Social issues are addressed by several internal bodies under the responsibility of the Secretary General. On the one hand, they are dealt with within CTOs Council, which meets once a month and which is steered by the Groupe’s HR Operations Department. It brings together HR and Talent Directors (Chief Talent Officers) and Compensation and Benefits Officers from the main countries and entities to work on structuring projects, whether tools or international actions such as #WorkYourWorld or #WorkingWithCancer, as well as on developments in Groupe HR policies. On the other hand, social issues of equity and equal opportunity are addressed within the Groupe Impact & Equity Council, which meets every two months and is managed by the Groupe CSR Department. It brings together managers from countries and entities to work on joint actions, training tools and joint initiatives such as the fight against domestic violence. [S1-4-37, S1-4-38 (a) to (d), SBM-3-14 (c) & (d)]
The Groupe’s major risk mapping (see Chapter 2 of this document), the risk mapping for the Duty of Care Plan, the risk mapping of ESG risks and the double materiality table address the risks or issues related to employees and human capital.
A specific risk was identified as material, related to the strong competition to attract and retain the best talent. The profound changes currently taking place in the communications and technology industries require a high degree of agility, and experts need to anticipate rapid technological upheavals.
The structural rotation of teams in the industry is closely monitored by the Executive Committees in the countries and every quarter by the Groupe’s Executive Committee. The risk is the departure of talent who contribute to the Groupe’s success and who best meet client expectations. To address these risks, ad hoc monitoring has been in place for several years on the Groupe’s P 1,000, employees with whom the Chair and Chief Executive Officer can interact directly and regularly. They include the heads of subsidiaries and/or countries, client managers, and experts in various business lines. In addition, the concept of Key Executives has been refined in the Janus Code of Conduct and Ethics in order to more closely monitor career development of employees with key responsibilities in the Company. In order to improve the retention rate, various training and individualized support programs have been renewed and redesigned (Sections 4.3.5 and 4.3.6). [S1 SBM-3-14 (a)]
The HR & Talents teams and Impact & Social Equity teams play a key role and remain the local contacts, in particular to implement the appropriate measures. In the event of problems that could affect employees (e.g. intense weather events impacting the agency and/or employees, epidemic, etc.), the programs implemented in various countries provide concrete examples of the work being done locally to prevent this type of risk. [S1-3-32 (a)]
Finally, numerous actions have been launched to promote equal opportunities (Section 4.3.4). [S1-4-41-AR 37].
The Groupe has not identified any entities at risk of using forced or modern slavery, or child labor. [S1 SBM-3-14 (f) & (g)]
Attracting and retaining talent is at the heart of Publicis Groupe’s strategy. The aim is to create an inspiring, dynamic and agile work environment, offering many opportunities for professional and personal development. Publicis Groupe is currently considered the most attractive amongst its direct competitors, due to its strategic ambition, its leadership and its financial and non-financial performance.
A material opportunity is Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), which permeates all the Company’s business lines. Publicis has given all employees access to training courses related to the direct impacts in many functions, through more than 3,000 dedicated GenAI modules, allowing everyone to deepen their knowledge. This was accompanied by mandatory training on "Responsible Use of GenAI". These tools are available to all employees giving them rapid help in certain tasks that used to be time-consuming. The employee can free up time for reflection, experimentation or collaborative activities with greater added value. These tools, which can benefit employees, whatever their activity, help to improve productivity and profitability.
The Groupe’s determination in its new transformation towards artificial intelligence and the use of Generative AI is also an attractiveness factor. Employees can familiarize themselves with these new tools on an ongoing basis in a test environment (PL.AI Sandbox) protected on the Marcel platform. Planned investments announced in 2025 attest to the Company’s ambition in this area, which strengthens the Groupe’s attractiveness to potential employees. [S1 SBM-3-14 (d)]
