Author: Borja Igual

During the conference “The management of human resources in the time of Covid-19“, Denia Martínez and Vanesa Martínez, vice-president and CEO respectively of the Carinsa Group, explained how their group of companies has experienced the situation. Carinsa is an industrial group with a track record of over 25 years devoted to the development, manufacture and marketing of fragrances and flavours.

For Carinsa, protecting workers’ health has been the key element during the pandemic. They also explained that, as a family business, they are strongly committed to their employees and this means that they pay particular attention to human capital as a vital element for continuing growth and generating employment and value.

The conference was organised by ASCEF in collaboration with Ernst & Young (EY). It boasted the participation of Joan Tubau and Josep Martí, partners in the consultancy, as well as Luis Galí, partner in People Advisory Services.

Santiveri, pioneers in natural health since 1885 in healthy foods, dietetics, supplements and natural cosmetics, is a family business whose board is chaired by Jordi Torres. A member of the Catalan Association of Family Businesses (ASCEF), the company has collaborated with the #DamosLaCara (We show our resolve) platform, a citizens’ movement that aims to enhance the engagement of family businesses and underline their importance in safeguarding employment and reviving the economy.

Being a company that has existed for over 135 years, Santiveri “has had to adapt to a variety of situations in which it has found itself,” Mr Torres explains. “But all this would have been very difficult, if not impossible, without the fantastic support, effort and work of those who have been part of the team over the years.”

“We were in an unthinkable situation just a few weeks ago. Faced with a health and economic crisis of great magnitude”, he adds. “More than ever, we need financial and fiscal aid to keep growing and to create jobs and wealth. And of course, once again we are going to show our resolve. And once again we will come through.”

The #EstoNOtienequePARAR (This does NOT have to STOP) platform was created two months ago to draw attention to companies’ efforts in the face of the pandemic. Now this movement has evolved into #EActíVate, a “meeting point” for companies of all sizes, for their employees and their employers, and for the self-employed and professionals, with the aim of boosting creativity together.

Members of the Catalan Association of Family Businesses (ASCEF) are participating in this movement in the hope that their experiences will act to inspire and serve as an example to other employers.

#EActíVate is the movement to create jobs, activate companies of any size and number of employees, boost employers and enhance the business world.

This is its presentation video (in Spanish):

 

The Family Business Institute (IEF), an entity linked to the Catalan Association of Family Businesses (ASCEF), and the IESE Business School have prepared a discussion paper on the strategies for exiting the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The paper, which has already been sent to the Spanish Prime Minister and the country’s Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, sets out as benchmark indicators the maintenance of employment, the preservation of the productive fabric and the boosting of viable companies. It also considers that any solution proposed will inevitably involve companies and public-private collaboration.

Entitled “Boosting employment and relaunching the company: some reflections for action”, the paper is the result of a process of analysis in which the following have participated: Simón Pedro Barceló, Juan Corona, Marc Puig and Francisco Riberas for the IEF and Antonio Argandoña, Jordi Canals, Javier Díaz Giménez, Franz Heukamp, Nuria Mas, Pedro Nueno, Alfredo Pastor, Juan José Toribio, Pedro Videla and Xavier Vives for the IESE. Its conclusions are supported by data from a survey conducted among more than 550 companies from all over Spain, virtual meetings with 56 employers and senior company managers, and a wide-ranging vision of the specific problems of 16 important sectors of the Spanish economy.

Designing five core policies

The paper considers that to relaunch the Spanish economy it is necessary to design five core policies:

• Adaptation of jobs to the new reality: temporary lay-offs (ERTE) require a more functional framework to adapt to the needs of each sector and company, with faster, more flexible solutions.
• Boosting of training for employment, aimed at improving productivity and digitisation. In EU countries with greater experience in the temporary regulation of employment, training is vital to ensure future employability.
• Liquidity and financial structure of companies: a lack of liquidity can become a problem of solvency and engulf the company. New mechanisms must be found to assist companies that commit to maintaining employment over time.
• Fostering of the entrepreneurial spirit: direct injection of capital temporarily into entrepreneurship projects, linked to certain requirements. Spain cannot do without its entrepreneurial spirit.
• Fiscal policy: adapt the tax burden for companies and families and make it more flexible over time. Fight against fraud and improve management of public spending. Efficiency, transparency and accountability.

