A 100-employee firm capitalises on human factors!

Ergonoma Journal’s mainspring ,over the last 13 years is to regularly place well-being at the work station and work station ergonomics under the spotlight. Not only in terms of new materials and new products, but also by highlighting new working methods and management practices. The key is to integrate the improvement of working conditions within a genuine strategy that combines human and economic factors Let us take a tangible example: The Global Metal Works group, led by Sébastien Buathier, is committed to improving collective and individual performance at its subsidiaries BCM Métallerie and Defiluxe, by adopting ISEOR’s CAPN scheme.

What is CAPN?

CAPN stands for Contrat d’Activité Périodiquement Négociable (periodically negotiable activity contract), a management tool devised and developed by ISEOR to provide a formal framework for setting out the priority objectives and the resources provided, for each member of staff, including shop-floor workers and other non-managerial staff, via a six-monthly two-way discussion between each individual and their immediate superior. The contract is associated with a substantial bonus, paid when individual and team objectives are achieved, and self-financed by the reduction in hidden costs.
The fight against hidden costs constitutes a direct link between financial performance and workforce performance. In concrete terms, staff members have three sets of objectives:

• individual objectives (for which 50% of the savings are paid to the staff),
• semi-collective objectives (for which 30% of the savings are paid), and
• collective objectives (for which 20% of savings are paid to all).

With this approach, those who have achieved good performance are no longer penalised.

Instead of management rhetoric, financial performance goes directly into employee’s pockets. This mode of socio-economic management is a mark of recognition. The payslip constitutes the first form of recognition, by incorporating labour performance in financial performance. The Global Metal Works group is committed to improving collective and individual performance at its subsidiaries BCM Métallerie and Defiluxe. The ISEOR CAPN scheme (periodically negotiable activity contract) is an agreement negotiated between managers and all staff members, relating to objectives to be achieved over a six-month period.
When the defined objectives are achieved:

• each member of staff receives additional remuneration in the form of a bonus;
• the efforts of all staff to improve the company’s performance are rewarded.

This socio-economic management method was devised by ISEOR (Institut de Socio-économie des Organisations; institute for socio-economics in organisations).

Global Metal Works capitalises on human factors. Sébastien Buathier, managing director of the Global Metal Works group, is convinced of the importance of socio-economic performance to companies. He has chosen to encourage all of his staff by instilling genuine individual commitment within work teams via this objective-based contract. Various factors are at stake via this new management method, including the reduction of anomalies, the quality of working conditions and the individual development of all members of the company. In concrete terms, each manager motivates their teams by setting up action plans and tangible tracking of objectives. Via the CAPN scheme, each member of staff does their part in improving economic and human performance, opening up new possibilities and facilitating immediate results.

Global Metal Works was established in January 2017, following the demerger of BCM. It acts as the holding company for BCM Métallerie (industrial metalwork), DEFILUXE (metal accessories for the luxury market), Kango and SNTS.

ISEOR is a centre for research in management and sciences, for the services of businesses and des organisations. For over 40 years, the institute for socio-economics in organisations (ISEOR) has focused on management-related research. ISEOR has analysed and advised 1854 businesses and organisations in 42 countries across four continents. Since 1976, it has worked in a wide variety of sectors (from heavy industry to the service and utility sectors) for entities of varying sizes (from 4 to 30,000 staff).