[Interview] Agile transformation of the industry: Nexans at the pace of collective intelligence

As part of a series of interviews with decision-makers about the strategic priorities of companies and their transformation challenges in an uncertain context, Fabien Gillen, Vice President HR at Nexans, gives testimony ongoing transformations within the industrial group and the importance of collective intelligence.

With an experience of more than 120 years, Nexans is one of the world leaders in the design and manufacture of cable systems, Including accessories and related services, with four major business areas: energy production and transmission, distribution, usage, and industry, as well as associated solutions. This international French group now has more than 28,000 employees in 41 countries.

How do you identify and assess the major challenges that Nexans faces in an uncertain context?

F.G. At Nexans, our fundamental values are first and foremost a clear strategic vision. What is the company’s raison d’être? In what way do we have a role to play in our industry and as a leading employer?

This strategic reflection began in 2018 with the appointment of Christopher Guérin, CEO of the group, made it possible to determine What was the meaning and raison d’être of the company?. Since 2021, we have been embarking on our full transformation. This is a real turning point in our history, as we are refocusing our strategy on our historical activities and our DNA: infrastructure cables.

Regarding our main challenges, I would say that we have two in the short term:

1. First of all, ultimately achieve and succeed with our strategic roadmap the current one that expires in 2024, both on the Assignments of activities, To ensure that those who will leave the group are well supported by the new investors, and the proper integration of the ongoing activities.’acquisition.
2. The second challenge related to our transformation is to continue to mobilize our teams around the «E3» model that we have implemented in recent years. That is why A cultural challenge: getting all the teams to share common corporate values and common principles of management and leadership, In order to truly achieve overall cohesion, it is essential that, whether we are in Chile, Sweden, Turkey, Australia or China, we recognize Nexans as a significant economic and corporate cultural player.

From there, there is a Communication issue, To share this strategic vision with the social partners, teams and stakeholders of the market.

In my opinion, the team’s confidence comes from the clarity and transparency of the strategic vision, combined with operational implementation that enables everyone to both adhere to this collective ambition and contribute individually to it.

The value base that drives the company is one of the key ingredients for getting people to commit to the project and to feel motivated to get involved.. The raison d’être of Nexans is quite extraordinary, as it is one of the major players internationally in realizing the energy transition, ensuring that the infrastructure networks are strong enough to power each of the vital activities (electricity, communications, heating, etc.) and completely changing the living conditions.

• We therefore have a major role to play ensuring that infrastructure operators are adequately equipped. This raison d’être is extremely powerful, especially in this world that is undergoing evolution. With the electrification of mobility, the reduction of fossil fuels, and the climate change that affects us all today... Nexans quickly positioned itself to play this key role, and we want to play it to the full.
• The second major issue is that of To unite the entire company, its activities and the way they are carried out in relation to this raison d’être. How do we ensure that the company’s vital forces are committed to the project, adhere to it, and act in a certain way on a daily basis to make it operational? This question directly touches on the corporate culture, the management model, the leadership model.

What are the factors of change that most impact your profession today and how do you approach them?

F.G. There is first of all exogenous factors, such as major developments over the long term, which influence Nexans’s activities and, indirectly, its organization:

⬜ More specifically, the world is facing an growing need for energy which creates a sustained demand that the energy sector players must meet. We are therefore asked to provide the products and services essential to the market.

The infrastructures installed after the war, despite the quality of the products provided, need to be renewed after 60 years; this also allows the integration of new technologies and the strengthening of networks by making them more intelligent.

⬜ For a number of years, the group (through its leader Christopher Guérin) has anticipated that there would be supply tensions on certain raw materials and especially copper...

This means that the race for volumes makes no sense when one is constrained by access to the resource, especially copper resources. It is therefore more appropriate to try to target resources efficiently. Strategic partnerships with our clients, with the markets on which we want to position ourselves, rather than engaging in a race to volume, which is often dilutive and a factor of disorganization within our entities.

⬜ Geopolitical imbalances They are also part of external factors and destabilize the sources of supply.. For example, no one predicted the war in Ukraine. Yet we are extremely concerned, as we have more than 2,000 employees living in Ukraine in the western part of the country, which fortunately is a little more protected from the conflict.

So indeed, these are things that disrupt the life of the company and that force it to change. adapt very quickly, find very pragmatic solutions, That was the case when we faced this initial conflict.

In short, Reducing complexity, choosing strategic partners, and more generally simplifying our organizations and our offering to customers are today fundamental building blocks of the company’s success. which we have known since 2018.

Are there other exogenous factors that drive you to transform yourself?

F.G. There is much talk today about «permacrise,» « polycrise », with crises of different forms that occur at an extremely rapid pace and that require companies to take action immediately. demonstrate agility to be able to anticipate, adapt, and correct the trajectory at the same time…

⬜ The Covid period was, unfortunately, an excellent exercise in adaptation that had to be deployed throughout the company.

⬜ The climate emergency It forces us to rethink our future and our role As citizens and economic actors facing the changes and overconsumption of resources. It invites us to reflect on our impact and to act responsibly to avoid future catastrophes, transforming our economic models to ensure the sustainability of the planet for future generations. This reflection is crucial to redefining the role of businesses and their actors in this transition.