It also places emphasis on the fact that the fight against the pandemic must be relentless. There will be no economic recovery if companies cannot work safely. Public-private collaboration is also essential in this area. Companies have garnered a wealth of experience throughout this crisis and must be prepared in case of a flare-up.

Confidence, collaboration and international perspective

The authors also believe that there are three key concepts on which any relaunch strategy must be based:

• Confidence: a clear, solvent plan that is supported by all will enable citizens to regain lost confidence.
• Collaboration: It is essential for everyone – political parties, companies and social agents – to collaborate, as is already being done successfully in countries such as Germany, Sweden, France or Italy. Issues of general interest must prevail over any specific consideration. This is why the creation of a working group with representation at the highest level is proposed; in the business, economic and social spheres, in which members of the Government, employers and executives of leading companies, economic experts and social agents all participate. This group must draw up a rigorous diagnosis and design a project to relaunch the economy and business activity within a period of 5 or 6 weeks from its formation. Its work is intended to be a complement to that carried out by the Reconstruction Commission recently created in the Congress of Deputies, together with the permanent dialogue taking place in the framework of industrial relations between the Ministry of Work, trades unions and business associations.
• International perspective: Europe will design its recovery support plans and Spain cannot afford to be left out. Therefore, our country needs to attend the European negotiations with a solid plan, one that is supported by all.

La Farga is a family holding group which boasts over 210 years of history. It manufactures and sells semi-finished copper products and their alloys for the electrical, metal packaging, railway, tubes, automotive, billet and special conductor markets. In the face of the economic crisis resulting from Covid-19, the company has reacted by adapting to the requirements at any given time in order to guarantee service to all its customers and by adjusting the structure in order to do so at the lowest possible cost. “We have always prioritised the protection of the health of all our employees and implemented all necessary measures”, says Inka Guixà, La Farga’s general manager.

La Farga’s intention is to achieve the company’s sustainability in the short, medium and long terms. “Recovery will be slow. We work in different sectors; those that have been essential are the ones that have been best maintained, such as the copper wire that is used for the welding of tin cans, but for the sectors that rely on the distribution market, the impact has been much greater”, Ms Guixà asks.

For this family business, the current strategy is “to be very aware of the evolution of the markets and to react very fast as soon as demand revives“.

The Covid-19 pandemic has plunged our country into a deep economic crisis, whose direct effects on citizens and companies have only begun to manifest themselves.

In this context, the Family Business Institute (IEF) and the Territorial Associations of Family Business wish to express their rejection of the agreement announced yesterday by PSOE, Unidos Podemos and EH Bildu to repeal the labour reform.

Beyond the effect of the rectification by the Government itself, it is incomprehensible that an issue of such importance has been negotiated outside the appropriate political framework and, above all, behind the backs of social agents and companies. This is especially the case when, since the beginning of this crisis, we have all demonstrated our responsibility, commitment and ability to reach agreements that safeguard as many jobs as possible.

The repeal of the labour reform would have highly negative effects on employment and economic recovery. Moreover, it would be considered by EU institutions as a huge step backwards and would seriously jeopardise the essential support that our country needs from Europe at this time.

Any measure taken in the field of the relations governing the labour market must be the result of a broad political and social agreement and its focus must inevitably be on the long term. It cannot be allowed to be a bargaining chip that facilitates the voting of a one-off agreement in Congress.

Restaurant 7 Portes, a gastronomic benchmark of the city of Barcelona and recognised internationally, is a family business run by Francisco Solé Parellada that has been connected to his family for over 200 years. “Shutting because of the State of Alarm was one of the toughest moments of our lives,” he says. “I was born in the restaurant and it is has a big part in my life story.”

Now, with the restaurant ready to reopen, these past weeks have allowed him to reflect on “what we do and how we do it. And also how we will do it from now on”. This is a process in which the whole family and the restaurant team have taken part. Despite the difficulties, Mr Solé says that the process has been “very encouraging.”

The restaurant owner believes family businesses know how to adapt and survive. “That’s why we have already planned the opening according to how the situation develops,” he says.

