COPY LINK

For members

BUSINESS

Doing business in Italy: The essential etiquette you need to know

Whether you’re working in Italy as an employee, operating as a self-employed freelancer or thinking about starting a company, there are business norms to observe if you want to thrive and build connections. We break down the dos and don’ts of conducting business in Italy.

Published: 1 April 2021 18:18 CEST

Doing business in Italy: The essential etiquette you need to know

Do you know how Italy does business? Photo by Edmond Dantès/Pexels

Succeeding at work takes more than being good at what you do. It also takes an awareness of the culture you work in and an appreciation of the customs of that country. Diving into doing business in Italy with the mindset of your home country – or where you have worked before – isn’t likely to get you far.

“It’s important to build trust. That’s far more important than having the best solutions and ideas. Of course, good ideas and business acumen are important, but in Italy, it comes down to one question: can I trust you?” says Nicolò Bolla, an Italian tax and finance expert who works with English-speaking professionals.

Here’s his expert advice on everything from how to dress to what to chat about over a business lunch.

The Italian business mentality

Developing a rapport is the foundation to succeeding in business in Italy. It’s expected that you’ll be able to make good business decisions and be full of initiative, but the sales pitch isn’t enough, Bolla says.

Perhaps your products or services are excellent, but he advises that building business relationships in Italy is much more about the person.

It sounds obvious that your colleagues, present and potential, should like you if they want to do business with you. But in Italy, this surpasses everything, including money, according to Bolla. Instead, courtesy is the priority and whether they work with you depends on whether you’re someone they want to interact with on a personal level too.

“Be prepared for invitations to aperitivo or a dinner. This is when they’re checking to see how you would fit with them, in a relaxed context. They’re working out whether they can trust you and if you refuse these invitations, it can be seen as an insult,” he says.

It’s also worth knowing that these business meetings over food or a spritz can drag on for hours. So don’t expect to schedule in other meetings and to rush through lots of potential clients. Put the work in and give them your time, and you just might start building that professional relationship that gives you an ‘in’ to their company, he advises.

Small talk might include the topic of family and if you like football, that’s usually an animated talking point and a way to connect. Bolla advises discussing where you’re from and where you’ve been in Italy. In that way, chatting naturally follows and gives the opportunity for shared experiences over places you’ve both been to.

It’s worth bearing in mind that many firms in Italy are family-run: even if a company has 300 employees, there is a family behind it and consequently there is less formality than with the big corporations, Bolla points out.

As different cultures meet, it might be tempting to contrast Italian habits with how business is done where you’re from. It might be surprising or frustrating to keep patient through a slower business process in Italy. But don’t be tempted to compare too much.

“If you offer a solution, saying ‘that’s how it’s done in Germany’, for example, which is much better than how it’s done in Italy, you’re more likely to crush any budding bond than to be constructive,” warns Bolla.

You can certainly offer up ideas and draw on your experience, but any pejorative comparisons are best avoided.

Italian punctuality – is that an oxymoron?

The slow dinners might give you the impression that Italians are more lax than other countries when it comes to being on time. However, Bolla recommends that you are punctual for all meetings and business dealings, but that you do need to be flexible. The notorious Italian bureaucracy – and how long-winded it can be – spills over into business sectors too.

“Be prepared for delays, to wait and for deadlines to change. This is a good lesson in not letting work stress you out and learning to keep calm,” he says.

The pandemic has also created a shift in business, meaning flexibility is more valued and required than ever, he added.

Observe Italian dress codes

Appearances are a big part of Italian culture. To make a good impression, you do need to dress smartly as you would in many other countries, but it’s not necessary to turn up dripping in Dolce & Gabbana.

“Dress formally for certain sectors, such as in finance, for instance. You’ll need to suit up and darker colours are more acceptable in these areas of business. But in other sectors, such as IT, digital and media, you don’t need to wear a shirt and tie. Formal casual is acceptable in these cases,” says Bolla.

Greetings etiquette and the Italian language you need to know

Although it’s accepted that you should learn Italian if you live in Italy, not having a high command of the language isn’t actually a barrier to business, according to career expert Bolla.

“Italians love it when you try to speak their language, even if you only say some basic phrases. It’s true that some companies won’t have any English language skills and in those cases, you’d need to get your Italian up to scratch,” he says.

However, some of his clients don’t speak a word of Italian. “A lot of the English-speaking professionals living in Italy don’t speak Italian as they have found English-speaking customers. Some are in Italy – pasta manufacturing firm Barilla, for instance, has an English-speaking office.

“Or they work with companies overseas and so for many professionals, English is the language mainly needed, not Italian,” he says.

