Viewpoints Archives - Eurogroup Consulting

Reconciling AI and engagement: the new key to corporate performance

EGCAdmin — Mon, 01 Dec 2025 15:48:59 +0000

According to Gallup's State of the Global Workplace 2025 report, only 21 % of employees worldwide say they are engaged, compared with 32 % before the health crisis. This decline represents a major loss for organizations, with an estimated cost of $438 billion a year.

Beyond the figures, the whole relationship with work is changing. Companies have had to absorb successive transformations: the health crisis, the spread of telecommuting, and now the rise of artificial intelligence. As a result, work has become more individualized, workgroups have become more fragile, and managers are finding it hard to maintain links. In a world in search of meaning, employees are questioning the value of «working together».

In the face of these upheavals, one conviction stands out: the future of work will not only be hybrid, it will be «augmented».». The challenge for organizations is clear: make AI a driver of engagement and sustainable performance, rather than a factor of fragility.

Discover the analysis and recommendations of Jean-Baptiste Annat and Camille Dugelay in our article, available for download!

This article explores how to reconcile artificial intelligence and employee engagement to build sustainable performance. It first analyzes the silent erosion of engagement since the health crisis and the impact of the massive deployment of AI on work collectives.

In light of this, three strategic levers have been identified to transform AI into a driver of engagement:

Reposition AI at the heart of corporate strategy and culture to provide a clear and reassuring framework; ;
Recreate the collective by clarifying the role of AI in daily interactions and training managers in human-IA hybrid work; ;
Giving each employee back control, mastery and perspectives through training, integrating AI into individual interviews and optimizing employee career paths.

The aim: to make AI a link lever rather than a substitute, an essential condition for building tomorrow's most desirable and resilient work environments.

The post Réconcilier l’IA et engagement : la nouvelle clé de performance des entreprises appeared first on Eurogroup Consulting.

Opinion column: «Facilitating the acceptability of major infrastructure projects: a challenge for national competitiveness».»

EGCAdmin — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 10:20:51 +0000

A few hours before the close of the Salon des Maires, the subject of the acceptability of major infrastructure projects is back in the spotlight. Not as a technical debate, but as a strategic issue for local communities.

Elected representatives arrive with the same concern: how can we continue to invest when projects are coming up against more structured contestation and ever denser procedures?

In this context, acceptability is no longer a «peripheral issue» for infrastructures: it has become their "core issue". completion condition. If France wants to maintain its territorial competitiveness, it must resolve this major sticking point between the willingness to invest and the real ability to bring projects to fruition.

«A different way of »manufacturing" infrastructure projects is essential if we are to preserve our ability to carry out the structuring projects on which the country's competitiveness depends.

First observation: consultation often comes late. By the time dialogue begins, the scope for change is already extremely limited, giving the impression that the process has stalled. The example of the A69 illustrates this point: when structuring choices can no longer be questioned, the focus shifts to symbols and procedures, to the detriment of the fundamental debate.
The second observation is the difficulty of giving meaning to projects. Beyond its technical performance, an infrastructure must be part of a credible future: ecological transition, adaptability, territorial coherence. Without a shared narrative, an infrastructure project appears to be a technical response disconnected from a collective vision.
Third observation: the rise of more structured local players. Environmental associations, user groups, organized local residents... they all produce diagnoses, counter-proposals and usage analyses. They have become legitimate players in the debate. Better recognition of these players, in particular by relying on the mayor as an «intermediary» between infrastructure projects and citizens, also means securing social acceptability.

The way in which projects are developed must evolve. And it is by fully integrating this new territorial reality that we can regain our room for manoeuvre. Major projects are still possible if we change our methods and make a real political choice in favor of territorial investment.

Firstly, we need to integrate infrastructures into territorial trajectories, rather than presenting them as isolated objects. The Grand Paris Express is a case in point: linked to development, employment and the environment, it benefits from a more stable consensus and sustained mobilization of local authorities. Clearly demonstrating what a project will transform (and for whom) is the key to making it more acceptable.
Secondly, to provide real substance to the dialogue. Clarifying what can change, explaining what can't, documenting adjustments: these elements strengthen confidence. The New Paris-Normandy Line shows the opposite to be true: successive, poorly explained changes have blurred public understanding and weakened the project's foundations. Here, transparency becomes a strategic lever, not a mere regulatory exercise.
Another approach is to deal with procedural complexity. Grouping more authorizations around the DUP, using supervised mediation or allowing approved settlements between project owners and associations can reduce late litigation and secure the timetable, without weakening democratic debate.

Yes, major infrastructure projects are still possible in France. Their success now depends as much on the quality of the dialogue as on the quality of the engineering. Better project design means combining sovereignty, territorial roots and clear public action. It also means choosing collectively to provide territories with the infrastructures on which our future competitiveness depends.

This article was published in La Tribune by Clémence Cazemajour, on November 20, 2025.

The post Tribune : « Faciliter l’acceptabilité des grands projets d’infrastructure : un enjeu de compétitivité nationale » appeared first on Eurogroup Consulting.

Food for thought: rethinking HR performance to serve public policy priorities

EGCAdmin — Thu, 05 Jun 2025 09:14:25 +0000

Public and semi-public administrations are facing major budgetary challenges, with a 2025 Finance Act that aims to redress public accounts by 50 billion euros and reduce the public deficit to 5.4% of GDP by 2025 through measures on companies and individuals, as well as a reduction in public spending for the 3 public functions and operators.

This crisis situation is part of a trend towards rationalization and performance enhancement that has only increased since the middle of the 21st century, through demands for modernization, simplification and results, and which is accelerating with current technological and societal developments.

To deal with this budgetary emergency, we are seeing a proliferation of HR measures - rather short-term and palliative - directly targeting the wage bill as a lever for reducing expenditure, without any real reflection on long-term operations consistent with the administration's orientations. However, it is only through a two-pronged approach (service offer / missions-resources) that an effective HR approach can be developed to meet the requirement of delivering quality service at reduced cost - by mobilizing resources in an optimal way - within a prioritized and clearly identified perimeter.

