HR ACTION PLAN · Human Resources 2013–2017 Action Plan: 2016 Status Report p. 2 Chapter 1: Human resources policy on contractual staff The HR policy on contractual staff …

HR ACTION PLAN

Implementation of HR strategic framework document into 10 chapters

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Human Resources 2013–2017 Action Plan: 2016 Status Report p. 1

Human Resources Department Action Plan 2013–2017

- 2016 Status Report -

Table of contents Chapter 1: Human resources policy on contractual staff ........................................................................ 2

Chapter 2: Management changes ........................................................................................................... 5

Chapter 3: Implementation of the Strategic Workforce Planning policy .............................................. 13

Chapter 4: Rollout of the process approach ......................................................................................... 16

Chapter 5: Diversity management at INRA ........................................................................................... 25

Chapter 6: Managing employee work-life balance ............................................................................... 31

Chapter 7: Physical, chemical and psychosocial risk prevention .......................................................... 33

Chapter 8: Legal risk prevention for staff, groups and the Institute ..................................................... 38

Chapter 9: Increasing international awareness and attractiveness .......................................................... 41

Chapter 10: Internal HR communication ............................................................................................... 43

After consulting with a number of group managers and human resources personnel, INRA created a strategic framework document for the Human Resources (HR) Department in 2013.1 Three main strategic areas of action were identified:

Area 1: Establish an HR policy based on the organisation’s scientific priorities.

Area 2: Adopt an approach that seeks to continuously improve HR processes.

Area 3: Manage employee motivation and working conditions.

These areas are outlined in an action plan comprising ten chapters. The priorities and objectives, as well how they relate to the principles of the European Charter for Researchers, are described in this document with updates regarding progress made in 2014 and 2015.

These chapters cover some sixty actions developed following efforts by working groups and in meetings with various actors at all levels within INRA. Each chapter has been coordinated by a two-person team and has a corresponding technical document. Managers and contributors have been assigned to each action, monitored using a specific document, while a steering committee will meet twice a year to track progress.

Results, some of which are obtained from tracking indicators used since 2010 as part of the European Charter for Researchers programme, are published on a yearly basis. These indicators are not discussed in this document.

1 2013–2014 HR Department Framework Document, INRA, 2014, 20 p.


Chapter 1: Human resources policy on contractual staff

The HR policy on contractual staff maintains priorities in line with many of the principles in the European Charter for Researchers. The main priorities are:

Principle No. 17 on stability and permanence of employment: compliance with the principles and conditions set out in the EU directive on temporary workers.

Principle No. 18 on funding and salaries: researchers should enjoy salaries with equitable social security provisions which are commensurate with their level of qualifications and/or responsibilities.

Principle No. 20 on career development, including for temporary workers, especially with regards to support for personal and professional development.

Principle No. 32 on recruitment: entry and admission standards must be open, efficient, transparent and appropriate for the type of position.

INRA’s HR policy on contractual staff concerns all temporary workers employed by INRA regardless of their employment status.

It establishes a framework of mutual commitment between the Institute as employer and each contractual employee. This framework provides context for every contractual staff member’s position at INRA and outlines the related processes by clarifying the role of all those involved for greater efficiency.

This approach considers the job prospects of anyone working for INRA, taking into account their future positions within the Institute as well as with other employers.

The field of research is becoming increasingly complex due to the wide range of available methods used in conducting research, and this chapter fits into that trend. External funding has much greater importance today and covers a period of time that may exceed that of temporary work regulations. The Institute must therefore balance two priorities when planning staff policies: first, external constraints resulting from INRA’s multiple partnerships in its activities, and second, the Institute’s traditional management strategies. This dual context leads to four major requirements:

Ensure consistent treatment within each staff category independent of the activity.

Apply the Institute’s management framework.

Adopt management policies that adequately address the demands of the activity situation and life cycle. This requires planning and analysis to determine short- medium- and long-term needs.

Give purpose to those working at INRA.

Given these aims, we can further these goals by doing the following:

Ensure adequate means are available (financial and HR) and that the Institute’s needs are communicated, both key aspects of any negotiation process.

Identify rare, strategic or emerging skills held by temporary staff; make these employees part of our Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP) over the short, medium and long term, while taking account of the shifting nature of certain jobs.

Ensure that the recruitment management process is known, fair, effective and adequate.

Create a strong medium-term policy of inclusion for contractual staff, offer guidance and provide an assessment of skills acquired during their time at INRA.

Establish individualised career paths according to the need fulfilled by contractual employees at INRA to give purpose to their assignments and develop their future employability according their skills profile, both for the benefit of INRA (SWP/creation of talent pools for long-term needs) and for staff.


Review of actions planned for 2014

Publish a charter on contractual posts: completed in 2014

Draw up a departmental memorandum on contractual staff management: completed in 2014

Provide HR staff with training on contract workers: planned for 2015

Revise contract type references, i.e., nomenclature: TBD

Optimise recruitment conditions for contractual positions (Jobs portal): TBD

Charter on contractual posts

As part of its human resources policy on contractual employees, INRA has developed a framework to host, assist and follow-up with staff employed on a contractual basis. The principles outlined in the Charter must be translated into specific actions, with values and rules shared by all those at INRA. This Charter establishes a clear, mutual commitment highlighted by transparent and easily understood decision-making processes. It aims to provide assistance to employees from the start to the end of their contracts. Through this Charter, INRA reaffirms its desire to offer contractual employees straightforward, fair and responsible employment opportunities.

The principles in the Charter are detailed in a departmental memorandum pertaining to the employment framework for contractual employees.

Departmental memorandum, management guide and standardised employment contract

The departmental memorandum regarding how contractual employees are managed was completely revised in 2014. It will be published in the first quarter of 2015 after needs are determined in a memorandum drawn up by central management regarding negotiation processes, which is currently being finalised. A management guide for HR staff will be published along with the departmental memorandum to provide explanations, details and other useful information to those responsible for implementing the changes to ensure a consistent application of the new measures.

The revisions to the employment contract that sets out the relationship between the Institute as employer and hired staff members aim to standardise contract content. A revised management document will also be provided as part of a single employment file. The draft of the revised contract was validated in 2014. The final version is expected to be implemented in the first half of 2015, with a memorandum detailing how the process works and a contract management document.

Optimisation of hosting conditions, follow-up and assistance (interview and passport)

The first action aims to offer contractual employees recruited by INRA and their managers a way to formally discuss the professional outlook for employees over the duration of their contracts and to bolster their progress. As a result, contractual employees employed for more at least one year at INRA will take part in a professional interview. The existing interview structure for permanent employees will be used, with several changes being made to accommodate contractual staff.

A second action will implement a systematic exit interview with all employees at the end of their contracts. The goal is to move beyond the basic legal requirements and create a time for professional discussion for all employees ending their contracts.

The third action, resulting from measures set out in the French Decree of 3 November 2014, aims to formalise the reasons justifying the renewal of a trial employment period or the termination of a contract following the trial period. This will provide an opportunity to discuss with employees the reasons that led to the renewal/termination and obtain feedback that may enable them to make adjustments or improve their performance. These final two measures will be implemented along with a simple (maximum two pages) explanatory document designed to help reduce managers’ workloads.


The skills passport initiative is part of the integration and assistance approach for contractual employees at INRA. The goal is to assist employees in their professional development while at INRA, help them gain awareness of their skills and progress, facilitate learning and enrich their professional skills with their advisor and prepare their future.

The objective of this initiative is to provide a method and tool that gives contractual employees a way to monitor their actions throughout their entire time at INRA and assist them in strengthening their skills and future employability.

The principles and framework of this initiative have already been established. It will be offered to every employee who signs a contract of six months or longer and will require an advisor to be assigned. A training phase is essential and specific communication about the initiative will be created. Furthermore, a trial period has been planned before a general rollout. The practicalities of this initiative (duration, assistance, training, etc.) are currently being determined, as are initial units who are willing to participate.

Review of actions carried out in 2015

Internal charter on contractual staff

The internal charter on contractual staff was widely distributed within the Institute and was published online on the INRA website, making it available to all staff.

Departmental memorandum, management guide, standardised employment contract

As initially planned, the departmental memorandum on contractual staff was finalised and distributed during the first quarter of 2015.

A management guide for HR personnel was drawn up and made available to employee managers at a local level as a binder that could be regularly updated. The guide, along with the departmental memorandum, provides useful information to ensure consistent implementation of its measures.

The employment contract revision was completed. This means that all new contracts from 1 January 2016 are established using this new document.

Creation of the contract renewal/termination interview process

The end of and renewed trial period interviews and exit interview process was finalised to be rolled out from January 2016. Exit interviews will only pertain to contractual staff on contract for at least six months.

Skills passport

The skills passport initiative aims to assist employees as they build their careers throughout their time at INRA. This initiative was developed and finalised in 2015, and as initially planned, has been launched on a trial basis in several INRA centres, including those in Bordeaux, Jouy-en-Josas and Nancy.

Communication

To facilitate implementing these various measures, the HR Department distributed official information about them to all managers (department heads, centre presidents, support services directors), and especially with regard to temporary staff and contract durations.

HR personnel training

Due to the considerable workload in 2015, there were not sufficient resources to create a dedicated training programme for local HR personnel handling the various management actions and procedures for contractual staff. However, monthly video conferences were held with centre personnel managers to assist them with the process.


Review of actions carried out in 2016 Exit interviews

The process of carrying out exit interviews began in 2016. Skills passport

In late 2016, it was decided that this programme would be managed by the two divisions of the Human Resources Department (HR Development and Staff Administration). It will be continued on a trial basis with a status report to be drawn up in 2017, and will be rolled out gradually to all centres from 2018. HR personnel training

Seminars and video conferences with staff administrators in the centres as well as updates on the HR intranet facilitated the sharing of information in the units. However, the necessary resources to put dedicated training in place were not available this year. Given the associated workload and other priorities, the decision was made to discontinue this action.

Chapter 2: Management changes

The quality of an institute’s management is a major HR challenge. INRA’s management policies reflect the following principles from the European Charter for Researchers:

Principle No. 11 on supervision and managerial duties, particularly with regards to supervising and coordinating research.

Principle No. 12 on continuing professional development at all career stages.

Principles No. 15 and 16 on the research environment and working conditions with regards to employer responsibility.

Principle No. 26 on supervision, especially the clear identification of each person’s role and responsibilities.

Given the revisions to the management charter, the HR department is focusing on priority processes to ensure a shared framework that applies to all staff. The initial objectives will deal with transitioning to electronic records management and modifying the management interview process. Guidelines on senior management will be clarified, strengthened and completed. Training for unit directors, which must comply with national legislation, is regularly adapted. A national training programme for line managers was implemented based on feedback from training courses held previously by centres over the past few years. The intention is to gradually roll out this national offer centre by centre.

Additionally, “internal consultants” with extensive managerial experience are available to unit directors to assist them in their duties. This assistance is available to all unit directors and complies with ethics rules (confidentiality, independence). Furthermore, assistance for teams is currently being developed. The aim is to support participatory management to ease transitions and provide purpose to both individuals and teams. This initiative will make use of expertise from personnel in the HR network.

These actions are important and aim to manage employee motivation, improve working conditions and prevent psychosocial risks. The proposed shift in management style is based on changes occurring over several years as well as experience gained by senior staff at INRA. This chapter aims for continuous improvement by helping managers better understand what to watch out for, the scope and limits of their actions, and the resources at their disposal to best fulfil their complex responsibilities.



Train and assist unit directors: completed in 2014

Train and assist line managers, developed in 2014: to be implemented from 2015

Revise the management interview process: planned for 2015

EPMRA initiative: revised in 2014, sixth course held in 2015

Electronic records

A job position framework was created at the end of 2013 so that the DRH and Evaluation Delegation were both aware of the same needs and could work towards the same goals. An initial IS framework document was produced along with a general document on electronic record keeping, while work was carried out with a service provider to create a prototype. Expectations were better outlined and a revised IS management structure is currently being finalised.

Assisting senior management (EPMRA)

Managing senior management involves analysing, tracking and planning for their future career prospects. The aim is to create attractive career paths and implement an institute-wide strategy and policy. Senior management oversee a considerable number of employees and include department heads, centre presidents and national support directors as well as the directors of large units, divisional heads and national deputy directors.

Consequently, INRA is committed to making changes to its existing approach and has implemented a specific training programme: EPMRA (INRA’s own practical management school for agricultural research). A steering committee was formed to draw up specifications to address the desired changes. The upcoming tender was prepared based on prior meetings. Moreover, access to this programme was extended to other organisations (CIRAD, IRSTEA, Ecole d’agronomie, AfricaRice).

Training and assisting unit directors

The aim is to provide unit directors with suitable resources that can help them manage their units while taking into consideration diverse situations and changes over time. In terms of training, there is a dedicated programme that will be adjusted based on needs, especially with regards to psychosocial risk prevention and the management interview. Furthermore, the feasibility and implementation conditions for individual assistance will be studied.

This project was validated by senior management, like that for the proposed training for in-house consultants. Two consultants have already been trained and divisional heads have been informed about the training. Additionally, training for unit directors has already been updated to reflect certain changes, namely a session dealing specifically with psychosocial risks.

Training and assisting line managers

The aim is to strengthen managerial skills for line managers and offer a common foundation for all managers.

A measure was drafted and a service provider has been chosen. A trial period is currently underway at six research centres, with two training sessions of two days given by two trainers. The programme was widely communicated to the centre presidents; a slideshow presentation of the project was designed for unit directors; and a brochure and poster for line managers were created.