When you’re introduced to new colleagues, the most accepted gesture is a handshake, or at least it was in pre-pandemic Italy. Now a bump on the elbow is acceptable, even a nod of the head – but never give a wave, he advises.

If you are addressing a senior person or executive, use their proper title, either Signore (Mr) or Signora (Mrs or Ms) with their surname. That is unless they say, “Just call me Giò,” giving you permission to use their first name.

Hand gestures are a tricky area when it comes to business. Italians are known for their hand waving and it goes beyond gesticulating, sometimes carrying a specific meaning. It can be confusing if you aren’t aware that waving your hand in front of your forehead signifies ‘crazy’ or that placing your index finger and thumb together while you draw an invisible line horizontally means ‘perfect’.

If in doubt, don’t do it, advises Bolla. “Don’t mimic them or look like you’re conducting an orchestra while you speak if it doesn’t come naturally to you,” he says.

Face time is king

Italy’s business is still mainly conducted face-to-face. Contacting someone online either via email or social media is much more likely to fall flat.

“Talking to someone in real life is more successful than doing business online in Italy. There is a much more social and ethical base to business done here and so it’s hard to achieve that digitally,” says Bolla.

That means you need to dress the part and get out there in the real world, putting yourself in front of the right people and introducing yourself. The same can be said for job hunting, where walking around with hard copies of your CV and having a chat is a more probable route to finding employment than if you spent hours crafting an excellently written email.

Of course, there are always exceptions and some sectors are more responsive to the digital approach, especially media firms in the bigger cities.

It’s not all about the money

This can be a taboo subject and is always left to the last item on the agenda, according to Bolla. The focus is on everything else, the relationship and the plans, with money almost the footnote, like “by the way, this is what you’ll get”.

This can be a vastly different experience for foreign nationals living in Italy compared to how business is done in their home country.

“Especially if the money discussed is a large sum, it’s better to leave the issue until last. They want to get to know you first rather than stating the price up front,” Bolla says.

It doesn’t mean you can’t negotiate, however. When the time is right, you can drive a bargain and if you’re an employee, it’s not unheard of to say what another employer is offering you in order to get a raise. It can even sometimes be the only way to boost your paycheck, he adds.

Above all, Bolla advises to be modest as, despite what you might think in the home of Lamborghini and Ferrari, a flashy attitude won’t get you far in Italy.

The bureaucracy of business

If you’re not already living in Italy but are considering moving for work, there is plenty to consider. Will you work for a company or go self-employed, or even open a company? How much tax and social security contributions will you have to pay and what does that mean for your take-home income?

Where will you live, and if you want to work remotely, does the area have decent internet connection? It’s all very well planning to earn a living from your laptop while some of the world’s most outstanding beauty is on your doorstep, but if there’s slow wifi, that puts paid to any employer relying on you for meeting deadlines.

“It’s important to put a plan together and make a strategy if you’re considering moving to Italy for work. The paperwork can be lengthy and complex,” says Bolla.

Before you make any plans, you’ll need to check which visa is right for you so that you can legally live and work in Italy.

For more living in Italy information, check The Local’s guides here.

Member comments

Become a Member to leave a comment.

Ice to AC: Nine of the most common American misconceptions about Italy

It’s no secret that Americans love to visit Italy; the Washington Post predicted in December that the country would be Americans’ top foreign tourist destination for 2023, and the volume of US visitors who’ve arrived in Italy since then appears to have borne this out.

But while many Americans have a deep knowledge of – and love for – Italian culture, there are some surprisingly enduring myths about Italy that can be found in the USA specifically.

Some come close to the truth, while others fall wide of the mark.

There is no ice in Europe/Italian restaurants charge for ice

Fiction – Americans love ice, beverages are routinely served with it and refrigerators in the US often have some type of ice dispenser attached to the door.

But in Italy, ice is simply less prioritised. While ice in your drink will usually not cost you extra, you might need to specifically request it. Soft drinks in Italy are usually served without ice, so if you want your beverage iced, you need to request the drink con ghiaccio – with ice.

A classic Italian spritz should always come with ice. Photo by Tomasz Rynkiewicz on Unsplash

Italian homes don’t have dryers

Fact (mostly) – Tumble dryers do exist in Italy, but they’re rare. A survey published by Italy’s national statistics office (Istat) in 2014 found that just 3.3 percent of Italian households had one, whereas 96.2 percent had a washing machine and 39.3 percent a dishwasher.

Those washing lines strung with laundry hanging above the heads of passers by aren’t there just to create a quaint backdrop for photos – people make wide use of the abundant sun to air dry their clothes and sheets.

That does not mean that Italians in cities don’t occasionally use clothes dryers though if they’re in a rush; some might take items to a nearby laundromat.

