1. <br />Paris, France. May 22, 2011<br />Dear Fellow LinkedIn Discussion Group Member,<br />I wanted to thank you for accepting my invitation to be connected on Linked In. <br />My objective in reaching out to you is to share the fruit of 24 months of independent research on employee engagement – How to engage a global corporate workforce! - that I have completed and which I feel offers a good global & cross-cultural starting point for a “new way forward” http://slidesha.re/f6PyRH for individuals like you and I wanting to lead organizations and develop employee potential in order to succeed in today’s emerging post-crisis & global environment and economy http://slidesha.re/gBvisr . Together we can reflect upon building a new global mindset http://slidesha.re/eD9fLp. <br />As a starting point for reflection I suggest the following article about how the changes Harvard Business School’s MBA program recently announced http://poetsandquants.com/2011/01/24/what-business-really-thinks-of-the-mba/ were largely informed by research that resulted in the 2010 book “Rethinking the MBA: Business Education at a Crossroads ” http://slidesha.re/fmjG7K by HBS professors Srikant M. Datar, David A. Garvin, and research associate Patrick G. Cullen <br /> <br />There is no catch; you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to – I am just sharing my research with you by putting it at your “virtual” disposal for consultation whenever you desire. As I move forward I will keep you posted and continue to personally inform you of progress made as my idea moves forward. <br />As well as you, I invited various other members from the following discussion groups that I am a member of to be “LinkedIn”:<br />Eurodisney Opening Crew 1992 CEO Dilemma & HR Dilemma<br />Bilingual Professionals (French/English) EAPT (European Association of Psychological Type)<br />Global Leader 2.0; Human Resource IQMBTI Professionals<br />Corporate University and Learning & Development - Old Stamfordians; Workplace Learning & Performance Network<br />Sociocracy; International Coaching NetworkThe MBTI - Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Assessment<br />L’Observatoire des Tendances Organization and Development Network<br />Top linked HR Professionals Chief Learning Officer Magazine; Learning & Development<br />Connecting Retail HR Disney & The Walt Disney Company Alumni<br />France Business & Professional Network Learning & Development Professionals<br />RH Info; BsC NetworkLinked HR; Employee Engagement Emporium<br />HR & Talent Management Executive Theme Park Professionals; Best of HBR<br />Membres de l’ANDRHLinkedIn HR Think Tank; Bootstrap Consulting Network (BSC)<br />Star Performers career networkStrategic business transformations & change management<br />Employee Engagement & organizational culture professionalsSigma Chi International Fraternity (http://slidesha.re/kZnTo4)<br />To date over 2000+ group members have accepted my invitation. Along with my own personal connections this network of 2700+ professionals’ gives direct access to 1.2 %+ of the entire LinkedIn network, has members in over 85+ countries and what’s more, our contacts give us the possibility to access an additional 16.7%+ of the networks 100+ million users http://slidesha.re/kfhkIB.<br />My quest and research started two years ago, in March 2009. In January 2009 as the Director of Mobility, Communication and Learning for the Hertz Corporations post-transformation global Customer Experience Program my brief was to integrate both the Human Resources Centre of Excellence & Employer of Choice branding initiatives and the Global Customer Experience Branding http://slidesha.re/fqRnMK initiatives in order to engage a corporation in a new global customer experience known internally as “Love Hertz”- a best in class experience for all involved http://slidesha.re/h6lWAL. <br />However, when the Hertz Corporation laid off 4000 employees worldwide in January 2009 http://slidesha.re/eLWkPs and just 3 months after the program was launched, I along with 3999 others from around the globe was literally whipped out to sea by the brewing global economic crisis. Remaining both inspired and motivated by the Customer Experience Vision championed by Hertz that I had been so inspired by http://slidesha.re/hLJstp, I decided to continue to work on employee engagement http://slidesha.re/fMMYn9 in what has become a long sabbatical that has allowed me to turn my 2009 employee engagement vision into a concept that I have baptized Human Sigma Made in France; a concept largely inspired by Professor John Fleming & Human Sigma http://slidesha.re/dOTlQ8 . <br />The building of my concept started back in May 2009 on Facebook following my return to France after having being certified in the Interstrength Method with Dr. Linda Berens http://slidesha.re/foarjA and her team in Huntington Beach, CA. I have been fortunate enough to engage over 1000+ of my former friends and colleagues from the Walt Disney Company http://slidesha.re/ebpAuL, Truffaut http://slidesha.re/hHNVuP , Photo Service http://slidesha.re/fWz7G3 and the Hertz Corporation, in the evolution of my thinking and consequent realization of my vision and work over the last two years on Face book http://slidesha.re/gp20SR & The “building of Human Sigma Made in France”.