A culture of performance and compensation

Performance-related compensation is a tool for implementing the strategic roadmap, of which the salespeople are the vehicles and the guarantors. It is also a tool that is relatively easy to set up and very effective, since it is an essential factor of motivation and satisfaction for salespeople, who represent 2/3 of the workforce. The approach used for evaluating performance and calculating bonuses is also a way of charting the course that the company wants to take.

Performance evaluation and bonus calculation result from a three-way balance:
> Short-term performance, measured according to traditional financial criteria, essentially sales margin and sales volume; medium and long-term performance, determined by the company's general strategy, measured primarily by new customer acquisition, digital sales volume, and customer service quality.
> The general strategic approach, versus the more specific one in countries, regions, entities, branches: each level applies the Group's strategy according to its specificities and its markets. Performance evaluation and bonus calculation differ according to the roadmap and goals at each level.
> Collective performance and individual performance.

The Group has established these guidelines for reaching the above balance, keeping in mind that every country, entity, and manager has a significant degree of flexibility in implementing them.

In practice, the level of performance bonuses versus salaries varies from country to country, primarily for cultural and societal reasons, but also in accordance with local specificities in terms of markets and activities. Each situation is therefore handled separately, and, in order to be both fair and appropriate, the calculation of bonuses uses different criteria and weightings.

The Group's role is to ensure that the basic goals of the performance bonuses are understood by all, to encourage countries and entities to implement them, and to share best practices. The Group also makes sure that the bonus level is consistent with the performance level, particularly on the basis of key indicators that measure the overall cost of labor according to the sales margin.