An unprecedented budgetary and organizational context

With 50 billion euros in savings to be achieved by 2025, public and semi-public administrations are faced with increasing demands for modernization and rationalization. Until now, HR measures have often been short-term and corrective (job freezes, delayed recruitment, etc.), without any real in-depth reflection on the fit between missions, human resources and public action priorities.

Yet this time of crisis is an opportunity to embark on a sustainable transformation, by repositioning HR as a driver of efficiency rather than a mere expense.

The note's 4 key findings

HR as a lever for transformation
The civil service represents 12.2 % of GDP and nearly one job in five in France. Rather than seeing payroll as a cost to be reduced, it needs to be managed in line with strategic priorities and the level of service expected/targeted. A better understanding of our resources and their skills enables us to anticipate and intelligently manage the choices we make in terms of directing and prioritizing public action.

Prioritize missions and reposition players

Inspired by the "Zero-Base Budget" approach, administrations need to ask themselves mission by mission: what do we absolutely have to maintain? What can we outsource or pool? What skills and resources are needed for each priority?
This involves reviewing our scope, clarifying priorities and identifying room for maneuver.

Calibrating HR support for agents
In line with these priorities, every decision to reorganize, abolish or change missions has an impact on our agents. It is essential to structure solid HR support The Group's core competencies are: anticipating skills needs, organizing mobility, training, reskilling and working on career paths to maintain commitment and performance.

Equipping and uniting managers
The success of such an approach depends on the mobilization of senior management and supervisory staff. Providing them with the necessary tools, data and indicators enables strategic objectives to be translated into concrete, coherent actions.

HR performance at a turning point

HR performance in the civil service cannot be viewed solely from a budgetary perspective. It must be seen as a strategic lever for adapting public action and improving the quality of service provided to users. This means rethinking the allocation of human resources in line with public action priorities, and building an integrated, sustainable and managed HR strategy.

Download our experts' discussion paper Romain Varène and Bénédicte Féry to find out more !

The post Note de réflexion : repenser la performance RH au service des priorités d’action publique appeared first on Eurogroup Consulting.

Food for thought: biomimetic sovereignty

EGCAdmin — Mon, 02 Jun 2025 08:13:22 +0000

Biomimicry, the use of living organisms and their remarkable properties as inspiration for innovation, has a long history. In recent years, scientific developments have reinforced the potential of this approach, in the fields of innovation, performance and sustainability. Mobilized by many private and now public organizations, biomimicry is proving to be a real strategic lever.

Yet it is insufficiently supported, both in terms of fundamental research and practical applications. Against this backdrop, it is particularly strategic to support the development of biomimicry and increase public investment in it. This is the prerequisite for making biomimicry a growth driver for companies, in the service of our sovereignty and excellence.

Find out more about the applications of biomimicry in innovation, performance and sustainability, as well as the strategic aspects of its application. We also take a look at the vital role played by public authorities in supporting the development of biomimicry, as well as an expert's view of the subject, so that you have all the cards in your hand.

Biomimicry, a long-standing reality but recently gaining ground in many fields of application

The term biomimicry (bios - life; mimêsis - imitation) was coined in 1950 by American researcher Otto Schmitt. It describes one of the first innovation strategies employed by human beings: observing and imitating their environment, nature.

Biomimicry is a multi-disciplinary scientific approach that draws inspiration from living organisms and their remarkable properties for the purpose of innovation. It is a variation on bio-inspiration, which is defined as a creative approach based on the observation of biological systems, in technological and industrial fields as well as aesthetic and cultural ones.

In addition, it offers a creative approach to designing innovative products based on proven natural mechanisms. By drawing on the effectiveness of natural solutions, this approach also considerably improves the technical and economic performance of products and processes.

Biomimicry also promotes a sustainable approach by imitating the ability of living organisms to optimize resources and minimize environmental impact.

Biomimicry is a scientific approach that needs to be supported, in terms of both fundamental research and practical applications. Scaling up the biomimetic approach would enable us to meet the challenges facing industries and businesses, at a time when resources are becoming increasingly scarce and the sustainability of products and processes is becoming a sovereignty issue.

Biomimicry, a strategic response for companies

The need for decarbonization, the reduced availability of essential resources (water, land, raw materials) and access to essential infrastructures are strategic challenges for companies today. Industrial responses to these challenges are increasingly emerging, from resource circularity and eco-design to the integration of sustainability criteria into operational performance approaches. The fundamental principles of biomimicry can accelerate these transformations: resource sobriety and reuse, adaptation to the immediate environment and to the diversity of immediate constraints, collaboration, etc.

The necessary support of public authorities

Biomimicry today represents a powerful lever for meeting the challenges of the 21st century in terms of product innovation and the sustainable performance of our economic and industrial models. In economic terms, it could generate 50,000 direct jobs by 2030, according to BPI France's October 2024 analysis (Biomimicry: a model for sustainable business innovation?). Above all, biomimicry is a scientific and industrial approach that is still in its infancy. The ever-growing knowledge of the living world, thanks to technological advances and increased knowledge processing, will only open doors to biomimetic innovations. In this context, public authorities must seize biomimicry as a vector of sovereignty.

Our viewpoint

Biomimicry appears to be a insufficiently explored toolbox by companies, especially industrial firms, to deploy and accelerate their innovation capabilities and strategies, but also as one of the most important pathways to breakthrough innovation to mobilize even more, both for for public authorities than for companies.

FOR COMPANIES

Integrate biomimicry into their innovation strategy (e.g.: natural performance right from the design phase);
Reinforce employee training on the principles of life ;
Prioritize bio-inspired approaches to purchasing (raw materials, equipment, tools).

FOR PUBLIC AUTHORITIES

Direct investment funds towards biomimetic approaches (France 2030, Ademe Funds);
Support interdisciplinary laboratories in the field of biomimicry, with priority given to funding initiatives to promote biomimicry among companies;
Communicate the competitive advantages of biomimicry.

Download our experts' discussion paper Hugues Tourel, Constance Brosset and Quentin Messerschmidt-Mariet to go further!

