Talent retention: “The value of a company is its talent” – Marion Sourin, HRBP @Whoz

How to retain employees to avoid too much turnover and loss of skills in the company? The recruitment war is raging and talent retention has become a major issue. The HR world is in turmoil to imagine the best way to retain its troops. Marion Sourin, Human Resources Business Partner at Whoz, gives us her keys to meet this challenge.

Talent retention is an employer’s ability to keep its employees. It is a process that aims to put in place the most relevant solutions to retain employees by improving working conditions and/or compensation. As we know, we are evolving in a changing work environment, 100% digital or hybrid. If Zoom meetings are essential, they are far from being sufficient to create a strong feeling of belonging to the company. Four key elements must be taken into account: well-being, recognition, corporate culture and training or even skills enhancement. Marion Sourin lends herself to the game of the interview for a dive into the heart of the Whoz culture.

In your opinion, why is talent retention strategic?

Marion Sourin: “It is important to retain your employees, quite simply. We retain the expertise of those we have taken the time to train and in whom we believe. The value of a company is its talents. Offering them the best possible conditions means putting all the chances on our side so that they can project themselves, evolve and adhere to the company culture. The more they have this feeling of belonging, the more they will give the best of themselves to continue to make the company grow.”

How important is talent retention at Whoz?

M.S. : “”Retaining talent is the very reason for our staffing solution. We can say that it’s been in our DNA since the beginning of the Whoz adventure. Our solution allows to identify the best talents of a company, to consult their competences quickly and to position them on the adapted missions. Two seconds maximum, that’s the time it takes for the solution to find the right profile in its skills pool. This makes it easier for employees to move from one assignment to the next. They also acquire new skills, which are recognized and valued in the solution. This guarantees that they will be able to grow internally.”

And within the Whoz team?

M.S. : “The issue of talent retention is also a challenge within our own organization. Teams are scattered all over France, in total or hybrid telecommuting. In this context, it is essential to maintain our sense of belonging and our corporate culture. And this is all the more important in this period of major transformations and massive recruitment. This is achieved through rituals established within the teams, but also through the transparency of salaries and the implementation of profit-sharing. At Whoz, it’s simple: a skill level corresponds to a grade and therefore a salary. The priority is to develop talents and to allow them to rise in skills according to their aspirations. No more time wasted discussing a hypothetical percentage increase or comparing yourself to your neighbor.”

In concrete terms, how can we develop this sense of belonging?

M.S. : “Our employees are attached to our corporate culture. This feeling is reinforced by our CSR policy and our efforts to promote diversity and disability. Internal mobility is also a major point. Indeed, annual interviews allow us to define a personalized career plan in which each employee can project himself or herself. Finally, it is essential to create ritualized moments of exchange. These meetings allow everyone to get to know each other and to talk to each other, regardless of the business line, even the most remote. Especially since not all our teams are in Paris. The developers, for example, are without exception 100% telecommuting. With the pandemic, telecommuting became widespread, and we had to adapt. We created different rituals so that information could circulate, so that the Whozzies could get to know each other and collaborate better.”

For example ?

M.S. : “Every Friday, all the Whozzies meet in “Intercircles” for 45 minutes. The idea is that each Business Unit presents in turn its news, its successes, announces its new recruits, etc. Every 15 days, the product team performs a demo of the application to all the Whozzies. This allows everyone to have the same level of knowledge about technical and functional evolutions. The third Thursday of each month is the “Potos Whoz” meeting. This is a good opportunity to meet after work, in a more informal way. All of this gives rhythm to the lives of our employees as they go along. On a more ad hoc basis, we organize a quarterly meeting on a specific theme and an annual seminar in September. Finally, the onboarding process for new Whozzies is also specific to Whoz. It includes numerous meetings and sharing with various internal contacts. But also, each one is given a “Buddy”, his best ally to start the Whoz adventure.”

In conclusion

As you can see, joining Whoz means joining a unique adventure. It means stepping into a flexible organization, which did not wait for Covid-19 to innovate in terms of management and telecommuting. All these techniques to reinforce the feeling of belonging were built in collective and we are proud to keep this state of mind alive. 

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