ETMI Technical School for Experimental Units and Facilities Management

In 2014, a training programme was specially developed for experimental unit and facility managers to reinforce their line management skills; clarify the roles between unit directors and staff; and facilitate a team management approach. The programme was finalised and an initial session was held with 14 team managers participating from three scientific divisions. The programme features seven thematic modules discussed over a total of 16 days throughout the year. An informational brochure was distributed to the divisions and the HR network in addition to an article published in the National Commission for Experimental Units (CNUE) newsletter.



A sixth course opened to other partners, with 13 INRA employees and 7 employees from external organisations (4 from CIRAD, 1 from AgroParistech, 1 from GEVES, 1 from INRA Transfert). The average age of participants was younger than in previous years, with several showing potential for scientific leadership.

Integration of issues related to scientific leadership.


Implementation of training for new unit directors as well as a “Human Resources” training module for unit directors.

Mentoring: presentation of the initiative to unit directors during the “New Unit Directors” and “Human Resources” training modules as well as during meetings for unit directors from a single division and from four centres.

Development of day-long conferences to share experiences and prospects for a scientific division aimed at unit directors.

Given the complex, constantly evolving and international context of research where being able to plan ahead for changes is critical, INRA made revising its management charter a priority in 2014–2015. This charter highlights the Institute’s main management principles and outlines a desire to make the most of the people who work at INRA and their skills and motivations.

A dedicated group, comprised of unit directors, centre presidents, division heads and HR personnel, drew up a document on unit structure and organisation at INRA. This document provides a basic framework of principles and recommendations, an operational method, and good practices gathered from INRA units with a range of possible variants depending on the unit (subject, size, project, etc.). It includes the principles outlined in INRA’s organisational principles charter and features illustrations (assignment letters, organisational charts, etc.) based on the initiatives overseen by unit directors and their teams. It also asks questions to encourage reflection on how to implement an organisation structure at the unit level.

The document is in the process of being finalised in early 2016 following feedback from central management.


Presentation of the trial phase review to the steering committee: profile of beneficiaries; qualitative evaluation and suggestions for changing the initiative.

Following the steering committee meeting, changes will be integrated into the initiative. Sessions will be held over five days (two training sessions of two days plus an additional day) to encourage participants to share experiences and delve further into one of the themes addressed during the first four days. Furthermore, centre presidents will play a leading role by participating at the beginning of the sessions rather than only at the end.


Given the positive feedback from those involved, a decision was made to pursue these efforts using the same service provider and trainers.

Revision of the informational brochure on changes decided on with the steering committee.

Launch of the initiative by the Director of Human Resources at all centres via a letter to centre presidents and which included the informational brochure and minutes from the steering committee’s July 2015 meeting.

Consequently, 13 centres decided to adopt this initiative (three of them began sessions in late 2015). For the other two centres, the programme is planned to start in 2017.


The experimental units and facilities are undergoing major changes:

Experiment-related positions are enjoying more autonomous leadership of complex experimental programmes with multiple partners.

Work is being organised differently, with a more complex set-up for work groups (groupings of units, project teams, etc.). Intermediate management – via team managers – has a stronger role.

These team managers do not generally receive managerial training before taking on their duties. As such, a dedicated training course is held to share knowledge and experiences related to the position of team manager; the choice of module themes and content is based on participants’ real-world experience. This training provides time for team managers to learn more about experimental units and discuss with other managers. A network of experimental unit team managers is being developed.

During the training, each participant will create a management project for their team with input from their director and support from the trainer. Individual follow-up for each participant will be carried out by the trainers and national continuing training programme. An activity guide for experimental unit and facility team managers will be drawn up by participants. This guide will help formalise and increase awareness about this job position within the Institute.

In 2015, a first session was held with 14 experimental unit and facility managers from the following divisions: Plant Biology and Breeding (BAP), Animal Physiology and Livestock Systems (PHASE), and Animal Genetics (GA). It concluded in September 2015. A new course with 13 team managers from the BAP, PHASE, GA and Science and Process Engineering of Agricultural Products (CEPIA) divisions has started and will continue in 2016.

Assisting working groups

Assisting working groups should allow for better planning for the organisational impacts resulting from change.

This assistance is offered to managers who want to adopt a participatory management approach in dealing with transition and provide purpose on both an individual and group level. The aim is to provide assistance to encourage positive interactions between the working groups and top management (division heads, centre presidents, unit directors, team managers, project coordinators, etc.) who are responsible for providing purpose. These interactions should take place from the project conception phase through the consideration of new working conditions.

This theme was addressed in a new technical document for the present Chapter 2: Management Changes in late 2015 and will be tackled in 2016 by the Management and Organisation department of the Human Resources Directorate.



Dematerialising performance appraisal interviews

Various IT developments took place in 2016 as well as the integration of provisional interview dates in the HR Access tool. The process will be gradually implemented in 2017, first for contractual staff and later for tenured staff.

Guide for the structuring and organisation of INRA units with regard to INRA’s management

charter

Given the complex, constantly evolving and international context of research where being able to

plan ahead for changes is critical, INRA made revising its management charter a priority in 2014. The

charter highlights the Institute’s major managerial principles and highlights a desire to value our

employees, manage job positions and skills, and address what drives employees today. The position

of manager has become increasingly central in multi-level (and multi-cultural) organizational

structures. Management has become an essential adjustment variable to aid integration,

appropriation, the adoption of new uses and disseminating good practices, all of which improve

individual and collective efficiency.

A need was observed to create an operational guidance brief for INRA unit directors that outlined the

principles and examples of how INRA’s units are organised and structured. This document provides a

basic framework of principles and an operational method based on recommendations and good

practices gathered from INRA units with a range of possible variants depending on the unit (size,

multiple authorities, operating methods, projects, etc.). It also offers illustrations (engagement letter,

organizational structure, etc.) reflecting the current initiatives led by INRA’s unit directors as well as

INRA’s organizational charter.

The document also includes information on the HR structures and personnel (at the national and

local levels) available to unit directors to assist their decision-making when structuring or making

organizational changes to their unit. A dedicated working group tackled this issue to identify several

initiatives already in place in the units (creation of a unit charter, engagement letters, etc.) to be

included in the document and complete its major principles.

An initial draft of the document was drawn up and updated following discussions with the Director of

Human Resources and internal consultants trained through the “Unit Director Mentoring”

programme. The document is structured around basic principles and explains unit management in

five points, with real-life examples of operational initiatives already in place. The final document –

“Unit Structuring and Organisation” – was approved by the central management and should be

distributed in 2017.


In 2016, the sixth EPMRA class met during two seminars during which three management dossiers

were presented to INRA and CIRAD colleagues. It should be noted that the methods used by the

working groups have changed with regard to topics approved jointly by INRA and CIRAD. Internal

staff participated in the discussions while external speakers also shared personal experiences.

Furthermore, reflection in two areas, “scientific leadership” and “identifying talent pools” was

launched in late 2016.


The focus in 2017 will be on preparing the seventh class, and especially on identifying potential

participants.


Training unit directors

In 2016, two “New Unit Director” training sessions were held to cover an increased need; generally,

only one yearly session is held. In all, 46 individuals participated in these two 8-day sessions. Two

sessions each of additional trainings – “Human Resources and “Financial and Administrative

Management” – were also organized.

Plans were also launched in 2016 to revise the training programme for unit directors. A steering

committee comprised of key contributors was formed as a result. Its role will be to determine the

most suitable content (especially new technology, etc.) to create a training programme that

incorporates all relevant fields to their positions. The aim is to develop an updated programme with

new content by the end of 2017 to better address both organizational and managerial changes at the

Institute.

The steering committee validated the revision plan, including a survey of unit directors and deputy

unit directors, with the aim of establishing a skills development plan to be submitted to the

Management Board (CODIR) by summer 2017 to possibly start the first trainings in early 2018.

Mentoring unit directors

The first completed review confirmed a strong interest in this programme for unit directors and

deputy unit directors. Twelve requests were submitted and 16 individuals received assistance. Issues

covered were extremely diverse, both in terms of typology (division, centre, unit type, participant

age, etc.) as well as topics (handover, unit projects, workforce and skills management, balancing

group work/research, governance, organization, etc.). The programme has six internal consultants,

which appears to adequately cover the expressed needs.


Given the changes integrated into this programme, the presentation brochure was updated.

Additionally, the slideshow presentation of priorities and objectives was revised. The key messages

were also reintegrated.

With a view to consolidating this programme, meetings were held before the sessions organized by

the centres. These preparatory meetings were an opportunity for the organizing committee to

present a broad outline of the programme and the training priorities and objectives to training and

HR managers as well as to the centre presidents.

An initial interim review was presented during the national training coordination days in June 2016.

This comprehensive and high-quality review was also presented to the steering committee in

September 2016 to aid decision-making with regard to long-term changes to the programme. In early

2017, this review will be completed with information pertaining to the sessions held in the second

half of 2016. It is intended to be broadly disseminated among relevant actors (centre presidents,

training and HR managers, training beneficiaries, unit directors) as a communication brochure.


As of 1 July 2016, all centres (including the French West Indies and Guiana research centre) were

participating in the programme, with 16 sessions held, 198 individuals trained and a participant

satisfaction rate of nearly 81%.

With a view to continuing the programme, an impact survey was created. This survey aims to: (i)

evaluate the effects on line managers’ daily behaviours and actions and envisage possible changes;

(ii) take into consideration requests for more in-depth training made during these training sessions

and envisage (in cooperation with the centres) the development of corresponding actions, especially

in terms of supporting change, exchanging good practices, and management tools. This survey will

also help determining the potential beneficiaries in years to come and consolidate existing

information on line manager profiles.

In 2017, in addition to the training sessions held and to enhance assistance of line managers,

consideration will be given to how to associate this programme with that for line managers in

experimental units, the ETMI Technical School for Experimental Units and Facilities Management.


An activity guide for team managers (TMs) in experimental units and facilities was created by the

participants in the second session of the school. This reference document helps to formalize and gain

recognition for this position at the Institute. Team managers observed a number of positive changes,

including learning to better take stock, an increased sense of ownership, and stronger UD/TM

teamwork.

This second session saw a balanced number of trainees from units with animal and plant

experimental programmes. The different backgrounds give trainees a new perspective and

encourage cross-disciplinary thinking. Preparation for unit directors ahead of the school and

assistance for the UD/TM teams during the school was formalized through interviews carried out by

the service provider. One clear observation was the strong involvement of unit directors and the

shifts in positioning of the team managers. Additionally, the units participating in this school have

also formed management teams.

Since December 2016, interviews between team managers having followed this training, divisional

HR managers and unit directors have been planned for six months to one year after the training to

assess changes since the course and to identify any additional assistance that may be necessary.

With three sessions held since the programme began, one difficulty has appeared: maintaining

continual progress of trainees dealing with a change of their unit directors. It is essential to

incorporate the specific context of the unit when considering the progress made by the team

manager.

Moreover, as indicated in the review on the training and assistance of line managers, there is a need

to better clarify the association of the ETMI and Line Manager training programmes and to better

guide trainees towards appropriate training. Consideration will be given to these issues to assess the

relevance of associating/revising these two programmes in the long term.


Assisting working groups

Assistance for working groups offered by INRA should allow for better planning for the organisational

impacts resulting from change.

This assistance is offered to managers who want to adopt a participatory management approach in

dealing with transition and provide purpose on both an individual and group level. The aim is to

provide assistance to encourage positive interactions between the working groups and top

management (division heads, centre presidents, unit directors, team managers, project coordinators,

etc.) who are responsible for providing purpose. These interactions should take place from the

project conception phase through the consideration of new working conditions.

The priority is on promoting learning organisational models via stronger internal expertise on

assisting groups that offers tailored analysis and follow-up (often difficult to obtain externally) and

encourages beneficiaries to take ownership of these approaches as a source of professional

motivation, creativity and well-being.

This programme is complementary to assistance that may be provided when units are closed or

during difficult situations. Moreover, group assistance is a cross-cutting concern that must address

other issues covered in the HR action plan (see chapters on diversity in working groups, recruitment,

etc.) and must be implemented in conjunction with these chapters.

Information has been published on the HR intranet and an informational brochure will be drawn up.

However, the divisions, centres and support services are responsible for assisting groups (one team,

four units, two multi-disciplinary management networks and functional networks).

Working method

Requests are first analysed by the Management & Organisation (M&O) department to determine if

they correspond to the “group assistance” responsibilities. Their feasibility is then evaluated. After

approval, assistance is undertaken internally (generally a two-person team) or externally (specialized

consultants) with a formal contract drawn up (consultant(s), supervisor, unit director, team).

Assistance begins with an evaluation.

Typical request for assistance implemented within a unit or management team:

- Strengthen or rebuild a vision to be better prepared for HCERES - Develop a new shared action strategy - Mobilise teams around structural change - Reinforce the identity of a group or the cohesion of a team - (Re-)build a new organizational structure, (re-)size the operations of the working group, etc.

A focus group is formed in conjunction HR Development division of the HR Department and its M&O

department to consider the implementation of internal assistance for groups. In 2017, its objective

will be to establish the framework for the internal INRA consultant’s assignment and that for the

group assistance process.


Formation of a group of internal consultants:

Certain members may be called on to reinforce the group of internal consultants (currently two to

three individuals who spend 10% to 20% of their time on this issue) who are able to handle the

actions put into place in units. These individuals will be chosen based on their experience in group

assistance and an engagement letter signed by the HR Director and direct supervisor will be drawn

up. To ensure a common framework, these individuals will all be invited to share supervisory tasks

and discuss good practices (with a possible training session if deemed necessary).

