ESCP ALUMNI magazine - Special Issue 2022 - 21

Cover Story ❙ Living in an uncertain world
the strict bureaucratic procedures. " For the
optimists, crises are a good way to shake
old habits.
Fast-track training
Compulsory attendance reflects the lack
of flexibility of the working world. It has
been pointed out by workers who want
alternatives like remote working. The
pandemic has been a life-size test and has
shattered the ideas of stubborn managers.
Philippe Gabilliet enjoys: " 2020 was an
incredible year in terms of team learning
for companies. It was hard at first, but they
switched to remote working and digitalization
in a heartbeat. No national training plan would
have made most French workers able to use
Zoom or Teams in less than a year. "
via emails and Skype. The office team spirit is
missing, you know, the coffee breaks, the chats
in the corridors, etc. Small details make the
difference. Uncertainty has had an impact on
the executive staff's morale, but we work hard
not to let this affect us too much. " Like an
overactive NGO in troubled times, Camy
Puech and Qualisocial get three times as
many requests for psychological interviews
as last year. However, despite the anti-cyclic
nature of his job, he says times are complex:
" During a world crisis, things change. I had not
seen so much uncertainty for a while. "
Céline Gallon and the Qobuz team agree;
they have noticed an increase in terms of
workload as the various quarantines and
lockdowns have been beneficial to the
digital entertainment industry. It has had
an impact on her job as a chief people
officer: " The context is so different; it feels
like everything is speeding up and we have
to catch up. We don't have much time to be
totally confident, and at the same time, we must
check what we do a million times. This is hard
work! " As for senior civil servants, their task
is just as hard. Since he was appointed High
Commissioner by the council of ministers,
Thibaut Guilluy has adapted business and
job protection measures which were tailored
to cover so many cases in the first place. His
analysis is terse: " If you follow the rules, you
are dead. You must be able to change important
rules very quickly. Your short-term actions must
be efficient, but you should also make sure you
don't make things you will have to unravel in
the future. Dealing with uncertainty implies
a form of flexibility and tolerance regarding
mistakes, which is the opposite of how the State
works. We are still planning things, due to all
The same thing happened at Qobuz. Céline
Gallon: " Employees pushed for remote working;
the board was reluctant. In the end, directors
had to accept, and it has been adopted because
it was expected, that's it. " But as a manager,
Camy Puech is still divided on the subject.
Though he is not against remote working,
he points out its shortcomings and has
noticed that some employees need the
framework of the office. " Nowadays, our
company's workload is huge, and some of our
employees have increased their work time
instead of reorganising the way they work.
Organisational skills vary from one person to
the other. I did not want them to work from
home full-time. " At least, that is certain.
❙
Céline GALLON (MS 09)
Chief People
Officer - Qobuz
Nour HENEINE (MFB 18)
Private Partnership Officer -
Solidarités International
Camy PUECH (MD 17)
CEO - Qualisocial
Thibaut GUILLUY (99)
High Commissioner for
Employment and Business
Engagement - Ministry of Labour
Philippe GABILLIET
Associate Professor
in Psychology, Organizational
Behaviour and Management
ESCP Alumni Magazine Special issue ❙ 2022
❙ 21
ESCP ALUMNI magazine - Special Issue 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ESCP ALUMNI magazine - Special Issue 2022
