Graduates can make a life for a year abroad

"We do not fidélisons our employees with a stock but our working conditions", notes Marie Montellier, responsible service animation of the Maif HR operations. It is a fact: the mutual daily, offer significant benefits to their employees. First of all in terms of working time: 31: 30 weekly to the Macif (with RTT 22 days per year for managers), 32 hours in Groupama (23 days of RTT) against 34 hours (and 14 days of RTT) in AXA France. In terms of conditions of work also. For maximum flexibility, the trend is towards developed schedules. At the Macif as in the Maif, some employees arrive at 10 a.m. in the morning, others may start as early as 16 hours at night, and all part-time forms are possible: half-time, 3/4 time, 4/5, or even the intermediate time. Finally, specific days of leave may be granted: sick child day, day of re-entry school and even in Groupama, "days of seniority" for most loyal! In the same spirit, the Maif gives its employees women from four additional weeks to the conventional 112 days on maternity leave.

Part of the variable salary

Collective insurance agreement is still deemed to be already very beneficial, but the insurers, in particular the mutual, do not hesitate to go further in working conditions. Logic, because in the same way as their values, this is in part that lies their attractiveness. Less on remuneration. Even though they reiterate "to be in the market", differences remain with the traditional insurers. Because as a mutual organization, the concept of capital does not exist (the reason for the company is not to make profit), which has a direct impact on the wage package: no participation, step of pay or retirement savings, step of shareholding employee, or stock... and fixed salary levels often below those of the insurers. To align with the competition, the Macif therefore fully reviewed its system of remuneration a year and a half in order to introduce more variable. The whole of its business agreements denounced on this occasion. The change is nonetheless progressive: "we cannot evolve abruptly a compensation system for years, based on seniority, said HRD, Claude ITF.". We therefore introduce little by little a notion of individual performance.

Is the variable pay significantly more developed among the insurers for the mutual. "This is the case for all the employees of AXA France, even the media functions," said HRD, Serge Morelli. For the commercial, the variable part may represent 70 of compensation, whereas in Groupama, for example, it is around the 20 (30 for executives and managers) and remains closely linked to the collective performance. "A commercial Director with, for example, 30 variable part, could have half indexed on the objectives of the entity." "The individualization of the performance, and therefore compensation, must be balanced and take into account the collective outcome", explains Isabelle Calvez, HRD group. The Maif, prefer to avoid any notion of a variable. Even for the commercial. "We do want put them pressure on the shoulders, or force them to make sales at any cost," says Marie Montellier, for which the recognition more through career development.

Evolution is limited however to the hexagon because most of the mutual are absent from the international market and thus offer little mobility abroad. "We have to make progress, admits Claude ITF Macif." It is directly related to the strategy of the Group and, for the moment, we have not put in place of international strategy. "Result, the number of French working abroad is limited to... five.

Opportunities for expatriation

To compensate for this lack, the Macif offers ten frames per year to one to six weeks in a mutualist partner in another European country. Relying on its 15 subsidiaries abroad, Groupama has, for its part, put in place a program to send young executives for six months in another country. But the expatriation opportunities remain limited "and must still be developed, as our acquisitions", note Isabelle Calvez.

AXA, on the contrary, is present in more than 50 countries and account 100 French Executives International. Graduates can make a life for a year abroad. The insurer made also on the diversity of its businesses (insurance-damage to individuals, companies, welfare, human services), then that the mutual benefit of a product range often less broad, and subsidiaries (AXA Assistance, Direct insurance, AXA Bank...), which offer them as opportunities. Another feature House, employees can become general agents, in other words to start their own account, under the brand name AXA. At Swiss Life (insurer leader in the field of health and pension insurance), this international dimension primarily through participation in European projects the sharing of know-how from one country to another, note Anne Cassac, responsible for the HR development.

To qualify all the same, because the commercial opportunities are little affected by international mobility. But they are the ones that represent the major part of the number of insurers.