The Planta Baixa programme on Catalan station TV3 has discussed the situation of family businesses in the region with regard to the current pandemic and has canvassed the opinion of ASCEF as the entity that represents them. Amadeu Jori, ASCEF’s President, highlighted the power of family businesses in the economy “because if family businesses fail, the wheels of the economy stop turning and the country falls apart.” Mr Jori also said that 2020 “will be a very tough year” as according to official data “86% of companies have seen their activity reduced during the pandemic and 42% of these have suffered falls of over 60%“.

Founded in 1998, the ASCEF comprises over 100 companies that represent the Catalan business community. These companies play an important role in the country’s economy as they are committed to wealth creation, employment, the region and sustainability. The COVID-19 crisis has only reinforced this commitment to employment, sustainability and the well-being of society.

The Catalan Association of Family Businesses (ASCEF) believes that, in the wake of COVID-19, family businesses in the industrial sector will be able to position themselves in more demanding markets where reliability and quality are valued higher than price. In an online meeting organised by the family business associations of Navarra (ADEFAN), the Basque Country (AEFAME) and Catalonia (ASCEF), employers agreed that these opportunities will appear “as long as the industry is prepared for this new scenario“.

In the view of the ASCEF President, Amadeu Jori, “in the past 30 years, the industrial sector in Spain has always been the ‘ugly duckling’ of the economy and its strategic value has not been taken into account, leading it to trail the service sector. The current crisis has highlighted how important it is for a country to have a competitive and modern industry.”

Javier Ormazabal, the President of Velatia, Javier Riera-Marsá, the CEO of Radar Process (the Coemba Group) and the President and CEO of Lizarte, Óscar Huarte, spoke at the meeting. This forms part of the “Family Business shares” cycle, which is jointly organised by 18 territorial associations from all over Spain and brings together 1,200 companies.

The employers agreed that foresight in ensuring company liquidity, commitment to internationalisation and the flexible application of temporary lay-offs (ERTE) were key factors in ensuring the continuity of the business idea. “We have to learn to move differently and grant our people a very high level of autonomy,” the President of Velatia said in this regard. Likewise, the issue of investments also arose during the debate. Here, the CEO of Radar Process regards as essential time periods and confidence, elements that will only be possible when a vaccine is available.

With regard to the possible state of global supply chains, the participants displayed optimism about the role that Spanish industry can play. “Many opportunities will emerge from this crisis and we must be ready,” Mr Riera-Marsá said. This idea was shared by Javier Ormazabal who believes there will be acceleration of the process that was already ongoing about whether the concentration of suppliers was adequate. “Spain has the opportunity to position its industry in some fields in which we have been working for years because reliability and quality will be valued more than cost,” he said.

Mr Riera-Marsá added that: “Spanish industry must be committed to restructuring in order not to have to depend so much on abroad for necessary products in a situation similar to the one we are enduring.”

Finally, asked about the active policies that the Spanish Administration should pursue to assist companies in their reactivation process, Mr Huarte called for aid for investment, for the new business alliances that may arise, or for the maintaining or increasing of employment. In this regard, “the Administration should consider us as key allies whose purpose is to create value,” he stated in reference to the long-term vision, the commitment to employees and the solvency that has always been displayed and characterised by family businesses.

Manuel Bermejo, a renowned expert in family business and the founder of The Family Advisory Board (TFAB), last week presented the results of a survey of over one hundred family businesses in an online meeting organised by ASCEF with the employers of the associations of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Asturias and Navarra. The survey found that 81% are confident of being able to create new opportunities, while 54% said that they had modified their long-term policies in the face of the economic crisis caused by Covid-19.

In addition, 44% of respondents said they are aware of the need to redefine their crisis scenarios, while 38% believe that they should better analyse their map of possible future risks.

With regard to the return to normality, 46% believe that this will take between two and three months, while 29% think that it will take at least six months.

In this context, Mr Bermejo recommends that employers should begin to identify the action that may enable them to emerge stronger from the current crisis. He also encourages them to rethink their corporate strategy for this new normal, evolving their business model and preparing a scenario for the end of 2020.

In Mr Bermejo’s view, family employers should also improve the corporate governance of their companies and strengthen family councils to ensure cohesion when taking difficult decisions, taking care to involve the various generations.

Given the present situation, the founder of TFAB highlights the importance of empowering and caring for the human teams of companies by applying hygienic and health measures, undertaking health policies among workers and empathising with the situation.

In Mr Bermejo’s view, “it is a time for people, values and committed organisations”.