The post Note de réflexion : la souveraineté biomimétique appeared first on Eurogroup Consulting.

Sustainable mobility in France: between challenges and opportunities

EGCAdmin — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 04:15:00 +0000

The challenges associated with daily travel are numerous: environmental impact, lack of accessibility for all, regional inequalities.

To mark World Mobility and Accessibility Day, we spoke to Cécile GouesseAssociate and Jérôme CointotAssociate Director Eurogroup Consulting in charge of mobility.

Sustainable mobility has become an imperative in the quest for a more environmentally-friendly and inclusive future. Cécile and Jérôme take a look at the main challenges in France, while proposing concrete solutions. From competition between operators to improved accessibility for all, not forgetting the need for new funding, the future of mobility looks promising but demanding.

What is the sustainable mobility situation in France in 2025?

There are several new contextual factors. Firstly, the introduction of competition for buses in the Île-de-France region, and the fact that this is now affecting Paris and the inner suburbs, and therefore the historical perimeter of the RATP, and also the railways, with the 1st lines of the historical perimeter of SNCF Transilien. Outside the Paris region, the introduction of competition on TER trains is taking shape in all regions of France, with progressive but definite timetables.

Secondly, the SERM (Services Express Régionaux Métropolitains - Metropolitan Regional Express Services) project is gaining momentum, as President Emmanuel Macron has called for a metropolitan RER. A number of metropolises and designated territories have been identified. The main objective is to offer an alternative to the car for easy access to the heart of the metropolis, with a public transport offer at regular intervals. The city of Strasbourg has been a pioneer in this field, revising and increasing the frequency of its TER trains; but there are other avenues to explore, such as express buses and coaches, which are quicker to implement and less expensive (because they don't require infrastructure).

There is also the issue of lack of funding, hence the launch on May 5 of Ambitions France Transport, a new agreement dedicated to the financing of transport infrastructure, particularly rail and road. It's a rather brutal return to reality after the enchanted interlude that the transport sector experienced during the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Today, there's an overall movement, with new operators entering the market, whether in the urban or intercity sector (Italian bus operator ATM has just won a 1^st lot in the Île-de-France region, or Kevin Speed, which has positioned itself in the high-speed sector for high-frequency daily transport), and new operators who will be arriving in the next few years. This is the case in the world of high-speed rail, where there are no longer just TGV Inoui and Ouigo, but also Trenitalia, Renfe and new players such as Proxima.

Gares & ConnexionsAs a result, the operator of France's 3,000 stations will find itself faced with a growing number of rail companies. The challenge is to integrate all these players in a transparent and non-discriminatory way, in order to offer a common experience to these new rail operators, and thus to the customers who pass through the station.

How can we improve the customer experience in a multi-operator context?

When we talk about improving the customer experience, in concrete terms we mean: how can we ensure that the customer journey is as smooth as possible? Typically, getting from point A to point B involves, in particular :

route finding,
distribution (buying a ticket, at the counter or digitally),
passenger information, when I arrive at the station to catch my train or bus (timetable, number, route).

There is therefore a real need to standardize the customer experience and ensure that it is as structured as possible.

This is a major challenge for AOMs and multimodal hub managers, who will have to deal with several operators within the same perimeter as competition develops. To guarantee this fluidity, work needs to be carried out to ensure that all customers perceive that they are on a unified network and no longer with this or that operator. This is the aim of all harmonization projects: to have a defined customer experience, a homogeneous pathway, shared relational signatures throughout the same network, regardless of the operator in charge!

Nearly a year after the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, what is your assessment of progress and obstacles to public transport accessibility?

The notion of accessibility covers many different realities. We spontaneously think of people with reduced mobility, but there are also people with visual or cognitive impairments.

Today, there is a real need to upgrade accessibility and make the optimization of physical accessibility a priority. For example, the Île-de-France region is planning to make the historic Paris metro system finally accessible to all passengers.

For the Grand Paris Express, the new infrastructure has been conceived by accessible design. In the case of the Paris metro, some of which is over a hundred years old, this means transforming access and pathways within stations (escalators, elevators, dedicated services). Obviously, this colossal project requires considerable funding. Discussions are underway with Paris City Hall, local authorities, the Region and possibly the French government.

For the visually or hearing impaired in particular, a number of start-ups are helping with indoor guidance in stations or providing other facilities.

During the Olympic and Paralympic Games, there was a great deal of human presence in and around stations, providing reassurance and support for passengers requiring assistance. This massive presence was welcomed, but it came at a considerable cost. We need to think about an innovative model for financing this presence (linked with the station's retail component, with the local authority's tourism component, etc.).

As you can see, we know how to make transport attractive and accessible when we put the means to it, but the question today is to find the right economic equation.

"New indicators should be devised to define the benefits of investments to make mobility more sustainable".

Investing in sustainable mobility is not just a question of cost. Today's thinking cannot be done without taking into account the many positive externalities of mobility projects and their benefits for users, such as better access to employment (when we know that almost one French person in three refuses a job because of lack of transport), health, socialization...

Wouldn't it be worth the effort?

The post Mobilité durable en France : entre défis et opportunités appeared first on Eurogroup Consulting.

Food for thought: the unbearable certainty of growth?

EGCAdmin — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:04:00 +0000

The current period calls for particular attention to be paid to growth and its sustainability. Can it be sustainable? And if so, under what conditions?

Several approaches coexist: necessary but sustainable growth (Le Biez, 2021), the risks of stagnation if growth is abandoned (Summers, 2014) and even degrowth (Parrique, 2024).

In this issue, we take a look at the post-growth model (Méda and Jany-Catrice, 2022), which highlights the idea that responsible, sustainable performance is possible, even in the face of uncertainty.

Businesses are at the heart of the transition to more sustainable economic models, and are faced with growing challenges: increasingly stringent regulations and high societal expectations. They are called upon to rethink their business models. How can we combine sustainable growth and sustainability in a constantly changing world?

This note looks at the foundations needed to build tomorrow's growth model: from decoupling green growth to new economic theories.