<br />Presented as an animated video with written comments, Human Sigma Made in France, http://slidesha.re/bqRrbL uses modern technology to bring to life the culmination of different lessons learned from the various work experiences I’ve had across the world and in very different companies http://slidesha.re/fmGs21 and cultures http://slidesha.re/hnstZI.<br />My reason for sharing is twofold; firstly I want to share the passion for human resources, employee engagement & storytelling that I learned from my 13 years of with the Walt Disney Company with the magic of Pixie Dust http://slidesha.re/eIhk4A both in the US http://slidesha.re/dTfwwH and in France http://slidesha.re/hwLpVk where I was responsible for the building of the Disney Parade http://slidesha.re/mPXRCU back in the early 1990’s; secondly, I wanted to share with you the findings of my work and the concept that I have come up with that I have baptized, Human Sigma Made in France as well as those at the source of the various ideas and approaches that I have closely studied and integrated into my concept “Human Sigma Made in France”. <br />The “Magic Ingredients” used to inspire “Human Sigma Made in France”:<br /> Holacracy – HolacracyOnehttp://www.holacracy.org/<br /> Dr. Linda V. Beren’s & The Interstrength Method http://www.interstrength.com/<br /> Sociocracy - Integral Governance Institutehttp://sociocratie.unblog.fr/<br /> The MBTI tool and Jungian psychology http://www.osiris-conseil.com <br /> Dan Ariely & Behavioral Economics http://slidesha.re/gft4tK <br /> Daniel Pink and his best-seller “A Whole New Mind” http://www.danpink.com<br /> Daniel Pink’s new bestseller “DRIVE”http://slidesha.re/ii4FYZ<br /> Dennis Snow’s bestseller, “Lessons from the Mouse” http://snowassociates.com<br />Lee Cockerell’s bestseller, “Creating Magic”http://www.leecockerell.com<br />Graham Keen and behavioural cultural changehttp://www.grahamkeen.com/<br />Dario Nardi’s Personality Types I-Phone applicationhttp://www.personalityapps.com/Personality_Types<br />The path to peak performance HBR Videohttp://slidesha.re/eANpnA<br />Crossknowledge (E-Learning http://slidesha.re/kH279a)HYPERLINK quot;
http://www.crossknowledge.net/en-gb/quot;
http://www.crossknowledge.net/en-gb/<br />Human Sigma Made in France also integrates the many lessons learned from The Hertz Corporation where the balanced scorecard http://slidesha.re/dSx0hV and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or MBTI http://slidesha.re/hgF01k were used in Europe as a potent means of bettering cross-cultural communication, self understanding and teamwork. The MBTI http://slidesha.re/dRXUN2 was introduced in Hertz France as an engaging way http://slidesha.re/gZqWOn of accompanying the transformation of a non-English speaking corporate culture http://slidesha.re/dMbLZx; a transformation orchestrated globally by the Hertz Corporation, headquartered in Park Ridge, New York, USA http://slidesha.re/gppyZD. <br />Human Sigma Made in France uses storytelling skills http://slidesha.re/elUv5f to integrate the balanced scorecard concept and new 21st Century Corporate Vision, Mission and Value statements and employs Linda Beren’s Interstrength Method to provide the “self discovery process” & interaction dynamics http://slidesha.re/foarjA necessary to unanimously engage and integrate stakeholders into a constant employee/customer process of “live learning”- an experience often referred to as the reality of our daily lives or more rationally as the day to day in and outs of “Customer Experience” & “Work life” http://slidesha.re/ewpoFQ . Type theory (MBTI tool or other) http://slidesha.re/eDuZV0 provides the link into Linda Berens 5 satellite self discovery process http://slidesha.re/dXD2my. Incidentally, this is the same work life that employee engagement research informs us that “the actors” are screaming out to be a part of and that requires managers at all levels to become skilled storytellers. An article I wrote for a recent International Newsletter for Portfolio International will give you further information on this subject http://slidesha.re/f0tjAA.<br />There are some very interesting new paradigms being proposed around the world by different schools of thought that address the change that is needed in how we can run our companies (governance) in the emerging, post-crisis “new global economy”. Remember what Thomas Friedman said about Globalization 3.0 (which started with the millennium bug) in his book “The World is Flat? (http://slidesha.re/hbIBDH). Tom said that Globalization 3.0 is all about “the individual” - individuals can for the first time ever sell their skills and achievements and work anywhere in the world by engaging themselves with whomever they want and all by creating a win-win situation for all involved http://slidesha.re/dGXbdA. Human Sigma Made in France is my vision and my ideas that I offer as a starting point for some form of global discussion amongst a broad representation of Group Members or stakeholders http://slidesha.re/eOqDbU.