Motivate its employees so that they have the desire and willingness to satisfy the customer, it is very often the quest for the Holy Grail for the large-scale distribution sector. Leroy Merlin seems to find the paths. Consider instead: at pay its purchases to a store of Ivry Fund, the author of these lines is a few weeks that she lost equity of 115 euros was released, half an hour, in exchange for goods in return. Informed, Fund host reassures the client and calls a colleague who invites the étourdie to check his pockets, then search the wastebasket of the counter where having, phone different Ray visited by the client through the two floors of the store had been prepared. Observation is made, the paper is well and truly lost. "No problem, we'll set aside it as it is registered and get you another", explains the young customer Adviser. A quarter of an hour after the customer left the store with his pots of paint and its curtain rods, relieved to not have been sanctioned financially for his inattention. "This story is the perfect illustration of what we try to implement in our company," welcomes Stéphane Calmès, Director of human resources of Leroy Merlin France. "The satisfaction of customers is one of the criteria that we monitor very closely;" "but it is largely dependent on the home that her reserve staff," continues the HRD. And to achieve the number one DIY "will favour a candidate who has abilities to love and to serve the client, rather than someone who has a good CV", said Regis Degelcke, Director General of Leroy Merlin France.
A triple sharing
This strategy is based on a triple share: "sharing of knowledge, power and it is a real culture of enterprise in Leroy Merlin, and it works", provides a steward GSC - CFE a store in the Paris region.
The benefit to all employees, since the Director of store to the simple stevedore, access to training, Friesland in effect the obsession with Leroy Merlin, and, for twenty years.
"For our sector as in others, the challenge of the future, it is the skills development" analysis Stéphane Calmès, indicating that Leroy Merlin spends 6.8 of its payroll to training. A rate two to three times higher than what is done elsewhere in the distribution.
In practice, 90 of the collaborators followed a course of professional but it is the remaining 10 interest HRD: "It is imperative that 100 of our 15.550 employees have a training project, including the caisse hostess who believes not too much."
Do better than the law
The Act on vocational training in May 2004 could be losing to Leroy Merlin's length ahead of the competition, if it really applied. A risk that the sign does not want to take. Management has therefore decided to better than 20 annual hours cumulative over six years of its flagship, the individual right to training (DIF) instrument and the Act. The leader of the DIY offers its staff an individual plan for development and training (PIDF) which offers sixty-three hours of training, every three years, before the triennial period is over. Tool privileged for this policy, which won at Leroy Merlin in 2005 second prize in the trophies Management and skills of the magazine "Issues - Les Echos": the Institute for development Leroy Merlin (MI) which has provided on-site or in stores, 44.000 actions training in 2005 (see opposite). "To maintain our lead, society has trained 600 tutors, accredited by the Ministry of employment, that oversee new employees for a year in the stores," says Stéphane Calmès. The role of these guardians is complementary to the manager, "and in no case competitor." There is no hierarchical relationship between the tutor and his intern. The latter may, at any time, request a Council, an explanation and a notice without reference to his superior.
To complete this device for the sharing of knowledge, has to identify one hundred expert, recognized by their colleagues in the French network as of very good, even excellent, specialists in their field. Seller of chimneys, Master electrician, expert in horticulture or coating coated, these "referents" know that they must share their knowledge with their counterparts in other stores, during periods of professionalization. "You can copy our linear or the architecture of our situational spaces, but not our jurisdiction," punctuates the HRD.
A large autonomy
It is believed in their jurisdiction, rightly, that a very large autonomy is left to store managers. Even too much autonomy to taste some: "each store manager is the master on board." At the time, the working atmosphere and the quality of social dialogue are highly variable from one store to another. "Some store managers do not always respect trade union rights, but if their turnover is good, the human resources branch closes his eyes," said Thierry Crestin, steward FO to the store of Aubagne.
