Group HR Director, FM Logistic
#27 - Qualité de Vie au Travail & gestion des talents chez Lidl, avec Laëtitia De Montgolfier (DRH)
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Transcript (66 segments)
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Flobert0:01
La Manufacture RH presents 13e mois. HR is about connecting with all departments, employees, and social partners, serving the company's development. You can build a career and change jobs several times at Lidl. SQVT prioritizes health and safety. We want to test the 4-day week. 'Dad, is it true you fire people?' That's what my daughter said. I am Flobert, former HR Director and founder of La Manufacture RH. Welcome to 13e mois.
Welcome Laetitia. I love Lidl's ads, especially the employer brand campaign featuring families. You are the Executive HR Director of Lidl. In this episode, we'll focus on QVT and internal mobility. First, who are you, Laetitia de Montgolfier?
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Laetitia De montgolfier3:02
I am Laetitia de Montgolfier, Executive HR Director at Lidl. I am passionate about HR. I started at Coca-Cola, then Veolia, RKW, Amazon, a start-up, and now Lidl. I've held generalist, project management, and labor relations roles in France and the US.
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Flobert3:44
Indeed, you can be an HR Director in various environments. My first question: how do you define the fabulous job of HR Director?
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Laetitia De montgolfier4:08
Being an HR Director means being connected with all departments, close to employees and social partners, serving the company's development. It's a pivotal role. We have labor inspection, unions – a diverse environment.
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Flobert5:16
Indeed, there are increasing expectations from customers and employees. That's interesting in your employer brand campaign, between internal and external clients.
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Laetitia De montgolfier5:40
There are many expectations and they change. We must adapt. Our role is more important in listening and responding within the company's framework, without intruding into personal life. That's why we had our loved ones speak.
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Flobert6:20
Do you feel that external customers have increasing expectations about what Lidl does socially?
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Laetitia De montgolfier6:38
Customers come for price, products, proximity, but also for who we are as an employer. This is felt in CSR, environment, social, well-being, quality of work life, and career development.
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Flobert7:18
Everyone knows Lidl. How many stores and employees?
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Laetitia De montgolfier7:27
Lidl in France has 4,000 employees, 1,600 supermarkets, 25 logistics platforms and headquarters.
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Flobert7:46
And your HR team, how many people?
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Laetitia De montgolfier7:55
We have 25 regional directorates with HR teams, about 60-70 supermarkets per directorate, plus headquarters, about 200 people total.
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Flobert8:32
Impressive numbers. Let's talk about the first topic: QVT.
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Laetitia De montgolfier8:41
SQVT stands for health, safety, and quality of work life. It's about prioritizing health and safety and developing a safety culture daily.
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Flobert9:11
What did you find when you arrived? What did you focus on?
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Laetitia De montgolfier9:23
There were already many things. What I liked was discovering that each supermarket has an SQVT captain, an assistant manager trained as a health and safety referent. A network of 1,600 captains coordinated by a regional manager. They are operational staff trained to give safety briefs, raise awareness, and report issues. Their main role is prevention.
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Flobert10:39
When you say trained, is it a specific training? Do you deploy the same training for all 1,600?
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Laetitia De montgolfier10:47
In each of the 25 regional directorates, we have this regional network, and the SQVT network is trained in each directorate.
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Flobert10:57
Why did you choose to set up these SQVT captains?
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Laetitia De montgolfier11:03
They have been in place since 2021. We chose to set them up because our corporate culture is based on proximity. To impact safety culture, we need to be close to employees and identify issues early. They are referents and contact points in the stores. It's a key role.
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Flobert11:35
Was it easy to implement? Were there any reservations?
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Laetitia De montgolfier11:48
Safety topics are important. But assigning an operational staff to these missions means allocating time in the week, which is not always easy. You have to optimize time for these topics.
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Flobert12:38
There is a business link. QVT impacts payroll through accident rates. Have you measured results?
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Laetitia De montgolfier13:13
We have seen a significant decrease in our frequency rate over the last 5 years. There is a financial impact, but also the employer's responsibility to ensure health and safety. Employees who work safely feel better, which positively impacts performance.
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Flobert13:52
What was the easiest and the most difficult to implement?
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Laetitia De montgolfier14:08
The easiest is to gather around the topic; everyone is sensitive to health and safety. The hardest is freeing up time from operational activities for network animation, and changing habits, like keeping time in briefs for safety or warming up at the start of a shift.
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Flobert14:54
I hear that teams warm up physically before stocking shelves. It's a collective exercise.
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Laetitia De montgolfier15:35
Yes, we regularly have safety briefs led by the SQVT network.
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Flobert15:56
Are there other steps planned? You said it's recent.
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Laetitia De montgolfier16:10
We negotiated an agreement on QVT and gender equality with our social partners. We have several projects, including testing work time organization. We want to test the 4-day week for multi-skilled team members on 30-hour contracts, morning-afternoon rotation, 8-week schedules, and chosen schedules where employees select their slots.
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Flobert17:23
Great, very concrete things. Chosen schedules, yes.
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Laetitia De montgolfier17:35
Yes, that's it. The 8-week schedules allow everyone to organize.
