28/02/2008 | Newsletter, Masters and PhD

View from the Top: Cap Gemini and the CSR

By: Nunzio Quacquarelli

In China we participate in the ever-growing number of conferences on CSR which is now at the forefront of the Chinese agenda. Our Chinese graduate hires are also actively engaged in CSR policies for our China business.

QS. How is this growth impacting on your hiring needs at graduate and MBA levels and what types of people do you look for?
CN. We hire graduates and a smaller number of MBAs in most major countries around the world. Because of our system of distributed delivery our hiring profile does differ country by country.

In India we are hiring 200 graduates per week, primarily with computer science backgrounds, to work in systems development and application management roles. We seek a similar profile in Brazil, Argentina and Morocco to serve Spanish, Portuguese and French speaking clients.

In France, UK and the US, the focus is more on business consultancy, front-end design and implementation roles, requiring greater client interface and interpersonal skills. We often hire MBAs into consulting roles.

In Poland we seek graduates with finance and administrative backgrounds to work with our business process outsource teams. Elsewhere our hiring profiles are quite mixed.

QS. How is Cap Gemini coordinating recruiting across so many markets and for such diverse people? What training and development does Cap Gemini offer to new hires?
CN. Most Cap Gemini recruitment is conducted at a local level, but there are several aspects which are coordinated globally. For example, compensation is set globally. Recruitment branding is coordinated centrally and then implemented locally. CSR is a major aspect of our recruitment message and really distinguishes us from many of our competitors. Our message to candidates is that Cap Gemini will �free your energies� by fostering collaboration, team-playing and encouraging CSR.
Cap Gemini also has an �On Boarding� kit for all new hires which ensures a common induction and reinforces our shared values.

Our training commitment is extensive, not least through our in-house corporate university, which is ten years old and was recently voted most innovative corporate university. Over 9,000 of our team attend the University, based in France, every year. We also have over 3,500 online courses available for staff, supported by knowledge centres, enabling us to disseminate knowledge quickly and keep our people at the forefront of thinking and technology and social responsibility.

QS. Finally, is gender and diversity a major challenge for Cap Gemini?
CN. Diversity is a huge challenge for Cap Gemini as well as for all our competitors. It is particularly difficult to attract enough women. Our Norway business has roughly equal numbers of men and women at all levels and they have a great business and the highest scores in our employee satisfaction surveys. We are working to increase our diversity in other markets and to increase the numbers of women in our senior management teams. We have joined the European Professional Women�s Network and we attend QS Women in Leadership Forums, but we are always looking to do more in this area.