Developing skills through the knowledge factory is one of the three pillars of the Human Adventure axis of the Spring 2027 strategic plan, alongside caring for our teams and sharing value. Almost 3 months after the launch of the new plan, we invite you to take stock of the Group’s ambitions in terms of professional development and training with Véronique Galdin, Director of HR Development and APRIL University.
Véronique Galdin, you head up the HR Development Department and APRIL University. What are your main tasks?
Our role is to offer a wide range of measures designed to improve the employee experience and encourage commitment, in particular by making every project and every situation an opportunity to learn and pass on knowledge. Our mission is to bring our employer brand promise to life and ensure that everyone finds their place in a collaborative, enthusiastic and dynamic team. Our team is committed to serving employees in two areas: firstly, HR development, which is based on systems and tools that promote knowledge of the APRIL environment, its business lines and career opportunities. The other area is skills development, in particular via the training offered by the University, to enable everyone to strengthen their skills, whether they are cross-disciplinary or business-specific.
These two areas of action meet the broader objective of sharing our corporate culture, improving cross-functionality (between business lines, entities and countries) and developing throughout one’s professional life.
Can you tell us more about the genesis of the University and its specific features?
APRIL University is a training organisation set up in 2006 as an association with a twofold ambition: to promote the acculturation of employees who join the company in order to share the common promise, values and practices; and to enable each individual to develop their skills both for themselves and for customer satisfaction. Our training offer evolves in line with the Group’s strategic priorities and the needs expressed by our teams to support our transformation. Our activity covers 80% of the field of customer relations and customer awareness, managerial culture, personal development and cross-functional skills so that everyone can grow in their behaviour and in their job. We co-construct our courses with external trainers and partners, and we regularly innovate to offer other face-to-face and distance learning methods, such as co-development, individual coaching, team-building workshops, conferences, learning expeditions, etc.
The University has chosen to be part of a continuous improvement process and was awarded Qualiopi certification by AFNOR 3 and ½ years ago, renewed in February 2024. This very strict benchmark guarantees the quality of the services provided and the traceability of actions.
When you presented your strategic plan, you announced something new: the ambition to open an Apprentice Training Centre.
That’s right, it’s an exciting project that we’d like to roll out in 2025 with the first intake of apprentices. We believe that the CFA is a way of enhancing the value and attractiveness of the customer relations profession. Our aim is to recruit new talent, train them and get them up and running in an increasingly competitive and regulated sector, so that we can satisfy our customers and build their loyalty… our main driver and lever for growth! The CFA also reflects our commitment to supporting young people who are aware of the difficulties they face in finding their first job.
Can you describe your career development initiatives for current and future teams?
APRIL is a multi-company, multi-country, multi-market, multi-expertise group. In addition, certain professions are emerging and others are evolving in a number of areas, such as IT, digital marketing, customer relations, etc. Employees don’t know about all the professions, even though the opportunities and developments are there! We are working to make them more visible. It’s important to understand the professions so that you can better plan your career or be in a position to recommend APRIL as an employer, which increases pride in belonging. We have also created systems and tools for employees to facilitate career development. In addition to standard tools such as the development interview with the HR manager or the professional interview, we have created the POP (Professional Orientation Path), a dedicated online space that offers a way to reflect on oneself, one’s environment and one’s project. We also offer a range of development initiatives tailored to different populations, to provide a more individualised employee experience. To make it easier to access job offers, apply for a job or recommend someone, we recently launched APRIL Connect, a programme based on a digital platform accessible from the workplace that brings together job offers and career development opportunities. APRIL Connect also includes job discovery webinars and special events such as APRIL Connect Day, all designed to promote acculturation and professional dynamism. Lifelong learning and a rich, varied and sometimes unexpected career at APRIL have been possible for a long time, and now we want to make them more visible!
