We had the opportunity to speak with Sophie HurstelHR Team Manager at Sociabble. Sophie plays a key role in structuring and implementing the company's vision.
Here, she shares with us the various strategies Sociabble has put in place to keep its employees engaged, as well as a glimpse of what life is like on the platform!
Happy reading 😉
Hello Sophie! Could you introduce yourself and tell us a little about Sociabble?
Hello everyone! I joined Sociabble almost four years ago, a very crucial period for the company. Sociabble was born within another company, a digital communications agency called BrainSonic. When we went independent and had to split the two, it was my job to recreate an HR team. At first, it was just me, as there were only about twenty of us.
My mission was vast, but recruiting was an important part of it. Today, there are almost 100 of us, and my team has also grown. I manage it now, but like most managers at Sociabble, I'm still very much involved in the field, especially when it comes to recruitment.
Sociabble is a SaaS solution that promotes internal communication, employee engagement and employee advocacy. It enables companies to effectively inform all their employees, even those who are hard to reach. In this way, it encourages everyone to align themselves with the company's objectives, vision and values. In this way, every employee receives relevant and interesting content relevant to his or her work.
Commitment takes many forms with us. Whether it's engagement on the platform to participate in company news, engagement in projects or in the company itself, or even CSR engagement, which we encourage through the platform.
We also give employees a voice. With us, it's not just top-down; we value everyone's feedback, ideas and opinions. And it's all gamified to make the experience even more fun!
If you had to sum up your corporate culture in a few words?
In fact, our culture is both simple and complex. We have clearly defined values, but it's also how they resonate with each other that's important. There are several examples we like to give where humility meets ambition. We have a lot of ambition, but we approach it with humility. For example, we practice benchmarking, which means we're open to learning from other companies. At the same time, we are ambitious and want to go further.
Internally, what you feel is a lot of openness. I think it's linked to our international presence. With nearly 15 nationalities in-house and offices in France, the United States and India, we're very open. And above all, there's a lot of benevolence. It's something we often hear from the people who work with us. There's a real, palpable benevolence here.
In short, we're ambitious, passionate and aim for excellence. We are very selective in the recruitment of our candidates. At the same time, within the company, everything is transparent, everyone understands their role and we realize the importance of each individual. We're very supportive of each other, we help each other out a lot, while respecting each other.
And what would you say to a candidate to make them want to join you?
Right now, I'd like to talk about job security. In our industry, you can lose your job in an instant if fund-raising takes too long. At Sociabble, we're self-financed, so we don't have to worry about that. It's reassuring, especially in the current climate.
Then I'll talk about the project. The Sociabble project is fascinating, and everyone who joins us tells me they love the concept. They see how they could have benefited from it in their previous companies.
Finally, I'd like to mention our colleagues. This is linked to the values I mentioned earlier. We aim high, but we do it in a humble and caring way. I can testify to that, because it's my job to recruit these people. We try to recruit nice people, and I can say that they really are. If you add more likeability to an already likeable team, the result is super likeable. That's our secret to a pleasant working atmosphere.
And how does Sociabble attract candidates?
We have several channels. First of all, our website, then we use Welcome to the Jungle, as well as our Applicant Tracking System (ATS), which broadcasts our job offers all over the place. We also have a number of blog articles, and we put a lot of emphasis on our employer brand. We work closely with our marketing and communications teams to be present where it matters.
In addition, we use the principle of employee advocacy through our platform. Our employees also talk about open vacancies, and there's one post a week for people to share.
Last but not least, we are Great Place to Work certified, and in fact we were selected as one of the best places to work when we first took part, which is something we're very proud of. It's a distinction that attracts a lot of attention, and we like to promote it. It's a key element in our recruitment strategy.
What does a "Made in Sociabble" recruitment process look like?
Usually, the process starts with a quick e-mail response, whether negative or positive. Then, the next step is always a qualification call with a member of the recruitment team. The length of this call can vary according to the candidate's profile. After this call, there is often a written test to complete, but if this is not the case, the candidate goes straight on to the next stage, which is an interview with the manager, usually by videoconference.
However, we always try to organize one of the final stages face-to-face in the offices where the person would be based. If this is not possible, we invite the candidate to have a coffee and visit the offices outside the recruitment process.
After the interview with the manager, we sometimes have an oral simulation, particularly for customer-related or recruitment positions. At this stage, we also test the candidate's interpersonal skills. We also take references, usually one or two.
