Training is more important than salary

Fostering employee growth through the exercise of their responsibilities is one of the orientation strategies of Michelin. "In all of our factories, our input into training is very high to help us grow and acquire skills in step with our clients' needs in order to improve our service. We don't want to bring them only theoretical competence," he emphasized.

At Michelin, personnel training equips employees to grow toward the positions that suit them. "We have the responsibility; therefore we have put in place a permanent process to understand what suits each employee, and provide them with the competence they need to attain their objectives. We have set up conditions for self-development, to ease them into the field that interests them the most." Rotating people among the different positions, explained Mr. Casetta, helped the company's policy of prioritizing the enrichment of personnel by new experiences and new work environments. ''We don't force people to be on the move, but if someone wants a new experience and do different things, we would help him," he said.

Among Michelin's 5,000 employees in China, there are about 100 foreigners in the industrial or commercial departments. "I don't know them all, " admitted Mr. Casetta, "especially those working at industrial sites. But they are generally satisfied with their experience in China. We have people who have been working in China for several years and speak perfect Chinese and 40 to 50 percent are at least able to communicate, although I am not one of them!"

The company supports employees who want to learn the language, by giving them the time as well as financial support. "Anyway, all employees, including the Chinese, speak perfect English," he said.

Mr. Casetta said living in China represented a new challenge. "I don't have the recipe for a miracle. I adapt my methods to better understand the country, the environment. I understand that people like to work with their own ideas, but everything has to be oriented toward a group strategy. This is a basic rule."

"In China, this presents an opportunity to put together positive aspects of all cultures. The dynamism, pragmatism, speed and Chinese people's initiatives, combines with the rigor, structure and organization of the French. If I could add a touch of the Italian's fantasy and creativity, it will be a perfect mixture. I also think that we have to make great efforts to understand China and our development plan should first of all be based on a comprehension of Chinese values. We should be able to do our work by avoiding changing our strategies and approach, but by integrating the opportunities Chinese society and culture offer us."

Striking a balance between professional life and private life

People in business are commonly perceived to face a lot of pressure and work overload. But Mr. Casetta believes pressure is present everywhere. "But what is annoying about a sales job is the working hours and the travel. China is a huge country. People waste a lot of time on flights, at airports. This obviously reduces the time available for one's private life.''

Mr. Casetta is overall satisfied with the balance he has struck between his professional and private life. "I like food and if I can find time, I am very creative and have my own recipes!" He is equally passionate about music-classic and rock. He also likes reading. "A bit of everything, if possible in the original language," he said.

His current favorites are contemporary Spanish authors Arturo Perez Reverte and Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Meanwhile, he doesn't like watching TV. "I prefer spending time with my family. But I like following the competition of mechanical sports: for example, Formula 1. This is typically Italian. In Italy, we are all a bit fanatical about Formula 1!"