Social security, inclusivity and solidity: Credit Agricole Bank shares what it means to be the leading employer

TOP-100. Ratings of the largest, November 2023

Credit Agricole values and supports every employee. The special attention is reserved for safe working conditions, professional growth and mental health of our colleagues. The bank employees steadily get raises, benefit from bonus programs and, most importantly, their needs are taken into account. It is one of the leading employees that has been operating on the Ukrainian market for 30 years. Olena Urusova, HR Director of the bank, shared with “TOP-100. Ratings of the greatest” what it means to be a leading employer.

What is personnel policy of Credit Agricole Bank based on? What is in the focus of your HR team? 

Currently we are focused on the following three aspects:

1. Physical safety. We do everything in our power to ensure that our colleagues have safe working conditions. 
2. Economic support. It includes material remuneration, benefits package as well as targeted financial aid for those affected by the war.
3. Mental health. We care for the emotional and mental health of our employees.

It is the pillar of our well-being programme and social responsibility in general. Additionally, we are focused on equality, inclusion and diversity. Certainly, the war has had an impact on our general corporate programs and objectives: physical safety of our employees is now at the forefront. When the war broke out, we evacuated the employees from areas with ongoing hostilities. At the moment, we have implemented hybrid work mode, also 8% of our employees remain abroad. The majority of them are fully engaged in work remotely. From the very beginning of the full-scale war, Credit Agricole has confirmed its reliable employer status. Our employees know that they can rely on the bank even in dire crisis.

How would you present your value offer to a prospective candidate? Can you highlight material and non-material benefits that matter for the applicant?

The company has the existing remuneration package, but it is first and foremost about stability. Our employees select Credit Agricole for its stability. The Bank cares for the well-being of the team. For this reason we systemically analyse the market, inflation indicator and other factors, based on which we review the financial remuneration amount and salaries. During the war the bank raised salaries twice. Employee monthly salaries have been raised by 26% on average during this period.

In addition, both the bank and the international Group are paying out financial assistance that we call “solidarity bonuses”. They are usually paid for certain occasions, when people’s expenses go up. As an example, first such aid was paid to employees when the war broke out, the second one – for Easter and then during recurring massive blackouts.

What is the meaning of Diversity programme at Credit Agricole Bank? Does it help to improve internal communication and enhance corporate culture?

We have always been very clear on equality: every employee is important and valuable, has equal rights and opportunities. Regardless of gender, nationality, age, etc. Nearly four years ago, we put this crucial principle into words and signed our Equality Charter that has become the basis of our corporate policy.  Yearly in November, Credit Agricole along with the entire international Group is celebrating the Diversity month. During this time the communication learning campaign is held at the bank: webinars, discussions, surveys.

Within the framework of the Charter, during the Diversity month we can analyse and amend our corporate policy or address certain points. Irrefutable testament to gender equality is the fact that currently over 50% of managerial positions at the bank are held by women: heads of divisions, managers of outlets, etc. It is one of the accomplished objectives of the equality policy. Now we have two more important tasks: support of women returning from their maternity leaves as well as employment of war veterans. As of now, 152 employees are on maternity leave, while 42 employees are in the Armed Forces of Ukraine with their salaries paid and a guarantee that their job will be available when they return.

Have you implemented mentoring system for the new colleagues or those who want to build their career in the company?

Firstly, Credit Agricole has an on-boarding system for new employees. Everyone who joins our team has a mentor who helps and trains the new employee. As a rule, it is either a more experienced colleague or supervisor. Also we have a corporate leadership program and foster professional development of our employees. The program includes mentoring when more experienced colleagues from other business lines share their experience. This is how we help people select ways for career and professional growth. In combination, these two activities – coaching and mentoring – deliver the wanted results.

At Credit Agricole, anybody can build a career if that is what they truly desire. This is about proactive people that we are looking for to join our team.

What other opportunity programs are there that account for contemporary challenges?

Currently the corporate life has transformed to the level of mini-teams, which now constitute the back-bone of the company. However, the pandemic followed by the war resulted in the fact that both such mini-teams and managers who are supposed to drive the team primarily work in hybrid format. With this in mind, Credit Agricole is holding various motivating events: webinars with invited speakers, learning programs, discussion campuses. It is truly of essence as the bank is striving to maintain the professionalism level of managers as well their internal resilience and to prevent burnout. These events promote effective development of the team.

How did you modify your HR strategy after the war started? Did you acquire new values and objectives for the strategy of adding new specialists to the team?

From the beginning of the full-scale war, we modified our recruiting system: the company placed even more focus on employee development.

As early as in the first months of the war we analysed our staff potential and made the decision to fill the vacancies with internal candidates. These were employees who for various reasons could not perform their regular job tasks, so we engaged them in different projects, both on a temporary and permanent basis.

In total, this program covered 12% of our employees both from the head office and network. HR team was in continuous communication with them: told them about the new opportunities, organized career day, internal job fair, express interviews, etc. Now it has become a distinct part of our recruiting strategy. As part of this strategy, we consider all our employees internal candidates. Also, rational utilization of our inner potential and growth of our colleagues are essential. In 2023, we adhere to the approved strategy to fill 90% of managerial positions with available internal personnel reserve.

Our project of employee requalification and training was awarded in the “Non-standard recruiting” category of “HR Brand Ukraine” award

What are the key features of a leading employer? Which of these qualities do you possess and which ones helped you retain and expand your team in the time of crisis?

There are certain must haves that an employer has to offer in the present context. They include salary, benefits package, health insurance, etc. However, these basics should be supplemented with other value offers, create certain senses for people. In order to be deemed the best place of employment and be competitive on the talent market, the company must view an employee as a person with their individual needs. In this respect, Credit Agricole is at an advantage on the market. The company cares for employees as well as for their families.

Case in point, the bank has recently arranged and paid for family vacation of employees in Zakarpattia sanatoriums. Over 700 people – our colleagues and their relatives – took advantage of the offer. Also, thanks to strong support from the international Group, children of our employees received extra financial support for Christmas and Knowledge Day.

When the full-scale war broke out, the Group has created a EUR 10 million solidarity fund, half of which is allocated to supporting employees. We use these funds to also pay charitable aid to employees whose homes were damaged or destroyed due to the war.

We also develop programmes aimed at supporting women who return from their maternity leaves and wish to continue to work. We consider it among the tasks of strategic recruiting. Women who go on maternity leaves constitute an important personnel resource. As a rule, these are effective experts who will be of great value on the job market when they return to work. Therefore our HR programs are aimed at incentivizing such employees to resume their work with us. This year, we doubled the amount of benefits paid when a baby is born – to UAH 20,000. We are also organizing the children’s space at the office of the bank and a baby care room, so as to offer maximum comfort to moms returning to work. This is what we are going to focus on in 2024.

In addition to the implemented internal recruiting programs, we will need to organize new re-qualification courses. Possibly, we will actively employ people without work experience at a bank, but willing to learn and work in this area. The bank supports growth of young specialists. In particular, we have the Young Professionals project, in the scope of which we involve the talented youth in digital transformation. Now 30 young professionals under the age of 25 work as analysts, IT specialists and automation process experts, etc. We will further cultivate the young talent within our team.