The directors of
store as well as choose their staff and their products. The Central advocates a selection, with supporting rationale, but each large surface is free or not to accept these proposals. A Director can complete this offer by orders made on its own. A clever way to share power between the central management and stores. "In General, when someone takes an initiative, there is the desire to trust", notes the CFE - CGC Trade Union delegate.This autonomy creates an emulation between stores, especially in the Paris region, where both outlets are likely to attract the same nucleus of customer. "It promotes a real culture, a mind of its own to each store," says steward.
When asked about the usefulness of its role to staff delegate, it recognizes that it is "minimal", except in rare cases where the Director forget mind Leroy Merlin, for "govern how large distrib" or according to his own designs. "Barely 10 of the directors use and abuse of power", recognizes the young manager unionized, the head of a team of 80 people.
Quarterly bonuses
The autonomy of each store also governs the sharing of the results, which allows employees to pick the fruits of their own work. Basic wages "which gradually lined on those of the competition in recent years", says the HRD, are complemented by a quarterly profit related to the economic performance of each store, but according to a barometer of customer satisfaction. These premiums are two to three months of additional wages for workers who have the chance to work in the stores which emit a strong benefit;" "for others, the premium is sometimes virtual," continues Thierry Crestin. These premiums are not sharing in the profits to the level of society, and this, beyond the legal provisions. "Share value creation is part of the philosophy of the Mulliez family which owned Leroy Merlin since 1979, but at home, it is pushed to its paroxysm", said Stéphane Calmès. With its allocation formula, for the fiscal year 2005-2006, employees shared 11.65 of the profits while they would have affected that 7 if the law had been applied to the letter.
Last element of the Division of equity: the shareholding is 99 of the employees. They hold 16 of the capital of this non-listed company, but whose action is annually adjusted by four independent experts appointed by the commercial court and the family shareholders under the control of the financial markets authority. For twenty years, the growth of the action has always been two figures with, for the past year, an increase of 20... "If one adds have and wages, it is quite interesting to go home Leroy Merlin." Word of HRD that belies not delegate FO: "I am very well in Leroy Merlin and I certainly do not leave in a competitor, but is because it is at the top of the basket that must stop there." There is much to be done on internal promotion and mobility of seniors.
Hourly disabilities
Other shade to the table: the French leader of the DIY with a turnover of EUR 3.4 billion in 2005, recognizes that he, than its competitors, was popular with young people. With a turnover of 10, low for the sector (the average seniority is spent six years in 2000 to eight years in 2005), Leroy Merlin recruits all year about 2,000 people. Of this total, at least 500 jobs are creations of posts and the difficulty in finding personnel are real. "If any wages, this to be", cowardly HRD, aware of the superior attractiveness exerted on young people less exposed and more stable positions in the public service or local communities. Schedules are one of the major handicaps. "No one wants to work on Saturday and again Sunday, even if it wins, holidays, 50 more than a day", is the steward.
ANPE, Internet sites, schools of commerce, ads or Word-of-mouth, all means are explored by Leroy Merlin to resolve its difficulties in recruitment. With the opening of 4-5 stores per year, the leader of the DIY short especially after the good commercial. They are not put easily seduce as devout firm is deemed in the public mind, to large distribution. A sector which, as everyone knows, is not good news. Leroy Merlin, he did not press the... Focused on its commitment to its employees and happy customers, not works hardly on the media image of the company. And does not seem to have realized that it was also important to know the outside, by a real political communication to all the actors of the world of business, "so many working at Leroy Merlin".
A break with the old adage, so dear to the people of the North, "to live happily, live hidden" and applied to the letter in this temple of internal usability everyone is there touch might be a solution to its problems of recruitment primer.
while commands can also be placed by phone or faxThe amount of work to fund is highly variableAnnounced operations strongly reduce the riskUntil then it was the 1992 law that appliedThis subject was submitted on 21 may at the last commission of financeSome were that this communication was a shame4 million it represents only 2 of the totalIt comes at the same time to establish a more innovative spiritBut in the long term the future is darker791 and the rate to 10 years by 4 points to 1848
