Dematerialization pushed to its maximum to manage your money: this is the bet that Boursorama, a subsidiary of Société Générale, made in 1998, at the start of the massification of the Web, and which continues in a very competitive universe where technologies of the information has conquered every home. “It is a purely digital player, so we are not identifiable via a network of physical branches. However, we are a large bank with 6 million customers and 70 billion euros in outstandings on French territory,” summarizes Caroline Zanaret-Giros, who started working twenty years ago within the Société Générale group and who is today deputy general director of Boursorama.
The autonomy of the customer who takes charge of his operations remotely saves him costs: it is the “cheapest” bank, with banking fees on average less than 10 euros per year per customer, compared to around 200 euros in a traditional bank. A task force under the leadership of eight major departments operating according to a principle of hierarchical authority. “There is no hybrid, matrix organization. It is possible because we are a small company, with less than 1,000 employees.” They stay for seven years on average.
The customer relations, middle and back office, risk and compliance and HR departments fall to the DGA. The general director, Benoît Grisoni, heads the marketing, finance, IT department and general secretariat departments. “There are ten of us at the Comex and we work on transversal axes beyond the respective perimeters of each one.” Objective: to support the client “who can complete a real estate loan process completely independently, with a delay of around twenty days between the initial simulation and the disbursement of the loan,” explains Caroline Zanaret-Giros. It is guided, “with as little jargon as possible”. The adjustments are permanent: “The Codir regularly listens to calls taken by customer advisors in order to identify areas for improvement.” Customer advisors are aged between 25 and 30 years old. “The subject of the attractiveness of banking professions arises, especially among young people,” recognizes the DGA, even if many professions in banking are possible.
Wear and tear, demotivation, we must convince and fight against turnover. Four years ago, 100% of employees worked face-to-face. Covid. “All teams have adopted teleworking. In a very short time, we have completely changed our organization.” End of the health crisis without turning back. “Today, our customer advisor teams and our middle/back employees are 90% teleworking. These employees, around 450 in total, return two days a month to Boulogne to “re-anchor” themselves in the company “About half of them live in the provinces. This system allows them to have more pleasant living conditions, to avoid the high costs of housing in the Paris region and the difficulties caused by transport.” For others, the rule is more classic: two days per week teleworking. “It’s a good balance to make teamwork work.”
“The manager is a key position when it comes to teleworking”
The hierarchical process is tight. “The manager is a key position in terms of teleworking: many elements rely on him. He must be supported towards a new mode of remote management. He makes regular updates with his colleagues, every week or every two weeks depending on each person’s length of service. We also encourage them to be creative in organizing rituals with which they are comfortable, such as ten minutes by video for morning coffee or after lunch. The feeling of isolation may exist, we remain very vigilant about the risks of remote working and in particular desocialization.”
At home but in constant contact with your boss. A sustainable model over time? Without a critical resignation rate? “Our objective for 2026 is to reach 8 million customers and generate 300 million euros in net profit, announces the DGA. We know that employees need time and availability to enable us to achieve these ambitions. So we are trying to remove everything that is unnecessary, particularly certain reporting.” My small business, does not know the crisis/Blooming, it exhibits satin treasures/Golden to perfection. Will Boursorama follow Bashung’s path?
.