy.. (Try to spot the Norwegian..) As I mentioned earlier, Italy is a great place to live as a student. It's easy to get to know new people, and there's always something to do. I'm truly grateful to all my friends in Italy who always made me feel happy in Milan. Coming to a new place all by your self is never easy, but I couldn't have been luckier, and I hardly have any negative memories from the past three years!

Alcan...

Lastly, maybe you would like to know how I heard about this student programme of ALCAN.. While I was on exchange in Germany, we received a notice about a competition organized by alcan, I filled it out, but as I tend to be very clumsy I wrote the wrong e-mail! - I then told my danish friend Kristian to give it a try. -I even gave him the right answers, and imagine; he won the Ipod!

-Then we received information about the quiz, and after filling out the quiz, attending an interview and after an orientation meeting in Pris, here I am!

So I guess that's it for now!

I hope you've got to know a bit more about me!, Hope to hear from you soon!

Greetings from Ida

About my coach

Check out the coach until the 30th of March 2005

My Alcan Day

Please follow that link to check out the story of my Alcan Day.