Neopost has always had a clear rule as far as human resources policy is concerned: each employee must play a part in the group’s success. The commitment and professionalism of each and every one is also one of the cornerstone’s to the success of the Neopost model. The group has built a truly unifying culture, setting it apart from other companies and allowing it to attract, train and retain the most talented people.
The "Neopost way"
The Group has its own principles and values which act as a unifying force for all employees. These principles and values may be summed up as challenge, recognition and fun. At Neopost, this is called the “Neopost Way”. This has been set out in a document that is available on the website and given to each Group employee and new recruit to ensure that everyone is familiar with the Group culture. To gauge and improve the level of commitment within the Group, Neopost carries out regular survey among its employees.
Recruitment
Neopost’s decentralised structure and manageable size mean that the Group gives its subsidiaries considerable latitude when it comes to recruiting, defining and formalising each employee’s roles and responsibilities. Nonetheless, the main qualities that the Group looks for and develops among its employees are identical from one country to the next: Managerial and entrepreneurial capabilities among executives, appropriate professional skills, ethical values and integrity, discipline, ability to anticipate and take initiatives as well as a capacity for teamwork.
Evaluation and Remuneration
Each year, each employee undergoes an assessment review. For many employees, remuneration includes a variable pay component which depends both on individual performance and the performance of the unit and/or Group. In general terms, Neopost seeks to involve all employees in the company’s results, particularly through profit-sharing or incentive payment agreements. The Group also has stock option programmes to reward and retain the best talent.
Training
Neopost considers training essential in its drive for continuous improvement and earmarked a budget for training amounting to about 3% of total payroll. In organisational terms, subsidiaries are responsible for training their own employees. Specific training courses may be made available at the Group level, particularly for group-wide projects of a certain size. For top management, Neopost is continually seeking to update skills through special initiative called Neopost University, developed in partnership with the French Business School HEC.
Communication
There is a quarterly in-house newsletter to ensure that communication within the Group is as good as possible. The main purpose of this newsletter is to make all employees aware of major developments, new arrivals in the Group, and each subsidiary’s main commercial successes. The newsletter is called NNN (Neopost Network News) and is available on the intranet. It also enables the Chairman and CEO to communicate with all employees. In addition, each subsidiary also has an in-house newsletter of its own. The fact that the intranet is so highly developed is a plus for the geographically dispersed teams, allowing them to work together in a secure manner. Video conferencing is also widely used within the Group.
Clearly defined ethical framework
In order to promote the Group’s strategy and proper professional conduct, Group management pay regular visits to subsidiaries to hold discussions with operational managers, identify their expectations, answer questions and reinforce key messages about major objectives, compliance with ethical standards and duties regarding information to be passed on to all employees. Sales teams from the North American and French subsidiaries have taken part in a specific ethics training programme. This programme is gradually being rolled out in other subsidiaries.