Communication and integration in the HR network

Finally, the project is also focused on taking ownership of the internal assistance processes for groups in the Institute. Promoting existing good practices will also be key.

Chapter 3: Implementation of the Strategic Workforce Planning policy

The Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP) framework policy is centred on the Institute's scientific priorities and helps ensure compliance with two important principles of the European Charter for Researchers:

Principle No. 17 on stability and permanence of employment, by ensuring that the Institute’s short- and long-term employment needs are clearly communicated.

Principle 21 on the value of mobility in all its forms, by improving visibility of possible career paths.

The SWP policy aims to plan ahead for INRA’s future staffing and skills requirements. As it applies to INRA and specifically to research, it is chiefly based on the Institute’s scientific priorities. These are supported by the divisions through project proposals and led by the Deputy Director General in Charge of Scientific Affairs and the Management Board Unit. The Human Resources Directorate (DRH) also supports this policy, namely by working with the scientific supervisors to identify clear skill sets and apply the policy at an appropriate level.

DRH is working with the divisions to establish the most suitable solutions, whether on an individual or collective basis, to recruit corresponding talent. These solutions range from increasing outreach to professional communities and working groups to planning career paths backed by training and assistance or external recruitment when the Institute’s needs cannot be met by the existing talent pool.

The DRH is also responsible for offering and applying HR processes such as training, internal competitions and mobility that make it possible to:

Create a working environment that promotes a clear vision of the priorities of all divisions over the long term, and which respects the decision-making processes between senior staff and central management.

Make job summaries known to the entire organisation so that employees can make their own career choices and position themselves to achieve their professional goals.

Assist HR personnel in targeting their career guidance activities, whether collective or individual, to emerging needs and offer continuous skills renewal, one of INRA’s responsibilities as an employer.



Develop a skills/talent pool/solutions matrix for the targeted scientific priorities: completed in 2014

Host a seminar on the skills required for the scientific priorities: completed in 2014

Establish the HR department’s action plan following the seminar: completed in 2014

The analysis of staff needs and the skills of researchers, engineers and technicians at INRA was completed in 2013. This institute-wide analysis was communicated and presented to the unit directors in autumn 2014. A more operational phase was begun with the divisional heads in line with the scientific priorities that were considered strategic and relevant to all divisions: (i) develop integrated, systemic approaches based on global ecology; (ii) gain relevance in the field of mass biology; develop modelling approaches; and (iii) develop an IT and data engineering expertise.

Divisional proposals helped identify various needs that were characterised and grouped together into more than a dozen skills-set goals. The divisions also highlighted different solutions to developing these skills internally through collective or individual initiatives for more than half of the identified skills. These skills proposals and their possible solutions were also characterised in terms of units, disciplines and typical job positions.

This operational phase will continue with an in-depth analysis of the proposals and solutions based on each of the skills objectives, taking into consideration staffing needs and demography. As at each stage, the results will be shared with the divisional heads and communicated to senior management.


All processes and results have been reviewed during a seminar held in February 2015 with HR personnel within the divisions (HR managers), centres (HR and centre training managers) or DRH (career guidance, national continuing training). The role of division HR managers is especially important, both with regards to ensuring direct contacts who can provide centre HR personnel or employees with additional information and to assist their own managers with Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP). This last responsibility falls within the Divisional Strategic Schemes, which are to be drawn up during the first half of 2016 for the 2016–2020 period.

A progress review in 2015 with the Deputy Director General for Scientific Affairs provided an opportunity to validate the steps accomplished thus far and to formalise the next steps in drafting an HR action plan.

Three cross-disciplinary skills targets were identified: researchers in complex systems modelling, engineers in scientific computing and engineers in high-throughput biology. These three targets are the top priorities for INRA’s SWP process and were presented during a meeting of central management/division heads in October 2015.

Still to come

It is now time to create the action plan, which will take into consideration that the actions already underway or to come will partly address the identified issues. Furthermore, the action plan is part of the preparatory efforts for the upcoming Divisional Strategic Schemes being drawn up during the first half of 2016. As such, the skills needs of the divisions will:

Be directly included in the Institute’s SWP and its three priorities.

Meet a division’s specific needs and take into account short- and medium-term challenges.

Bring to light a cross-disciplinary vision between several divisions.

Be drawn from the divisions’ priorities and scientific focuses.

The working dynamic and interactions between divisions during this phase will be key. During the first half of the year, division heads and HR personnel will have several opportunities to meet.


Additionally, efforts by centre and division HR staff should also begin following the November and December 2015 presentations of the Institute’s SWP policy and three targets set during meetings with HR managers, division assistants and the training/career guidance network.

Taking this into account, the following actions will be developed in 2016:

Draw up an action plan and present it to the Scientific Advisory Board and Technical

Committee

Analyse and summarise the items from the Divisional Strategic Schemes to foster a strong

dynamic for action with the divisions to meet their needs

Participate in the “Mobility – Jobs of the Future” initiative for scientific computing

Identify the e-training courses for maths and IT fundamentals

Explore possibilities and conditions for immersion

Refine biologists’ needs (to move towards data analysis) and work on the B and C categories

Take stock of current resources/needs to suggest actions in 2017

Pursue efforts in conjunction with the division heads on “Complex Systems Modelling” and

identify cross-disciplinary objectives.


Draw up an SWP action plan

During the first semester, efforts mainly focused on determining precise multidisciplinary skills, and

two in particular:

Complex systems modelling where efforts to clarify the topic were undertaken with division

heads and in cooperation with the delegate for digital migration. The aim was to share

information about the topics, diagrams of complex systems and related organization. Five

major themes emerged as being multidisciplinary to the divisions: the farm and agricultural

system (EA, PHASE, SAD, SAE2, CEPIA, MIA); the planet/animal system (BAP, SPE, EA, PHASE);

metabolic pathways and networks (AlimH, BAP, CEPIA, SPE, SA, PHASE); microbial

ecosystems (CEPIA, MIA, SA, MICA); and sustainable food (AlimH, SAD, SAE2, CEPIA).

Additionally, several short programmes took place to encourage forums for exchange and

interdisciplinary projects, promote interaction between modelling specialists and other disciplines,

and develop collective skills.

Scientific computing, for which efforts were made to determine the precise skills were

carried out with the Ingenum unit (under the Delegation for Digital Migration) to share

terminology within the mathematics/IT fields and related skills needs. The Ingenum unit and

Human Resources Directorate assisted the relevant unit directors and the division (PHASE)

on the trial of the “Mobility – Jobs of the Future” initiative. Additionally, in conjunction with

divisional HR advisors, the decision was made to create a simplified analytical grid to identify

existing skills.

To put a focus on the 2016–2020 SWP process and promote active reflection and actions in the

divisions and centres, priority actions were undertaken or identified:


Meetings with divisional HR advisors were held to regularly share progress with a view to optimising

the efforts of each divisional team based on data gathered and analysed for the Divisional Strategic

Schemes. These plans include a standardised document and feasibility analysis of direct

implementation in HR Access) or to identify a joint project (such as that cited previously on scientific

computing).

Divisional meetings (Scientific Advisory Board or unit directors) encouraged leaders to take

ownership of SWP components and provided guidance. Additionally, an analysis of Divisional

Strategic Schemes and recruitment needs for permanent needs of long-term assignments was carried

out to identify major trends and gradually incorporate them into the Institute’s SWP policy based on

priorities from 2017 and beyond.

A working group with actors from the centres (HR personnel and unit directors) was also formed to:

Provide purpose and create a link between the Institute’s SWP (multidisciplinary skills over the medium term), divisional SWP (specific skills over the short and medium terms) and the skills development strategy within the units (project unit and individual scales)

Facilitate (and ensure) that each level takes ownership and implements action, creating a link between the Institute’s priorities and individuals’ professional careers

Efforts were mainly focused on:

The Divisional Strategic Schemes analysis based on the Institute’s three chief priorities and which revealed new themes and target skills (which will need to be further discussed with the divisions)

The analysis of permanent needs of long-term assignments to create an additional SWP criteria during negotiations with central management on external CR2 junior research scientist recruitment and the annual grant for internal mobility

Identifying target skills that should be part of the “Mobility – Jobs of the Future” initiative

Based on the results of the annual grant for internal mobility, a meeting between divisional HR

advisors led to a joint analysis (between divisions and the DICSDAR) of needs in BAP E and BAP J as

well as to aid decisions during negotiations with central management in December 2016.

The “SWP in the units” working group was formed with plans to meet in early 2017.

Additionally, to integrate this process in the action plan of INRA’s President-Director General in June

2017, the SWP action plan must be finalised with divisional and institutional skills targets as well as

emerging multidisciplinary skills targets for several divisions. A seminar with all divisional heads or

individual meetings is planned for early 2017.

Communication with unit directors and staff will be a considerable undertaking in 2017 and will be

carried out in conjunction with the “SWP in the units” working group.

Chapter 4: Rollout of the process approach

The process approach aims to incorporate the principles of the European Charter for Researchers by providing a clear and dynamic framework on how the management and human resources processes fit together. More specifically, it contributes to compliance with the following two principles:

Principle No. 15 on the research environment.

Principle No. 16 on working conditions, by creating a clear and transparent HR management framework for all staff.


Based on past experiences, this approach will make it possible to:

Determine the functional governance of the HR department by highlighting the role it plays, its responsibilities, and the mutual expectations of staff in the units, centres, divisions and DRH.

Implement monitoring and management indicators for the HR department as well as performance indicators for management controls and central management.

Increase the reliability of certain procedures.

Use a document management system to update and increase the reliability of INRA’s standards and regulations management with regards to HR and legal issues.

The chosen driver for change, which will concern all departments and positions, is a “process approach”, inspired by the ISO 9001 standard for quality management systems but without the formal requirements.

The process approach will facilitate the Institute’s shift away from procedure-based actions, mainly detailed in departmental memoranda, which tend to be very descriptive and static. We will move towards process-based actions, which are more dynamic and better involve all those affected by the changes.

The identified processes, organised and managed by operational purpose, will be regularly assessed to measure their progress, relevance and success. They are being developed through a participatory approach with input from experts in each professional sector. Significant results are expected with regards to:

Defining and sharing responsibilities, especially between units, centres, divisions and DRH

Formalising relations with our major external partners

Achieving a more participatory management structure within the HR department

Improving the communication of reliable and updated information (newsletter, promoting the website dedicated to the Unit Management, electronic document management)

Improving the HR department’s records management and decision accountability

Improving the reliability of INRA procedures and protection vis-à-vis third parties (consideration of litigation risks)

Improving reactivity with regards to questions from HR colleagues and regulatory changes

Implementing internal controls and the necessary tools for management oversight.

These changes are also instrumental in determining the requirements for the HR information system, which will ultimately lead to later changes (i.e., additional needs and specifications for the future Human Resources Information System – HRIS, launched at the same time as the new HR Access version).

The processes we will focus on are those that serve a as a structure for the entire institution; are strategic, either initially or when modified; or are dysfunctional or affected by organisational drift. Following efforts made in 2013 as part of this approach, considerable changes suggested by those working in the units regarding human resources negotiations, mobility or contractual employee management were included in 2014 in the principles and operational standards pertaining to these topics.


Develop a competition website for researchers: started in 2014

Implement an integrated mobility process: principles established in 2014

Consolidate and distribute negotiation and mobility flow charts: completed in 2014

Establish HR department management indicators and select indicators for some macro processes: completed in 2014


Make current HR reference documents available via an electronic document management tool

In order to have a reliable, updated body of documents without duplicates, an organisational system will be gradually developed to have all reference documents easily accessible to all HR staff. The documents will be those used by the HR Department and which are not confidential. These documents have been categorised and the main sources defined. Specifications have been developed to create a framework for the necessary IS system and IT solutions are being explored. Additionally, staffing needs are currently being evaluated to ensure the proper functioning of this service.

Keep staff abreast of changes

The need for straightforward information that can be easily understood by non-specialists regarding changes is an ongoing need. Changes are a major part of employees’ professional lives; they are sometimes challenging and demotivating, both at an individual and collective level. As such, it is essential to provide a clear and concise vision of the overall system to improve understanding. The goal is to create one or more documents aimed specifically at all employees so that everyone can understand where they are in their careers. In 2014, a working group began drafting a document that will incorporate various communication materials such as brochures, technical documents and video clips. This work was undertaken following research into how other institutions, such as CNRS and INSERM, have approached the issue.

Identify and categorise ongoing needs

Revising the negotiating processes is a key objective. One essential aspect is particularly important: defining and revising ongoing needs under a new process that includes communicating, qualifying and validating the needs. Negotiation can be improved if needs are more clearly expressed by type and prioritised by level within the unit, project, division and Institute. The scope of action has been established and the key actors identified. Action will focus on identifying each actor’s responsibilities based on job type, the process of qualifying ongoing needs and the process of revising such needs.

HR Department management indicators

A working method was developed to identify relevant indicators and revise the processes for the entire action plan.



Use of a prototype with a free version of Al Fresco started in February 2015. This prototype will need to be adapted once the Institute selects an electronic document management tool. Updates are made daily along with updates to departmental memoranda and the HR and unit management intranet sites.

Personnel from the Information Systems Department were trained on this prototype at the end of the first half of 2015 as part of the general electronic recordkeeping programme. During the training, possible improvements that could be made at no cost were identified on the version used; these upgrades were made before summer.

