Interview with Rachel Crowley, Vice President Human Resources US at Campari

“The success of HR work is not measured by complex KPIs but by level of employee engagement resulting in retention”

In nearly all companies, people issues are currently leading to boardroom discussions. But are companies already acting and investing as they should? What are the biggest challenges here? And do HR structures need to be re-developed to meet today’s and tomorrow’s requirements? Rachel Crowley, Vice President Human Resources US at Campari, explains her perspective on these and other questions in our interview.

Based on our “CxO Priorities Study”, People/HR is ranked as the no. 1 management priority – but do you think most companies already act and invest as they should?

CROWLEY I think a shift happened during/post Covid when employees started to put a greater focus on life instead of work. Wellness and mindfulness became more focused. This transition is still happening. 

HR will always be needed but today it has a different role to play. Depending on the industry, this role can change. People development is not so much focused on upward movement but tailored to individual interests and is taking into consideration an employee’s well-being, satisfaction, and companies need more empathy. 

Engagement of people is a priority for companies. It is about the employee experience, shaping the moments that matter. Retaining staff is more important now – the approach has shifted to include a lot more listening. 

What are innovative or promising approaches to solve people-related challenges strategically and holistically?

CROWLEY While companies are focused on engagement overall, the HR function is looking at back to basics. For us, training agendas focused on increasing manager capabilities to have meaningful discussions with their employees are important. Topics include, for example, how to have meaningful feedback sessions, open compensation dialogues and honest career discussions focusing on what the individual employee wants or needs. 

We also provide training targeted to our manufacturing community and, in particular, our front-line supervisors. Besides this, opportunities for coaching at all levels are important to us – there are great companies out there which are making it more affordable to companies to offer coaching to all. Mentoring is still existing as well. We also focus on onboarding, bringing new employees (and catch-ups from Covid) into our headquarters and our manufacturing sites to learn who we are.