Mihaela Moga & Bogdan Diaconu

Société Générale Group, France: Disability in the Workplace
A Case Study on Labour Market Inclusion of Socially Deprived People

Société Générale Group, France, a public limited company (SA, société anonime)

Place of implementation: Those cities in which the company operates and deprived urban areas

Short company profile

Main activity: Retail banking and financial services, global investment management services, corporate and investment banking. The Group’s principal activity is to provide banking facilities.

The company was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Paris, France. The company was privatized in 1987. Societe Generale Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides various financial services in Europe and internationally.

Number of employees:
2007
- 135,000 employees
- 119 nationalities
- 57.1% are women
- 55.7% are based outside France
- 18,886 new hires on permanent contracts, 55.6% of which are women
- 3.5 million hours of training given to more than 100,000 employees (58% of which are women)
- more than 87,000 employees and former employees are Societe Generale shareholders

2008
- 151,000 people working in 82 countries
- 57% are women

CSR policy (especially those policies and activities related to attracting of marginal groups to the labour market)

The main CSR areas: social development, environment, risk management and responsible lending

“Société Générale Group is committed to the protection of the environment and basic human and social rights in every aspect of its business and at each stage in its development.”

The company’s key-stakeholders: shareholders, clients, employees

“Société Générale’s core strategy is to create lasting value for its shareholders, clients and staff. Yet this objective is only meaningful if it forms part of a broader policy of corporate social responsibility designed to promote social development and environmental protection.”
(Daniel BOUTON, Chairman, “2007 Focus on Corporate Social Responsibility at Societe Generale”)

The company’s CSR and ethical standards

- Signing in 2001 of the UN Environment Programme Statement by Financial Institutions on the Environment and Sustainable Development
- Joining in 2003 the Global Compact, initiative of the Secretary General of the United Nations
- Founding member of the Wolfsberg Group (prevention of money laundering)
- Signing in 2004 of the Diversity Charter in France
- Signing in 2006 of the Principles for Responsible Investment
- Support renewed in 2007 for the Carbon Disclosure Project
- Adoption of Equator Principles in 2007

The company’s formal CSR Structure

- The Executive Committee defines the Group’s CSR policy.
- The Sustainable Development Department implements and coordinates this policy.
- A network of around 60 contributors deploys the Group’s policy and oversees all local initiatives.
- The Group’s managers and staff contribute on a day-to-day basis.
- The Societe Generale Foundation supports the charity activities.

Employee awareness

- A sustainable development intranet “Planethic©” which is accessible to all staff.
- A CSR brochure with 80,000 copies distributed internally.
- Conferences, seminars, exhibitions, etc.

CSR reporting tool

- 76 business, social, environmental and sponsorship results indicators
- 61 countries covered by the reporting scope

Social inclusion policy

Diversity in recruitment, personal and professional development, skills management and forward careers management, non-discrimination, equal opportunities, professional integration of the disabled, social dialogue and a proactive policy of prevention and care.

Description of CSR practice dedicated to marginal groups to the labour market

Activities of the HR Department in charge of disability in the workplace

Recruitment, integration, training and keeping the disabled persons in employment are all areas covered by the work of the HR Department in charge of disability in the workplace.

1. A voluntary recruitment plan
- 60 disabled people have joined the company since the beginning of 2008
- Numerous partnerships (Adhère RH, Jobinlive, Tremplin, Club Être, etc.) have been set up to increase the effectiveness of the recruitment operations
- Implementation of the “Handimanagement” programme in schools (EDHEC, IESEG Lille): support for projects led by students

2. Organizational initiatives
- Implementation of a survey diagnosing the perception of disability by retail banking employees in France
- Creation of disability units in the departments of the Société Générale head office and regional delegations
- Creation of an Operating Committee to implement social services and occupational healthcare recommendations.

3. Operations to keep the disabled people at work
- More than 80 operations have been conducted, since the launch of HR Department in charge of disability in the workplace, covering areas such as accessibility, adaptation of workstations, adaptation of working hours, provision of parking and transport, etc.
- Implementation of a dedicated process to foster recognition of the status of disabled worker.