The current challenge is to make this prototype available to all employees via the HR intranet and to consider the feasibility of making additional upgrades, namely those that would improve communication to users. Such efforts are planned to take place along with the overhaul of the HR intranet site, which began in 2015.

The choice of an electronic document management tool for the Institute is a prerequisite to a long-term solution.


Dematerialisation of competitions

This is a three-year development strategy that was set with an initial launch applicable to the experienced research scientist (CR1) and research directors (DR2) exams held in July 2015. By launching the process on a trial basis, the IS Department and service provider were also able to be involved. Online registrations and easier access for jury members were operational in July 2015. A hotline and explicit instructions were available to provide information to applicants and jury members to facilitate the launch. The operating conditions adopted allowed for considerable reactivity when registration was opened and to respond to applicants quickly. The review carried out after the competition was very positive, both for applicants and the Institute.

The work on the CR1 and DR2 exams made it possible to validate the general structure and user-friendliness of the process.

Given the significant overall workload, the decision was made to postpone the implementation and launch of the second phase. As a result:

The dematerialisation of internal competitions for engineers and technicians will be maintained for the first half of 2016

The process will be postponed until January 2017 for CR2 competitions and January 2018 for external engineers and technicians.

Identify and categorise ongoing needs – Negotiation mechanism

In early 2015, central management approved the principles of a process to:

Identify INRA-remunerated staffing needs on an Institute-wide and ongoing basis

Analyse/validate these needs under various conditions (e.g., identify medium-term SWP needs)

Comply with both the spirit and letter of the law (input from the financial controller)

Mobilise all drivers (competitions, mobility, training, etc.) based on their relevance

Respect approved budget limits

Adapt procedures and schedules (e.g., mobility before a competition without losing a year)

Use the existing IS and management system (HR Access)

The simplified solution developed by the IS Department (available in mid-July) was tested by six PHASE division units in three centres. Despite several HR Access-related difficulties, feedback was positive overall. This feedback was shared with the head of another division, local support services directors, division assistants, local HR managers and division HR managers.

In late September 2015, efforts were pursued by the IS Department and minimum specifications for a solution under HR Access were drawn up in November to be implemented in early January 2016, with a three-month period for training between January and March.

From December 2015, communication was made about the process and assistance provided, and additional assistance was planned for January to March 2016. Formalising procedures

With the support of a service provider, INRA has undertaken a process to describe and standardise its management procedures. Contracts/agreements, remuneration, career development, leave, bonuses, retirement, unions, promotions and disability issues are all included.

This procedure renewal process has naturally made staff administration procedures a priority, given how frequently they are used and the importance of being able to ensure high-quality administrative management of staff at the Institute.


Some forty procedures were identified, and 28 of the most-used procedures were described in detail. Procedures such as remuneration management and controls, hosting of foreign or new employees and assistance provided to employees with disabilities all benefited from these efforts.

Each procedure unifies and standardises the various management steps and modernises and/or updates roles of employees with staff management duties, all within a standard and easily understandable format. These procedures can be consulted on the Institute’s professional HR intranet site and benefit from the Institute’s efforts to improve distribution of documentation (see the review above “Make current HR reference documents available”) with a view to providing high-quality service.

Beyond the results obtained with support from the HR Department, a voluntary and committed approach has been undertaken, with operating conditions described to implement the process as well as continually update and improve our processes to ensure they remain current over the long term. The aim is to continue formalising the identified procedures that have not yet been described as well as to associate them with operating conditions that are also described and updated.

This initiative will make it possible to lay the groundwork for internal controls and ensure optimised reporting. Review of actions carried out in 2016


The final version of the electronic document management tool is now operational. Before it was brought on line, all documents were updated. Updates are also mentioned on the homepage, which was modified to enhance the user-friendliness of the tool. A registration and follow-up system was also put into place. The service will appear on INRA’s HR intranet site. Dematerialisation of competitions

Efforts to roll out the application for the internal and external CR2 competition campaigns for the

online registration, application management and jury areas modules were undertaken. A working

method with the service provider was established based on the feedback from the initial launch of

the CR1/DR2 initiative, with six essential steps:

New iteration of needs based on the existing tool, with a focus on expected changes to the

tool and specific aspects applicable to the internal and external CR2 campaigns

Workshops to gain a detailed understanding of needs based on a prototype (internal

competitions and CR2)

Revision and approval of the technical specifications (internal competitions and CR2)

Testing (for internal recruitment) and CR2

Bring internal recruitment application on line (June 2016)

In addition to this work, joint workshops (DSI/UCPC and HR) were held to develop the project to

create a single applicant area regardless of the job position (permanent or temporary).

Communication actions were also put into place as work progressed. During the online registration process for applicants, the following were produced:

Prior to the opening date, a departmental memorandum on the launch of internal

competitions highlighted the possibility to register online.

A message on the competitive process webpage presented this new registration method.


The personnel managers network was invited to participate in campaign launch meetings. To

help them assist staff in registering online, a dedicated user guide for the tool was created.

A “recruitment centre” hotline was set up to assist staff and personnel managers

encountering any difficulties.

Because it was not possible to perform load testing, the cut-off date for “paper” registrations

was set several days after online registrations closed as a precautionary measure for anyone

experiencing last-minute difficulties registering online.

During the application review period, jury members received a message and guide describing how to access their online area. Moreover, at the recruitment centre, particular care was taken to address any issues they had (namely with signing in) and assist them in using the tool.

For the most part, this project experienced no major problems. For all dematerialised applications, the service provider’s proposal for statistics proved to be overly cumbersome and technically complex for the Institute. INRA therefore made the choice to develop and roll out a parallel statistical tool internally (IS Department). This tool is not yet operational.

Major delays were incurred during the testing phase due to difficulties encountered in setting parameters and implementing the various documents to manage the competition. The issues were directly related to the tool offered by the service provider and required document formats to be readjusted one by one. For example, in correspondence, the address block was not automatically positioned properly and had to be systematically repositioned on each document. A joint request by the IS and HR Departments was made to the service provider to update this tool for the application. This major constraint could have additional consequences on the management of internal competitions in the short term and on the proper functioning of applications in the future.

Despite these difficulties, the application dedicated to internal competitions was launched for the online registration, application management and jury area modules. Furthermore, a second “complete” launch of the online registration, application management and jury area modules was also put into place for the CR1/DR2 competition applications. Anomalies observed during the production stage from July to November across all applications were identified and resolved. A new testing tool for correspondence management to facilitate using the application and managing changes to correspondence was implemented. Dedicated application testing for the CR2 competition was performed from September to December.

During this period, the selected operational method and summer assistance (registration period for the CR1 and DR2 competitions) ensured by the IS Department and service provider allowed for excellent reactivity during the registration opening period and to ensure short response times to applicants.

The jury area and applicant management modules were set up and tested by users, with improvements made to resolve any anomalies.

Nevertheless, several difficulties were encountered: service interruptions on each of the three modules caused issues for applicants attempting to register online, for jury members wanting to download dossiers, and administrators processing applicants. The workload, for both the IS and HR Departments, was generally quite substantial given the numerous production anomalies in the jury area and applicant management modules.

Communication actions were carried out to support the application rollout:


During the online registration process for applicants:

A message on the competition website explained that this registration method was new to

the Institute and that applicants should not hesitate to contact the Institute if they

experienced any difficulties.

Because it was not possible to perform load testing, the cut-off date for “paper” registrations

was set several days after online registrations closed as a precautionary measure for anyone

experiencing difficulties registering online.

Assistance over the summer was ensured, with a single email address contact for applicants

and an email confirmation of receipt. Staff from the IS and HR Departments and service

provider were able to resolve any difficulties and respond quickly to applicants.

Moreover, at the recruitment centre, particular care was taken to address any issues jury members

experienced (namely with signing in) and assist them in using the tool. Colleagues from the scientific

divisions responsible for managing the competitions worked with the recruitment centre to

understand and take ownership of the tool.

The “Mobility” process With regard to the revised mobility initiative, 2016 was a turning point. The Jobs of the Future

initiative was launched on a trial basis in the spring of 2016 with five offers posted in four research

centres. This mobility offer, which was reserved for INRA engineers, technicians and tenured

researchers or those on permanent contracts, offers possibilities to work in new activities for staff

wanting to acquire new skills.

The annual internal mobility grant (BAMI) was rolled out in several stages: Posting of offers;

gathering of opinions and clarification (directors of the hosting unit, centre presidents, division

heads); consultation with national joint administrative committees; negotiations with the

Management Board Unit; informing applicants of mobility decisions.

Dedicated communication actions supported this initiative. Communication on the website was

completely overhauled and adapted and various methodological and educational means were

developed and communicated (message from the Human Resources Directorate to all staff, HR focus,

information sheets, flyers, etc.). Additionally, meetings were held with HR network personnel,

including HR managers, divisional HR managers and personnel managers. An initial review of the

various mobility initiatives, planned for the first semester of 2017, will help improve the process and

enhance efficiency.

Urgent organisational or individual mobility policies were implemented gradually throughout 2016.

Explaining career advancement Various sources of information are available: departmental memoranda, the HR intranet for all staff

and the HR intranet for unit administrators, in addition to direct contact with management teams in

the centres, unit directors and unit administrators. A large number of actors are involved in the

career advancement process, over the course of which some have become experts. However, the

need for clear and simple information for non-specialists frequently emerges. To attempt to satisfy

this need, one or more documents specifically aimed at all staff proved necessary.


It should be noted that the guide deals only with the career advancements of engineers and

technicians. The guide is not applicable to promotions for researchers, who are covered by a

different process.

Promotions are important for INRA management and staff. They are a key moment in staff careers

and often cause disappointment on the part of staff and unit directors, which can in turn lead to

individual and collective demotivation, even as the number of promotions remain significant at the

Institute level.

The priority is to provide a clear and concise vision of the process and to elucidate the process from

several angles:

Offer a reminder about the general principles related to the concept of a career in French civil service and at INRA, especially with regard to the “constrictive” nature

Lay out the various types of promotions/career advancement

Identify the actors / create a diagram of the process, roles and responsibilities

Clarify which positions are associated with the local or national level

Share links with more detailed and technical sources (procedures, guides, etc.), such as those for staff on the HR intranet

The final objective is for each engineer or technician at INRA, regardless of their role, to see where

they are in their career path and understand the processes through promotions occur. The target

audience is varied and includes all levels of staff to unit directors, centre presidents, division heads

and even union representatives.

A guide to address the issue was drafted by a working group. It was then revised by various actors

involved in the career advancement process. Regulatory changes that came about in late 2016 were

also incorporated. It was published in the format of data sheets to facilitate updates. Additionally,

the internal communication team within the Human Resources Directorate is also involved in the

process with a view to creating a version that can be distributed to all staff.

Identify and categorise ongoing needs – Negotiation mechanism

In early 2016, more than 1,000 needs, including 800 permanent needs for long-term assignments

were identified through the dedicated application in HR Access. An email with the organisation and

schedule for 2016 negotiations was sent to the division heads and support unit directors.

Follow-up and assistance was provided on a continual basis by the IS Department for division heads,

centre presidents, unit directors (via a dedicated survey), unit administrators (with, in particular, the

updating of guides on the HR intranet) and various HR services, especially during the phase of

preparation of negotiation dossiers for central management.

The first negotiation meeting based on the new terms was held in late August 2016, supported by

information entered into HR Access by the units, centres and divisions. Additional information

(intended for central management) was submitted by the division heads and support services

directors. CR2 recruitment needs via external competition were prioritised. Nearly 250 needs were

offered the internal mobility grant.


In December, a second negotiation meeting was held to address the needs negotiated by the

divisions and support services in July, recruitment needs that had developed since the summer

meeting, mobility results and budgetary constraints. Despite various difficulties, the overall opinions

of the centre presidents, division heads and support services was positive.

Requests to update HR screens for 2017 were approved in October, with work starting in November

2016.

With regard to permanent needs for long-term assignments, 2017 will mark the start of the multi-

year needs management phase.

Open, Transparent and Merit-based Recruitment (OTM-R)

This action is part of INRA’s commitment to the HR Excellence in Research process, launched by the

European Commission (INRA received the HR Excellence label in 2010). It reflects the European

Commission’s 2016 priority to ensure open, transparent and merit-based recruitment of researchers.

During a seminar in January 2016, European Commission actors in charge of the HR Excellence label

indicated that new conditions for the monitoring and receiving/renewing of the label would be

implemented in 2016 and applied to audits from the end of 2016. Additionally, the Commission

called on research organisations to ensure they adopted an approach to explain their recruitment

process and priorities for action with regard to the goals set out in corresponding reference

documents.

The European Commission’s aim is to facilitate the job prospects and mobility of research actors

between countries and in both the private and public spheres with a view to maintaining Europe’s

significant role in the world, especially up against Asian and American economic powers. These

efforts come at a time when resource allocation to academic research in Europe, while still high

compared to other countries, is down sharply.

The European ambition is to also make research careers more understandable to facilitate the

movement of people between organizations and countries during their careers. Beyond the stakes

for researchers, this initiative will also help Europe have quality research programmes that aid

society, create jobs, encourage innovation and support the economy. These European priorities are

perfectly aligned with those of INRA.

More specifically, the goal is to compare INRA’s positioning against the checklist provided by the

European Commission and the principles laid out in the OTM-R process as well as track the

completed actions and improvements. Europe’s precise ambition is for the OTM-R philosophy – on a

European scale – to be adopted and applied in research organisations.

