New Modes of Collaboration: Talent Management to Be Reinvented

Décideurs organized a round table to analyze management methods during the health crisis. To debate this subject, seven human resources specialists gathered around Frédéric Ledien, Partner at Grant Alexander – Executive Interim.

List of participants:
Nicolas Rolland – Head of Engie Transformation – ENGIE / Nathie Nakarat – Director People Development, Animation and Learning HR France – L’ORÉAL / Françoise Raffin – Director, Special Advisor to the Group VP HR – AIR LIQUIDE / François Bousquet – VP of Employee Experience – QUADIENT / France Gielen – HRD and Group Communications – CRÉDIT IMMOBILIER DE FRANCE / Laurianne Le Chalony – Chief People Officer – ECOVADIS / Claude Monnier – Chief People Officer – SONY MUSIC / Frédéric Ledien – Partner, Grant Alexander – Executive Interim

DÉCIDEURS. The health crisis has profoundly impacted your organizations. What was the HR response?
Nathie Nakarat. At L’Oréal, we always return to fundamentals. And on such a subject, we must remember that the very essence of our profession is to focus on recruitment and ensure that people from outside want to join us. Therefore, we work with each employee on their ability to feel like an actor in their own career path, development, and professional transition within L’Oréal. We call this the “transformation mindset.” To measure this transformation, we use “Pulse,” an annual barometer that allows us to specifically assess how employees felt supported and engaged during the health crisis, but also how they wish to evolve in the future with remote work.

“At L’Oréal, we always return to fundamentals”
— Nathie Nakarat, L’Oréal

Françoise Raffin. At Air Liquide, the key issue was redefining the way we work. Before the crisis, we had already initiated several transformations and new projects, which we continued to pursue despite the circumstances. What truly changed was the number of resignations we received. We attribute this to the fact that corporate culture is the glue that holds our employees together. Since they were working from home, the bond gradually weakened. As a result, we are strongly focused on the return to in-person work, as rebuilding our collective cohesion remains our main challenge.

“The key issue was redefining the way we work”
— Françoise Raffin, Air Liquide

Laurianne Le Chalony. At EcoVadis, the crisis played in our favor as it raised awareness of environmental impact. We therefore experienced strong growth, which in turn affected our recruitment and HR strategy. We are a young company, and since its creation, our two founders lived in different countries; thus, they are used to change and believe all employees can adapt. Remote work already existed with us before the lockdown; therefore, it was relatively simple to manage the transition. Today, 80% of our employees prefer working mainly from home and coming to the office to experience our festive spirit. It is an open culture we want to highlight to attract new talent. When I ask colleagues what they loved about EcoVadis before the crisis, the unanimous answer is: parties and happy hours! And this makes sense because we work for purpose and impact. No additional motivation is needed. Even if at times they find their job boring, they are happy to contribute to a cause that drives them. Our current challenge is rather to strengthen social bonds within the company. Zoom and Teams are no longer enough.

“Remote work already existed before the lockdown; it was relatively simple to manage this transition”
— Laurianne Le Chalony, EcoVadis

François Bousquet. Before the crisis, at Quadient, we already wanted to change our managerial attitudes, to unite, and to build team cohesion. Obviously, the health crisis only accelerated this process. A majority of employees now work remotely, and the need to inject lightness and rebuild connections is strongly felt. We must get together! The goal will be to make our offices more welcoming while keeping flexibility between home and company. Even without the crisis, we would have moved in this direction.

“We already wanted to change our managerial attitudes and create team cohesion”
— François Bousquet, Quadient

How are you addressing today’s managerial challenges, and what projects are underway?
Frédéric Ledien. First, I think it’s important to recall the very specific context we are in. Today, all growth forecasts are strong. Our rates are around 4.8%, knowing that in the first quarter we were at -0.1%, which suggests exceptional prospects. Yet, companies almost all feel—when we ask HR—that they neither have the right skills nor enough resources to manage this particular period. It’s clear: talent management is a central issue in all organizations!

