“It’s a possibility that we are studying,” says Blanc of the idea of starting a shuttle service between Thionville and Belval for bank employees. Photo: Olivier Minaire photography

“It’s a possibility that we are studying,” says Blanc of the idea of starting a shuttle service between Thionville and Belval for bank employees. Photo: Olivier Minaire photography

Olivier Blanc, chief operating officer of Société Générale Luxembourg, spoke to Delano about the bank’s new premises in Belval, its new approach to office space and getting its employees involved in their own facilities.

Société Générale Luxembourg currently operates in five different locations but aims to reduce that to two by 2023. To this end, they have taken space in the new Icône building in Belval. Olivier Blanc, COO, explained that two-thirds of SG’s employees will be based in Belval while the remaining third will work out of the bank’s HQ in Luxembourg City.

The space in Belval is not a satellite office, despite what some have assumed. Offices in Kirchberg, Cloche d’Or and Bettembourg were considered as well, but the location on the French border ultimately won out. “We saw Esch-Belval as [having] an interesting economic and development ecosystem,” Blanc explained, citing the presence of the university and IT companies. As a further bonus, he noted the investments being made in transport infrastructure: besides trains and buses, a high-speed tram connection between Belval and the Cloche d’Or is foreseen by 2028.

The function of the space itself, furthermore, has evolved. Blanc explained that both office locations will be (re)designed with coworking, meetings and collaboration in mind. This follows a broader trend, swiftened by the pandemic, in which people increasingly come to an onsite workplace because there is a reason to do so. On a related front, SG has recently implemented a new teleworking plan, meant to continue beyond the pandemic, that lets employees in Luxembourg, Germany and Belgium work from home two days per week. Those in France are limited to one day per two weeks due to tax/social constraints, but Blanc wants to augment it if and when possible. “We are trying to find an HR solution,” he said.

Crowdsourcing facilities decisions

Blanc also described the bank’s efforts to include their employees’ input in the new space. A call to the staff was made, sourcing volunteers who were organised into different streams. One of these is tasked with making décor decisions, including furniture and colours, while another is looking at transportation. The latter group has, for instance, helped determine how many extra parking spots will be needed for the new office and suggested creating a direct transportation line between Thionville and Belval. A shuttle bus, for instance, could save time by bypassing the train connection at Bettembourg. “It’s a possibility that we are studying,” said Blanc.

Participation in these projects is healthy, the COO added: there are more than 100 employees taking part.

Environmental awareness

An imperative for many companies is sustainability. Blanc explained that SG worked with architects on both of their buildings to ensure several features. These include high volumes of natural light inside so as to lower energy costs, a system for rainwater recovery, solar panels on the roof and plenty of vegetation outside and inside. “It was a great way to demonstrate our ESR [socially responsible enterprise] ambitions,” he said.

With the transition to two office buildings instead of its current five, SG will also reduce the total amount of space it uses by a small margin. In this, it has balanced an uptick in teleworkers with the evolution of the bank’s activities.

This article first appeared in the April 2022 edition of .

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