Louis de Looz-Corswarem, Executive Committee member and Head of Human Resources at BGL BNP Paribas, shares his vision of an ideal working environment, combining flexibility, well-being and collective commitment. In his view, the company must not only offer opportunities for development, but also cultivate a strong, transparent and inclusive culture to remain an attractive employer. He tells us how BGL BNP Paribas is adapting to the new challenges of hybrid working, while implementing initiatives to improve the quality of working life and foster employee fulfillment.
What, in your opinion, are the essential elements that make an ideal working environment?
The relationship with work has changed profoundly. Employees aspire to greater flexibility and a better balance of life times. They also want to contribute to a corporate project that resonates with them, and thrive in a positive working environment where they feel respected and involved.
The company must integrate and support this movement to remain an employer of choice, in line with the expectations and values of potential candidates and teams already in place. From then on, an optimal working environment is one that enables everyone to realize their potential while pursuing common goals; it's up to us to succeed in this subtle blend: offering an inspiring corporate project that speaks to everyone, while enabling each person to fulfill their own aspirations.
To achieve this, we obviously need to offer stimulating development and career opportunities, and nurture talent, but not only that. Other components are essential to integrate: a comfortable workspace and suitable tools, flexibility, agility, a strong corporate culture and project, as well as open and transparent communication.
What actions are you putting in place to foster a working environment that stimulates both productivity and commitment?
To foster our employees' productivity and commitment, as well as their personal fulfillment, we are committed to providing the conditions that enable everyone to succeed in their role efficiently and smoothly, always putting people at the center of the organization.
This means, first and foremost, providing high-performance work tools accompanied by the support needed for proper appropriation. It is also crucial to operate with an agile approach that gradually extends to the whole Bank, to the benefit of collective intelligence.
For a better work-life balance, as well as to limit commuting times and associated stress, we have made telecommuting a permanent feature and opened satellite sites on the Belgian and French borders. We are continually upgrading these sites, as needs arise, and some teams are even settling there permanently.
There's also a social dimension to work that we're keen to cultivate. For many years, we have been developing several initiatives in this direction, with the creation of numerous friendly and sporting circles (27 to date) facilitating meetings and the sharing of activities between colleagues. We have also created communities around a variety of themes, such as Ascent, which facilitates the integration of new arrivals into the bank, MixCity, which works to promote gender diversity and equal opportunities, or our coaches community.
Fostering an inclusive working environment where diversity is valued also seems essential to us, as does enabling employees to engage with us for a sustainable future. For example, we give our employees one day off a year to carry out a mission for an association, either on their own or as part of a team. We also have our in-house Hope association, which, throughout the year, supports humanitarian and environmental projects.
How do you cope with the challenges of working remotely or in hybrid mode? What adjustments have you had to make?
Hybrid working certainly challenges our organization, but, if framed and supported, it also represents a great opportunity to respond to the changing relationship to work.
First important point: we equip our employees with the right equipment (laptops for nomadic mode, optimal Wi-Fi coverage in our buildings, equipping our rooms with state-of-the-art equipment for videoconferencing, etc.) and we support them as they develop their skills in digital collaborative tools.
We also offer management awareness modules in hybrid mode to help our managers steer and motivate teams, while preserving collective performance and ensuring everyone's well-being. Managing to maintain a good quality of listening and presence is a major challenge of remote management.
More than ever, communication plays a fundamental binding role. So, across the Bank, we regularly organize face-to-face and remote information sessions, during which we share our vision and exchange around key topics.
We also punctuate the year with communication highlights to highlight our projects and events and provide key insights. To unite people around a project, you have to embody it, bring it to life and explain it.
Communicating is essential; listening to the field and cultivating a sense of belonging are just as important, especially in a fast-changing world. This is why we regularly survey our teams on their employee experience, ethics and diversity issues, and quality of life at work. The high participation rates in the various surveys we offer encourage us to grow this culture of listening and co-creation.
Finally, to enable everyone to benefit from a flexible work organization while guaranteeing the smooth running of the various departments, we are also setting up team projects. These projects will give rise to operating methods defined in consultation between the manager and his or her team. This is all the more important when it comes to supporting our employees in the implementation of flex office, which is changing habits and the management of workspaces.
How important do you consider the ergonomics and design of workspaces to be for the well-being of your teams?
For both individual and collective comfort and efficiency, it's essential to design workspaces that are adapted to different uses, enabling concentration, collaboration and conviviality at the same time. This is the essential balance between the individual and the collective. At times, we need to benefit from an isolated space to concentrate or take a personal call, and at others, to be able to exchange, brainstorm or meet as a team.
As part of the construction of our new building on the historic Kirchberg site, we have implemented a participative approach, aimed at fully integrating employees into the design of their future workspaces. This approach includes the collection and analysis of needs and uses, design workshops, awareness-raising sessions and feedback.
Since last December, we have also inaugurated pilot spaces on two floors of our existing buildings to test our future flex office working arrangements. We carry out satisfaction surveys and regularly collect feedback from users, enabling us to take corrective action where necessary, and above all to steer the layout of our future building in the right direction.
While proposing and fitting out a welcoming, inspiring and modular workspace is important, we also ensure that the floors are well designed in terms of accessibility for people with reduced mobility, temperature, lighting, acoustics for optimum comfort, as well as the ergonomics of our furniture
How do you think the work environment you offer contributes to employee loyalty?
Over and above the tasks performed and responsibilities entrusted, the environment in which a person is immersed on a daily basis plays a key role, as it has a direct impact on their health, well-being, satisfaction, efficiency and ultimately their commitment.
An employee needs to evolve in an environment where they feel good, where they can work efficiently, where they feel respected and listened to, where they can work on a meaningful project, interacting with other people.
The atmosphere, buildings, tools and spaces provided reflect the company's culture and values. They also show concern for employees' well-being and the company's consideration for them. So this is a major dimension to take into account.
In fact, for our future building, in addition to environmental certifications, we are aiming to obtain the OsmoZ label, which invites us to deploy our real estate project in the service of quality of life at work, from its conception to its completion.
A work environment is much more than just a physical setting. It can truly be made a place of life, a breeding ground for talent, ideas and the company's sustainable future. It's this extra touch of soul that makes all the difference, and that can lead to great, long-term collaborations.
This post was translated from the original French.