But is changing a model, a practice or an indicator enough to change a company's priorities? Dominique Méda emphasizes that indicators are not mere reflections of reality, but influence behavior.

At Eurogroup Consulting, our daily focus is on responsible and sustainable performance, whether in our consulting and support services or in our work organization. It's important to share this conviction, which lies at the heart of our business, in order to help organizations move forward, despite the inevitable uncertainty of growth.

We help public and private players adopt a systemic and strategic vision of their positioning, taking into account all the components that impact their growth, competitiveness, the quality of their offering and the sustainability of their operational and economic model.

Download our analysis and discover the key points for understanding how companies and organizations can navigate this era of uncertainty by redefining their business model and integrating sustainability issues.

A note from Nos Associés by Eurogroup Company

The analysts at The Institute by Eurogroup Company decipher trends, analyze dynamics and anticipate mutations to guide public and private sector managers in their strategic decisions and in building their future.

Drawing on the international, sectoral and functional expertise ofEurogroup CompanyThey analyze emerging trends and decipher the strategic mutations that are redefining the business and government environments.

In collaboration with leading organizations, and using exclusive data, the Institute cross-references economic, geopolitical and sectoral dynamics to identify weak signals and inform decision-making.

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Claudia Montero: a happy council

EGCAdmin — Thu, 28 Nov 2024 15:15:00 +0000

Recently elected President of Eurogroup ConsultingClaudia Montero (H.97) has built her career within the consulting firm. A look back at an exemplary career.

Why did you choose consulting?

Claudia Montero : When I graduated from HEC, I was interested in many fields. Consulting seemed to me to be a way of continuing to explore a multiplicity of environments and interlocutors. I also liked the idea of taking care of economic players, helping them to solve their problems: I chose this profession to have an impact. And because it's a lifelong learning process. At first, you learn by doing. Then you learn to learn by orchestrating teams that change with each assignment. Finally, you learn to become an ambassador for your firm.

Why Eurogroup Consulting in particular?

C.M.: When I joined the company in 1997, it was a small strategy and transformation consultancy with 70 employees, distinguished by its entrepreneurial project and independence: it was 100% % owned by its partners. Its aim was to become a benchmark consultancy in the French market. During my recruitment interviews, I met serious people who didn't take themselves too seriously. I liked that. I grew up at the same time as Eurogroup, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2032: adulthood (laughs).

The firm has developed along a chosen and sustainable growth path. It remains 100 % owned by its employees (95 % by its partners). It gave me a great deal of freedom and the opportunity to shape my career by developing the projects that interested me. That's why I stayed. Such loyalty may seem atypical in a sector and at a time when zapping is the order of the day. However, long-term career paths are not that uncommon. And they have their virtues: the opportunity to carry out more projects, to have an influence on the company's destiny. That said, I'm not advocating any particular model. The key to a successful career is to be fulfilled in the path you've chosen, whatever that may be.

"I chose this profession to make an impact. And because it's a lifelong learning experience. At first, through practice. Then you learn to learn by orchestrating teams that change with each assignment. Finally, you learn to become an ambassador for your firm."

What has been your career path with the firm?

C.M.: I started out as a consultant working on restructuring projects for players in industry, energy and transport. I worked in the private sector on an international scale. When I was appointed manager in 2003, I wanted to develop our business in a sector that was close to my heart: healthcare, both private and public. In the process, I developed a passion for supporting the public sector. From 2010 onwards, I worked with central and local government bodies struggling to modernize within the French model.
My career has also convinced me of the need to get our customers' teams on board, so that we can carry out our projects with them and not "against" them.

Since 2019, under my guidance, we have been developing collective intelligence practices, as illustrated by our participation in structuring and leading citizen conventions, such as the Citizens' Climate Convention. At the same time, I've always been involved with Eurogroup: I was an early employee representative, a member of the works council and then secretary of the CSE. Co-opted as an associate in 2010, I joined the Comex two years later, in charge of restructuring our human resources policy. Just after the Covid-19 pandemic, I was appointed General Manager, before being elected President for the period 2024-2027.

What's your roadmap?

C.M.: I'm inheriting a solid company. Our first objective is to strengthen it: to continue enriching our customer portfolio and expand our international development. This is the sine qua non for our second objective: to strengthen our social footprint. Employment is one of my main concerns. Along with finance, consulting is the leading employer of young graduates. As a recruiter, our role is to help boost the job market by attracting new profiles.

To this end, we have launched a scheme to combat age discrimination in recruitment in the consulting sector: the "parcours rebond". 10 % of our recruitments are open to new consultants over 45. This scheme will be supplemented by others, notably for disabled people. Eurogroup Consulting is also committed to ecological transition. We spearheaded a group of players who drew up a Charter of Commitments for the regenerative consulting community, following the Convention des Entreprises pour le Climat (CEC).

How does the consulting sector keep pace with economic and social change?

C.M.: The notion of utility is at the heart of our raison d'être, recently unanimously adopted by the associates: "Enlightening your challenges, shaping and transforming the future together." In a context of uncertainty and change, organizations are looking for performance, but not just any performance: responsible and sustainable performance, in line with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, which implies thinking about eco-design, the circularity of activities, and so on. They also want advice on technological innovation, whether in artificial intelligence - which is already transforming the relationship at work - or, more broadly, information systems.

Our customers also want to be sure of the solidity of their ethical fundamentals, and to be supported in managing talent and diversity, with a view to inclusion. With the proliferation of regulations and standards, compliance issues are also a major concern, especially for VSEs and SMEs who do not have the administrative apparatus to navigate this complex system. Finally, our customers need to build business continuity plans to counter geopolitical, health and cyber risks.

What memories do you have of the HEC campus?

C.M.: My years at HEC were incredible. I have fond memories of classes in the Blondeau amphitheatre, BDE and JE campaigns, and especially the first inter-school women's rugby tournament. Encouraged and coached by the boys, we won the match against Polytechnique, even though their female students were far more experienced than we were!

What are your links with the HEC community?