<br />We all have thousands of experiences that can provide the foundation for stories that help perpetuate an idea, concept, or culture. You simply have to think about those things that have had an impact on you, a customer, or an employee. I am saying that it is important for you to become a good storyteller; however, good storytellers were poor storytellers first. Good storytellers got to be good by telling stories. That's really the only way to get good at it http://slidesha.re/elUv5f. <br />I can tell you that a good story for business has three components: the setup, the story itself, and the point. The setup tells the listener why you are telling the story. The setup doesn't give away the ending, but it lets the listener know that the story is about having fun, or the importance of providing good service, etc http://slidesha.re/hsJ3Y5. The story itself is exactly that and it will get better each time you tell it. The point tells the listener about the lesson the story illustrates & provides the foundation for a discussion on methods for maintaining the dignity of an employee while taking corrective action. How Coca-Cola’s CEO & Chief Storyteller sees 2011 http://slidesha.re/h4v93A at Davos.<br />Human Sigma Made in France assures the integration of people (employee and customer experience) and internal processes by engaging them in corporate strategy which is rolled out in real-time as a story using the balanced scorecard as the guiding light http://slidesha.re/h3taP9.<br />The Art and Skill of Storytelling http://slidesha.re/gzXxMD .………….… Once upon a time http://slidesha.re/h2oXkf on the 14 September 2005, a car rental company changed forever when the Ford Motor Company confirmed its intent to sell its Hertz rental car subsidiary to a group of private investors in a deal valued at €15 billion ($US 19 billion). The sale made was one of the largest ever to a group of equity firms and allowed Ford to cash in on one of its most valuable assets as it faced falling profits in its manufacturing operations. Ford received $US 5.6 billion in cash for Hertz which was at the time the largest car rental company in the US as well as being the only global car rental company. <br />This sale put Hertz, a company that had been owned by public corporations for much of its 87 year history, under the control of three private equity investment firms: Clayton Dubilier & Rice, the Carlyle Group and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity. To finance the deal, the investors used $US 2.3 billion in cash and assumed the remaining amount as debt. <br />Today Hertz is a 90+-year old company with a rich legacy of industry leadership and service and with a “new mission” to be the most efficient, high quality, customer focused company in the rental markets the company serves and moves into. In support of this mission, the company has undergone a 3+year worldwide reorganization program (which commenced at the beginning of 2007 http://slidesha.re/gXIQcu ) in order to operate more efficiently, as well as further improve customer service and employee satisfaction.<br />As part of the overall global reorganization of Hertz that followed, departmental functions were transformed into global centers of excellence, whereas previously the functions operated on a country or US or other regional basis http://slidesha.re/ed83cD. The HR function is a key example of this initiative. Previously, the HR teams in each of Hertz's company owned (corporate) countries had previously operated fairly autonomously, each with country-driven approaches to their own markets, and with RAC and HERC teams operating separately. Now, however, as a result of the reorganization of the global HR function, all HR employees from all countries across both RAC and HERC are part of one global HR team, which is organized into closely linked, pan geographic HR disciplines.<br />In December 2006, Hertz’s new CEO Mark FRISSORA (appointed July 2006), communicated by global webcast http://slidesha.re/eAxnJL to all Hertz employees worldwide new corporate Vision, Mission and Values http://slidesha.re/hoqppi as well as the corporate objective of becoming a best-in-class Corporation and the employer of choice in the global car rental industry. Marching orders were clearly given to transform the Corporation into an quot;
Employer of Choicequot;
- http://slidesha.re/fajNmw in order to both attract and retain the best talent in the industry. Hertz consequently implemented on a global scale, a number of far-reaching initiatives to develop the company as a ' best in class' employer, and carefully measured employee views of progress through bi-annual employee pulse surveys http://slidesha.re/emA4m6 . Furthermore, a specialist task force within the HR group completed a Global Employee Retention Project to address seven key areas relating to employee retention: Attracting new employees; Recruiting new employees; Integrating new employees; Rewarding employees; Growth & Career Opportunities; Managing & Engaging employees and Separating from employees. These corporate initiatives were linked into local (France country level http://slidesha.re/fqkLzQ) negotiations concerning a 3 year (rolling) agreement on Human Resource Planning known as the GPEC or Gestion Prévisionnelle des Compétences et des emplois http://slidesha.re/dPVIpd. The notion of competence becomes the central theme of employee development http://slidesha.re/eGCXER. These negotiations started with a presentation of both Corporate & European strategy to Hertz Frances’ Elected Employee Union Representatives. See Examples. http://slidesha.re/i6LDkQ &. http://slidesha.re/gtWUwc. In France there