Internal mobility shifts into high gear

he entire aviation industry has been severely hit by the impact of the Covid- 19 crisis on air travel since March 2020. Because we are involved in a diverse range of segments, our companies’ business volumes have been affected to varying degrees.
Safran responded swiftly to the situation, signing a Business Transformation agreement in July 2020 that was applied in France. One of the main thrusts of the agreement is stepping up support for staff mobility to allow us to effectively match skills to requirements. Delphine Berilloux, Executive Vice President, Talents and Skills, explains: “Thanks to the combined efforts of everyone involved, a comprehensive system was put in place to support all types of mobility within the Group and among our subsidiaries, encompassing internal and external transfers, assignments, entrepreneurship – either setting up in business or taking over a business – sabbatical leave, and skills transfer schemes.”

ENCOURAGE STAFF MOVEMENT

One year later, more than 1,400 employees have completed a mobility or transfer thanks to the measures introduced by Safran and its companies. These have included webinars (online meetings) to present the businesses and opportunities available and to help employees draft their applications. When Covid-related restrictions permitted it, face-to-face job speed dating events were also held with people looking to change jobs. Violaine Rebiffé, HR business partner at Safran Electronics & Defense’s engineering department, and organizer of a job speed dating event, explains what’s involved: “People from other Safran companies aren’t necessarily familiar with what we do. These events allow us to present the diversity of our products and the hightech nature of the jobs involved, in the hope of encouraging people to join us. This approach will bring short-, medium- and long-term benefits.” At the same time, mobility kits have been put together providing sample CVs, learning programs available from Safran University, job interview tutorials, etc., for employees, managers and human resources teams.

SUPPORT FOR MOBILITY

To deal with the unprecedented situation, some Safran companies have introduced targeted support measures. Safran Helicopter Engines, for example, launched the “Trajectoire compétences” (skills pathway) initiative to help employees build their mobility plans using a set of career management tools and with follow-up support from local HR managers. At Safran Electronics & Defense, the Tempo project allowed the company to pinpoint and then match mobility and secondment opportunities to employees forced to work part time. These efforts paid off, with more mobilities completed not just among the company’s different sites but also with its subsidiaries and within the Group.

CHANGE JOBS… OR COMPANIES

Thanks to these initiatives, a number of employees have been able to change companies to take up a role either in the same field or in a related area, within the scope of a mobility arrangement or a temporary assignment. But Safran’s mobility support policy has also encouraged more radical changes, with some people moving into a completely new line of work. Two specific pathways have been developed by HR for jobs where we face a skills shortage and which offer good prospects: embedded software development and electronic component programming. Others will be set up in the coming months. “The embedded software pathway is the result of close collaboration with Safran Electronics & Defense,” remarks Florence Gourmanel, head of human resources at Safran Engineering Services. “Employees at our company who’ve been particularly affected by the decline in workload were given priority. This is a good example of how collaboration can help address the Group’s needs in sectors where skills are scarce.” Encouraged by these positive outcomes, the teams behind the initiatives are eager to pursue their efforts. “The challenge now is to sustain the momentum throughout 2021,” says Delphine Berilloux. “We aim to go even further by making it easier for employees to retrain in jobs that are expected to grow, like embedded software, health, safety and environment, RAMS and data management.”