Next, we have the candidate meet other people informally, such as team members or even the CEO, who likes to meet candidates for a short 10-15 minute period. These meetings allow the candidate to ask questions, but also to see if the "cultural fit " is there, to ensure that values are shared on both sides.
What about onboarding?
We have a pre-onboarding phase during which we prepare everything needed for a quality onboarding. This mainly involves administrative and HR tasks, such as filling in information in the HR information system, receiving documents for the health insurance scheme, etc. We also send out a "welcome package", which is a kind of little ebook that enables the new team member to start getting to know the company, its structure, how it works, etc.
The new employee then receives his or her computer equipment and begins to familiarize himself or herself with the tools of the trade. From day one onwards, there are online training sessions, meetings with different teams, and so on. This phase can last from three weeks to a month, with courses, meetings, feedback, Q&A, so that the new employee fully understands the platform, the teams, the way they work, the tools we use internally, etc.
After that, there is follow-up by both the HR department and the manager, with more frequent meetings than afterwards.
What next?
Once people have joined the company and completed their onboarding phase, our main objective is to keep them engaged and motivated. This is a shared effort between HR and the whole company.
We have a number of programs in place to encourage this commitment. For example, we have a follow-up in the first three months, to see what the person has learned after one month, two months, three months, and what they're supposed to know how to do. It's a guide to see where we stand.
We also get feedback on onboarding after one month, we have an "astonishment report" after three months, and there's an integration interview with me after six months. Once the probationary period is over, the manager takes over for interviews, etc.
We have also involved colleagues in this process. For example, we do shadowing with colleagues, and some people who are specialists in a subject can give a course on that subject.
Ultimately, our aim is to create a working environment where everyone feels valued, supported and motivated to give their best. And that, of course, is an integral part of our corporate culture.
Do you use your platform exclusively to keep your employees engaged?
There are many strategies that we use, which are based more on our overall policy than on specific actions. For example, our extreme flexibility in teleworking is not so much a specific action as a general policy. We recognize that our employees greatly appreciate this flexibility and the trust it represents. They are free to organize their day as they wish, spending the morning in the office and the afternoon teleworking, for example.
What's more, we attach great importance to being physically present in the office, and we regularly organize events to encourage conviviality. We even have a team dedicated to organizing these events, whether internal or external.
Last but not least, every year we organize a "Global Week " where we bring together all our employees, including those working abroad, somewhere in France to meet and share moments together. During this week, we organize a diverse mix of activities, from hiking in the mountains to skiing and water sports in the south. We make sure there's something for everyone, whether they're sporty or not.
What positions in particular are you currently looking for?
Absolutely, our team of Customer Success Managers is constantly expanding due to our growing customer base. We have positions for different profiles in this team. For example, some profiles manage large customers, working in tandem with a project manager and taking on the role of account manager. Other profiles are more sales-oriented, with a large customer portfolio offering many development opportunities. Finally, some work with an even larger customer portfolio and focus on mass communication, as these customers are more autonomous. So, whatever your profile, there's a place for you in our CSM team, and we have vacancies open all year round.
In addition, we are currently looking for sales professionals to join our team in France. Specifically, we have openings for a Sales Development Representative (SDR) and an Account Manager. The challenge here is that we have a complex sales cycle and a very strategic tool. So, we're looking for candidates who have significant experience and understand the business challenges of our platform, and who can manage a complete and complex sales cycle. In addition, we are planning to recruit a pre-sales consultant in France.
As far as location is concerned, although we do offer some flexibility, we have found that working completely remotely can be complicated. So we would prefer candidates based in the Lyon or Paris area, or someone who would be willing to take the train once a week to the office. It's important to us that our staff can meet in person at least once a week.
👉 And to find out more about Sociabble, click here!
Last question: why should we NOT join you?
It's a very valid question. If someone is looking for a job simply to earn a salary at the end of the month, without any real ambition or desire to make an impact, then we're probably not the right company for them. We value commitment and ambition. Every job with us has a purpose, and every individual has a significant impact, given that we're self-funded and don't open new positions for no reason. We don't offer "ordinary" jobs where tasks are mechanical and devoid of meaning. We're looking for people who are aligned with our mission and ready to contribute to our growth. During our recruitment processes, we pay close attention to the candidate's potential impact. This is an important commitment we expect from our employees, and it's what gives each position its uniqueness and importance.
Many thanks for your time, Sophie 😀
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