In 2016, the following actions were completed:

Comparison of INRA’s position with regard to competitive researcher recruitment against the European Commission’s checklist

Publication of a revised bilingual (French/English) new employee handbook

Complete overhaul of the HR intranet, including an article on the promotion of job offers. INRA recruiters will be able to access a guide on how to write their offers. They will be able to download a template and get information about the different media channels to use based on the target audience they want to reach. The intranet also showcases the Euraxess portal.


Overview of INRA’s process (with information about the HR strategic framework document) at the Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse

Comparison of INRA’s recruitment campaign communication actions against the European Commission’s OTM-R checklist

Comparison of INRA’s engineer and technician recruitment actions against the European Commission’s OTM-R checklist

Drafting of a document explaining the support offered to researchers and engineers by the Bureau for Research Staff Evaluation throughout their careers

Identification of recruitment actions to plan for 2017–2018 based on the OTM-R checklist comparisons performed by the working group members

Creation of a collaborative space to share files between the working group members and online publication of all documents related to the OTM-R process

Decision made by the HR steering committee to incorporate the OTM-R process in addition to as the broader processes initiated by the European Commission (namely those to come regarding the innovation policy) in the next HR strategic framework document to ensure consistency between the HR Excellence label and the Institute’s HR policy.

Designation of an expert (Frédéric Gaymard) to liaise with the European Commission. Mr Gaymard will represent INRA (as a “certified” institute) within the Commission. He will participate in meetings held by the Commission and will take part in evaluations of other certified institutions.

Chapter 5: Diversity management at INRA

This priority reflects several principles of the European Charter for Researchers:

Principle No. 14 on non-discrimination, with regards to gender, age, ethnic, national or social origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, language, disability, political opinion, social or economic condition. Article L. 1132-1 of the French labour code has a wider scope than the European Charter for Researchers regarding non-discrimination. Diversity includes origin, gender, customs, sexual orientation and identity, age, family situation and pregnancy, genetic traits, an affiliation with – whether real or assumed – an ethnicity, nation, or race, political opinions, union activities, religious beliefs, physical appearance, surname, health, or disability.

Principle No. 16 on working conditions, including for people with disabilities, and actions that promote work-life balance, especially for individuals with children. In addition to the idea of family (i.e., women/children), employees should be able to achieve a balance between their personal and professional lives.

Principle No. 19 on gender balance at all staff levels including at supervisory and managerial levels, as well as for each employment category.

Principle No. 33 on participation in decision-making bodies, which must reflect a balance of men and women.

This chapter of the action plan deals with how diversity is handled within the work units. It has a wide scope, covering issues from the hosting and integrating of new staff in the units to characterising and representing diversity at INRA.

The objective is for the entire organisation to move from a mind-set of non-discrimination to one of inclusion. Integration means creating an organisation that is open to all and encouraging all staff to abide by the rules that govern the Institute, whereas inclusion means considering and appreciating differences. From this point of view, diversity in all its aspects both reflects our society and is a source of intellectual wealth that positively affects our capacity to explore new scientific horizons.


An inclusive vision of diversity is a factor of progress for INRA. This approach to diversity also improves the quality of social relations within the Institute. It impacts our image in a beneficial way both in France and around the world, helping improve the Institute’s attractiveness.

Our top objective is to develop a policy on the hosting conditions of new recruits by creating an integration process framework applicable to all staff. It will incorporate specific key points which can be applied to certain categories, such as staff on fixed-term contracts or foreign employees. This integration process may include meetings with HR personnel and distributing informational documents or brochures on such general topics as rights, obligations, holidays, or career development, or more specific information such as liaisons in the centres. We plan to continue our diversity policy development by adding an objective regarding compliance with the Institute’s diversity charter and the related certification criteria.

This policy will also include age-related measures. With the retirement age being extended, work activities of senior and junior staff can differ and intergenerational relationships have changed. Managing these age differences, assisting each generation with their various needs and expectations, helping them feel included and work together harmoniously are all major HR issues INRA must tackle.

Additionally, assisting staff following serious life events is a significant concern and is part of our policy on taking a personalised approach to managing special circumstances. As professional and personal time increasingly overlap, due in part to the development of new technologies, and careers are increasingly longer, INRA faces a number of considerable challenges. These include managing various work activities and working hours at all stages of a person’s career, as well as making accommodations after a serious life event.

Lastly, we will continue expanding our disability and gender balance policies put in place over the last several years. We need to strengthen our disability policy by adding additional measures to ensure the inclusion of disabled staff within our organisation. This will be carried out through our partnership with the Fund for the Integration of Disabled Persons in the Public Sector (Fonds d’insertion des personnes handicapées dans la fonction publique, FIPHFP). An outside assessment (as an audit) will be carried out in the short-term, in line with our commitments to the FIPHFP. With respect to gender balance policies, we will focus on the distribution of responsibilities and promotions affecting all staff and will reinforce our oversight measures.


Develop a reception programme for new hires: started in 2014

Conduct a cross-disciplinary assessment of diversity: started in 2014

Evaluate the assistance provided to staff with disabilities and working groups, suggest measures for change and implement them: started in 2014

Implement an oversight measure to ensure gender equality: started in 2014

Study work activity with regards to age: started in 2014

Study diversity within working groups: planned for 2015

Examine the consequences of serious life events: planned for 2015

Develop a reception programme for new hires

A study of relevant initiatives within the units and centres was conducted in 2014.

Conduct a cross-disciplinary assessment of diversity

An initial analysis of the charter and certification criteria was carried out in addition to a review of initiatives implemented in other institutions. In addition to in-house contributors, external contributors, such as the Agence de mutualisation des universités et des établissements, Entreprises et Personnel and the Observatoire de la responsabilité sociétale des entreprises, also assisted in this assessment.


In 2014, documentary sources were identified and two seminars attended on this subject. The main focus was twofold: (i) identifying INRA’s positioning with regards to the Diversity Charter, and (ii) identifying INRA’s values to take diversity management further than the simple issue of fighting discrimination. Indicators were also established and an oversight programme was implemented.

Evaluate the assistance provided to staff with disabilities and working groups

INRA’s many actions in recent years illustrate its commitment to developing initiatives that benefit employees with disabilities by instituting a global policy of inclusion within working groups. That said, these actions continue to be a priority and central management wanted to conduct an audit of its disability polity.

By auditing the disability policy, INRA will be able to use a detailed analysis of data gathered from the various departments and interviews of different actors involved in the Institute’s policy to strengthen the policy by integrating all new measures and initiatives.

By doing so, the HR Department can ensure continual progress and the inclusion of disabled employees within the working groups. Four areas in particular will be audited: recruitment, assistance, communication/awareness, and the partnership with the ESATs.

As part of this goal, a service provider was selected to carry out this audit in 2014. A presentation was held with HR staff and union representatives. The audit will take place during the first half of 2015.

Implement an oversight measure to ensure gender equality

Implementing an oversight measure to ensure gender equality with regards to career advancement is a priority to ensure certain practices evolve. The current situation at INRA needs to be examined before being able to develop tracking indicators and suggest changes. An initial assessment made it possible to identify existing data at INRA. Additional indicators have been identified to show the effects of gender on career advancement.

Study work activity with regards to age

The aim is to gauge and analyse the interest, constraints, difficulties and drivers for integrating employees of all ages in working groups. Multi-generational dynamics, the impact of age on work activities and accommodations that can be made to make the working environment better for employees of all ages will also be studied. An assessment will be made of INRA’s means that can be used to implement initiatives that promote the successful integration of young people and earn their loyalty in addition to those that use the professional skills and experience of senior employees in the best way, while also preventing discrimination. With these goals in mind, age-related issues at work have been examined and initial analyses carried out. A bibliographic review helped determine various existing approaches and several possible actions.


Conduct a cross-disciplinary assessment of diversity

In 2015, benchmarking was carried out on policies implemented in several businesses and administrations, namely those with AFNOR certification for diversity. Additionally, a detailed outline of the report was drafted from the various documents gathered. Develop a diversity-focused reception programme for new hires

There are various aspects to this action, the first of which is the creation of a new employee handbook with both general and specific information. This handbook aims to address traditional new employee needs as well as other processes that must be dealt with in a certain order (before arrival, at the time of arrival and during employment) and for specific types of employees.


After a review of existing documentation, the working group created the general structure. Chapters were written by personnel at headquarters. The working group provided support and guidelines for the draft and revision.

The schedule was revised based on the availability of contributors and the Chief of Staff and Director of Communication, which handled the design. The handbook was initially published as a Fluidbook version available on INRA’s institutional site and included the internet and intranet links to reference sites. This document will also be available in English.

The handbook now needs to be finalised, completely re-read by a list of selected experts, and translated into English. The handbook will then undergo a critical editing process by a panel of new hires. Comments will be taken into account and a final version will be created. The printable version will then be published.

Study diversity in working groups

An initial report examined the diversity issues brought up by INRA managers who were interviewed and discussed various suggestions. This report was based on individual and group interviews of 12 managers: seven unit directors (including four of foreign nationality and three who were recently appointed), three centre presidents and two division heads.

A survey of non-managerial employees also needs to be carried out. This would make it possible to have a comprehensive overview that takes into consideration employee points of view. The final report will include the information gathered from both studies.


With regards to indicators identified to assess equal opportunities in terms of gender, 2014 data were gathered and analysed, especially those pertaining to the percentage of male and female engineers and technicians receiving promotions, the feminisation rate in top managerial positions (division heads, centre presidents, unit directors and deputy directors). This work should continue to obtain further data. Additionally, initial contact was made with the newly appointed Head of Gender Equality and Anti-Discrimination.


The audit was carried out by the previously selected service provider and a final report was drawn up. This report was first presented to our social partners. Furthermore, to better communicate one of the issues highlighted in this report, communication actions were undertaken such as publishing the report on the INRA intranet site and a special campaign at headquarters during the weeklong event in France to raise awareness about employing people with disabilities (SEPH).

Still to come

The next few months will focus on holding meetings with the operational working group, which should lead to consideration of the conclusions from the audit and recommendations for actions and initiatives to improve the Institute’s disability policy.

Study the professional consequences of a serious life event

The goal is to take stock of existing measures at INRA to suggest an action plan to benefit everyone and provide dedicated assistance to those employees who have recently had to deal with a serious life event. During 2015, efforts were focused on documentary research to better understand the notion of a serious life event. In the end, Freud’s definition was retained: “A serious situation or event that may or may not be predictable for which an individual may undergo an emotional shock and over which control may or may not be possible due to the urgency of the situation.” An initial inventory of serious life events that fit into this definition was established and technical documents were drawn up. Additionally, a questionnaire was created to gain a better understanding of how frequently such events occur and the types of coordination and action that are put into place.


This questionnaire is mainly meant to be used by HR personnel in the centres, divisions and Human Resources Directorate. Study work activity with regards to age

This action began with a review of literature that was summarised in a single document. This allowed the dedicated working group to:

Understand the impact of age on work activity as well as the impact of work on ageing.

Study how private companies and public institutions manage age-related diversity at work and to identify the actions put into place.

From this study, the working group was able to more closely analyse aspects that were specific to working conditions at INRA. Discussions were held within the group and with other groups, leading to the idea of carrying out a study of documents available at INRA from an age-focused viewpoint.

Using these documents, several strengths and challenges were identified with regards to including age diversity criteria during recruitment processes, adapting work groups and expectations, and adapting the work group to the newly hired employee. Suggestions for improvements were developed (e.g., specific training: “Developing intergenerational cooperation in teams”, “Successfully managing the second half of your career”, “Learning how to integrate young people to foster skills transfer between generations”, “Training for managers overseeing a multi-generational team”). Several documents were produced and an action plan was drafted. Moreover, working groups outside of INRA participated in the process and relationships were forged with various organisations that deal with such topics as health and quality of life at work, which also include age-related challenges in the workplace. Three focal points were identified to orient future actions:

Risk prevention for physical and mental health throughout a person’s career. The goal is to create working conditions that are compatible with changes due to ageing.

Personnel management that centres on an overall policy of age diversity.

Development of skills through a person’s career though training and intergenerational knowledge transfer.

Review of actions carried out in 2016 Conduct a cross-disciplinary assessment of diversity

The Institute continued it cross-disciplinary assessment on diversity in 2016. The focus was directed in two different areas: first, on the priorities and benefits of a certification; and second, on the opportunity to meet requirements for both the Diversity Label and the Professional Gender Equality Label, which AFNOR recently added to its certification options. To take the assessment further, a study was carried out on the different components of the label: situational analysis, diagnostic, risk analysis, implementation plan for the Professional Equality and Diversity Policy, counselling centre, communication and governance. An analytical table of certification criteria was created. These efforts were the focus of discussions during a meeting with leaders of other actions from this chapter affected by this assessment. The work helped clarify the decision to favour a certification along with the establishment of a charter. In view of this, the decision was made to pursue the assessment and integrate it into the next HR action plan for 2017–2021.


Monitoring of the conditions that must be met for certification (criteria are subject to change) will be continued and a benchmark of companies and administrations that are already certified or currently undergoing certification will be carried out.

