People & organisational performance

Paperjam: In the quest for performance, what is the role of the HR director alongside the CEO? Does the role involve executing a roadmap, or guiding corporate strategy?

Léa Piot: The role of the HR director is to steer the company's strategy, and to align the projects to be implemented with it, by including and supporting the various managers.

How can we combine the quest for performance with ever-higher aspirations in terms of work-life balance?

Passing on our values--product quality, service quality--a positive atmosphere and team spirit all help to get employees to join the company, while contributing to their wellbeing. An employee who wants to come to work will perform all the better.

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 are you facing?

Our sector is no longer as attractive as it was a few years ago, candidates have a lot of prejudices, and recruiting is becoming increasingly complicated. We are doing our utmost to convey a positive image of our company, and this is reflected in an increase in unsolicited applications, and in the satisfaction of new recruits who are positively surprised by the way we operate and the atmosphere we convey, which is different from the idea they had of the restaurant business.

What 'weapons' does your company use 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?

We've decided to introduce round-the-clock working in most of our stores, in order to offer a better quality of life, as well as four-day working in our Belle Étoile food hall. Candidates can therefore find a pace that suits their private life while working in the restaurant business. Mutual support and flexibility are the watchwords in our group - we're one big family. We are committed to projects for the wellbeing of our employees, and have been awarded the 'Health, safety and wellbeing at work', 'Positive action' and 'Inclusion and diversity' labels.

Employer branding

Applied to your organisation, what is your definition of 'employer branding'?

Our employer brand is based on being close to our employees, treating them fairly regardless of their department, and integrating new arrivals into our corporate culture, while affirming our constant commitment to improvement.

In the light of this definition, how important is HR in promoting this 'employer brand'?

As a fast-growing company [17 restaurants opened in ten years, with a new one planned in 2025], we have structured our employer brand through the actions of our HR department. We have a dynamic recruitment team that conveys our love of the job, our values, our good atmosphere and our team spirit, so as to attract the best possible candidates. The HR department is close to employees, always listening to them, we try to be proactive, and we support our employees on a daily basis.

Reskilling & upskilling

In terms of upskilling, what are the priority needs that you have identified within your organisation?

We've grown very quickly, we're established all over Luxembourg and we realised that some of the essentials on the ground were no longer as well mastered, because we didn't have the right [digital] tools, whereas our aim is to have identical operations in our 17 restaurants. To achieve this, we decided to introduce a number of monitoring measures and to provide our managers with more regular support so that they have the keys and the support they need to manage their departments and restaurants.

And what tools and systems have been put in place within your departments to support ongoing employee training?

We decided to set up an in-house training programme called 'Cocottes Academy', which enables us to provide digital training on our working methods and our products, and to rework them at any time if necessary. This tool was deployed last summer in our Cocottes restaurants and is currently being rolled out to other departments.

Talent retention

Is the 'war for talent' also being waged on talent retention? And if so, what is your conclusion? That today it is just as complex to attract talent as it is to retain it?

Employees are no longer looking for a job for food, but for personal fulfilment and development, with high expectations in terms of flexibility to reconcile private and professional life. The environment in which the employee evolves is essential for a long-term relationship, which is why we promote internal development, both vertically and transversally.

What have been the main developments, or what are the current ones, in your company's 'employee pathway'?

We provide ongoing training for our employees so as not to dilute our know-how and our corporate culture, which is why we have introduced a digital training solution that was rolled out to restaurants in the last quarter of 2024, and which we will roll out to the whole company during 2025.

Since the summer of 2024, we have also introduced more in-depth follow-up interviews with managers to inform them of the restaurant's strengths and development needs, and to provide them with solutions for improvement.

In 2024, at Cocottes, we promoted between 10% and 15% of the workforce.

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 the company's performance?

We don't have a teleworking policy. The reason we don't have one is to ensure fairness with the operational teams, who represent the majority of our employees (90%) and whose presence in the field is essential. This issue therefore only concerns the support services, which represent less than 10% of the workforce, for which we sometimes grant exceptions on a case-by-case basis.

At the same time, how can we meet the challenge of employee commitment, which studies show is falling?