4. Training initiatives
- Hosting of disabled trainees
- Raising awareness among managers and human resources teams
- Training: e-learning programme on non-discrimination and equal opportunities
- Creation of “HandiFormaBanques” in Lille (work-study sessions)

5. Partnerships with companies offering protected environments for the disabled
- 30% increase in the sales generated in the protected environments (”Etablissements et Services d’Aide par le Travail” and Adapted Companies)

6. Participation in numerous forums
- 30 Recruitment forums (at least three per region)
- Active participation in the November 2008 Disabled Employment Week

7. A contribution to innovation
- Contribution to the development of Tadéo, an innovative Internet-based technological solution allowing the deaf and hearing-impaired to take part in conference calls.

Level of intervention
- HR Department
- partnerships with companies
- social partnership: with schools and non-profit institutions, NGO’s and governmental organizations: the National Labour Agency (ANPE), The Marseille Chamber of Commerce, French Unemployment Agency (ASSEDIC)

Prospective users of CSR practice
- disabled persons
- the company’s disabled employees
- managers that work with disabled people
- young unemployed people

Problem addressed
- Unemployment of disabled persons
- Discrimination, inequality in the workplace
- Lack of career development opportunities for disabled workers

Purpose of intervention
To combat discrimination, to create economic opportunities and to implement social services for disabled people

The aims of the Department in charge of disability in the workplace:
- To double the number of disabled people recruited each year
- To help the disabled to stay in employment and improve working conditions through training, career management and adaptation of workstations, working hours and work vehicles
- To raise awareness and organize training initiatives for managers, human resources personnel and company staff
- To develop partnerships with companies which offer specially adapted environments allowing the disabled to work

Context
The legal context: According to the law of 10 July, 1987, in the case of any private or public institution that has 20 employees or more, the proportion of the disabled persons must be at least 6%.

Social environment and banking industry: Banking and financial services are a business with a huge social impact to the clients, to the business environment, and to the local communities too; that’s why, in banking good and trustful relationships are crucial on a long term; therefore, banking and financial services require:
- Two-way communication, responsible behaviour, and personal interaction
- Pro-active management
- A Research & Development policy adapted to the social needs
- Due to the global financial crisis, banks need more precautionary policies for risk management

Impact
The partnership with the French Unemployment Agency (ASSEDIC),
- 29 out of the 34 proposed candidates were engaged as reception-staff

Youth Challenge, in partnership with the Marseille Chamber of Commerce
- enabled 10 young people without qualifications to gain experience and professional skills in the banking industry
Activities of the HR Department
- By the end of 2007, Societe Generale had recruited 37 employees (31 on a permanent contract, 2 on a fixed-term contract and 4 on qualification programs)

- The number of disabled, or partially disabled persons having worked at Societe Generale for more than 6 months of the year stood at 671 in 2007

- 60 disabled people have joined the company since the beginning of 2008

Partnerships with companies offering protected environments for the disabled (Adapted companies)
- 30% increase in the sales generated in protected environments (”Etablissements et Services d’Aide par le Travail” and Adapted Companies)
Social Networking
- forums, Internet groups

Conclusion
Public-private approach, clear rules, national strategies, social partnership, and different ways to motivate companies to be proactive: As in the case of other French companies, the Societe Generale’s programmes dedicated to social and economic inclusion of the disabled persons are, at least partially, inspired by the French legislative initiatives.

Due to its considerable dimension and profound implication, the economic and social inclusion of the marginal groups needs a public-private approach based on a set of clear rules and national strategies.

These strategies have to clearly answer to the following questions:

- Is there a profitable way for a company to approach and find solutions for the marginal groups?
- Has the Government a public policy to encourage research investments and product innovation for marginal groups?
- Considering that communication and awareness campaign, training and research imply huge costs, how SMEs (Small and Medium) could be encouraged to define policies and to implement programmes for marginal groups or for disabled people?

Source
Societe Generale Group’s CSR activities

2007 Focus on Corporate Social Responsibility at Societe Generale
corporateinformation.com
travail-solidarite.gouv.fr/espaces/handicap/