C.M.: HEC is all about personal friendships and instant rapport with fellow alumni. Eurogroup Consulting is a member of the Club Campus and supports several student associations. I also work with HEC Alumni; I'm a regular speaker at HEC Life Project events. Last year, we sponsored the 50th anniversary of gender diversity at HEC, and we're currently working with HEC We&men on the next Trajectoires Prize.

Editorial published in HEC Stories by Marianne Gérard on 04/10/2024

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Rethinking pay policy to enhance the attractiveness of the civil service

EGCAdmin — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 21:16:00 +0000

On June 12, 2023, Stanislas Guérini presented a package of measures to boost the purchasing power of all civil servants, making the attractiveness of the civil service one of the major projects of the Minister for Public Transformation and the Civil Service.

These measures are designed to respond to the concerns of civil servants, in a context of high inflation, but also to the difficulties of recruiting and attracting certain professions and profiles.

If remuneration alone is not enough of a lever to solve the problems associated with attractivenessIt is nonetheless a structuring element. However, in the civil service, the rules governing employee remuneration are mainly based on statutory principles that leave administrations little room for manoeuvre.

Today, it is ultimately on the compensation component - which represents on average between 15 and 30% of staff remuneration - that public employers can consider concentrating their efforts to gain flexibility and better respond to their HR strategy and ambitions.

For public-sector HR departments, the challenge is to use the IR tool as part of an overall, coherent and assertive pay policy - integrating all the other components of this policy - to boost the attractiveness and loyalty of their staff.

1. KEY DRIVERS OF ATTRACTIVENESS

Thinking about attractiveness means simultaneously examining several dimensions at the heart of the employee experience. The levers of attractiveness in the civil service can be summarized as follows:

Remuneration is both a component of and a lever for enhancing attractiveness, and should be taken into account as part of an overall approach to attractiveness. Nevertheless, and particularly in the public sector, the subject of remuneration as such can seem a priori even though it is the subject of strong demands in the current period.

So.., attractiveness cannot be summed up by remuneration alone, without taking into account all the elements that contribute to the agent's experience: quality of the living and working environment, the dynamism of the position and the projects to be carried out, the values conveyed and supported by the employer, working and management conditions, career and skills development prospects, etc. It's the combination of these factors, along with remuneration, that defines a satisfactory agent experience.

2. REMUNERATION: AN IMPORTANT - BUT NOT EXCLUSIVE - FACTOR IN ATTRACTING AND RETAINING STAFF

Against a backdrop of high inflation, the question of salaries and purchasing power is particularly acute. The survey carried out in October 2022 by IFOP for the Observatoire des Politiques Publiques reveals that the issue of remuneration is an obstacle to career prospects in the civil service, particularly among young people.

Similarly, the salary outlook conference de la fonction publique published in March 20222 highlights that a significant proportion (over 40%) of civil servants consider themselves poorly paid, with disparities linked to status and professions. This tension around the question of remuneration is further exacerbated by working conditions deemed to be deteriorating, whether in terms of increasing workloads, work organization, working environment (management, relations with constituents, real estate, etc.) or equipment.

Today, the challenge around attractiveness is to be able to take into account and combine remuneration with the many factors that contribute to a satisfactory agent experience:

The nature of the job and duties performed
Tension over skills
Career level
The arduous nature of the work
The level of recognition

Nevertheless, in the civil service, the idea of modulating/adapting remuneration to profile or profession is met with reluctance. It is likely to run counter to the principle of equal treatment for all staff in the same corps/grade, by introducing new parameters for differentiation based on less administrative logic.

3. REMUNERATION PRINCIPLES IN THE CIVIL SERVICE

A MAIN REMUNERATION PACKAGE WITH TIGHTLY CONTROLLED CAREER PATHS

A civil servant's remuneration, known as salary, is made up of an indexed component - based on a corps / grade / step logic - and an indemnity component based mainly on the duties and responsibilities performed³. The main part of a civil servant's salary is based on his or her grade and step, which determines his or her gross index, which in turn is linked to an increased gross index set by Decree. The minimum pay index is indexed to the SMIC, which has led to a reduction in pay scales against a backdrop of index point freezes. For example, a category C employee will have to wait an average of 12 years for his or her increased index to exceed the level of the SMIC.

Although this system is particularly tightly controlled, there are a number of levers that can be used to boost compensation. These include :

index point increase (centralized)
the agent's career progression (progression up the salary scale)
or the modulation of compensation schemes

A COMPENSATION SYSTEM IN THE PROCESS OF BEING STREAMLINED

While it accounts for almost a quarter of an employee's remuneration, the compensation component covers a wide range of bonuses and allowances. The the Public Service Salary Outlook Conference The aforementioned decree also highlights the need to improve the clarity of compensation schemes and rationalize them. It was with these objectives in mind that Decree 2014-5134 created the RIFSEEP - Régime indemnitaire tenant compte des fonctions, des sujétions, de l'expertise et de l'engagement professionnel - which aims to replace most bonuses and allowances.

It consists of two categories:

The IFSE (indemnité de fonctions, de sujétions et d'expertise), which is linked to the nature of the position held, qualifications and skills, and accounts for almost 90% of total compensation.
the CIA, an annual supplementary allowance linked to the recognition of individual performance and professional commitment, which accounts for 10% of total compensation.

In addition to these two RISFEEP categories, other bonuses and allowances remain in place and are set by decree.

The challenge of implementing the RIFSEEP was threefold:

Simplify the compensation landscape and make it easier for employees to understand;
Accompanying the shift from a statutory approach to a professional and job-related approach in the way public-sector employees are remunerated;
Restoring transparency and fairness in processing

A COMPENSATION LEVER THAT IS SOMETIMES DIFFICULT TO ACTIVATE

Although it was conceived as a tool to enhance attractiveness, managerial development and skills-based management, it has to be said that, almost 10 years after its launch, the RIFSEEP has failed to live up to its stated ambitions.

In fact, despite a desire to enhance the status of managers and bring the various professions into line with each other, most public-sector employers still use the IFSE, attached to a statutory logic. In addition, the use of the ICA as a means of rewarding employee commitment is very low, due in particular to the reluctance and difficulty of objectifying individual performance in a culture that is very much geared to fair treatment5.

