"People are the foundation of our strategic development."
Kaja Jablonska
Head of Recruitment and Employee Well-Being, Confédération Nationale du Crédit Mutuel
The way we work every day is very closely linked to the way in which our bank was created.
What sets you apart from other employers?
The way we work every day is very closely linked to the way in which our bank was created: our model is inspired by Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen, a pioneer in cooperative banking, whose 200th birthday we celebrate this year. This origin, anchored in the real economy, has a real impact on the day-to-day work of each of us. Because we are independent and empowered – empowerment is a very important value at Crédit Mutuel – we are different from other banks. We have horizontal organizations and it’s possible to quickly have access to positions where one can make decisions. That’s not necessarily the case everywhere. Above all, we place great importance on the principle of subsidiarity, which is essential for us.
You say that salary is not the only criterion for joining your bank, but what are the other criteria?
We obviously focus on fair compensation of our employees and offer them an array of benefits. But we also promote respect for balance between work life and private life. That's because we get energy elsewhere that can be put into the work. And vice versa. There is also an emphasis on learning and training: we help our employees grow as they acquire professional experience. Our employees can access positions that they had not thought of when they arrived. Today, we are a large group and we offer many opportunities for advancement, mobility and pathways between very different jobs. Aside from banking and insurance, many other jobs are also possible that don't typically come to mind.
For example?
All IT-related jobs, just to name a few: there are people who came to our bank as customer advisors who now work in data-related jobs.
Do the values you emphasize relate purely to marketing or do they have practical applications?
Let's talk about HR innovation. My position as head of employee well-being is real evidence of this. If we did not believe in the individual, we would not invest in a person with the sole purpose of showing employees organizationally that they truly matter and are responsible for our day-to-day success. I think we are sort of a UFO in the banking sector. We have built a solid model that endures, thanks to the fact that we are not listed on the stock exchange, we do not depend on shareholders and can make decisions based on our own strategies.
All companies say that they want to satisfy their customers. Why Crédit Mutuel more than others?
We want to satisfy not only our external customers but also our internal customers, i.e. our employees. We are different because people form Crédit Mutuel's DNA and are the foundation of our strategic development: if our employees are fulfilled and feel that their work has meaning, and are aware of their contribution and the group's strategy, they will give the best of themselves to this company and, above all, the best to our customers.
I think we are sort of a UFO in the banking sector.
