Companies realize that the customer market expanded worldwide and in the pursuit of growth they set foot on foreign countries. To achieve their goals the company HR department must design a plan that considers all aspect of doing business in the foreign country keeping in mind the organizational culture of the organization. This paper will analyze the HR activities in a multinational company, Publicis Groupe.
Publicis Groupe originated in France. It was founded in 1926 by Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet as a small advertisement group, which broadcasted “Radio France” under the Germans’ occupation. The company operates today in more then 100 countries, across all continents. Furthermore according to the AdAge’s ranking done in April 2002, Publicis Groupe ranked fourth in the world (Publicis Groupe, 2004).
The company offers services in three major fields:
1. Advertising: through three global autonomous networks, Publicis worldwide, Leo Burnett Worldwide and Saatchi & Saatchi worldwide (Groupe Profile, 2004).
2. Consultancy and media buying: the company rank first in media buying through the use of two global networks (Starcom MediaVest Group and ZenithOptimedia) (Business & Company Resource Center, 2004).
3. Marketing: the company has a special department SAMS (specialized Agency and Marketing Services), which deals with all aspects of corporate and financial communications, public relations and all marketing services (2004).
See also figure 1 in the appendix, which shows the revenue of each business in percentage.
The major competitors are Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, DDB Worldwide Communications, McCann-Erickson Worldwide and Dentsu Inc. Other competitors are Omnicom Group, WWP Group and Havas Group (2004). See figure 2 in the appendix, which shows the position of Publicis Groupe among its competitors comparing their gross income in millions of US dollars. All those companies compete in the advertising business, their customers are producers of services or merchandizes in need of promotion for their products, and through the use of the advertising agency they are able to reach their customers. Furthermore, for Publicis Groupe, the customers are not only those that required services but the whole customer market for which the ad is intended.
In the process of evaluating the HR activities of the company it is important to consider the corporate values and vision of the organization. Following in the foot steps of the founder, the company has established a reputation for professional ethics, which encompass integrity, loyalty and the respect for others. The company main goal is to dedicate itself fully to the interest and the success of the clients.
Furthermore, it is important to look at the company corporate values and responsibility toward the community at large. Publicis Groupe is a company that emphasizes the respect for human rights; it has a strong commitment the UN’s Global Compact (Corporate Responsibility, 2004). The UN’s Global Compact represents nine principles, which cover human rights, labor standard and environmental preservation. Furthermore, Publicis Groupe supports the global fund created by the G8 members to fight the spread of AIDS and other fatal diseases (Global Fund, 2004). Last, but not least, the company offers services free of charge through a pro bono program. The program supported more than 200 projects in 2003 (Pro Bono, 2004). Those factors define the organizational culture of the company, and affect the planning and design of all seven HR activities.
How the HR manager implements those principles in the development of procedures and policies that will affect the running of the business is the purpose of HR planning. This activity analyzes and identifies the forces that influence the economy, so that the human resource meets the company objectives. Also a part of planning is the HR Information and Assessment System. HRIS (Human Resource Information System) provides information used in HR decision making, the assessment is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of the HR department (Mathis & Jackson, 2003).
The company gives the HR department a strategic role in the organization, which gives the HR managers the option to focus on long term goals. The managers are involved in the business decisions made by the board of directors. They were involved in the acquisition of Bcom3 in 2003, one of the most ambitious acquisitions by Publicis Groupe. In the process of an acquisition the HR managers had to analyze a number of factors. They evaluated the compatibility of the new acquired company with the organizational culture of the organization, and in accordance with a statement made by Maurice Levy, Chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe, “All the acquisitions that we undertook until now were chosen according to two interrelated criteria: the interest of our clients and our strategic direction…” (Sanders & Johnson, 2004). The acquisition was reported as being successful (General Meeting of Shareholders, 2004).
It is also the role of the HR department to design the policies and procedures of the company, in that aspect the managers wrote the employees’ hand book. The hand book defines the position of the company in regard to the employee’s obligations and rights. It also states the principles that should guide every staff members. For example, the company refuses to be engage in political campaigns (2003). The company views its human resource as the “grey matter” material. The company expects creativity, talent and dynamism from its employees. The company is committed to ensure that the work environment is structured such as to benefit and satisfied each employee. More will be explore about the company commitment to its employees in the staffing section.
Furthermore the company has an HRIS (Human Resource Information System) which incorporates an intranet and an extranet which allows employees to access both external and internal information. This is use by employees to access job posting, information on personnel policies. Also through the extranet employees can review any benefits that apply to them. The HRIS also permits a connection with suppliers, and since Publicis Groupe is a multinational company, quick connection and response is a must. Overall the inclusion of the HR department in the strategic decisions of the company showed itself very profitable for Publicis Groupe.