is a legal obligation written into the work code that obligates companies in both the private and public sector, to spend the equivalent of 1.6% of the sum of year N-1’s total salary cost – if a company fails to invest this reference sum, it must pay the difference to the FR. Government. Thus the training plan is the backbone of an accord GPEC http://slidesha.re/e5G9pU. The agreement (accord) once completed is co-signed by the Work Council with the support of the employee union representatives and HR, and is intended to provide the proper career and skills framework around which policies for recruitment, technical and soft skill training, career management etc. are constructed and implemented in a collective fashion and where all HRM issues, staff, jobs and skills (existing and needed) become the focus of a forward-looking vision. This obligation is part of the French Labor Code since 2005 http://slidesha.re/ezp0lI. See IBM http://slidesha.re/hLzlz3, Schneider Electric http://slidesha.re/h0g1VB & Peugeot Citroen http://slidesha.re/hiOS7u examples of the kind of “accord” or agreement signed by three multi-nationals. This is a great system, well built and an intuitive method for preparing today’s workforce for the exigencies of tomorrow and merits close examination.<br />I was very fortunate to have been part of this incredible Corporate and HR Transformational process, as Hertz France’s Training & Development Director http://slidesha.re/hfKzsu and as one of two Pulse coordinators (employee satisfaction) for Hertz France and finally as the Global Customer Experience’s employee engagement guru charged with masterminding the new “Love Hertz” experience http://slidesha.re/hfdGvP. Using the balanced scorecard concept http://slidesha.re/euAL10 and new Corporate vision, Mission and Value statements to lead, guide and inspire local workforces our objective was to create one common identity for the global customer experience program; a common identity closely aligned with the overall identity of the global organization: an identity, Love Hertz http://slidesha.re/gEH9hV, which helped convey to both internal and external audiences worldwide that Hertz is indeed an exciting and rewarding company to work for. <br />Measure 2011 – read the transcript of Hertz Global Holdings http://slidesha.re/hl2Eju conference call and CEO Mark Frissora’s comments at recent presentation of Hertz Global Holdings 2010 and 4th quarter results in February 2011. http://slidesha.re/dVau3a.<br />This experience nourished the building of my new Human Sigma Made in France storytelling concept that I am honored to share for with you and other group members as a starting point for discussing together globally a “new way forward” http://slidesha.re/g48YjO as to just how corporate governance and employee engagement are integrated into real-time operations in order to drive discretionary effort and employee “best place to work” initiatives; all by creating win-win experiences kindled by the intrinsic motivation of all involved. http://slidesha.re/gUJuGL<br />My approach to answer the question as to “just how does one actually engage a global workforce”? was guided by the Research on quot;
Best in Classquot;
Customer Experiences performed across several different industries - a study commissioned by the London Business School Summer School 2008 for Hertz http://slidesha.re/gODvl7 ; storytelling was the methodology that was to be used to integrate the customer and employee into one experience; a concept known as Human Sigma as presented by Professor John Fleming of the Gallup Organization is his book Human Sigma http://slidesha.re/e6Mi0n. The Gallup Organizations work on Behavioral Economics http://slidesha.re/hXFhxX was also a key business approach that inspired my concept Human Sigma made in France.<br />The desired final state (modeled after the Hertz Corporations 2005 http://slidesha.re/ikAHrn - 2009 transformation) was a new and transformed agile and global organization that had metamorphosed itself into a quot;
Best in Class Companyquot;
and an quot;
Employer of Choicequot;
both on the inside and the outside. We are Hertz, they’re not http://slidesha.re/ehbtOK – a company where the engagement, sheer passion and incredible storytelling skills demonstrated by employees all around the world, fuels discretionary effort and engages a “global workforce” in the constant and often mundane process that can be everyday life http://slidesha.re/gxahFs …….a true example of doing more with less by creating a win-win situation for all involved. As said David Wasserman, a partner at Clayton who negotiated the terms of the sale of the Hertz Rental Car Company with Ford back in 2005: “I think there’s no doubt at the end of the day that this was a win-win-win transaction. It demonstrates the power of private equity in helping corporations restructure their balance sheets”. <br />Thank you for taking the time to read this mail and to look at my presentation. If your interest is sparked and you desire to learn more please visit my LinkedIn Profile Page where different aspects of my concept are presented along with my credentials http://slidesha.re/9yxdbw <br />I look forward to engaging you in further discussion and exchanging with you at a future date. Best regards and warmest greetings from Paris! <br />Simon PENNY<br />