Since 2003, the HR Innovation Award has been rewarding exemplary initiatives in the field of human resources. Organized by Morgan Philips, Fyte, Le Figaro Emploi, Cadremploi, and Sciences Po Executive Education, this award highlights innovative projects that transform HR practices.
For the 2024 edition, Derichebourg Multiservices was awarded for its “Talents au féminin” program. This unique initiative, deployed in the cleaning branch of Elior Group, aims to promote parity in middle management by offering female employees training and coaching opportunities tailored to their needs. The objective is to remove the cultural and personal barriers often encountered by women in accessing positions of responsibility.
In this interview, Claire Gonnet, HR Development Director at Elior – Derichebourg Multiservices, discusses the motivations behind this project, its concrete impacts, and the lessons learned throughout this human and professional adventure.
How did you hear about the IRH of the Year Award?
Claire Gonnet: Very simply, we received the email “Participate in the 2024 HR innovation prize”. Looking at the participation criteria, we said to ourselves, Why not us!”. We wanted to promote the Talents au féminin course, which is particularly close to our hearts, so we filled out the application form.
Can you present your Innovation to us in a few lines?
CG: With its “Talents au féminin” program, DERICHEBOURG Multiservices allows female workers, mainly service agents, to progress toward positions of responsibility. The program offers each employee the opportunity to define their professional project and to follow a certified training course to progress within the company. The employees integrated into the “Talents au féminin” program are very often women without training or with a low level of qualification and who have difficulty breaking away from a pejorative vision of themselves, convinced that they are not capable of occupying a position of responsibility. The “Talents au féminin” program is divided into two distinct parts: the personal development phase with group discussions and individualized monitoring and the professional project phase. The program is on a human scale and includes only about ten members per class to allow each one to express their doubts and aspirations before managing to define a professional project. Once this stage has been completed, the human resources teams will identify the training path and support the employees in their retraining before integrating them into positions of responsibility within the company.
The workforce at DERICHEBOURG Multiservices is very feminized: despite 63% of women in the workforce, only 33% of managers are women. Management has set a target of having 50% women in management positions by 2030. The “Talents au féminin” program is fully in line with a policy of promoting professional equality and internal mobility since it allows women who did not see themselves progressing to train for a new profession and take on new responsibilities.
If you could go back in time and give one piece of advice to yourself at the beginning of this innovative project, what would it be?
CG: Encourage women more to dare and convince them to volunteer. Go and give them confidence because, spontaneously, not all of them have it and do not dare to apply for the program.
What is the most surprising or unexpected thing that happened during the development or implementation of this innovation?
CG: At the end of the first class, we realized the impact of the course on the employees: not only did we perceive the professional impact on each of them (professional posture, relationships, etc.) but especially the personal impact. They were all unanimous on the fact that they had changed the way they communicated with others and that they felt much more comfortable even in their intra-family relationships. But above all, we perceived a physical change: the image they offered of themselves was now more assertive, more radiant. This is what we call the power of self-confidence!
What is the greatest lesson in humility you have learned during the innovation process?
CG: None of the collaborators held back despite difficulties related to language or level of studies. All were in the process of surpassing themselves.
If you had a superpower to make your innovation even better, what would it be, and how would you use it?
CG: The power to take a much longer route without disrupting operational teams.
If you had the opportunity to present your innovation to a historical figure, who would it be and why?
CG: Zola Budd, a South African athlete who overcame prejudices and difficulties to succeed while maintaining her specificity, which consisted of running barefoot.
The “Talents au féminin” program embodies an ambitious and deeply human vision of talent management. By supporting female employees in their skills development and offering them concrete prospects for development, Derichebourg Multiservices demonstrates that professional equality cannot be decreed: it is built through targeted, bold, and inclusive actions.
This 2024 HR Innovation Award rewards much more than a project: it celebrates a lasting commitment to parity and self-confidence. As the company sets itself the goal of reaching 50% women in management positions by 2030, “Talents au féminin” paves the way for many other inspiring initiatives. A great lesson for the world of human resources and an invitation to believe in the ability of women to break glass ceilings, one step at a time.
Do you also have an innovative HR project that is making a difference? Don’t keep your initiative in the shadows: share it and inspire other players in the sector! The 2025 HR Innovation Award is a unique opportunity to highlight your achievements, unite your teams around national recognition, and become an inspiring example for the profession. So, why not you? Participate in the 2025 HR Innovation Awad.
