Internationalising While Maintaining Our Values
News Article -- October 12, 2011
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Premium, CSC's business magazine | Autumn 2011 | No. 17
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In the course of the last four years, Groupama has undergone far-reaching internationalisation. As the Group HR Director, Isabelle Calvez – recent winner of the “Enterprise HR Director” award (Trophées du DRH Entrepreneur) – was able to support this evolution while preserving the identity and values of the leading French mutual insurance company.
Tell us about Groupama and its HR department.
Isabelle Calvez: The Groupama group brings together several commercial brands: Groupama, Gan and Amaguiz. In terms of revenues, today we are the 6th largest insurer in France and ranked 15th in Europe – we’re present in 13 countries outside of France. We have 16 million business members and clients, and almost 40,000 employees worldwide. The majority, roughly 30,000, are in France where we recruit 3,000 people every year. I lead a central HR team which is responsible for defining and implementing the HR policies of the group which are then rolled out by the 50 HR departments in the regional mutual companies and subsidiaries.
What changes have recently taken place within the group?
I.C.: An accelerating internationalisation is without a doubt the most important one. Historically we have been based in several Western European countries, but our acquisitions since 2007, particularly in Eastern Europe, Greece and Turkey, have meant that we’ve had to integrate 7,000 new employees in four years! Employees in international subsidiaries currently represent 30% of all staff and 13 nationalities.
What has your role been in this context?
I.C..: As when facing any change, we have supported the businesses and managers by trying to be more efficient and cutting costs. More concretely, we set up numerous programmes (universities, training courses, seminars, talent mapping, International Staffing, etc.) in order to promote cultural diversity, the exchange of best practices and of course the sharing of the group’s strategy.
What about the risk of eroding the values of a mutual insurance company in the course of such a rapid expansion?
I.C.: That’s always a risk, in any context, without the constant affirmation of the mutual insurer identity that has enabled us to successfully combine financial performance with human development, without ever sacrificing the latter for the former. It’s particularly important when integrating younger generations that place even greater value on the quality of life at work. The HR directors are there specifically to help managers handle inter-generational differences.
How can you help them?
I.C.: In all performance improvement projects today, managerial support (listening, respect, recognition, support, etc.) is more important than technical aspects.
We increase managers’ awareness of the necessity to understand the individual needs of employees and to prioritise those aspects of work
that give them satisfaction. It’s more complex and interesting, because it implies that managers have to work on their own development beforehand.
Do new technologies make a contribution to this?
I.C.: Yes, because the higher our level of automation and flexibility, the greater the extent of our knowledge sharing, dialogue, and quality of life at work will be. Take for example web TV, a social network for executive staff, the Groupama Talents tool that supports individual discussions, or a survey about the atmosphere at work – we’re increasing the fluidity of communication and responding to the expectations of managers and staff in a relevant manner.
In general, the HR function is becoming increasingly technology based. We’re facing a growing need for systems and networks for sharing knowledge, innovative training tools, sophisticated HR information systems, and specialised quantitative and qualitative databases for anticipating needs in terms of recruitment, management and remuneration.
Focus
Enterprise HR Director Award
Last June, Isabelle Calvez was recognised by the Enterprise HR Director award for “the dynamism of the HR function at Groupama”. It was the third edition of this ceremony organised by Groupe RH&M, a company specialised in training for HR professionals and business executives.
Biography
Isabelle Calvez
- 1889: Assistant HR director of the military communications division of Thomson CSF (now Thales); later head of strategy and international cooperation of electronic warfare activities.
- 2000: HR development director of Canal+ group and HR director of Canal+ Technologies.
- 2003: HR director of Accenture France and Benelux.
- 2007: HR director of Groupama group.