We have to be transparent in our communication with employees, offering them opportunities for personal development and advancement, while ensuring a balance between their private and professional lives. We have put in place a number of initiatives aimed at maintaining the wellbeing of our employees, but we need to work more on team recognition. We note that the vast majority of our departures (80%), whether voluntary or involuntary, involve unqualified 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?

In our sector of activity, the legislation can sometimes be at odds with our constraints on the ground. As a result, putting in place simple elements to promote the wellbeing of our employees, who are faced with [temperature] and time constraints, can become problematic and even costly for the employer--paid extra breaks, meal breaks and reduced working hours.

If you had the power, what additional provision would you like to introduce into Luxembourg law to respond more effectively to your needs?

Reframe the management of absenteeism. We are constantly having to deal with medical shopping, and the checks carried out by the authorities are not sufficiently recurrent [and] penalising. Employers find themselves at a loss.

Digitalisation

How are you transforming digitalisation into an ally of the HR function?

Future employees are born with digital tools and embrace them. Digitalising our processes allows us to keep up with the times. When I arrived, the company didn't have any HR management tools, so we developed them as the needs of the business and the structure of the HR department changed. We now provide platforms for payroll, interviews and training, but we still have a long way to go in terms of digitalisation.

What obstacles do you still face at this stage?

We have a large number of employees with few or no qualifications, who haven't had the opportunity to take basic IT training because their job doesn't require them to use it. As a result, these employees find it more difficult to digitise their processes, and some of them have gone on to become our managers [average age: 38].

Benefits

How important is salary attractiveness today in recruiting and retaining talent?

Salary attractiveness plays an increasingly important role in recruiting and retaining talent, although it is not the only factor taken into account, as it is often combined with other factors--benefits, career prospects, work-life balance, corporate culture.

The expectations of the new generations put the importance of pay into perspective, but pay rises are a key factor in avoiding turnover, but they need to be accompanied by other policies to build loyalty.

In addition to remuneration, what other factors should be taken into account to make your company more attractive?

The stability of the company, the communication and transmission of our values, the possibility of projecting and developing within the company over the medium and long term all attract candidates.

Mobility

Fleet of electric vehicles, encouragement to use public transport. In your company, what measures have been, are being or will be taken to improve mobility?

Most of our restaurants are accessible by public transport--tram, bus, train. We would like to introduce electric vans for our delivery staff, but we haven't yet found any refrigerated electric vans on the market that meet our needs.

More generally, what are the points to watch out for in terms of the green transition?

We have a lot of cross-border employees with long commutes to work. We'd like to promote carpooling, which is difficult at the moment because of the long working hours of our departments and restaurants.

CSR

What are the biggest challenges facing your organisation in terms of new CSR obligations?

We have taken part in a number of labelling initiatives, such as Diversity & Inclusion, in partnership with Méga, to help us implement actions within the company. We are also working with IMS to set up initiatives and integrate disabled employees.

How do these same obligations impact your internal upskilling and external recruitment processes?

We have to ensure that our employees are not only technically competent, but also aligned with the company's social, environmental and ethical challenges. We have always been committed to these values, and have always ensured that our structures are fair.

Gen Z

They are said to be less committed, more demanding, and perhaps even difficult to grasp... Is Gen Z really changing the working environment?

This generation is much more demanding, looking for meaning in their work, great flexibility, digital tools and a company aligned with their values. Gen Z are ready to leave their jobs if they don't fit in with their convictions. We need to adapt to attract and retain them. In recent years, we've had higher turnover, because this generation has little or no attachment or commitment to a company.

What advice would you give to newly recruited 25-30 year olds?

There's no point in rushing into things; the time spent learning and finding stability is just as important for future development.

Diversity, equity & inclusion

As HR director, how would you define your role and responsibilities with regard to DEI issues?

It is our responsibility to ensure that all our teams and managers integrate these values, both in their day-to-day practices and in their recruitment processes. We have to give impetus to this dynamic through our recruitment procedures and internal communications. In our company, we have 26 different nationalities and a balanced distribution between men and women [43% men, 56% women].

Is the 'exemplary' company a utopian dream or a feasible objective?

It's a job that has to be done every day, at every level of the organisation, so that everyone, at his or her own level, can strive to set an example. Regular questioning is essential in order to re-evaluate objectives and adapt to the expectations of different generations. The exemplary company is a constantly evolving objective.

Read the original French-language version of this interview /