This company had long wanted to set up greater flexibility in working hours. While negotiations were going nowhere fast, BPI started reflection on the organisation on the ground. Mobilisation was finally organised around customer needs and ended in an agreement.

Context
Getting Started
This retail company had been wanting to introduce an annual system of flexible working hours for several years, but the personnel representatives considered the concessions to be insufficient, so the negotiations begun based on the Robien law did not bear fruit. To relaunch the project, the HR department retained the approach developed by BPI during a 35 hour-week conference - start by thinking about organisation in order to come to a social agreement.

Task
Launch the Operation
The change had to be carried out in 70 stores with 10 000 employees. BPI suggested that pilot sites be set up. The project leader, who was in charge of motivating the seven regional directors for the project, first mobilised consultants in order to set up a precise methodology. The first objective was achieved - six stores and four departments at headquarters accepted to open the way.

Building Solutions
A diagnosis was carried out in each of the pilot stores. It was necessary to identify, on the ground, the consequences of a reduction in hours worked and to spot possible ways to improve the situation. Based on the summary of these diagnoses, the directors of the pilot stores identified ten working themes - be in the right place at the right time, take the reins, call on the sales assistants, etc. Each site chose three themes around which the employees mobilised to find solutions. For many, the priority was to adapt staffing levels to the variations in workload. At headquarters, the purchasing department was a pilot site. This department is a strategic function that conditions both the margins and the offer. The 50 buyers and their assistants opted for a reduction in working hours based on additional days off. The relays organised to cover absences helped harmonise working methods - a long-awaited project that the department decided to tackle. Using summaries of action plans, solutions that coincided and complemented one another provided material for two sets of guidelines, one for headquarters and the other for the stores.

Perspectives
Preparing for the Future Again
The company thus laid the foundations of a more flexible and efficient organisation based on customers' needs. The company has given itself three years to set this up, and expects productivity gains of 10%. The participative approach adopted paved the way for social negotiations. Going further than the restrictions imposed by legislation, it ended in an agreement that planned a 9% increase in the number of employees. Recruitment, training, development of flexibility - the new challenge for the enterprise was skills development.