People and organisational performance
Paperjam: In the quest for performance, what role does an HR director play alongside the CEO? Does the role involve executing a roadmap, or guiding corporate strategy?
Aurélie Ederlé: The head of human resources at Société Générale Luxembourg is a member of the executive committee. As such, they are involved in guiding the company's strategy, which is ultimately decided by the bank's executive board.
How do you combine the quest for performance with ever higher aspirations in terms of work-life balance?
Wellbeing at work is one of the vectors of performance. These two concepts are not mutually exclusive. Société Générale Luxembourg has put in place a range of measures, including: teleworking, flexible working hours; specific support in terms of physical and mental health with health week, health check-ups, a specific training programme; the right to disconnect; buildings with a gym, parking facilities, music room, etc.
In a society in perpetual search of time, it is essential to offer our employees the means to optimise their personal organisation.
Talent acquisition
The job market is dominated by the 'war for talent'. How does this play out in practice in your own recruitment processes? What difficulties do you face?
We prefer to talk about strengths rather than talents. The most aggressive competition is in the core functions00legal, compliance or risk specialists, etc.
What 'weapons' are you deploying in your company to fight this battle? And what additional 'weapons' would you like to have at your disposal if you had the power to change regulations and laws?
Société Générale Luxembourg seeks to place the employee at the centre of its concerns. First and foremost, this means providing them with optimum working conditions. In particular, the bank offers great flexibility in the management of working hours. Our aim is also to offer a career path, not just a job, and to look beyond the position for which the candidate is applying. Thanks to a mobility programme that enables employees to develop their employability.
In addition, our partnerships with schools and universities enable us to support first-time jobseekers, particularly in developing their skills and capitalising on their academic background. We also have an award-winning VIE [’volontariat international en entreprise’ or company-sponsored international volunteering] programme. Finally, we also have a strong presence at job fairs.
In addition to these measures, Société Générale Luxembourg has also redesigned its recruitment system to make it more attractive to external candidates. By revitalising its means of communication and increasing the number of media outlets, we are able to reach a greater number of potentially interesting profiles.
The working environment itself is also particularly dynamic, to ensure that every employee feels completely at ease on a day-to-day basis. Aware that managing work-life balance is a major issue for employees, our property developments offer working environments that promote well-being at work.
Employer branding
Applied to your organisation, what is your definition of 'employer branding'?
The employer brand of Société Générale Luxembourg, and more broadly of the Société Générale Group, is characterised by a desire to be a responsible employer, offering a working environment conducive to personal and professional development, while being actively committed to inclusion, fairness and quality of life at work. Thanks to its multi-business dimension--private banking, corporate banking, securities services, etc.--our bank offers a very dynamic working environment as well as the opportunity for our employees to develop in different areas of expertise throughout their careers.
In the light of this definition, how important is HR in promoting this 'employer brand'?
The human resources department is the driving force behind the employer brand, both in defining the measures that underpin it and in implementing them.
Reskilling and Upskilling
In terms of upskilling, what are the priority needs that you have identified within your organisation?
Societe Generale Luxembourg recognises the importance of upskilling in responding to the rapid changes in the financial sector and the challenges posed by digital transformation and ESG issues. The key areas are digital and technological skills, and skills in sustainable development and social responsibility.
And what tools and mechanisms have been put in place within your departments to support the ongoing training of employees?
Société Générale Luxembourg has set up tailored training programmes, e-learning platforms and internal mobility initiatives--a career week, a mobility and curiosity forum, midday mobility events, last-minute training, etc. These initiatives enhance the employability of employees and support the company's strategic transformation.
The training component of the latest collective agreement--in which our HR department participated--reinforces the importance of training our employees with the introduction of the 'training account'.
Talent retention
What have been the main changes, or what changes are underway, in your company's 'employee pathway'?
We have strengthened our induction and integration programme for new employees--a full day including a 'Climate Fresco' training course to highlight our CSR values); as part of the employee career path we have a 'Culture and Conduct' seminar, which enables us to work on the values of the Societe Generale Group and create a collective dynamic. Career and mobility interviews are also key elements of our employee support system.
