Translations

CARTONNERIES DE GONDARDENNES, a company that acts for its employees.

3. Labor relations / working conditions

Working conditions

Sector Industry

Year 2015

Country France

Transmitter

Context

Established at Wardrecques in the Pas-de-Calais region of France, Cartonneries de Gondardennes is a century-old family business specialized in the production of corrugated cardboard and corrugated base paper. With its 406 employees, the company is the second largest employer of the Audomarois area of France, after Arc International. Ever since the 1990s, the company has been a forerunner in terms of reducing its environmental impact, and continues to do so today, fully taking part in the Third Industrial Revolution. Since the arrival of Bertrand Helle as plant manager in 2007, the company has gradually been creating a social policy aiming to foster skill development in its employees.

Objectives

Reduce absenteeism staff turnover
Improve employee well-being.

APPROACH

Communication of results

Formal meetings are held once a month to disclose business results to executives and heads of departments.
An internal newspaper is published monthly to discuss the goings on of the factory. This internal newspaper is distributed personally to every employee.

Work organization

The factory runs 24/7. In October 2014, some changes were made to the organization so as to improve machine use and allow for greater productivity.
Greater employee versatility in using the different machines.
An unpaid break has been done away with, thus allowing more favorable hours for the staff. They now work 31 to 39 hours per week.
This organizational change took one year to prepare, in order to take into account each person's personal obligations. Schedule adjustments can still be made to allow for personal obligations.

CONTRIBUTION TO COMPANY PERFORMANCE

The net result was multiplied by 4 between 2013 and 2014.
The monthly meetings allow for better internal communication and foster transparency within the company.

Benefits

The employees enjoy a three-day weekend every other week.
The employees feel more involved in the business now that the results are being disclosed.
Internal communication has improved following the arrival of Bertrand Helle in 2007.