McDonald’s is healthier in Italy

Fact (sort of) – McDonald’s uses different ingredients based on the country, and the Big Mac in Italy is (slightly) healthier than the one sold in the United States. It is slightly less calorific, with 509 kCal in contrast to the American Big Mac’s 540 kCal per 100g.

The Italian Big Mac also has less salt and fat, but it does not compare to the world’s healthiest Big Mac (found in Israel).

McDonald’s in Italy also uses EU-sourced ingredients, and the EU restricts the usage of additives and growth hormones. For example Azodicarbonamide which is used to bleach flour, is banned in the EU, but not in the United States, where McDonald’s was still using it as of 2016.

It is true, however, that you can buy beer in McDonald’s in Italy.

McDonald’s burgers are marginally healthy in Italy compared to the US. Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

Italians drive small cars

Fiction (increasingly) – Think of Italian cars, and you might picture a classic Fiat 500 puttering around picturesque cobbled streets – but that’s all changing.

2021 was a historic year for the Italian automotive industry: the sale of SUVs surpassed those of medium-sized sedans for the first time, claiming 48 percent of the market share compared to the sedan’s 45 percent.

That may not match the US, where SUVs and pick-up trucks currently account for around 73 percent of vehicles sold, but it’s a huge increase from 2012, when SUVs made up just 17 percent of vehicle sales in Italy.

There are no free public toilets

Fact (mostly) – You will occasionally find an Italian town or city that offers some free public toilets. For the most part though, you’ll have to pay, including in train stations – and even paid public toilets are few and fair between.

Instead, you’re better off heading to one of the many caffe-bars found all over the country and paying for a euro for a bottle of water or a coffee so you can use their facilities – if you ask nicely, you might even be allowed to go for free.

Metro stations, supermarkets and grocery stores tend to not have any toilets at all, and neither will most clothing stores. One place you will find plenty of free public bathrooms, though, is a motorway service station.

Something that strikes many visitors to Italy as odd is the lack of seats on public toilets. Exactly why this is the case is debated, but there’s a general consensus that the phenomenon has rapidly accelerated in the past couple of decades.

A street sign at an antiques fair in Turin. Free toilets in Italy are few and far between. Photo by rashid khreiss on Unsplash

Italy doesn’t have air conditioning

Fact (sort of) – There’s not no air conditioning in Italy – in fact data from Italy’s national statistics office showed that one in two Italian households had AC in 2021.

It’s far less popular than in the US, though, where 90 percent of households have air conditioning. There’s still not much of a culture of AC in Italy, where many believe it will give you a colpo d’aria leading to at best a sore neck and at worst pneumonia – so even households that have a unit tend to use it sparingly.

If your hotel or Airbnb doesn’t specifically mention AC, you can assume it doesn’t have it.

Coca-Cola tastes different in Italy

Fact – While Coke is available almost everywhere in the world, the actual ingredients in Coca-Cola are different in some countries, which could lead some Coke connoisseurs to notice a difference in taste between the products in the US and those in the EU.

The biggest difference is the regular Coke – in the US this uses high fructose corn syrup while in Europe cane sugar is used to sweeten the product, resulting in a significant difference in taste.

You’re much more likely in Italy to come across Coca Zero, the zero-sugar version of Coca-Cola, than Coca-Coca Light, the European version of Diet Coke, which has always been hard to find and which some online sources say Italy stopped distributing altogether in 2022.

Coke in the US: different to its European counterparts. Photo by Cody Engel on Unsplash

You don’t need to tip

Fact – It’s not necessary to tip after a restaurant meal in Italy. However, this is a matter of personal choice and you are free to do so (tipping certainly won’t cause upset).

Diners do often leave some change after a particularly enjoyable meal. In terms of how much to give, some people round up a bill to include a tip, while others give what spare change they have.

Some people may also opt to tip other professionals as well, such as taxi drivers and cleaners, but again – this is optional and typically not a large quantity. In some apartment buildings, residents may give a Christmas card with money inside to the portiere (doorman) as a kind of annual tip.

All cars are stick shift

Mostly fact – In the United States, stick shift vehicles are becoming a thing of the past, but in Italy they are still very much being bought and driven.

As of 2018, around 20 percent of new cars sold in Italy were automatic – which is much higher than the less-than-one percent sold in the 1980s, but still a lot less than the US’s figure of 96 percent.

That said, around 70 percent of SUVs sold in Italy use automatic transition, so with the popularity of these larger vehicles on the rise, you can expect to see more automatics on Italian roads in the future.

What do you think? Have you noticed any other common beliefs or misconceptions about Italy in the US, or elsewhere? We’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.

SHOW COMMENTS

Url copied to clipboard!