Has the Covid-19 pandemic changed your HR practices?
The health crisis has given us the opportunity to reflect on several subjects, starting with teleworking. We have defined the main principles at the group level, such as limiting it to two days per week, considering that a company cannot create a strong collective if employees are permanently “remote”. We are also rolling out training sessions on remote team management for our managers.
Doesn’t teleworking revive the idea of the divide between “white collars” and “blue collars”?
In the spring of 2020, it was our production employees who had the worst experience of the strict lockdown. These field professionals rarely envy their colleagues who work in offices. Contrary to what one might think, the divide is not necessarily between “white collars” and “blue collars”, but may exist among “white collars” who, for some of them, will not be able to meet the requirements necessary to telework in a satisfactory context. Indeed, the company always remains required to ensure good working conditions and is responsible for the health and safety of its employees. Therefore, we refuse to allow employees whose accommodation does not meet certain prerequisites (sufficient space, adequate lighting, ergonomics, etc.) to work from home. Other solutions can also be considered, such as offering the possibility of third-party workplaces closer to employees’ homes, particularly in medium-sized towns. This will allow those who use their vehicles to avoid traffic jams and thereby reduce their ecological footprint, but also to attract the interest of communities who will thus develop their economic activity.
How can site employees also benefit from flexibility in the organization of work?
In some of the group’s entities, we have conducted experiments on Friday working hours, with days starting a little earlier and ending at 2 p.m. There is also in-depth consideration of the “works experience” which will allow site managers to carry out administrative tasks from home.
What are your recruitment objectives for 2021 in your “BTP” entities?
At Colas (55,000 employees), the projected hiring volume by the end of the year is 2,500 people, while Bouygues Construction (59,000 employees) should welcome 2,600 new employees. Despite a dip in 2020, activity has, in this respect, returned to its pre-crisis level. Each year, some 40,000 people in total join the Bouygues group (130,000 employees worldwide).
In a context of sustained activity in the construction industry, how are you strengthening your attractiveness?
As evidenced by the 200,000 applications received each year at group level, we continue to attract. However, new generations stay less time in the same company than before. Having professional experience in our group offers a great calling card. Many of our former employees now run great companies, from the smallest to the largest, and put their Bouygues experience to good use. We must also remember the virtues of social mobility. Some of our employees who started out as journeymen or site managers have become major project managers.
We also offer a high-standard social offer (provident benefits, health costs, etc.) and an extremely advantageous company savings plan. Our employees currently hold more than 20% of the company’s capital. Capital increases are also reserved for them with strong leverage effects.
What strategy will you adopt in the coming months regarding salaries?
The rise in energy and fuel prices has led us to advance our negotiations on remuneration with the unions: in this area, prevention is better than cure. Some employees of the Bouygues group, starting with the journeymen, will benefit from this. For employees receiving higher salaries, increases will, as usual, be granted on merit next March. Furthermore, thanks to the high inflation this fall, the level of remuneration upon hiring should also see an increase.
“The rise in energy and fuel prices has led us to advance our negotiations on salaries with the unions.”
Where are you in terms of feminization?
We employ 16% of women in the construction trades with a rate of 10% in production. We have a lot of progress to make in this area. We want to be able to show that women have their place in the company, but we are faced with a real sourcing problem.
On the subject of diversity, I am rather in favour of positive discrimination in hiring: with equivalent CVs for men and women, we must give priority to women. The same is not true for career development. However, how can we ultimately achieve parity in management bodies, when all of our general managers come from operational functions where only 10% of women work? We are considering ways of opening up management functions to different profiles, with the implementation of accelerated pathways to give them real “field” legitimacy.
Do you think, as advocated for example by the referendum proposed by the president of the National Rally, Marine Le Pen, that the time has come to close the floodgates of immigration?
Construction was one of the first sectors to benefit from waves of migration. There was the Italian, Polish and Portuguese. While the main HR challenge for the next ten years is to attract the skills needed for our activities and our development, it is up to politicians to reflect on the subject. Because construction is already suffering from a lack of attractiveness. Look at what is happening in Great Britain: labour shortages are being cruelly felt. Let’s make sure that this cannot happen to us. In addition, the pandemic has changed the relationship to work for some: so let’s be creative if we want our country to continue to develop.
Would you have an interest in pushing the development of prefabrication, which would bring you different profiles?
The climate and environmental challenges are immense. The decarbonization of our activities is a major focus for our group. If off-site prefabrication allows us to achieve this objective, it must be considered. The digitalization of our processes will also constitute a major change in our way of producing. Companies committed to environmental and climate issues will become more attractive, particularly among young people. The image of the sector should improve when the “general public” becomes aware that a revolution is taking place in construction.