Lastly, competitive effects have been observed, particularly between local authorities, as a result of the rebalancing of departments, which is sometimes less favorable than in neighboring administrations, thus encouraging geographical mobility for the staff concerned.

In addition to these initial factors, other side-effects need to be taken into account, such as obstacles to internal and external mobility, due to the persistence of benefits that cannot always be transposed.

4. WHAT MEASURES CAN BE DEPLOYED TO ENHANCE THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF SALARY POLICY WITHIN THE CIVIL SERVICE, PARTICULARLY THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES?

While the RIFSEEP compensation scheme seems to have only partially achieved its objectives in terms of providing HR departments with salary leeway, other levers exist, particularly within local authorities, to support an attractive salary policy, such as social benefits, social protection, working hours, time devoted to training, etc., as well as all the indirect elements of remuneration.

STRENGTHEN THE LINK BETWEEN THE COMPENSATION SYSTEM AND THE ADMINISTRATION'S STRATEGIC AND RH CHALLENGES

Despite its limitations, the compensation system can be a lever of attractiveness and loyalty, particularly for local authorities, provided that it is part of an assertive HR strategy. Depending on the objectives pursued and shared, it can lead to :

Modulate favourably, via a specific increase, the compensation scheme for jobs in short supply in the administration and for certain contract staff with sought-after profiles, expertise and skills.
Regularly re-evaluate the least-endowed channels, to monitor changes in the gap between channels.
Enhance the value of certain expertise and technical skills as well as specific business constraints
Better recognition and acknowledgement of responsibilities
Clarify and make more legible the rules governing the allocation of benefits, to facilitate GPEEC tools and encourage certain career paths.
Promote the employer's HR objectives, ensuring that staff understand and take ownership of these issues.

At the same time, potential side-effects need to be identified in order to reduce them more effectively. For example, with regard to mobility, the INET study report of July 5, 20196 on remuneration levers highlights the need to structure the compensation system by job group, in order to encourage mobility within the job group, as well as the development and enhancement of career paths.

BETTER ACTIVATE THE CIA

Lastly, the ICA, which is still rarely used, would benefit from greater deployment as a remuneration policy tool for public-sector employers. To achieve this, it will be necessary to overcome the cultural and managerial obstacles to making it a tool for motivating and enhancing individual and collective performance. This will involve supporting managers in the precise definition of award and assessment criteria.

MOBILIZE ALL COMPONENTS OF THE COMPENSATION POLICY WITHIN A COHERENT SERVICE OFFERING

The question of remuneration must be understood in the sense of a global pay policy, integrating its direct and indirect financial dimensions, which nonetheless have a very tangible impact on purchasing power. The INET report identifies a number of key measures that require deliberation by local authorities:

Implementing a career management policy favorable to the advancement and promotion of agents.
The development of social action through 3 dimensions:

-First of all, benefits to help with daily living, such as housing assistance, the allocation of places in crèches or other childcare facilities, help with spousal employment, particularly in the event of mobility, access to leisure activities, vacation assistance, etc.

-Then there is supplementary social protection, which provides partial support for health and welfare costs;

-Lastly, benefits in kind: contribution to catering costs, provision of a vehicle, company housing, etc., are also included.

There is a real need to develop an HR service offering that integrates all these elements to complement direct remuneration. The study also notes that, in a survey conducted by Gazette and CNAS in 2018, a third of beneficiaries said they were using social benefits less than 5 years earlier. The reason for this was that nearly half of them felt that these benefits were insufficiently adapted to their needs, too unattractive or lacking territorial roots.

In this way, the HR service offering in terms of salary policy will need to be contextualized and adapted to the specific characteristics of the region, as well as to the expectations of its employees, while ensuring that it is accessible (HR and managerial communication, etc.).

CONCLUSION

BEYOND REMUNERATION, THINK OF AN ATTRACTIVE PAY POLICY!

While remuneration is one of the most important levers of attractiveness - all the more so in a context of inflation and strong tensions on the job market in terms of recruitment - it must be articulated with the other dimensions of the agent experience.

Although the civil service's remuneration rules - and its culture - certainly limit the scope for excessive modulation and individualization, tools do exist to enable HR departments to serve their administration's strategy and ambitions.

It is by addressing the entire wage policy that levers for attractiveness can be activated. Ultimately, the challenge is to define a service offering for employees, providing them with a range of benefits, assistance and services that contribute directly or indirectly to their purchasing power and quality of life, and meet their expectations and needs.

The constraints mentioned above will then be seen as an opportunity to rethink the experience.

"This is achieved by reconciling a number of elements that structure attractiveness.

The post Repenser la politique salariale au service de l’attractivité de la fonction publique appeared first on Eurogroup Consulting.

Attractiveness of civil service professions: what are the facts and what are the challenges?

EGCAdmin — Thu, 06 Apr 2023 17:15:00 +0000

The subject of attractiveness is now a central concern for the entire civil service, and all the more so for its HR function.

The recruitment difficulties that threaten the availability and accessibility of services of general interest, at the heart of citizens' lives, make them major issues for public administrations.
While the subject goes beyond the public sphere, it does reveal trends and strong expectations of the State and local authorities in terms of employment, working conditions and remuneration, careers, etc.

The necessary transformations must now integrate all projects relating to the modernization of the public HR function.
Several levers can be mobilized to address this issue. They need to be deployed within the framework of a well-defined HR strategy, so that the various aspects can then be rolled out.

It is to tackle this major challenge that the government has announced the launch of the careers and remuneration project for the 1st half of 2023, for which the 1st exploratory work has begun.

The time of great transitions that characterizes the current period is an incredible laboratory and an opportunity to revitalize the attractiveness of the public service that our country needs.

Between 1997 and 2018, the civil service saw a (historic?) drop of 65% in the number of candidates taking competitive examinations. Is the sector's attractiveness at half-mast?