⬜ Digitalization and artificial intelligence play an important role in the evolution of technological models, However, cable manufacturing has not experienced a major technological breakthrough in years. Equipped with strong expertise and know-how, factories continue to progress to reduce their environmental footprint and are shifting towards a 4.0 factory model. Artificial intelligence is now a new window of opportunity that we must seize, especially for business and operational support functions.

In the face of uncertainty, do you prioritize innovation and transformation of your business? business model or a return to the fundamentals in the industry?

F.G. It’s probably an intermediate path!

The inspiration for the Nexans group comes from its history and roots, which date back to the early cable manufacturing companies (Câble Lyon, Câble Lens), which were later grouped into the CGE and then into Alcatel. With 34 different business segments, the challenges were numerous in maintaining our technological and commercial leadership.

Nevertheless, our operational and management model today and our ambition are fully aligned with modernity, taking into account the VUCA context in which we operate.

How do you make the company agile enough and able to adapt quickly, while maintaining its DNA and values?

F.G. First of all, we have a relatively light organization, with 4 levels of management The group, 4 business groups, 24 business units, and sites. This helps a close relationship with our field teams. 75% of Nexans’s workforce is on the ground, manufacturing and delivering cable to provide our customers. This proximity to the field allows us to be very attentive to the business opportunities that arise.

Indeed, experimentation, listening, decision-making on the ground, The ability to take initiatives and make quick decisions, close to where things are happening, allows us to be more agile.

And it is this culture that we are increasingly promoting. In fact, we have developed a management model called «E3», based on three pillars:

1. economic performance sufficient to develop the company,
2. a genuine environmental ambition with commitments due in 2030-2050,
3. an engagement from employees without which we cannot provide a quality service to customers or develop innovations.

Would you have a concrete illustration of these innovations from the field?

F.G. We often take an innovation that is very dear to us, which we call the « MOBIWAY ». It is a reel that was designed by operators from our Autun plant, who realized that when an installer pulls on a cable reel to be able to proceed with the installation, having a stable and ergonomic reel that makes it easier to perform these operations for several hours makes the life of the installer easier and improves the conditions and efficiency of their work.".

Our latest annual opinion poll attests to significant progress at most of the institutions thanks to the attention paid by our management teams to social dialogue with the field teams. Of course, we still have a lot of work to do in many areas.

Is it through this trust and the empowerment of the teams that you ensure the transition from strategic vision to operational execution?

F.G. Absolutely. On the one hand, it starts from the top in terms of governance, transparency, strategic vision and sharing with the various stakeholders. And then, very operationally, why do things at another level, in a less adapted and less effective way, when we can do it directly when we are close to the ground, close to the customer, close to the product? That is truly It is important for us to value these initiatives..

All our most successful entities within the group always have the same concern to highlight the actor who knows and who does things.

More generally, we see that collective intelligence of a group of men and women who are driven by the same vision, the same project and the same values, is much more powerful than a strictly top down which would be rather restrictive and done in a more restricted context.

In this context of constant change, what strategies and support have you put in place to support your teams?

F.G. There are several structural initiatives.

1. The first is security.  Safety at the workplace It is part of the fundamentals, with an approach focused on behavior and awareness of what a safe working environment is. This also allows for: strengthening dialogue between teams and managers because it is an opportunity for them to develop listening skills, the ability to pay attention to their colleagues, and daily exchanges.
2. The second axis is precisely to promote the feedback, Continuous improvement and feedback from the field. To this end, we have a number of events such as Collaborative Committees or Employee Forums that allow us to identify irritants and opportunities for improvement, which feed the dialogue through iterative loops to improve.

Internal opinion surveys allow us to measure the perception of the quality of training, communication, exchanges, and the ability to evolve within the company.

In terms of management, how do you ensure that your teams are aligned with the company’s new strategic priorities?

F.G. Regarding the support provided to managers, what is important is to have mechanisms for setting objectives, of performance enhancement, recognition and associated remuneration, which are in coherence with both the group’s management and leadership model, its strategic issues, and its values…

In this cultural transformation, it is important to involve everyone. To ensure that there is a very strong convergence between the goal and the way to achieve it. Everyone must be able to recognize Nexans’ identity by seeing, concretely, mechanisms of positioning, decision-making, and communication that are consistent with the group’s ambitions.

 Leadership training for change and management

This transition from vision to execution through alignment and commitment is similar to the OKR method. Have you been inspired by it?

F.G. Yes, in spirit there is a will to power. ensure consistency around all our objectives in a coordinated manner.

By trying to break down silos and developing greater agility, we ensure that the objectives given to the teams have the same priorities, while respecting common values and ethical rules.

White paper «The OKR method: from vision to execution of your strategies»

In your opinion, what are the key success factors for a successful transformation of an organization?

F.G. I think that The foundation of a successful transformation is a clear strategic vision, transparent communication, and the ability to bring people together around a common project.. Share the real issues, why we do things the way we do, how we want to do them, and have that ability to be in agreement on the meaning.

Once the meaning is clear, everyone can put all their energy and talent at the collective’s disposal.

Then, of course, there’s the whole technical part of the accompaniment: providing the teams with the necessary tools and giving them confidence… employees must feel capable of doing their jobs well and be recognized for that.

Interviews collected in April 2024 by Cyrille Chaudoit, Co-founder of talenco, in preparation for our White paper on the levers for transforming companies in uncertainty. A big thank you to Fabien for his testimony!

Renault, Safran, Keolis, TechnipFMC… Download our examples of successful transformations in the industry!