More about Orange

Building employee awareness of ethics issues

At the end of 2008, over 90% of Orange employees in France had received training focusing on ethics issues. Special sessions were organized for staff whose work involves customer contact. Practical guides make it easy for each employee to request advice or report problems via a network of specialized ethics correspondents. An alert system and controls both verify that ethics rules are applied across all business activities.

Listening to employee needs

For the second consecutive year, Group employees were asked to voice their opinions about their relationship with the company in an anonymous survey. Close to 45% of employees in France took part in the survey. This feedback is now being analyzed by each entity to define relevant action plans. 4,000 employees benefit from skills development training Employees who opt to take up priority positions within the Group or who want to acquire new skills and professional know-how can enroll in one of 45 professional training programmes, each lasting approximately 200 hours. Over 4,000 employees have taken advantage of these opportunities since the programmes were launched two years ago. Annual training investment in France increased by over 70% between 2006 and 2008, with employees receiving an average of 31 hours of training.

Forward momentum

Our success is anchored in the competencies and commitment of our employees and their ability to adapt to change. In today’s fast-evolving telecommunications industry, jobs and skills must be constantly adapted in order to forge the capabilities we need to move forward. The Group therefore deploys comprehensive measures to support employees during this transformation process, reflecting a strong commitment to being a responsible employer.

Meeting challenges while respecting individual development

The ACT programme (Anticipation des Competences pour la Transformation, or “anticipating skills needs for change”), addresses the dual challenges of meeting the needs of our business lines by making the right skills available in the right place at the right time, adjusting the workforce cost structure and our organization to improve productivity and reduce surplus staff in some of the Group’s traditional activities. We are confident in our employees’ ability to embrace change and actively support the development of their skills and employability, providing a range of tools to enhance their professional development.

Sharing success with our employees

In November, France Telecom received the 2008 “Employee Share Ownership” award from the French Federation of Employee Shareholder Associations (FAS) for its efforts to promote international employee shareholding. This award underscores the Group’s proactive employee savings policy, which seeks to enable employees to benefit from the full range of measures available. When the Group published its 2008 results in March 2009, it also announced the granting of a special performance bonus for 2008 and the launch of a free share award plan reflecting the achievement of objectives defined by the NEXT plan.

Changing skills requirements

The Group’s Human Resources Planning and Skills Management process provides a framework for revising requirements in each of our business areas. A cornerstone of this approach is our Group-wide skills reference base.

This process has helped shape recruitment to focus on new skill sets, alongside a mobility policy designed to meet the needs of priority activities. We have also overhauled our training programme to incorporate professional development modules that precisely meet our changing requirements. As a result, all employees in France now have a clear vision of the changes and opportunities arising in each job category. In France and Poland, Professional Development Spaces help employees define and achieve their individual career goals, providing a personalized step-by-step plan to support them

supporting employee development

The speed at which the new technologies are evolving is driving the transformation of the Group’s key business activities. This is why we are fostering employee development with dedicated aids and a major training effort. There is also a special emphasis on the work-life balance. In Belgium and France, for example, we have signed agreements to create a framework to make teleworking easier. Other initiatives to improve working conditions are also underway, notably by improving the working environment.

Responding to societal issues

Equal opportunity is a commitment that lies at the heart of the Group’s values. Diversity among staff contributes to enriching our corporate culture and drives innovation and high performance. At international level, we have been committed to gender equality in the workplace for several years past. Our corporate responsibility also encourages us to support programmes to extend opportunities to people who have difficulties in integrating mainstream employment. The Group promotes a spirit of solidarity among its staff through partnerships with voluntary bodies or the Orange Foundation.