A major economic player, driven by innovation and commitment
We are the 10th largest French company in terms of market capitalisation in France (46.2 billion euros at end-2007) and one of Europe's foremost financial services groups.
This success reflects above all the innovative ability of the women and men in our company. Faced with the changes in the banking and finance market in France, and across the globe, the employees of Société Générale are actively contributing to the development of our core businesses as part of a profitable growth strategy.
Three core values
Three core values drive our performance in a changing and extremely competitive world:
- professionalism
- team spirit
- innovation
Our activities are focused on three complementary core businesses:
Retail Banking & Financial Services
In France, our group has two complementary distribution networks: Société Générale and Crédit du Nord. Our specialised financial services businesses have been growing rapidly over the last five years.Global Investment Management & Services
Created in January 2004, this core business consists of Asset Management (Société Générale Asset Management), Private Banking (SG Private Banking), Securities Services (Société Générale Securities Services) and Online Banking (Boursorama).Corporate & Investment Banking
Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking, which serves corporate and financial institutions, is the third largest bank in the euro zone in terms of net banking income, and a major player on the French market.Our development goes hand in hand with that of our employees
Our growth provides a constant source of opportunities for the career development of our employees. It also enables us to open up our company to new talented individuals from all kinds of backgrounds.
In 2007, we hired some 19,000 new employees on permanent contracts, including 6,000 in France. This makes the Société Générale Group the largest recruiter in the banking sector in France, with a 24.5% rise in our recruitment rate compared with 2005. We are also the largest recruiter at executive level in France. The volume of our recruitment, and its diversity, reflect both our dynamism and our determination to broaden our recruitment intake.
We want our teams to benefit from France's social and cultural diversity. We want to make sure that the potential and talents of each individual are used to the full. We want everyone to feel free to use their entrepreneurial abilities as diversity is a powerful asset for our company.
We actively encourage diversity in our employment policy and in our staff's career paths
We believe that diversity generates dynamism by increasing innovation and creativity. In France, the signing of the Diversity Charter in November 2004 has enabled Société Générale employees to team up in meeting the challenges of diversity for society at large and for our Group.This commitment is also reflected in the practical actions we are taking to combat inequalities:
- An agreement on professional equality between men and women, for example by raising the proportion of women executives to 40% by 2008
- Special measures in favour of people without qualifications or job security in the agreement on professional training, signed on 14 June 2006
- A proactive policy in favour of the disabled
Encouraging solidarity and professional integration
We participate in several programmes aimed at promoting diversity in major companies:
- Sciences Po's priority conventions, which enables students from targeted secondary schools in Seine-Saint-Denis to take this university programme following a special competitive examination.
- ESSEC's "Une grande Ecole : pourquoi pas moi" (Higher education, why not me?) programme which encourages students from secondary schools in Val-d'Oise to continue their studies in preparatory classes for the prestigious Grandes Ecoles.
- The Phénix Charter, in partnership with the "Université de Marne la Vallée", aims to boost the recruitment of young graduates (five years of university studies) in Science, Humanities and Literature.
Increasing our commitment towards disabled employees
The May 2007 agreement follows new French regulatory requirements concerning disabled persons. Its most significant achievement is the launch of the Mission Handicap SG (MHSG)
MHSG is run by a dedicated team with its own budget and aims at achieving the goals set up in the 2007 agreement.
The main goal is to yearly double disabled person’s recruitments within Société Générale.
Next come the important stakes of:
- Ensuring that disabled employees have equal opportunities in the work place by providing suitable training, career management and adjustments or modifications to the job or workplace, etc
- Breaking assumptions about what people can’t do by changing our preconceived ideas on disabilities and disabled persons
- Increasing our work relationship with protected environment
Contact MHSG at mission.handicap@socgen.com
Helping job seekers to return to work
- At the end of 2005 we renewed our partnership convention with the French Employment Agency (ANPE). Under this convention, we hire candidates with no specific qualifications as Counter Advisors and Multimedia Client Advisors. The only prerequisite is some commercial experience, or experience of an activity involving customer contact.
As our businesses grow, it is our duty to promote sustainable development
Our Group is strongly committed in all its entities to limiting the negative effects of its activity on the environment and on society. This is our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). It is linked to the practical application of the concept of sustainable development, which is based on three key aspects: economic, social and environmental.
Developing your potential - together Joining a major company does not necessarily mean restricting your freedom. The Group's approach is entrepreneurial, and we want to make sure that we provide the professional opportunities that talented individuals need.