Management of human resources: L'Occitane

Résumé du document

Olivier Baussan founded the company l'Occitane in 1976. At the beginning the main idea was to manufacture natural products, thanks to ingredients coming from near Provence. L'Occitane's activity consists in providing natural and quality products for hair and body to favor wellbeing and quality of life. Olivier Baussan had this project because he was native of the region and grew up in Provence near Manosque. After selling these products in local market in Provence, he opened his first outlet in Volx close to Manosque in the south of France.

In 1982, he discovered the shea butter during a trip in Africa (Burkina-Faso). He chose to incorporate this new ingredient in his products. Traveling allowed him to be aware of social and environmental issues. From then on, his commitment to others and environment became the key values of the brand. Even if he is a founder of the brand, he remained anonymous for the large audience. There was no face in the brand advertising campaigns. All were focused on products. L'Occitane is not perceived as a leader . Today Olivier Baussan owns a little share of the company but the firm is growing more.

In 1991, Reinold Geiger, an entrepreneur, invested in L'Occitane. His first feeling about L'Occitane was: " I would like to improve and develop the company but keeping its identity." . In 1995 Reinold Geiger became the CEO of the firm. He was specialized in packaging of cosmetics. He decided to add "en Provence" behind the brand name in order to insist on the brand regional roots. So, it was a success and it continued.

Extraits

[...] Strategic planning is consequently about adapting the company's HR strategy to forecasted needs, which are determined by the environment: identification of customer needs and determination of business needs. Then, based on those external needs, the issue is to implement the four phases of Deming's PDCA model in order to build a relevant HR strategy. Indeed, HR department is a key business actor by making part of the global strategy. A strategic plan has to be implemented following specific steps. Below, you can see a table representing those steps' sequence. Consequently, we are going to introduce L'Occitane's Strategic planning according to this rationale, and basing on corporate data. [...]

[...] First of all, we will have an overview of the human resources in the company. Secondly, we will detail the HR strategic planning, the organizational alignment and agility in the company, the workforce engagement. Furthermore, we will summarize this development by introducing the company succession planning. By the end, we will analyze the European culture and the international HR management of the French company. The objective is to show how L'Occitane tries to build a competitive advantage thanks to its biggest resource and capital: its employees. [...]

[...] HOFSTEDE DIMENSIONS[7]: Power distance index: 68 Hierarchy respected Formal interaction Centralized authorities Paternalistic system Individualism score: 71 Personal achievements Individual rights Masculinity: 43 Modest, caring values System thinking Decision in team Promotion depending on collective performance Uncertainty avoidance: 86 Uncomfortable in uncertain situation Planning everything carefully Society relies on rules, laws and regulations, agreement, code of conduct Reducing risks and secure activity In order to sum up, French companies value formal interactions. This culture model works around caring values, code of conduct, laws and tradition. This culture tends to structure situation and avoid radical changes. It is the reason why French employees need specific coaching to mobility, which explains why L'Occitane chose to enhance this strategic axis. People want to have the control over the external environment and bring a lot of importance of quality and long relationship. [...]

[...] Finally, the fact that all key strategic axis are related to L'Occitane mission, which was stated earlier, and which consists in “developing all employees' skills, competencies and capabilities to maintain a very high motivation level and promote personal development”, ensures the fact that all those axis are interrelated. In L'Occitane, agility of the company is essential. HR department constantly promotes a strategy of mobility, which brings an important organizational capability and resource flexibility. Consequently, L'Occitane is able to adapt its strategy according to external environmental changes and to develop its competitive advantage (that is to say its employees' competencies, commitment and motivation) against competitors. Flexibility means having employees who can do a very large range of activities. [...]

[...] After selling these products on local market in Provence, he opened his first outlet in Volx close to Manosque in the south of France. In 1982, he discovered the shea butter during a trip in Africa (Burkina-Faso). He chose to incorporate this new ingredient in his products. Traveling allows him to be aware of social and environmental issues. From then on, his commitment to others and environment became the key values of the brand. Even if he is a founder of the brand, he remains anonymous for the large audience. [...]