While the civil service accounts for one in five jobs in France, only 1 in 10 young people today say they are interested in a job in this sector. The number of candidates for state civil service entrance examinations has fallen from 650,000 in 1997 to 228,000 in 2018 seems to mark a kind of disaffection with the public sector in terms of career and employment. In 2019, nearly 40% of candidates admitted to the competition who did not take the written test. This trend affects all three levels of the civil service. Are we facing a vocational crisis or a crisis in the attractiveness of the civil service, as some call this phenomenon?

While this downward trend began before the health crisis, the latter seems to have exacerbated its effects during the economic recovery phase. This "decline" in attractiveness has very tangible, day-to-day impacts for all those who benefit from public services. They are illustrated by the difficulty of recruiting in many sectors and professions, threatening the continuity and accessibility of public services for users throughout the country.

In response to this emergency and shortage situation - which nevertheless affects the various professions in the three civil service branches in different ways - national and European political initiatives have been launched, particularly with regard to local authorities. In this context, for example, a 2-year project financed by the European Union has been launched on the attractiveness of the French civil service in the regions.

The modernization of the HR function can no longer be conceived without a reflection and measures around the issue of attractiveness.

What are the realities of this loss of attractiveness from one side to the other, and from one sector of activity to the next?

What levers can be envisaged to respond?

AN UNEVEN LOSS OF ATTRACTIVENESS FROM ONE BUSINESS SECTOR TO ANOTHER

A study published in April 2022 by Pôle emploi highlights serious recruitment difficulties throughout the civil service. This is particularly true in the educational, social, medico-social, cultural, sports, technical and administrative sectors.

Top 4 jobs with the highest unemployment

1. The trainers
2. Orderlies
3. Sports instructors
4. Professionals in socio-cultural activities

of local authorities are struggling to recruit

0 %

According to the results of the 12th Local Authority HR Barometer conducted by Randstad and published in September 2021.

Recruitment issues that raise questions

Recruitment issues that extend to schools, hospitals, and police and judicial institutions call into question the State's ability to :

provide users with an efficient, uniform public service across the country
but also to meet the challenges of the future, such as digital technology

The most underfunded trades

A study conducted by the ANDCDC and published in September 2022 shows that in 2020, the most underfunded trades will be :

administrative: town hall secretary, administrative management assistant
children: children and youth coordinator
technical: maintenance agent

More generally speaking, it's in the social, medical-social, education and transport sectors that local authorities are finding it hardest to recruit. The health professions (occupational medicine), early childhood (entertainment, childcare, etc.) and bus driving seem to have become the most unattractive professions.

WHY HAS THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF THE CIVIL SERVICE DECLINED SO SHARPLY, ESPECIALLY AT REGIONAL LEVEL?

Attractiveness issues today transcend the boundaries between the public and private sectors to become a societal challenge. This is borne out by the numerous studies on "the big resignation" - and ways of dealing with it - that flood the media. They tend to establish cross-sectoral trends that may reflect individuals' expectations of their (future) employer, including recognition and a sense of belonging to an organization.

In the public sector in particular, several factors in the loss of attractiveness regularly emerge.

A dynamic job market

While competitive examinations are still the main means of recruitment in the civil service, the following trends can be observed a clear correlation between the unemployment rate and the attractiveness of civil service entrance examinations. Thus, the higher the unemployment rate, the higher the rate of participation in competitive examinations. Conversely, in an economic upturn such as we've experienced since the "end" of the health crisis, the appeal of this recruitment method diminishes, at the same time as confidence in a dynamic job market takes hold.

The level of remuneration

This question should also be seen in the context of the remuneration dynamics of certain profiles and professions on the job market. For example, government agencies are reporting difficulties in recruiting in the IS sector. However, these professions are widely disputed between the private and public sectors, with significant salary variations in a highly competitive environment. This is all the more true in the local civil service (FPT), where salaries have changed little in recent years.

Working conditions

While most studies tend to indicate that remuneration is a factor in motivating and retaining talent, working conditions in their broadest sense (community life, social benefits, managerial and organizational culture, security of working conditions, feeling of being valued for one's work, etc.) are strong expectations that employees have of their employer. Yet, while individuals who join the civil service have a positive perception of their work, with a strong sense of usefulness, working conditions and career prospects suffer from a particularly negative image conveyed by their own staff and by users. Recurring arguments take hold:

A bureaucracy that fosters inertia and complicates project management over long deadlines.
An outdated management style, with a highly vertical mode of operation not conducive to consultation.
Long, undynamic careers, with little recognition of skills, in favor of a status-based approach.
Working conditions are sometimes degraded, where the exposure of professions is combined with a lack of investment in equipment, materials or premises. These poor working conditions also have physical and psychological consequences.
Accessibility and quality of public services that may appear to users to be deteriorating, depending on the dimensions (real estate, for example) observed.

Factors specific to each branch of the civil service

In addition to these factors, the reality of recruitment difficulties in the civil service is not entirely the same, depending on whether you consider the territorial, hospital or public sector side of the equation, or the geographical area. With regard to State civil service (FPE) or hospital civil service (FPH)The prospect of teaching, caring for others or working as a law enforcement officer in disadvantaged neighborhoods after graduating from school can be a daunting prospect for some individuals. These difficulties are not identical depending on the sectors and professions observed.

On the FPTHowever, geographic inequalities are more pronounced, notably due to their wide geographical coverage, which can lead to isolation in the most rural areas, making it difficult for spouses to find employment. Conversely, the cost of living in some large urban areas can be difficult to meet. Added to this poor knowledge of missions and professions offered by the local civil service.

HOW CAN WE IMPROVE THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF CIVIL SERVICE JOBS?

We can envisage several complementary levers to meet this challenge of making the civil service more attractive:

Regulatory and administrative levers :

Work to upgrade pay scales to develop the ability of local authorities to address a competitive job market focused on rare skills or shortage occupations.
Consideration given to the ways and means of recruiting future agents. From proposals are formalized as follows to lighten/simplify the content of competitions, provide better information (readability/visibility) and develop national competitions with local assignments, in particular to attract individuals who do not envisage geographic mobility following their competition.
Further diversification of recruitment channels can, more generally, be a powerful lever (e.g. internal/external/3rd channel competitive exams, PACTE, CDI/CDD, PrAB...*), provided that HR players are well equipped (in terms of regulations and professionalization) and that discrepancies (particularly in terms of pay between permanent and contract staff) likely to generate strong feelings of injustice among agents are limited.