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Flobert17:42
That's what I experienced at McDonald's, giving schedules as early as possible. The question is how to ensure they are modified as little as possible.
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Laetitia De montgolfier17:53
The 4-day week, we will test it in a few supermarkets with indicators. If accident rates increase, we stop. We have defined indicators and will do a review after 6 months.
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Flobert18:34
You are often in the field? How do you organize the follow-up?
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Laetitia De montgolfier18:56
The idea is to be close to the field. Lidl's executive committee is in the field 3 days a week. Tomorrow I will be in a regional directorate. The follow-up will be done in the field.
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Flobert19:23
I like the approaches you give, testing and trying things.
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Laetitia De montgolfier19:30
We focus on multi-skilled team members on 30-hour contracts. 55% of our workforce is full-time, others at 30h, and 6,000 students. We start with stores with 30h teams, then we'll see.
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Flobert20:15
The 4-day week topic, where does it come from? Is it an impulse from you?
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Laetitia De montgolfier20:26
We are sensitive to employee expectations. The issue of working time is major. The impulse comes from discussions with our social partners and from our daily experience, from other companies' experiments. We want to experiment to know the consequences. We had volunteer stores for the tests.
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Flobert21:35
Test and learn, you look, you measure. That's interesting. I talked about it with Rémy Boyer. The HR Director is open to what's happening in society.
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Laetitia De montgolfier21:56
Yes, we hear about a practice from another company, we test. It may not work, but we know why. We identify other options. We will have data to explain to employees.
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Flobert22:42
That's very interesting. On this topic, we hear a lot. I'll soon talk to an HR Director who implemented it. It's a great topic linked to QVT. I also like the chosen schedules.
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Laetitia De montgolfier23:16
Yes, we know the possible pitfalls. The idea is to evaluate how it works, how we choose slots. There is a practical aspect. I like in HR the ability to reach out to peers to exchange best practices.
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Flobert24:22
Great. Let's move to the second topic: internal mobility, skills management. First question: I read that 80% of managers come from within Lidl. Is that true?
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Laetitia De montgolfier24:40
It's 90% of our managers who come from within. It's part of our company culture. You can join as a multi-skilled team member or logistics operator without prerequisites, and then evolve hierarchically or change careers. You can move from sales to real estate, HR, purchasing. Training programs are comprehensive.
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Flobert25:58
You talk about a pragmatic approach to skills. What do you mean by that?
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Laetitia De montgolfier26:22
We promote a model based on polyvalence and multi-skilling. A multi-skilled team member can work at the checkout, stocking shelves, or specific tasks. The same for logistics operators. This is key for diversity of skills, employability, mobility, job interest, and ergonomics. It's a pragmatic approach that addresses multiple issues.
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Flobert27:14
How do you detect potential? Do you have a process?
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Laetitia De montgolfier27:57
We have a development process with annual reviews, assessment centers to evaluate potential, and then we build a development plan with training actions. We identify the next position based on each person's aptitudes.
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Flobert28:50
You have a Lidl Academy?
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Laetitia De montgolfier29:12
Yes, the Lidl Academy is a training organization that allows us to validate training programs with a professional qualification certificate for management paths in supermarkets. It was created in 2021. Trainers are from Lidl, with some external speakers.
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Flobert29:58
You also have an apprenticeship policy?
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Laetitia De montgolfier30:03
We have about 1,100 apprentices each year, and we keep about 55% after their apprenticeship. We also have 6,000 students on 7, 10, or 14-hour contracts. 97% of our contracts are permanent. People can build a career and change jobs several times at Lidl. It's a social elevator.
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Flobert31:50
That's great. You want to make that known. You suffer from an image of just a hard discounter.
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Laetitia De montgolfier32:00
Yes, we want to make it known. Polyvalence is good for health, skills development, and building one's career. Thanks to this podcast, you can help spread the word.
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Flobert32:24
It's nice to be an HR Director at Lidl, allowing thousands of young people to have a first experience and grow. Thank you, Laetitia. Let's conclude with three questions. First, what advice would you give to your 25-year-old self?
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Laetitia De montgolfier33:32
I would say: be patient, seize every opportunity for meetings and development.
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Flobert33:40
Good. Second, you are an avid reader. If you had to take one book to a desert island, which one?
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Laetitia De montgolfier34:01
I would take 'That Will Never Work' by Marc Randolph, the story of Netflix. It gives keys to entrepreneurship and turning ideas into a company.
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Flobert34:27
Interesting. Third, who would you recommend for a future episode?
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Laetitia De montgolfier34:57
I would say John Scott, HR Director at Amazon. I hope he's willing.
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Flobert35:05
Great, I'll contact him. Thank you, Laetitia, for sharing your dynamism and what you do daily. See you soon.
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Laetitia De montgolfier35:20
Thank you, Flobert. See you soon.
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Flobert35:27
Thank you for listening to this episode of 13e mois. If you enjoyed it, please share it with two people. Leave a 5-star rating and comment. You can also email me to subscribe to the newsletter. For recruitment or coaching needs, contact La Manufacture RH. I'm Flobert, see you next time.