“Talent management is a central issue in all organizations!”
— Frédéric Ledien, Grant Alexander – Executive Interim

Nicolas Rolland. At Engie, we approach today’s challenges under three dimensions: a managerial one, an individual one for each employee, and finally one centered on the following question: how do we give collective meaning to people supposed to be in the same place? This last dimension is the real game-changer. Before the crisis, we already allowed two days of remote work per week. At the end of the first lockdown, we received many requests for remote work beyond those two days. We then became a bit rigid. When we sign contracts with new hires, we clearly specify that their workplace is and will remain at Engie’s offices in La Défense. Yet 15% of our employees still moved away… All this shows the importance of supporting our managers with the necessary tools to handle this hybrid world. For example, we explain that when they come to the office, there’s little point in staying behind a computer. We also worked a lot on team spirit through different training programs supporting this idea.

“At the end of the first lockdown, we received many requests for remote work beyond those two days”
— Nicolas Rolland, Engie

Claude Monnier. At Sony Music, our talents represent several populations: temporary workers, permanent staff, and artists. In this context, I try to involve the HR function to support all of them. This year, our core business—concerts—was sacrificed. Our sector was destabilized, with one recurring question: “Why are we doing this job?” Through this, the HR role itself was altered. When I started, I wondered about the “who”; then came the “how”; now it’s the “why.” And this remains a question without a fully satisfying answer. A search for meaning, almost philosophical, emerged after the health crisis. After these eighteen months, I’ve observed that good managers became better and bad managers became worse. Therefore, before even managing talent, we must deal with poor managers.

“I try to involve HR to support all these populations”
— Claude Monnier, Sony Music

A second aspect deserves attention: patriarchy. We need to focus on the role of women, which in the cultural world is underestimated and undervalued. For me, the best transformation in our industry starts there: giving women more responsibilities. Solve this problem, and the rest will follow.

France Gielen. At Crédit Immobilier de France, when we had to summarize this crisis exit, we simply explained it as continuity in change. With hindsight, we can say everything is constantly changing. Thus, in a company like ours, where change is constant, we have implemented fundamentals: very simple themes like responsibility, cohesion, and language. These are common references that remain stable, and we strive not to lose sight of them. Within this shared framework, we roll out our deep transformation program. These principles are the anchor point for all entities of our company.

“Responsibility, cohesion, language: stable common references that we strive not to lose sight of”
— France Gielen, Crédit Immobilier de France

They were already with us before and supported us during the health crisis. A new element has now been added to our transformation program: employees are encouraged to adopt a culture of initiative by proposing solutions through action plans. They now carry projects and can develop project management skills.
Nathie Nakarat. In terms of transformation, in 2016, we launched “Simplicity,” focusing on the manager’s role. “Simplicity” introduced very concrete practices for working together, generating new behaviors, such as conducting effective meetings, integrating feedback into these practices, and collaborating within a strategic framework.

How do you envision tomorrow’s organization? Are we moving toward work personalization or collaborative work?

Nicolas Rolland. Whereas before we aimed to bring everyone into the same dimension, today the trend is more oriented toward a model where each person personally embraces the shared reference framework. We are entering a logic of work personalization. And this is not only for employees but also for the partners with whom we regularly work.
Frédéric Ledien. Work organization is transforming and will become increasingly multifaceted: diversity of locations, modes of collaboration, etc. Tomorrow’s company will be an ecosystem where internal and external talents, regardless of their status or legal framework, will gravitate and work in project mode. An organization chosen for its ability to give meaning to its actions and to provide all conditions for employees’ fulfillment, which remains the best source of performance and engagement. The HR function, whose missions were until now limited to the company’s boundaries, must embrace this new paradigm. It will have to think beyond the walls!
Laurianne Le Chalony. At EcoVadis, we don’t believe much in salaried employment. If you join the company, whatever the contract, you will have the same title as everyone else. And when we hire someone, we let them choose whether to sign a permanent contract, a fixed-term one, or even work freelance. And to be honest, internally we no longer even know who does what! It’s the shared purpose that must be nurtured. Everyone must move in the same direction; the rest is less important.

Read the article on the Décideurs Magazine website