REUNICA AG2R - Research, Innovation & Management Programme

An educational journey towards innovation…

30 REUNICA (AG2R) managers went on an original educational journey to the heart of issues related to research, innovation and management at ESCP.

At the heart of the challenge was the need to anticipate changes in the social sector and reaffirm our original vocation through innovative thinking. In essence, this approach had to both enhance performance and create collective values (foster creativity and federate). Therefore, the company was looking for a new and original training programme which would reflect its forward-thinking and innovative dynamics.

Contact


Paris Campus

Karine MAXENCE
+33 (0)1 55 65 56 30

Why this programme?

Philippe de Vaugiraud, Head of the HR Development & Training Department, REUNICAWhat makes our strength is our human capital: the men and women of REUNICA (AG2R).

The objectives are twofold. Firstly, to enable managers to develop their skills and learn new managerial practices by opening up new horizons. It is by accompanying them and enabling them to reinvent themselves, that we help them to attain a position in which they can innovate and encourage their employees to do the same.
Then, there was also the question of contributing to a managerial community. This was new for REUNICA (AG2R), and it is through these management training programmes, starting in 2008/2009, that we began to develop the concept of manager identity. This is something really important for a group like ours, whose aim is to develop and federate collective structures.

What first made a difference was the initial proposal, or rather ESCP’s formalisation thereof. We had the feeling it was essential for ESCP to meet our needs precisely, and this was initially a very important point.

We really liked the originality of the approach. The proposal was surprising and original; we were doing something we had never done before. We were not looking for anything traditional, especially for the N-1 of the Executive Committee: our most senior managers.

We needed to have something attractive and beyond the usual framework. Finally, what particularly impressed us is the identification of the exact managerial skills that are worked on in this programme, and to link each session to the skills involved. We liked this approach because it is not so common. The training programme has really opened up new ways to us.

Philippe de VAUGIRAUD, Head of the HR Development & Training Department, REUNICA AG2R

 

What the trainees thought

“Highly enriching programme, bringing new working methodologies and thought, new practices; with amazing results.”
“It makes you want to continue projects; to implement them.”
“Very rewarding training, which really helped pinpoint the concept of innovation.”
“Thinking outside of the box.”

“Destabilising practices, really unusual.”
“Regular coaching by the teaching team.”
“Wonderful experience: afterwards, you can produce innovative quality results very quickly.”

The Academic Director’s point of view

The educational dynamics were based on the notion of “experiential journey” in which the trainees built an innovative project in partnership with the French Red Cross using a series of "educational stopovers

The basic principle is to do in order to learn, and not vice versa. Based on a real project, the trainees created innovative business models. After the first prototypes, REUNICA was able to both initiate new strategic dynamics and  inject a more enterprising managerial culture into the company.

Sylvain BUREAU,
Associate Professor,
ESCP