Citizen act memo_human resources_va

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MEMO – CSR, SUSTAINABILITY AND HUMAN RESOURCES

CITIZEN ACT – season 2011-2012

Developed and written by CCMP (Centrale de Cas et de Médias Pédagogiques) and Olivier DELBARD, Professor of social sciences at ESCP Europe

SOCIETE GENERALECITIZEN ACT

CCMP AND OLIVIER DELBARD, PROFESSOR OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AT ESCP EUROPE

TABLE OF CONTENT

INTRODUCTION

I.RAISING EMPLOYEE AWARNESS AND INVOLVEMENT

A.TRAINING PROGRAMS AND TOOLS

B.INITIATIVES TO MOBILIZE TEAMS AROUND THE VALUES COMMONLY SHARED INSIDE THE COMPANY ON CSR AND SUSTAINABILITY

II.SETTING UP A SUSTAINABLE AND RESPONSIBLE HUMAN RESOURCE POLICY

CONCLUSION


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INTRODUCTION

Any company committing itself to CSR and sustainability endorses new social and environmental responsibilities. These new responsibilities take the form of values, objectives and action principles that are then transposed into the daily activities.

Company activity is the result of the women and men continuous involvement making it up and moving it ahead day after day. Thus implementing sustainability and CSR obviously means employee commitment, their understanding of the issues and their agreeing with the actions taken by the company. The company bears full responsibility as the employer, which implies engaging in a responsible and sustainable relation with its workforce.


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INTRODUCTION

The banking industry’s activities rely first and foremost on the skills and competence of women and men, hence the importance of its responsibility in terms of human resources management. Human resources management is clearly a priority from a CSR and sustainability perspective. For the Société Générale, behaving as a “responsible employer” is naturally one of the top three key objectives.

Implementing a sustainability and CSR Policy implies the strong involvement of the Human Resources Department, whose role is essentially twofold:

- To raise employee-awareness with regards to CSR and sustainability.

- To develop a sustainable and responsible Human resource Policy for the company.


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I. RAISING EMPLOYEE AWARNESS AND INVOLVEMENT

No CSR and sustainability Policy will ever become a reality if employees do not comprehend the issues and become personally involved in implementing the goals set by top management.

The Human Resources Department plays a vital role in raising employee awareness. This is achieved in mainly two ways:

- Training programs and tools on CSR and sustainability

- Initiatives to mobilize teams around the values commonly shared inside the company on CSR and sustainability


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The company provides employees with a range of training tools, from traditional programs to internal self-assessment and self-training devices. The training sessions offered should be both general and tailored to specific job/function needs.

For instance, Société Générale proposes a bilingual (English/French) training course on CSR and sustainability. It has also set up a self-assessment and training tool, RPS (Responsibility performance Survey), currently tested in two countries (France and Brazil).

A. Training programs and Tools on CSR and Sustainability


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These initiatives may be either specific events on the workplace (exhibitions, conferences, “specialised” weeks) or devices enabling employees to become actively involved in CSR and sustainability actions. Online information tools to do with “ecogestures” may further complement awareness programs organized on the workplace.

Société Générale proposes exhibitions, conferences, “specialised” weeks (for instance on socially responsible investment) for its employees. The “Citizenship Week” enables employees all over the world to participate in solidarity actions for NGOs and associations during one week. The Group has also set up an Intranet tool, Planethic, a source of sustainability and CSR-related information.

B. Initiatives to mobilize teams around the values commonly shared inside the company on CSR and Sustainability


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Such awareness raising policies should also take into account the variety of places in which the company operates so as to respond to specific local needs. Thus, with respect to its objective of combating HIV/AIDS, Société Générale has set up action plans in its 11 African subsidiaries. The group has also launched awareness campaigns against malaria.

Finally, employee volunteering in CSR and sustainability may further concretise involvement around shared values. In this respect, the Talents et partage association set up by some Société Générale employees devotes time to people in need, helping them reintegrate the workplace.


B. Initiatives to mobilize teams around the values commonly shared inside the company on CSR and Sustainability

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CSR and sustainability are key issues in the company’s relation with its employees. Indeed, corporate social performance is measured to a large extent by the company’s ability to optimise the value of its human capital and deploy a sustainable and responsible recruitment Policy.

A responsible commitment towards human resources rests first on developing a corporate culture favouring the emergence of sustainable and responsible practices within the organisation.

II. SETTING UP A SUSTAINABLE AND RESPONSIBLE HUMAN RESOURCES POLICY


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The aim is thus to foster ethical and responsible values pertaining to a common objective. Among such values enhancing sustainability and accountability are the sense of collective interest, solidarity, creativity, the entrepreneurial spirit. Société Générale highlights the importance of instilling a new entrepreneurship and cooperation culture within the organisation. Its goal is to spread it to the entire staff.

A responsible employer is also expected to honour his/her promises while meeting the expectations of employees regarding internal promotion, career prospects and personal fulfilment. Sustainability and CSR in the field of Human resource management may also contribute to strengthening social dialogue within the company, while using appropriate tools to measure employee satisfaction.



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The responsibility of the Human resource department regarding CSR and sustainability objectives is crucial when it comes to recruiting new collaborators. The key word is diversity: diversity that reflects the outside environment in its entirety, diversity that also takes into account discriminated populations, and that contributes to a fair representation of society as a whole, both on a local and global scale. The key issues are the following:

- Diversity

- Gender equality

- Disabled people

- Work reinsertion

The Société Générale has devised recruitment schemes in all of these areas. Regarding gender equality, it is supported by the “SG au feminine” association, which was set up by female employees independently of the Human resources department and whose aim is to help female workers move forward in their careers. Besides this, the Group has placed the emphasis on populations excluded from work as well as on senior workers. For example commercial devices have been adapted to disabled employees.



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CONCLUSION

Human resource management is a leading dimension in the implementation of CSR and sustainability policies in that it plays a fundamental role in spreading values among employees. Furthermore, the Human resource function has become a key driver for socially responsible recruitment and career prospect objectives.


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Citizen act memo_human resources_va

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