Develop a diversity-focused reception programme for new hires

As previously mentioned, there are various aspects to this action, the first of which is the creation of a new employee handbook with both general and specific information. This handbook aims to address traditional new employee needs as well as other processes that must be dealt with in a certain order (before arrival, at the time of arrival and during employment) and for specific types of employees. In 2016, the French and English versions of the document were finalised. The new employee handbook is now available online in a Fluidbook format on INRA’s institutional website and as a PDF on the HR intranet. Study diversity in working groups

The report from the study was finalised and submitted to all individuals who were interviews (staff and managers). A communication plan was also drafted and outlines the following actions:

A group presentation/discussion session with HR personnel from the centres and divisions to address the main issues identified during the study as well as the possible conditions for sharing discussion with staff and managers

A group presentation/discussion session with leadership at the centres and divisions, i.e., centre presidents and the division heads

Dissemination of the final report to all INRA staff

A proposed presentation/discussion session with intra-centre groups (unit management committees, unit directors, management advisory boards) with discussions led by the report authors and/or centre HR personnel.


Over the course of 2016, consideration was undertaken with the delegate for gender equality and

anti-discrimination at INRA.

The aim of these efforts was to coordinate and integrate her work on tracking indicators. As a result,

actions to finalise these efforts were put into place. Obstacles to these actions and solutions to

remove them were also identified. As part of her duties, the delegate for gender equality and anti-

discrimination will guide these efforts among the Institute’s different decision-making bodies.

Consideration by these different bodies should lead to concrete requests for precise figures, namely

as part of an internal study, which could then comprise the trial phase for a situational analysis ahead

of integration into the social policy review.


In 2016, the audit report was presented to the Institute’s decision-making bodies (and particularly

the Technical Committee). Furthermore, as assessment was undertaken with regard to necessary

changes to current assistance measures available to employees with disabilities and groups. The

audit findings have already been included in current procedures. Moreover, an action plan that

prioritises the various options is already being developed. The intention is to share the findings with

the different decision-making bodies in 2017 (Technical Committee and National Social Action

Committee). The priority was also placed on drafting the new FIPHFP agreement, which is to come

into force on 1 January 2017.


Study the professional consequences of a serious life event

The topics to be further developed in data sheet format, as well as the style of writing to target

individual actors or groups were determined. The following is a list of the serious life events that

were taken into account: workplace accidents / occupational disease; restructuring / relocation / unit

closing; returning to work (following an illness, etc.); illness or death of a colleague; suicide or suicide

attempt of a colleague; interpersonal tension (colleagues/supervisors); physical or mental illness;

recognition of a disability or occupational disease; declaration of being unfit for work or professional

reclassification; gender reassignment; interference between work/personal life.

The use of an action document format was suggested. Furthermore, a national survey helped

prioritise the order for creating the action documents. Four documents, including one that was not

initially considered a priority, were drawn up as a result.

Study work activity with regards to age

Following the significant efforts already undertaken in 2015, action documents were drawn up and the dedicated working group continued its consideration of the issue.

Chapter 6: Managing employee work-life balance

Managing employee work-life balance takes into consideration two principles from the European Charter for Researchers:

Principle No. 15 on the research environment: employers must create a stimulating research environment and provide adequate resources.

Principle No. 16 on working conditions, which should allow employees to achieve a balance between their professional and personal lives.

Before moving forward on this topic, which will become increasingly important in the near future, we must:

Better understand how employees manage their time at INRA; this entails putting an integrated tool into place

Issue a guide of recommendations on information technology use

Review our practices, carry out a study on other organisations’ practices and collect their feedback to sidestep major problems that have already encountered

Assess our possibilities according to the French government’s framework on the public sector and fully understand the potential challenges and opportunities.


Propose new work organisation methods: not started

Increase time management reliability: not started

Study how other organisations implement telecommuting: not started

Analyse the existing charters and recommendations for using new technologies: not started

The relevance of this chapter became increasingly clear during several discussions in 2014 as well as from information gathered informally about the topic from various organisations. Implementing an integrated time management tool will not be possible in the near future. With regards to technology, an assessment of email frequency and hours was undertaken but the resulting data are difficult to interpret. Possible actions will be considered in 2015.



A preamble for this highly complex area:

Remain humble

Create fair and transparent rules

Work together with employees to build upon existing initiatives and enhance them

Make realistic and feasible suggestions

Maintain a link with the other areas for action

These are the fundamental points that will guide our actions.

Preliminary study on work-life balance

While work-life balance was a topic that came up in discussions with divisions, centres and units, it needs to be explored in further detail. A review of existing literature, benchmarking and an internal survey have been carried out. A survey of internal practices related to work-life balance has also been made.

As a result, the previously cited challenges can be placed within a stronger context and we can:

Define what work-life balance means at INRA

Formalise traditional conditions of work-life balance

Identify measures already in place at INRA that can be enhanced

Shed light on possible areas for change at INRA in line with the Institute’s values

Preliminary study on how other organisations implement telecommuting

Preliminary document research was extended to the public sector. Based on a common interview survey, discussions were held with personnel at the French Ministry of National Education (MEN, central administrative office), CNRS (Human Resources Directorate) and IGN. A comparative table of telecommuting experiences (MEN and IGN) was created. Several examples of protocol agreements were also included. A table with key points to consider when implementing telecommuting was drawn up based on the French decree on the subject.

The Observatoire de la Responsabilité Sociétale des Entreprises (ORSE) confirmed the current status of talks being held on telecommuting. At INRA, several discussions opened the door to areas for action on work-life balance, including telecommuting, and an initial report on existing and possible measures at INRA was also drafted.

The report on telecommuting at INRA for employees with disabilities was produced by the Staff Management Social Policy Department of the Human Resources Directorate. This documentation must still be completed by an analysis of employee and manager expectations and concerns. Afterwards, a project to develop an action plan on work-life balance can be discussed and presented to the HR Department’s action plan steering committee in early 2016.


Efforts to explore this issue revealed a number of priorities for action with regard to work-life balance, including telecommuting. A communication plan is envisaged to explain how work-life balance benefits the entire organisation and outline the planned actions. This plan will be rolled out with the possibility of telecommuting on a trial basis.


Telecommuting at INRA on a trial basis

After a preliminary study on work-life balance and telecommuting conditions in various organisations, 2016 was mainly dedicated to implementing telecommuting at INRA on a trial basis.

Telecommuting is one possible solution for organising work. Its development is a response to societal changes in how employees organise and complete their work, and it seeks to:

Improve the quality of working conditions

Enhance work-life balance

Improve motivation management Telecommuting is one driver of change and modernisation in organisations and a key management issue. Its introduction in the public sector is already underway, which facilitates its implementation at INRA. Currently, it is an option for employees with disabilities and is managed with specific conditions.

This form of work in the public sector is covered by provisions in French law (Article 133 of the Loi Sauvadet of 12 March 2012). The French decree of 11 February 2016 implementing the law provides a framework to manage telecommuting within French civil service administrations, while a ministerial order sets out specific conditions.

Before the ministerial order came into force, INRA made the decision to allow telecommuting in two forms: working from home or working from an INRA teleworking centre (a different location to an employee’s usual work location).

Efforts in 2016 focused on creating a framework to implement telecommuting on a trial basis at INRA in conjunction with several actors (management, Legal Affairs, Staff Administration, risk prevention personnel, the HR Development – Functional Networks Department). To support this framework, a national operational committee on work-life balance (led by a centre president and comprised of management representatives, HR personnel and experts) as well as a trial monitoring committee were formed. A draft decision was written and will be presented to INRA’s national decision-making bodies (especially the Technical Committee and the Central Committee on Hygiene, Safety and Working Conditions).

Chapter 7: Physical, chemical and psychosocial risk prevention

This chapter of the action plan is dedicated to ensuring the following principles of the European Charter for Researchers are applied:

Principle No. 7 on good practice in research, especially in terms of health and safety.

Principle No. 15 on the research environment, particularly for health and safety.

INRA’s prevention policy aims to keep its employees healthy, reduce accidents and professional illness, and continuously improve health, safety and working conditions.

Objectives are set at each hierarchy level to involve all staff, support initiatives and ensure continuous progress in prevention. The Institute’s committees on hygiene, safety and working conditions contribute to compliance with these objectives and offer suggestions make improvements in these areas.

Every year, a report on actions for health, safety and working conditions and a national prevention programme are drawn up. These documents are submitted to the Central Committee on Health, Safety and Working Conditions for review.


The implementation of the national risk prevention programme incorporates six different aspects of health, safety and working conditions, including four that require strong involvement from HR personnel:

Encouraging senior staff involvement to achieve a top-down prevention management strategy. Managers will be assisted to ensure that they are also involved in promoting the prevention policy. Prevention actions should be focused on staff – the target of the measures – by reinforcing training and communication materials.

Bolstering the risk prevention structure and organisation, including in partner-hosted units, in coordination with the central prevention department. The committees on hygiene, safety and working conditions should work with the centres to help them establish their risk prevention activities. Prevention officers should be assisted to strengthen cooperation with the centres and enhance their professionalism. Cooperation with the preventive health department will be strengthened to ensure health monitoring services for all staff and to integrate work health initiatives into the prevention programme framework, especially with regards to musculoskeletal disorders and the prevention of psychosocial risks and difficult working conditions.

Improving awareness about injuries, feedback and traceability. Feedback procedures should be developed, and the information received should then be incorporated into the evaluation section of the risk prevention document. Managing human resources networks will contribute to better analysis of accidents and incidents. Staff and committee members will participate in proposals for improvements through occupational health and safety records.

Developing risk assessment practices and ensuring they are properly carried out. Risk assessment remains a priority in the DRH’s occupational health and safety policy. HR staff, including risk prevention officers, will provide assistance to senior staff in taking responsibility for and carrying out risk prevention assessments as part of the prevention process, making sure that action plans include organisational, technical and staff-focused measures.

The DRH will help implement a sustainable prevention policy for psychosocial risks with a view to improving working conditions. All risk prevention staff will help implement this policy and local committees will oversee their involvement. This policy will begin with an assessment of risk factors and an analysis of work organisation to develop action plans based on concrete situations. DRH will draw up a more general action plan based on feedback from centre presidents and the psychosocial risk committee. DRH staff will work to objectively characterise difficult situations and create a formal process in which every employee and responsibility level are valued.


Provide assistance in dealing with difficult situations: carried out in 2014 according to planned measures

Implement a psychosocial risk assessment on a trial basis at the unit level: completed in 2014, continuing in 2015

Assist the centres in rolling out INRA’s occupational health and safety management tool (OPPI): carried out in 2014 according to planned measures

The 2014 action plan was implemented as planned. A review will be presented to the Committee on Hygiene, Safety and Working Conditions in March 2015.

Assist the centres in rolling out INRA’s occupational health and safety management tool – OPPI

The tool is currently being revised to integrate methods for assessing physical, chemical and biological risks into an online interface. It will be rolled out during the first half of 2015.


Implement a psychosocial risk assessment on a trial basis at the unit level

As part of the Institute’s risk prevention policy, the aim of this action is to assess psychosocial risks to then identify necessary prevention measures according to risk factors in compliance with current regulations.

A trial period is underway in 154 pilot centres. A guide to explain the method was created and training sessions held for those involved, especially centre presidents. Assessing psychosocial risks is now possible, which enables unit-wide action plans to be developed. Following a national survey, the method was adjusted and a national action plan created, along with a dedicated guide that was widely distributed, particularly to centre presidents. This action plan meets the requirements of the 2013 French public service agreement on psychosocial risks. Additional training sessions will be held with those involved locally in risk prevention. Moreover, the action plan will take into consideration feedback from future risk assessments in order to continually improve it.

Provide assistance in dealing with difficult situations

Technical documents have been drafted and need to be finalised. This timeline was necessary given the complexity of situations that needed to be understood. The DRH hosted a seminar on difficult situations on 15 January 2015 to share good practices and discuss proposed procedures for handling difficult situations.


The Health-Safety-Environment (HSE) policy and manual were distributed to centres.

Training for members of the Central Committee on Hygiene, Safety and Working Conditions (CCHSWC) has started in centres.

An engagement letter template for risk prevention assistants has been finalised and distributed to centres.

The self-assessment tool has been rolled out in centres. This tool allows unit directors to identify the actions to put into place to comply with legal regulations outlined in departmental memorandum no. 2014-14.

A specific convention on occupational health and safety between INRA and GEVES was drawn up and signed.

The 2015 action plan was put into place and its review will be presented to the first CCHSWC meeting in 2016.

A single professional risk assessment document and OPPI

The planned changes to OPPI began in the first half of 2015. These changes were covered during presentations and trainings held by risk prevention counsellors in the centres aimed mainly at risk prevention assistants. Feedback from users has been positive and the integration of assessment methods has made the evaluation process easier.

Generally speaking, the units have continued their assessments. This has led to an increase in the number of risks being assessed.

The continued implementation of OPPI has been the subject of CCHSWC discussions. CCHSWC members received training on OPPI as part of the training intended for new members (Module 2).

It should be noted that the analysis of the single unit document is required to prepare for CCHSWC visits.

Risk assessments should encourage employees to be more involved in workplace safety for themselves and their co-workers.


Psychosocial risks

Several training actions have been carried out, especially for: - CCHSWC members, with the Module 3 training course called “The CCHSWC in psychosocial

risk prevention” - Liaisons (centre presidents, unit directors, logistics coordinators, employee representatives),

with a training on the method for assessing psychosocial risks. - Line managers, with a training course called “Managing for line managers”

Unit employees before an assessment/counselling session on psychosocial risks - Certain risk prevention counsellors at the centres were given an opportunity to take a

training course on conflict management

Assessing risks

From June to December 2015, 21 units were involved in the assessment/counselling approach at INRA centres (8 UMRs, 4 URs, 5 UEs, 3 UARs, 1 US).

