Growth, Training and Development
Enhancing Virtual Training
Last year, ENGIE North America offered 67% of its training programs in a non-online format. With closures brought on by the pandemic, ENGIE North America adapted quickly by exploring a wide range of online, self-paced courses that would ensure business continuity and provide ongoing professional development offerings for employees.
As part of those efforts, a pilot of eCornell was conducted from April to December of 2020, offering an on-demand library of 45 learning modules, which included topics ranging from change management to diversity and inclusion. Approximately 11% of the employee population participated in the pilot, which contributed to the increase in the related employee engagement survey items.
In all, more than 58% of our employees completed at least one documented training course in 2020. Until recently, ENGIE North America only tracked the total number of training hours for in-person courses. Since the onset of the pandemic and a shift to virtual learning, ENGIE North America is now exploring ways to track and measure the number of hours from participation across all training platforms.
Trainings by Course Topics*
* Full-time employees only; excluding contractors and union employees
Assessing employee satisfaction
ENGIE North America conducts an annual employee engagement survey to measure employee engagement and collect feedback for continuous improvements. In 2020 – in the midst of organizational changes, the COVID-19 pandemic and shifting work environments – ENGIE North America achieved a response rate of 61% with improvements in 21 out of 22 categories. The most notable improvements happened in the safety and gender gap categories, underscoring our ability to maintain positivity and resilience throughout the pandemic and provide the equipment, tools and resources necessary to work effectively. Each business group will provide action plans for targeted improvements in 2021. The impact of those changes will be assessed in the next employee engagement survey.
Creating a festival for learning
ENGIE hosted its first-ever Learning Festival in 2020, a five-day virtual event for managers and above to develop essential skills. Over 2,000 participants connected from around the world to learn more about leadership, managerial, sustainable and technical topics.
ENGIE North America supplemented the Group’s Learning Festival by expanding the target audience and encouraging networking opportunities, engaging employees with creative and relevant learning opportunities. The focus on personal and professional growth benefited more than 2,500 attendees, who reported an 88% overall satisfaction rate.
Remaining committed to intern opportunities
At a time when many businesses were forced to cancel internship programs due to COVID-19, ENGIE remained fortunate in its ability to continue to help lay the foundation for future careers. We invest heavily in recruiting and retaining early career talent through word-of-mouth from peers; partnerships with various universities and colleges; and targeted activities, including information sessions, career support, senior projects, case competitions and workshops. These activities involve partnerships with schools, where ENGIE leaders and employees engage directly with students to support career development.
In 2020, 54 students were employed as interns. Students are converted to full-time opportunities as positions are identified.