The next HR activity’s function is following EEO requirements. It is important to notice that the CEO of the company is a minority member, and that the company operates in multiple countries employing a great variety of individuals. While operating in the US however the company must follow the EEO regulations, meaning it must comply with the Affirmation Act during the recruitment of employees. EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity) requires that each individual has equal treatment in every aspect of job related activities (2003). One principle that guides Publicis Groupe is the respect of all individuals; the company is committed to human rights. Furthermore, it is stated in the hand book that when the company uses humor in their advertisement it should be done “in a way in which values and cultural references are respected” (Corporate Values, 2004). This lets me deduct that the company is diversified and multicultural, and adhere to the EEO regulations.
Furthermore the company must follow the regulations of each country in which it operates. Such a situation requires that HR managers be multicultural, and knowledgeable in all business regulations of the host country. The company achieves this objective by employing individuals within the foreign country or by training employees so as to expatriate them to the guest country, more will be explored in the HR development section.
After understanding governmental regulations, the HR manager is able to recruit employees to work in the company. This HR activity is defined as staffing. Staffing incorporates a job analysis that will describe the job’s components and the KSA (Knowledge Skills and Abilities) required for executing the job. In that aspect the HR manager has to write the job description and specifications for each activity performed in the company.
The recruitment is done at various levels. HR managers can recruit applicants from within the company through the extranet, or from outside the company. Also, computer users can reach the company website and get information on job opening; furthermore users can apply directly online. The fact that the company ranked high in the world creates a positive image of the company. During the recruitment the company must follow the regulations of each country in which it operates.
The internal recruiting is done through job posting in the organization database. The company notifies employees of any vacancies, through various channels. The company sends e-mail to prospective employee that fit the job’s KSA. Job openings are also posted in the company newsletter. However the greater source of applicants comes from online recruitment.
It is important to notice that the company already employed more than 35,000 individuals. However, since each network is independent the responsibility to fill job openings relies on each HR department, which must adapt to the economic situation in the host country. The organization focuses on organization fit recruitment strategy, meaning HR managers look for individuals that will fit the organizational culture of the company first, and then considers the KSA of the individual to fulfill the job. Such an approach is necessary since the company is represented across the world, its image is its reputation, and employees represent the company. “Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet often said you choose to work in advertising out of love” (Corporate Values, 2004), to work in advertising one must be honest, fair and credible, and furthermore one must be creative. Those characteristics are emphasized during the selection of applicants. Likewise as stated in the hand book, “there is no room for anything “average” at Publicis” (2004) this aspect requires that potential employees be well knowledgeable in their field of occupation.
The next step after applicants are selected for the job is to help them in their career development. This is done through the HR development activity. The first step in that process is the orientation of the new employee. This process is intended to introduce the new employee to their jobs, to co-workers and to the organization culture. The orientation is done in cooperation with first line managers and supervisors. The company uses mentoring to help coordinate the introduction of the new employee to the company. During the orientation the employee is made aware of the company policies, rules and benefits offered by the company. Publicis Groupe is committed to inform all staff about the company financial situation, its goals and strategies. However the company retains the right to conceal information that might help its competitors.
The next step in HR development is designing the appropriate training programs that will help employees develop skills and enhance performance. Publicis Groupe has various training programs available to its employees; the purpose is to allow the employee to reach higher standards of quality in their job. As stated in the hand book training will make the employee “employable”. Publicis Groupe uses both on the job training through mentoring and coaching, and e-learning. Employees have access to various courses online. Also the company uses some form of external training, especially for expatriates. Those employees must learn the language, the culture and the regulations of the host country in which they will work. In regard to career development Publicis Groupe is committed to offer its employees the opportunity to grow within the company. However, promotion is base on merit, and not on seniority. This approach permits the company to be competitive in the world market.
Evaluation of employees’ performance is done at regular intervals, every six months. Employees meet with their supervisors for evaluation, and if an employee has a complaint an HR manager review the evaluation process, and make the final decision. This approach establishes a sense of fairness in the process. The company rewards employees that show outstanding performance by sharing the fruits of the company’s growth and achievements.
It is important to understand that any improvement of the employees’ skills must also improve the company relation with its customers. It is the reason for the inclusion in the hand book of the company commitment to its clients. “The interest of the client is our continuing priority. It leads us to continually review our performance in the most objective manner possible” (Corporate Values, 2004), the ultimate goal of the company is to grow and add value to its clients, to its staff and shareholders, by helping in the development of its employees the company fulfill its goal.
Publicis Groupe has proved itself to be a successful company, which let’s me deduct that the process of training and career development of its employees is efficient.
References
Advertising Agencies (2004). Retrieved August 3, 2004, from http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/
First Blood to Publicis (2002, October). Europe Intelligence Wire. Retrieved July 13, 2004, from http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/
Mathis, R., & Jackson H. (2003). Human Resource Management (10th ed.). Thomson South-Western.
Publicis Groupe (2004). Groupe Profile. Retrieved July 12, 2004, from http://www.publicis.fr/corporate/en/10000/11000.php
Publicis Groupe (2004). Retrieved July 13, 2004, from http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/
Sanders, L., & Johnson, B. (2004, July). Publicis Withdraws as Potential Grey Global Suitor. Retrieved July 19, 2004, from http://www.adage.com/