*PACTE: Career path for local civil servants (Parcours d'accès aux carrières de la fonction publique territoriale)

PraB: experimental competition Parcours d'accès aux carrières de la fonction publique territoriale (Territorial civil service career path)

The agent experience across different dimensions

The construction ofa renewed service offering tailored to the specific challenges of the various business lines and the employees who move to them. In particular, we need to look at the social benefits available to FPT employees moving to areas where it is difficult for their spouse to find a job, or conversely, to employees moving to local authorities where the cost of housing can be an obstacle.
The introduction of measures to encourage career development and mobility, taking into account the "moments" in agents' careers and lives, thus limiting the apprehension of a sclerotic career path. The challenge here is to work on a more individualized approach to career paths, enabling employees to project themselves into their careers, and to devise ways of enhancing their skills and experience.
Quality of life at work (QWL), as well as work modes and organization, are major levers for strengthening and improving the agent experience. As mentioned above, expectations in terms of flexibility, work/life balance, managerial culture, meaning and community at work, etc., are all on the rise. essential dimensions of agent commitment. So, in addition to attracting them, we need to think in depth about ways of retaining skills within government departments.
Linking all these dimensions together in an employer branding strategy designed to articulate internal (presented above) and external (addressed below) measures.

Employer branding levers (external)

Enhancing know-how and sharing knowledge: improve the clarity and visibility of the expertise, skills and professions covered by the various levels of the civil service, by showing the scope of the fields and missions covered. Beyond this, the aim is also to facilitate and fluidify the dissemination of information to the public, by mobilizing media and terminologies accessible to the greatest number of people. For example, work is being carried out to make it easier to understand and read the job descriptions posted on job boards, as well as the strategies for publishing these offers, by targeting the sites most consulted by the profiles sought.
Pursue actions to improve the quality of service provided, by placing the experience of users and (future) agents at the heart of its system. In fact, the dual effect of user/employee perception is particularly detrimental to the attractiveness of an administration. The challenge is therefore to improve the perception of service quality and the conditions under which it is delivered, both for the beneficiary and for the person carrying it out. To date, only 1 in 3 local authority employees would recommend their local authority to a friend or family member...
Relying on a common set of values that constitute "public service". to define the employer brand line for the civil service, and facilitate its adaptation to specific territorial/local/sectoral needs. The civil service brings with it strong, unifying notions of meaning and usefulness, which are major assets to be put to good use in a shared employer brand.

FOCUS ON

THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF THE HR FUNCTION

The issue of attractiveness is now a central concern for the entire civil service, and all the more so for its HR function. The recruitment difficulties that threaten the availability and accessibility of services of general interest, at the heart of citizens' lives, make this a major issue for public administrations.

While the subject goes beyond the public sphere, it reveals strong trends and expectations of the State and local authorities in terms of employment, working conditions and remuneration, careers, etc. The necessary transformations must now include all projects relating to the modernization of the public HR function.

Several levers can be mobilized to address this issue. They need to be deployed within the framework of a well-defined HR strategy, so that the various aspects can then be rolled out.

It is to tackle this major challenge that the government has announced the launch of the careers and remuneration project for the 1st half of 2023, for which the 1st exploratory work has begun. The time of the Great Transitions that characterizes the current period is an incredible laboratory and an opportunity to revitalize the attractiveness of the public service that our country needs.

The post Attractivité des métiers de la fonction publique : quels constats et quels enjeux ? appeared first on Eurogroup Consulting.

Guest column: "Here's to committed slackers!

EGCAdmin — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 04:49:00 +0000

A generation suffering from an epidemic of laziness. Sluggishness at work, sluggishness when going out, sluggishness even in leisure activities. This is the current tune that condemns our youth, distorting the careful analysis of the Jean-Jaurès Foundation. It would be demobilized and disengaged, seized by a lethargy that would spare no one.

It's a convenient explanation, supported by the aplomb of "it was better before". But there's no evidence to support it. There's a gap between the reality of commitment to work and this growing perception. And what if, like the much heralded but still unconfirmed "great resignation" in France, this is just an illusion? If we take a closer look at the day-to-day life of our companies, it's not the level of commitment that's changing: it's the forms of commitment. We are experiencing a succession of brutal crises that are shaking up all our certainties. We're talking about a generation forced to learn a vocabulary we thought had disappeared: "confinement", "curfew", then "war" and now "offloading". In recent years, the unthinkable has happened, cruelly underlining the inadequacies of our models. No masks, no ammunition, when a pandemic and then armed conflict erupt.

When landmarks crumble, new ones have to be created.

It's simply the ways in which we defend them that are changing. At a time when we have to work together to bring about transitions on an unprecedented scale, the meeting of these actions holds out the promise of complementarity in the service of the common good. The change we are witnessing is the emergence of a multi-commitment model in a determined new generation. For our collective destiny, there is an immense reserve of vitality here, provided we are able to understand and take account of these new aspirations in commitment. Our great challenge, then, is for companies to create interest.

The challenge is to open up the discussion forums needed to integrate these new expectations.

For if commitment means "being part of society", if it resides in the feeling of being part of a group, then everything hinges on the leader's ability to inspire, and on the local manager's responsibility to bring concrete meaning to everyone's missions. For the company, the challenge is to open up the discussion forums needed to integrate these new expectations. From employee training in climate issues to new forms of corporate philanthropy and volunteering, our companies are adapting to the new forms of commitment that are already transforming their day-to-day operations.

Faced with the brutality of the crises we are experiencing, and the scale of the challenges facing our societies, only multiple, collective and complementary commitments can set our societies in motion.

A column by Gilles BonnenfantChairman of Eurogroup Consulting, published in Les Echos on January 26, 2023.

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