New ways of working
Flexibility, teleworking... Since the covid crisis, the desire for new ways of working has become more pronounced than ever. How can we respond to this paradigm shift without hampering business performance?
At Société Générale Luxembourg, we have been applying flex office and teleworking since 2017. We were pioneers in this field in the banking sector. We therefore have a certain amount of hindsight to say that this does not hamper the company's performance. Quite the opposite, in fact.
We favour a multimodal approach with the use of teleworking, our buildings as satellite offices and flexitime.
At the same time, how can we meet the challenge of employee commitment, which studies show is falling?
Every year, Société Générale Luxembourg launches an 'Employee Barometer' campaign, one of the themes of which is engagement. The responses we receive enable us to initiate analysis, dialogue and action plans with our employees.
Employment law
What is your view of the employment rulebook? As it stands, do you see the Luxembourg Labour Code as a partner for employers? Or, on the contrary, something of an adversary?
The collective agreement for the banking sector complements labour law. It is renegotiated every three years to take account of changes in the market and the sector.
Digitalisation
How are you transforming digitalisation into an ally of the HR function?
Societe Generale Luxembourg is going to roll out a seminar on artificial intelligence to all its teams in order to raise staff awareness of this technological development.
A group-wide project is also being rolled out to introduce a new HR information system for greater digitalisation and operational efficiency.
Benefits
How important is salary attractiveness today in recruiting and retaining talent?
Salary attractiveness is not the only criterion for recruiting and retaining talent. The non-financial benefits and working environment on offer are also very important, particularly for Generation Z. It's worth noting that the directive on pay transparency will mark a turning point in the European labour market within the next two years.
Mobility
A fleet of electric vehicles, incentives for public transport... In your company, what measures have been, are, or will be taken to improve mobility?
We have set up a shuttle system for our employees working at the Belval site, from France and Belgium.
We have also entered into a partnership with Klaxit/BlablaCar to encourage car-sharing. Finally, in collaboration with the staff delegation, we subsidise part of the annual public transport pass for our French cross-border commuters.
CSR
What are the biggest challenges for your organisation in terms of the new CSR obligations?
As a major player in the banking sector, we are contributing to a number of CSR challenges, such as: financing the energy transition and sustainable finance; promoting responsible finance in all our businesses; ethical and responsible governance.
How do these same obligations impact your internal upskilling or external recruitment processes?
We support our employees with appropriate training programmes. What's more, these are new recruitment criteria.
Gen Z
They're said to be less committed, more demanding, and perhaps even difficult to grasp... Is Gen Z really changing the working environment?
We don't agree that there is a lack of commitment. On the other hand, we note that generation Z has expectations in terms of professional partnership and motivational levers that are different from other generations. Our recruitment programmes for junior employees--either through a VIE [volunteering opportunity] or a school/university partnership--enable us to remain attentive to their needs and to co-construct new ways of working, while integrating our sectoral constraints and corporate values.
What advice would you give to newly recruited 25-30 year olds?
We encourage them to take charge of their careers and to take advantage of the internal opportunities offered by Société Générale Luxembourg and the Société Générale Group.
Diversity, equity and inclusion
As HR director, how would you define your role and responsibilities with regard to DEI issues?
The human resources department plays a central role in promoting diversity and inclusion within the company.
Under our D&I policy, every employee is responsible for contributing to a respectful working environment, where everyone feels accepted as they are. The HR department is responsible for creating a framework conducive to this inclusion, by developing initiatives tailored to these issues. This involves defining and steering strategic orientations, raising awareness and providing training, promoting collaboration between the various departments and setting up external partnerships, e.g. IMS. By way of example, we have: a 'Diversity' committee co-sponsored by the HR director and the head of the finance department; signed the IMS and Women in Finance Diversity Charters; won an IMS award in 2023 for our 'Diversity Bingo', an initiative deployed as part of our 'Culture and Conduct' programme; a 'Diversity' committee, held annually with our board of directors. Finally, our HR director is co-chair of the [Luxembourg bankers association] ABBL's D&I working group.
Is the 'exemplary' company a utopia or a feasible objective?
Exemplarity is a subjective concept. We prefer to talk about excellence. Our ambition as HR directors is to work towards this objective through our actions.
Read the original French-language version of this interview /