The assessment/counselling guides on psychosocial risk factors and assistance in providing assessments and counselling have been improved (upgrade from Version 1.2 to 1.3).

Identifying levers of action

Following the assessment/counselling meeting, an action plan reflecting the main recommendations should be drawn up by the unit director.

Discussions on information technologies and communication began in 2015.

Provide assistance in dealing with difficult situations

In cooperation with the centre HR managers, the DRH and its “Prevention and assistance for difficult situations” team have continued their efforts to identify and objectively handle difficult situations with a view to creating a formal process to ensure that each party’s concerns are addressed, regardless of their level of responsibility.

The creation of HR guidance documents for emergency situations began in 2015 and will continue in 2016.


All centres have drawn up an annual risk prevention plan. Training for members of the Committee on

Hygiene, Safety and Working Conditions (CHSWC) has been fully implemented in the centres. The

Central Prevention Office participated in the training of new unit directors (one 8-day session in 2016

with 22 participants) in cooperation with the DIAGONAL unit.

The process of updating the Unit Director Risk Prevention Guide was started to take into account

regulatory changes that were noted in the departmental memorandum no. 2014-14: “General

provisions on health, safety and working conditions and the protection of assets and the

environment”.

A single professional risk assessment document and OPPI

The risk management approach is a key component of INRA’s risk prevention process to assess

unavoidable occupational risks. A summary of risk assessments must be consolidated in a single

document. INRA’s occupational health and safety management tool, OPPI, has been operational

since 2012 and is used to gather assessments, action plans and other regulatory obligations for risk

prevention.


The OPPI steering committee met in 2016 to plan for changes over the next four years. These

changes pertain to:

- Professional changes such as:

o The finalisation of a biological risk assessment method

o The revision of the chemical risk assessment method in line with the chemical risk

action plan (control of exposure values)

o The integration of the psychosocial risk assessment method

- Necessary technical changes:

o Software updates

o The adaptation to new INRA databases

Centre prevention advisors continued to provide support for the risk assessment process in the units.

Generally speaking, the units pursued their assessments, which resulted in an increase in risk

assessments.

Biological risk prevention

OPPI requires several modifications to integrate the biological risk assessment method. Plans for

major developments and investments had to be developed. With this in mind, the biological risk

assessment method was finalised and approved. The information was communicated to the centre

presidents and prevention networks.

Nevertheless, the process did face certain challenges, namely in terms of tool complexity and budget

overruns. This method still needs to be integrated into OPPI.

Implementation of assessment/appraisal processes to prevent psychosocial risks

As part of its occupational risk prevention process, INRA works to ensure the health and safety of its

employees through a continuous improvement approach. Beyond basic legal obligations, improving

working conditions for employees means they are able to perform their jobs safely, helping to

enhance their quality of life at work. With this in mind, INRA developed a psychosocial risks

assessment method. The process seeks to establish constructive interactions with employee

representatives, managers, HR personnel and CHSWC members under the explicit authorization of

the centre president.

The initiative started in 2015 was continued in 2016. Eight centres performed 15

assessment/appraisals, resulting in five action plans. These data are significantly below expectations

of achieving two assessment/appraisals per centre per year, i.e., 38 assessment/appraisals per year

for the Institute.

In terms of support and aid provided to centres on the psychosocial risk prevention policy, an

occupational psychologist was hired in early September 2016.A qualitative review of the process was

presented to the CCHSWC in November in November 2016. These assessment/appraisals led to the

mobilisation of stakeholders, namely unit directors and centre presidents. While experts (doctors,

psychologists) are essential, the process requires efforts from all actors, including management, HR

personnel, staff and employee representatives (CHSWC members).


It should, however, be emphasised that the process requires considerable human resources and

logistics coordination. Additionally, the creation of action plans is challenging, and especially in

determining how much flexibility can be accorded to the units. In the future, new internal and

external resources will need to be identified to enhance the process and better assist the centres.

Finally, to meet expectations in the centres and gather feedback on prevention experiences, the

psychosocial risks steering committee will continue its efforts in 2017.

Chemical risk prevention

Applying regulations on the control of exposure to category 1A and 1B hazardous chemical agents

with carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction (CMR) effects and with regulatory exposure

value limits will be a priority objective at INRA in 2017–2018. The institute’s provisional budget for

2017 made it possible to decide in 2016 to externalise these controls.

A project group was created to select a service provider (following a call for tender) and determine

the conditions for this service, which will begin in early 2017. Specific communication actions will be

developed in cooperation with the centre presidents.

In the future, INRA plans to work with the French Institute for Research and Security (INRS) to improve its expertise in controlling the exposure of researchers to hazardous chemical products and CMR agents.

Chapter 8: Legal risk prevention for staff, groups and the Institute

Preventing legal risk is a cross-organisational concern that reflects the following principles of the European Charter for Researchers:

Principle No. 5 on contractual and legal obligations, especially regarding regulations governing training and working conditions

Principle No. 18 on funding and salaries: researchers should enjoy salaries with equitable social security provisions which are commensurate with their level of qualifications and/or responsibilities and legal status.

Principle No. 24 on intellectual property rights, in terms of legal protection, including copyrights

Principle No. 29 on complaints and appeals, with regards to promoting fair and equitable treatment within the institution and improving the overall quality of the working environment.

Legal risk prevention falls under employee motivation and working conditions management. It is part of our goal to continuously improve HR processes and increase flexibility and reliability.

Legal risk prevention is centred on three areas:

Staff and their employment status, rights and obligations as related to their work. This requires continual monitoring of new or modified government legislation in order to improve and update regulatory measures, create new tools to communicate information and initiatives to all staff, and develop and harmonise rules related to employment and working conditions.

The whole organisation and how it operates (founding texts, organisational chart, decision-making bodies). First, efforts need to be made to improve how responsibilities are delegated, including signatory rights, the right to organise, procedures on staff consultations (electronic voting, communication tools, data reliability) as well as to modernise decision-making bodies and their scope.


As a research institution, INRA has its own a legal personality and as such must manage potential litigation. The Institute needs to develop a coordinated, cross-organisational legal strategy, expand its legal expertise regarding crisis management, implement general legal oversight, and improve handling of litigious risk prevention to deal with a wide range of challenges. These include civil and criminal responsibility with regards to occupational health and safety or the Institute’s public image. The Institute needs to create a more secure system to handle private interests (ethics, public/private relations), protect scientific and technological heritage, and balance data access in order to simply relations between the administration and the public.


Secure the Institute’s management responsibilities by ensuring compliance with delegation of authority and signatory rights: completed in 2014

Develop coordinated and cross-disciplinary action for INRA’s legal affairs: started in 2014, including a seminar with INRA legal staff

Implementation of a consistent, well-communicated initiative on the rights and obligations of INRA staff as regards private activities: guide created and training completed in 2014

Harmonising and ranking of INRA’s internal standards: review completed in 2014

Secure the Institute’s management responsibilities by ensuring compliance with delegation of authority and signatory rights

In 2014, a survey of regulatory actions requiring delegation of authority and signatory rights was taken to implement greater oversight and secure these actions. Furthermore, a database and secure automatic delegation system associated with specific resources (e.g., computers, accounting staff) was implemented to have certified measures in place at every responsibility level.

Develop coordinated and cross-disciplinary action for INRA’s legal affairs

This action was implemented in late 2014 through a seminar for legal staff in INRA’s central offices. The aim was to discuss the role of legal staff at INRA and to review how the department currently functions within the Institute. This initial seminar was followed by meetings to build a common institute-wide framework for INRA’s legal department. This project will be presented to central management in 2015.

Implement a consistent, well-communicated initiative regarding the rights and obligations of INRA staff for private activities

The goal is to make public staff aware of their obligations with regards to professional activities outside of INRA. To do so, a guide was created and distributed to research centres and scientific divisions. Additionally, training sessions were held with individuals involved in partnerships or as courses aimed specifically at management.

Harmonising and ranking of INRA’s internal standards

The various regulation levels will be examined and tools developed based on a review of INRA’s internal standards to support the proposed measure. A review was carried out and results presented to central management in 2014 in order to shed light on how standards were ranked and the Institute’s various internal texts. Once validated by central management, the results will be discussed with staff representatives during meetings scheduled in the first quarter of 2015.



Brought all delegation of authority and signatory rights into compliance

Development and coordination of a cross-disciplinary action with INRA’s legal department

Implementation of an initiative on the rights and obligations of INRA staff as regards private

activities

Status report on the harmonisation and ranking of INRA’s internal standards

Creation of a legal affairs position within the Human Resources Directorate and a manager of

INRA’s legal department


Development of coordinated and cross-disciplinary action for INRA’s legal affairs

A major change was implemented in 2016: on 1 January 2016, the Legal Affairs Department was

officially created to tackle the development of coordinated and cross-disciplinary action for INRA’s

legal affairs.

A departmental memorandum was sent out to inform employees of the priorities and objectives of

legal affairs at INRA, and from a functional standpoint, the way this entity would be organised. As a

result of this change, INRA’s legal expertise, especially with regard to scientific issues, will be

reinforced.

Secure the Institute’s management responsibilities by ensuring compliance with delegation of

authority and signatory rights

Compliance with delegation of authority and signatory rights has now been finalised, with relevant

standards to be followed having been drawn up for all those with such duties.

Implement a consistent, well-communicated initiative regarding the rights and obligations of INRA

staff for private activities

Similar initiatives to those undertaken in 2014 were continued throughout 2016, including awareness

and communication actions (e.g., publication of reference documents on INRA’s HR intranet site)

focusing on employees’ rights and obligations for private activities. Dedicated training sessions were

also held on these topics. Following the audit of this issue at INRA, actions to be developed were

proposed based on the summary of recommendations. Additionally, efforts in this area have also led

to a broader consideration of how to integrate the issue of accumulating posts into INRA’s

partnership policies.

Launch of decision-making body reform Regulatory changes, and especially those relating to INRA’s statutory decree, involved substantive

work including a reform of the Institutes main decision-making bodies. Initially, the board of directors

was revised and centre advisory boards were created. These efforts will continue with changes made

to other bodies, such as the Scientific Advisory Board.


Chapter 9: Increasing international awareness and attractiveness

Because research is no longer confined within national borders, and researchers are able to move freely within the European Union, several principles of the European Charter for Researchers must be taken into consideration:

Principle No. 14 on non-discrimination, based on nationality and other criteria.

Principle No. 17 on stability and permanence of employment: employers must commit to improving the stability of employment conditions.

Principle No. 18 on funding and salaries: employers must ensure that researchers enjoy fair and attractive conditions of funding and/or salaries with adequate and equitable social security provisions.

Principle No. 32 on recruitment procedures, which should be open, efficient and transparent.

Principle No. 33 on selection committees, which should bring together diverse expertise and competences.

Principle No. 35 on judging merit during the selection process, which must take into consideration candidates’ overall potential, their creativity and their level of independence.

Principle No. 37 on the recognition of mobility experience (e.g. a stay in another country), which should be considered as a valuable contribution to the researcher’s professional development.

The need for INRA to be more competitive internationally, the development of projects comprising a greater number of international teams, and the increasing willingness of young researchers to move to complete their thesis or post-doctoral studies all change and reinforce the international component of both the Institute and a career in research. International scientific concerns must be central to INRA’s priorities, both in terms of the research it carries out as well as the career paths of its researchers. Until now, international attractiveness was mainly focused on researchers. However, this focus must be expanded to include all employees independently of their employment status.

For the HR department, the challenge is to enhance INRA’s international attractiveness by encouraging the international mobility – both to France and abroad – for researchers and other employee categories at all stages of their careers.

We have made considerable progress over the past few years in terms of international recruitment of permanent researchers. There has been an increase in foreign candidates registering for competitive recruitment exams, foreign researchers now participate on competition selection juries, international announcements are made when the registration period opens for competitions, and English descriptions of positions to be filled via competitions are posted on INRA’s website. Moreover, a new programme to recruit young researchers on contract (Agreenskills) was started in 2012, and thanks to which around thirty young researchers of many different nationalities were recruited.

However, there is progress to be made. For example, we still need to:

Develop an integrated tool for online applicant registration for competitive entry exams.

Identify, translate into English and publish online all documents relating to hosting conditions for non-French candidates applying for permanent or fixed-term positions.

Reorganise online information so that the national website and INRA centre websites offer complementary information. We should also encourage partnerships with outside associations which provide hosting services to researchers looking to relocate (Euraxess France association, France Diplomatie, Campus France and the Kastler Foundation).

Improve the exchange framework for researchers between INRA and a foreign institution.

Initiate dialogue on the use of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) as a vector for communication for certain sectors as part of INRA’s existing e-learning programme.


In terms of hosting conditions and mobility assistance provided to incoming researchers, two specific measures have been implemented in addition to full access to the Institute’s social policy measures. These are Executive Relocations, a customised mobility support offer, and the Rental Risk Guarantee (GRL) programme, where INRA covers the costs of the GRL contract.

However, there are considerable differences in hosting and integration conditions for new foreign colleagues joining our research centres. This is why we need to analyse the hosting practices and needs for new foreign employees in the centres and units. We can then create and implement a formal hosting procedure. This initiative will be part of the chapter on diversity and handled specifically in terms of hosting new recruits in the units. Numerous issues that are specific to fixed-term contracts are detailed in Chapter 1 (Human resources policy on contractual staff).


