In the coming months the members, representing 10 countries, will focus their work on the European social model and its ability to find solutions to the crisis.
One of the prevailing themes of the Manifesto is corporate social responsibility and the European social model. The members believe that in the future HR will rely on stronger commitment to social responsibility (CSR) from European HRDs. So far, the European HR community has not been an active voice in the debate on CSR, even though HRDs already work on implementing CSR policy.
"In a business, about 60% of actions covered by CSR are assigned by the HRD," said Yves Barou, former HRD at Thales and co-chair of the Circle. "However, their actions are directed only at the employees of the company."
The aim of the European HRD Circle is therefore to give a new dimension to the concept of CSR. By conducting social actions, HR departments must move beyond the boundaries of the company and its employees to also focus on the local job pool and its suppliers. In each European country, the social norms applied in business are the result of national or sectoral agreements, which means that the European social dialogue is at present a collection of different voices in each country. Over the past 10 years, European-level transnational company agreements have been developed to promote the advancement of a common social dialogue.
The Circle spoke in favour of a flexible and optional legal framework to support the development of such agreements. Many issues can be addressed, except those concerning working hours and wages, which are still influenced by national issues. The Circle therefore wishes to be a voice for HR issues according to the European Commission's agenda.
The Circle's working agenda for the current year will include the organisation of many group meetings, by country and around the topic of the European social model while taking into consideration national specificities. Among the themes to be explored by the Circle at these meetings is: youth employment, in particular apprenticeships; the consequences of demographic change and the management of seniors; mobility in Europe, restructuring and anticipation.
The working methodology will be based on several steps: integrate good national practices; consider how the European social model is a laboratory for the world; reflect on how the European social model can provide appropriate responses to the economic and social crises. The members' thoughts over the coming year will be transformed into a concrete action plan for the Circle's next meeting, scheduled to take place in Lisbon late May 2012. "Indeed, after our first meeting, we need time to mature to compare good practices and make recommendations. In Europe, there are different cultures that must be respected but which can learn from one another," added Yves Barou.
The members of the circle include Marianne Laigneau, HR director, EDF (France), Tony Bainbridge, HR director, Rexam (UK); Rainer Grobel, HR director, IG Metall (Germany); Philippe Vivien, HR director, AREVA (France); Kath Durrant, HR director, Rolls Royce (UK); Hervé Borensztejn, HR director, Converteam (France); Agnès Bureau Mirat, HR director, Elior; Joanna Malinowska Parzydlo, HR director, TVN (Poland); Erick Olsen, HR director, Lafarge (US); Stéphane Roussel, HR director, Vivendi (France); Roberto Maglione, HR director, Finmeccanica (Italy); Bruno Guillemet, HR director, Alstom (France); Gian Paolo Naef, HR director, Cevalogistics (Italy); Marie Françoise Damesin, HR director, Renault (France); François Curie, HR director, Vallourec (France); Elizabeth Bastoni, HR director, Carlson Companies (US); Loic Mahé, HR director, Thales (France); Immanuel Hermreck, HR director, Bertelsmann (Germany); Jérôme Nanty, HR director, Caisse des dépôts (France); Jean Luc Berard, HR director, Safran (France); Kathy Jenkins, HR director UK, Canada, Australia and Germany, Thales (UK); Jose Antonio Rodriguez Perez, HR director, Alstom Spain (Spain); Thomas Ehm, VP Head of Employment Training and Competence Management, Airbus (Germany); Vladimir Vesely, HR Manager Parts and Services Europe and Asia Pacific, TRW Automotive (Czech Republic); Hugues Fauville, Employee Relations Europe Manager, Arcelor Mittal (France); Dirk Schneemann, HR director, Total Operations GmbH (Germany); Xavier Broseta, HR director International, Thales (France).
