4.2.5.2 The workplace of the future is hybrid
After the complicated years linked to the Covid‑19 pandemic, in October 2023, the Chairman of the Management Board, Arthur Sadoun, asked all employees to physically return to the office. This request is based on a minimum of three days on site (certain teams or activities are subject to exceptions in favor of 100% face‑to‑face or 100% distance learning if the need is on the customer's premises). This change is necessary for two reasons: firstly, because of the need to work together, to cooperate with each other and to cross paths physically, as many of the intangible aspects of the Groupe's businesses are dealt with through spontaneous exchanges; secondly, because the Groupe's businesses are carried out in teams, on the basis of shared moments and multiple discussions: client work is thus carried out much more efficiently.
With this format, the Groupe’s management and management in the countries have established a balanced policy that meets clients' needs and the challenges formulated by employees in 2020, namely:
- flexibility in all its dimensions: places, times, moments in life, opportunities: flexibility at work has been rethought to offer more and more individualized mechanisms locally, with expectations in terms of experience abroad. It is this work that led to the creation of the international mobility program #WorkYourWorld (see below);
- physical and moral well‑being, thanks to experts, specific content or useful experiences: the actions in place enabling employees to take better care of their physical and mental health have been perpetuated locally in the countries. A global partnership has been signed with Thrive;
- professional and personal development, in order to consider future professional challenges: Marcel Classes has been enhanced in several dimensions. The continuing education section includes new modules and new teaching methods that take into account distance and face‑to‑face learning; the creation of new tools on Marcel, such as the fully individualized Growth Dashboard, makes it possible to support everyone in their professional and personal development;
- connection and relationship with others; mentoring programs in various entities have been reactivated in order to strengthen interpersonal relationships. With the return to the office, agencies have increased the opportunities to bring employees together, to facilitate interactions between teams;
- the experience, allowing feedback to be received at a personalized pace and provide individualized responses; the Career Conversation tool integrated into Marcel is used flexibly in all entities to facilitate more frequent feedback (depending on the projects, quarterly or half‑yearly, and not just annually), and to better support skills development.
#WYW - WorkYourWorld
2,537 employees (of which 40% men and 60% women) benefited from the program in 2023. With #WorkYourWorld, they were able to work from another global location, for an average stay of 29 days, with the Top three destinations: France, India and Spain. Announced by the Chairman of the Management Board Arthur Sadoun, the program began in January 2022. It is an internal mobility system that is unique in the world, making it possible to respond in a sustainable manner to wishes expressed by employees following the pandemic. The expectations of employees revealed during internal work in 2020 on the future organization of work highlighted a demand for experiences abroad and physical exchanges. Widespread remote working has shown that all Groupe employees can work effectively from different locations. Given the Company’s international footprint with offices in almost every major city around the world, the Groupe’s management wanted to give everyone the opportunity to work from other locations in the world in a simple and flexible way. #WorkYourWorld allows employees to work for up to six weeks from a destination of the employee’s choice – abroad (94 possible countries) or elsewhere in their country of residence. This is agreed with the employee’s direct manager, who validates this change with regard to ongoing projects (approval rate of 99%), and in consultation with his HR/Talent managers (the employee pays for their transportation and accommodation).
| Mobility indicators | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of employees who benefited from international mobility | Number of employees who benefited from international mobility 2021 723 |
Number of employees who benefited from international mobility 2022 1,442 |
Number of employees who benefited from international mobility 2023 1,292 |
| Of which % women | Of which % women 2021 23% |
Of which % women 2022 29% |
Of which % women 2023 27% |
| Number of employees who benefited from #WorkYourWorld | Number of employees who benefited from #WorkYourWorld 2021 - |
Number of employees who benefited from #WorkYourWorld 2022 1,447 |
Number of employees who benefited from #WorkYourWorld 2023 2,537 |
| Of which % women | Of which % women 2021 - |
Of which % women 2022 59% |
Of which % women 2023 60% |
Internal mobility
1,292 employees benefited from international mobility in 2023 (71% men and 27% women).
Since its creation, Marcel has offered Gigs and Jobs. Gigs are requests made by a team in need of temporary upskilling on a specific subject. They enable people to take advantage of internal skills, thereby helping to move a project forward. The procedure for responding is simple and well‑structured. For Jobs, Marcel publishes advertisements in advance of any external recruitment process in order to promote the internal development of employees.