SOCOTEC, world leader in compliance and risk management for the Construction, Real Estate and Infrastructure sectors, takes us behind the scenes of its recruitment process. In our interview with Paul BoutreuxTalent Acquisition Manager, explore the innovative strategies put in place to meet the challenges of professions linked to the environmental and energy transitions of the built environment, attract the best talent and pursue its international expansion.
Hello Paul! To set the scene, can you tell us a bit about SOCOTEC?
Hello Guillaume! SOCOTEC is a Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) company. Over the past 6 years, our company has experienced significant growth. In 2016, our worldwide sales were 500 million euros, and we ended 2022 at 1.2 billion euros. We're particularly proud of this growth, which has necessarily accelerated our recruitment needs.
Our ambition is to continue to develop and expand our international presence (26 countries), which now accounts for 53% of Group sales. This enables us to support our customers on international construction, infrastructure and industrial facility projects, with experts and cutting-edge technologies to ensure the sustainability of the built environment.
It seems that you have a specific approach, to meet the standards and regulations specific to each country. Can you tell us more?
Absolutely! As standards and regulations evolve from one country to the next, it is crucial to master the laws, standards and regulations governing buildings, as well as the inspection, testing, audit, control or verification procedures specific to each country for different types of building or equipment. Each country has its own field of application , and our ambition is to be recognized as an expert on each customer project. For example, an engineer or construction expert in France will not perform the same tasks as in Germany, because the standards there are different. That's why we make sure that our staff have the necessary accreditations and specific skills in every country where we operate.
How important is CSR to your business, and what are your goals in this area for the future?
We have a clear and ambitious CSR strategy: Environment, Social and Governance. On the environmental front, we offer services to help our customers reduce their carbon footprint and environmental impact, and optimize the energy performance of their buildings. At present, this represents 30% of our Group activities. Our goal is to increase this share to one-third of Group sales by 2024. This will enable us to have a positive and significant impact with our customers, by contributing to more sustainable practices and promoting greater awareness within our teams. We have the advantage that our businesses are partly concerned with sustainable development in the Construction, Real Estate and Infrastructure sectors: we're more on the side of the solution, and that makes our teams proud!
So you play an important advisory role for your customers?
Absolutely, our advisory role is essential in supporting our customers. At SOCOTEC, we encourage our employees to adopt a local approach to our customers. In France, we have specialized Business Units for the Construction, Real Estate, Infrastructure, Industry, Environment and other sectors. Each of these key activities is represented by business experts who understand the challenges specific to each field.
Our aim is to provide a complete experience for our customers, offering both cutting-edge technical expertise and an approach focused on service, listening and responding to specific customer needs.
What's your 'special touch' for attracting candidates?
Our strategy for attracting candidates is based on several key pillars.
Firstly, we offer a quality Employee Value Proposition (EVP) and an engaging experience: company car, profit-sharing and incentive schemes, a pleasant working environment, a strong entrepreneurial culture and a spirit of solidarity, CSR focused on our core businesses, ongoing training, attention to health and safety in the workplace, and so on.
Secondly, we attach particular importance to the training of our employees. We have our own training centers in France, which enable us to develop the skills of our employees so that they can make continuous progress in the techniques and new technologies used in inspection, measurement, auditing and building control.
Secondly, we regularly work on our online advertisements to make them as engaging as possible. We have chosen to communicate our remuneration packages in full transparency internally.
We also invest in tools such as ATS, DocuSign and Onboarding tools. Our entire candidate experience is fully digitalized!
Finally, we have set up a dedicated recruitment team whose mission is to identify and select the best profiles on the market. This work methodology gives us access to a pool of qualified and experienced candidates.
If you were to describe your corporate culture in a few words?
Firstly, we emphasize entrepreneurship, which means that we encourage our employees to be proactive, to come up with ideas and to be agile and responsible for their scope and the satisfaction of their customers and teams if they are managers. Our hierarchical structure is flexible, which fosters an environment conducive to promotion.
Humility is also a core value for us. We recognize our successes, while remaining modest and aware of areas where we can improve. We encourage our employees to share their knowledge and work as a team to achieve our common goals.
Due to the nature of our work, which is closely linked to safety, commitment is a core value at SOCOTEC. We are looking for people who are professional and dedicated, because the slightest mistake can have serious consequences for the safety of our customers and the sustainability of the built environment.
We also encourage curiosity, because our business is constantly evolving and it's essential to be open to new methodologies, technologies and approaches.
Have you set up an internal co-optation program?
Absolutely! If you recommend one candidate who ends up being hired, you can receive a bonus of 750 euros gross. If you recommend several candidates who are hired, this bonus can rise to 1,000 euros.
To give you an idea, last year, co-option accounted for around 18% of our recruitment. Given our recruitment volume, we're constantly working on this issue.
And how do you retain your talent?
We place great importance on the mobility and advancement of our employees. In fact, 75% of our management positions are filled by internal promotion. We offer our employees the opportunity to evolve within the company and define their own career path. At SOCOTEC, you can become a manager after 2 to 3 years if you are committed and professional in your work.
We carry out career appraisals every year, enabling our employees to understand their development prospects and discuss their professional ambitions. In addition, we have introduced a system of half-yearly interviews to monitor the development of our employees' skills and support them in their professional projects and training needs.
If someone doesn't want to go into management, we also offer opportunities for horizontal development. You can change jobs or BUs, and we'll help you make the switch. We offer three career paths: the managerial path, the technical expertise path and internal mobility to other professions. What's more, we have a partnership with a renowned business school, EMLyon, which enables us to train 100% of managers recruited or promoted in management and to obtain a certificate from this school.
And how do you manage communication and local management?
We attach great importance to communication and proximity management. We train our managers in tools such as DISC to help them get to know each other better and manage their colleagues more effectively. We also encourage managers to be close to their teams and to listen to them.
Technical management is important, but we find that local management, focused on interpersonal skills, is essential to create a good team dynamic and resolve issues quickly.
We trust our employees and support them in their development. We avoid leaving them alone in a corner, thinking they'll do their job well. Mutual trust is essential and part of our culture.
What positions are you currently looking for?
We regularly need electrical technicians for our Equipment & Industry BU and construction or sustainable real estate engineers for our Construction & Real Estate BU, as well as energy specialists, and environmental engineers and technicians for the Environment BU. These positions are in high demand, and we need large numbers of applications. Positions are available all over France, as we have 190 branches throughout the country. We are looking to strengthen our teams in these areas to support our growth and meet the needs of our customers.
👉 To discover SOCOTEC's offers
Thank you very much for all this information! Finally, why should we NOT join you?
That's an interesting question! Well, SOCOTEC might not be the right place for you if you prefer a static working environment, with no challenge or opportunity for growth. If you like to stay in your comfort zone, if you're not looking to continually learn and evolve, or if you're attached to a specific operational role with no desire to diversify or progress.
SOCOTEC is a company in constant evolution. We operate in sectors that offer exciting challenges, and we encourage all our employees to get out of their comfort zone, learn new things and grow with the company.
We have a motto: "You Grow, We Grow", which means that we encourage our employees to grow with us and contribute to our growth. If you're looking for a dynamic, growing company where you can meet stimulating challenges and advance your career, then SOCOTEC is the place for you.
Thanks again, Paul 😉
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