On May 22, the Pacte law will be three years old. Its objective was to facilitate growth through the transformation of companies, in particular by strengthening the attractiveness of all forms of employee investment in the company: through profit-sharing, participation, savings and employee share ownership. What has changed in companies? HRDs from the world of industry, insurance and consulting met on Tuesday, May 10, in Paris, to discuss it, as part of the HR Meetings, the monthly management news meeting created by The worldin partnership with ManpowerGroup.
“France is an original country at the global level on employee share ownership, with a proportion of employees who own a share of the capital twice as high as in the rest of the European countries”, introduced Kevin Levillain, teacher-researcher in management sciences, at Mines ParisTech.
Employee share ownership is widespread in Europe: 94% of large European companies offer it, according to the 2021 report of the European Federation of Employee Ownership. “Studies have shown that having employee shareholding makes for more balanced governance and skills closer to the business. The Pacte law wanted to make the system more attractive for both the employer and the employee in its section “Better share the value”. Our hypothesis is that employee share ownership is a lever for creating a collective”explains Mr. Levillain.
Reinforce commitment, for lack of loyalty
Presented in the Pacte law as an element of loyalty since the level of the share price discount varies according to the duration of the employees’ commitment, employee share ownership was rather perceived by the HR departments as a “instrument of engagement” collaborators. “Rémy Cointreau is a family group listed on the SBF 120. We introduced employee shareholding in 2021. The employee subscription rate was 77%. Which reinforced us in the idea that there was a real expectation”, says Marc-Henri Bernard, the group’s HRD.
The alcoholic has reserved shares for employees who are in France, as part of a capital increase included in the company’s transformation plan by 2030. “We have defined a ten-year strategic plan. Employee share ownership gives employees a perspective. It is an instrument of engagement more than loyalty of employees, who become owners of units in a mutual fund. Employee shareholding changes interprofessional relations, because we are all interested in the performance of the company. It is a vector of pedagogy and explanation of the strategy »says Marc-Henri Bernard.
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