Translate all useful documents in English and publish them online: started in 2014

Reorganise online information in a more helpful way for foreign candidates: started in 2014


Translate all useful documents in English and publish them online

The methodology was as follows:

Identification of documents provided to foreign staff members before and upon arrival at INRA

An initial classification based on staff category

A second classification based on information levels and document type

Identification of the departments that created the documents

Document status

After this analysis, the following observations were established:

Several informational and legal documents are currently being updated (e.g., contracts, hosting agreements)

Certain documents have already been translated

Reference documents are not translated

Based on these observations, each document was analysed to determine the following: its validation state, if it had been translated, the source (issuing department), from which site it was available, and where financing would be obtained for the translation.

This analysis made the next steps to be taken clear, especially with regards to ordering the translations for the documents and publishing them online.

Reorganise online information

An initial analysis of online information showed that the information currently available on INRA’s institutional site is difficult to access (not intuitive) and very general. Useful information is mainly found on the INRA intranet site and is not translated into English. Consequently, it is not accessible before new employees arrive in France. Added to this is the fact that most centres have no targeted information for foreign staff (with the exception of the Toulouse centre).

It has been suggested that a section be added to the English version of the website to make information available on the intranet accessible to employees before and upon arrival. The information should be organised according to the point in time at which it is needed. The information that would be included in this section and how it should be organised has already been determined. The Chief of Staff and Director of Communication has been asked to be involved to consider the best positioning of this section on the institutional site and if it might be used on the sites for the centres.



Translate all useful documents in English and publish them online

The documents identified for translation in 2015 were not translated as they are currently being revised.

Reorganise online information

As previously mentioned, it was suggested in 2015 that a section be added to the English version of

the website to make information available on the intranet accessible to employees before and upon

arrival. The content of this section was structured on three pages giving information on the steps to

take before arriving in France and once in the country and at INRA. A fourth page provides more

general practical information. This section may be copied to the local centre websites to offer a

customised version with information on transport, housing and schools.

This new section is now online and accessible via the institutional website at the following link:

http://jobs.inra.fr/en/Life-at-INRA/Foreign-Researchers

The action as initially planned is now completed.

Chapter 10: Internal HR communication

Expanding internal communication on the human resources management policy correlates with the spirit of responsibility, transparency and equitable treatment at INRA as advocated by the European Charter for Researchers, especially with regards to the following principles:

Principle No. 14 on non-discrimination, which includes shared values.

Principle No. 16 on working conditions, which must be clear, transparent and known by all.

Principle No. 20 on career development, which must be based on an equitable and transparent human resources management strategy.

As part of the process approach that aims to modernise our HR initiatives, value the work of all staff and groups, and provide a clear and shared working environment, internal HR communication must make these different areas, as well as all resulting actions and values, consistent and clear.

Internal HR communication should bring all human resources working groups together in the broadest sense: HR professionals, managers, unit heads and other HR personnel. It must also convey messages and information that is relevant to all INRA employees.

The objectives are as follows:

Increase INRA’s attractiveness by improving its image as an employer

Give purpose to HR initiatives by sharing its vision and values with different audiences

Create links between the different careers in the HR networks

Facilitate the communication and recognition of the various HR initiatives

Provide access to information that is clear and easily understood by all staff.

The first two objectives are essential in that they help all INRA employees achieve a sense of belonging and allow us to measure the organisation’s strengths in terms of working environment and conditions and shared values in interactions between colleagues.

The third and fourth objectives aim to give value to, share and optimise relations between the different areas of HR, thereby highlighting consistency with the framework document and expanding the scope of HR initiatives.

http://jobs.inra.fr/en/Life-at-INRA/Foreign-Researchers


The fifth and final objective seeks to facilitate access and encourage the sharing of clear information, as well as ensure fair treatment, for all staff.


Develop an internal communication network within the DRH: completed in 2014

Inform staff about the framework document: completed in 2014

Build an HR communication plan: started in 2014

Inform staff about the action plan: completed in 2014

Inform staff about the process approach

In line with initial commitments, a dedicated intranet site was created. It is now up to date and includes all of the information and indicators established with the macro-process coordinators. The process objectives were updated following the steering committee meeting in December 2014.

Short news updates aimed at unit managers are regularly published on the intranet site. In spring 2014, the HR intranet site also added a visual chart for all HR Department processes, which was published in a special issue of the “HR Focus” newsletter.

Inform staff about the HR policy

The aim is to get all staff involved in the HR policy and its related actions, as well as to provide them with the necessary means and resources to take ownership of the intention and strategy of the policy. This section of the action plan is different in that it is challenging to establish a set schedule as it depends on current events and approval of the policy directives from top management.

Several other actions were carried out in 2014. They are:

Creation of a visual identity to make subjects covered easier to locate

Creation of a communication kit

Publishing of information (in-house newsletter, “INRA news in brief”)

Creation of an HR Department section on the HR intranet site

On the HR internet site: publishing of current news regarding the strategic framework document (in French and English)

Communication of all major priorities or directives regarding the HR policy

Assistance for structural changes within the DRH: revised organisational chart, editorial by the DRH

Build and implement an HR communication plan

The HR communication plan aims to establish and manage the internal HR communication strategy. The goal is to set a directive and priorities for action that can be broken down into four major objectives:

Give purpose to HR action

Create a link between the various responsibilities

Provide access to information that can be understood by all

Contribute to INRA’s attractiveness


Review of actions planned for 2014:

Identification of HR points of contact: completed in 2014

Identification of priority actions: completed in 2014 o Give purpose to HR action (systematic communication about actions stemming from

the strategic framework document o Greater efforts on the part of the DRH to explain HR policy o Create a link between the various responsibilities (inter-network seminar, inter-

network alias o Create a two-person communication team within the DRH o Provide access to information that can be understood by all (creation of a

newsletter, “HR Focus” o Publish communication materials to distribute information locally o Publish a functional organisational chart for the DRH o Restructure and manage the HR intranet o Contribute to INRA’s attractiveness (promote HR actions via internal and external

media channels).

Restructure and manage the HR intranet site

Among the tools available for communicating HR information and promoting the work done by HR staff, the HR intranet site plays a central role. Its management and revision fulfils a need to have access to updated information and an appealing format for new developments. The objectives are as follows:

The HR intranet site should: o Be a major communication point for the HR policy o Showcase the activities carried out by HR staff o Be a tool that facilitates and simplifies access to HR information for all employees

Publish interesting content on a regular basis

Increase site traffic and the number of news subscribers

Following a review of the current situation, the first actions have focused on updating and breathing new life into the HR intranet site. These actions are:

Get the site up and running and start making updates

Regularly publish new information and editorials by the DRH

Use two-person communication teams to make content interesting

These actions have helped increase site traffic (60% more visitors) while new subscriptions to the HR newsletter have risen each month.


Inform staff about the HR policy

Human Resources Department Action Plan (September 2015): publication of issue no. 7 of “HR Focus”, which provided a broad overview of all actions carried out over the past two years along with an editorial from the Director of Human Resources on the HR Intranet homepage. This update was communicated to newsletter subscribers.


Renewal of negotiations: publication of issue no. 8 of “HR Focus”, which explained the renewed negotiation process, expected benefits and the useful methodologies to identify recruitment needs and establish a timeline. The distribution of this issue was also accompanied by an editorial by the DRH along with a slideshow presentation for centre presidents, division heads and unit directors. Additionally, a proposal to create a methodological medium for unit directors was made with a view to adopting a simplified IT solution to submit recruitment needs from January 2016.

Restructure and manage the HR intranet site

Based on oral surveys of HR intranet users and benchmarking of HR websites for external organizations (INSERM, CNRS, Université Lille 3, Université Laval in Quebec), the main actions to be undertaken are as follows:

Build a user-friendly site that meets users’ needs o Simplify section titles o Improve vertical browsing o Provide access to information based on audience o Create a section dedicated to careers and jobs o Provide quick access to career-related items o Improve visibility of the INRA’s HR initiatives

Hold discussions to generate ideas to make the site more dynamic o Allow other DRH departments to add information o Ensure content reliability: electronic document management, two-person teams

from the HR Directorate to monitor information o Provide feedback from local HR personnel through “network heads” o Move beyond basic updating of regulatory information o Offer spotlights on interesting career-related information o Offer easily understandable articles on complex HR topics o In the future, create an HR newsletter with links to the HR site to generate traffic

Discussions on how to support the transition

When the site is operational, plan for broad internal communication

Motivate employees to go to the site and sign up for news

Plan to redirect old links from the HR intranet site to the new site

Create a site user guide

The presentation of a new website structure was made to two-person communication teams from the HR Directorate and later to all employees during the DRH General Assembly. Additionally, each DRH department was asked to write new content or validate texts that are already online and updated on the former HR intranet site which can be reused for the new site. To facilitate this process for everyone, a reference document was created with a working methodology, texts currently online were downloaded so that each department can work on them, and audience statistics were provided. The HR communication manager is also assessing the needs to help direct centres as they revise the various documents. Revised documents will be complied and content put online (following a verification process to ensure consistency) by the HR communication manager.

Build an internal HR communication plan

An initial version of the HR communication plan based on the four identified objectives [Give purpose

to HR action - Create a link between the various responsibilities - Provide access to information that

can be understood by all - Contribute to INRA’s attractiveness] was created and outlined the target

audience, list of actions, implementation procedures, schedule and assessment conditions for each.


Review of actions carried out in 2016 Restructure and manage the HR intranet site During the first half of 2016, all texts that were requested were obtained and new content was published online. This was a considerable achievement given that towards the end of the first quarter of 2016, a version upgrade was implemented with major consequences on webpage layout, with images receiving a bigger focus. This version upgrade caused slight delays in the design of the new RH intranet as content that had already been integrated required adjustments to formatting (especially pages with tables) and image sizes.

Despite these difficulties, the new HR intranet was completed by mid-2016, with both the new layout and content fully integrated.

This gradual changeover gave HR managers an opportunity to navigate the site and verify that all content was in place. They were given time to make corrections until the end of July 2016.

In September 2016, the new HR intranet was launched to all INRA staff. An article titled “Welcome to the new HR Intranet” was posted to explain why the site was overhauled and its new features. Additionally, during the month of September 2016, information was broadly communicated to all HR actors to ensure support for users.

The aim was to create maximum visibility for this event. The launch was also widely publicised to make all staff aware of it. The second objective was to motivate users to sign up for HR news.

The overhauled HR intranet site is now finalised and public. The site management and updates are carried out by the HR communication unit with support from various HR department personnel (trained by the HR communication manager). A broad communication campaign was conducted to spread the word about the new HR intranet. It will close out with a short article in the in-house newsletter “INRA news in brief”. This action is fully completed. Inform staff about the HR policy - Support for HR policy initiatives:

Renewal of negotiations (January 2016): rollout of the information mechanism on the new

negotiation process (HR Focus), methodological guide for units, slideshow presentation for HR personnel, etc.) and creation of a video by the Director of Human Resources published on the HR intranet site.

New mobility initiative (February 2016): publication of issue no. 9 of “HR Focus” with an overview of the three mobility initiatives.

The creation of a video, in which the Director of Human Resources outlines the negotiation process, is a new feature in the HR tools used so far. The video, 8’30” long, has been viewed 282 times.

Launch of the annual internal mobility grant (September 2016): publication of issue no. 10 of “HR Focus” to accompany the launch of this new initiative (distributed to all relevant actors: centre presidents, division heads, support services directors, HR managers, divisional HR advisors, personnel managers and the networks for continuing training, career guidance and the centralised prevention office.


Showcasing of ADAS-INRA partnership (October 2016): publication of issue no. 11 of “HR Focus” with a spotlight on the role of this association as a partner to ensure our Institution’s social cohesion. This issue was distributed to HR personnel.

Regular activities on the HR intranet site to make HR initiatives visible: publication of a bilingual (French and English) new employee handbook, Disability Awareness Week, etc.

Each publication is accompanied by an editorial by the Director of Human Resources on the HR intranet site and the news article is sent out to all site members. - Event communication:

HR seminar in Nantes (October 2016): this 3-day conference brought together 120 HR professionals from all INRA centres (HR managers, divisional HR advisors, personnel managers, career guidance services, continuing training managers and continuous professional development advisors). This seminar was designed to enhance relationships between staff in the same fields, encourage reflection on building and implementing the HR policy (through cross-cutting themes). This event was also an opportunity to discuss the initial priorities identified for the upcoming HR strategic framework document. Discussions with participants were held and brought up a number of questions and observations that will contribute to the development of the HR policy.

Communication on the HR policy confirms its regular and multichannel nature, which has been strengthened by the launch of the new intranet site. The HR seminar was a highlight of our many actions. Over the past three years, communication on the HR policy helped solidify its foundations. Regular posting of information via different channels was adopted. Our HR policy communication will continue to improve with the essential tools now at our disposal. Even if the action as it was originally planned can now be considered finalised, communication actions will continue to be developed and enhanced as the HR policy is rolled out. Build an internal HR communication plan The internal communication plan has been approved and the HR communication unit is now responsible for its implementation. The action as it was initially planned is now finalised.

Human Resources Direction147 rue de l’Université75338 Paris - Cedex 07France

Tél. : +33(0)1 42 75 90 00Fax : +33(0)1 42 75 94 86www.inra.fr/en

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HR ACTION PLAN · Human Resources 2013–2017 Action Plan: 2016 Status Report p. 2 Chapter 1: Human resources policy on contractual staff The HR policy on contractual staff …