HR AND DIGITAL

TRANSFORMATIONHR AND DIGITAL

TRANSFORMATION

Booklet 6RULE

OF NINE

Transformation: the only way forward

Faced with the new climate and digital environment, EDF group is simplifying how it operates, pushing digital technology further to enhance its customer relations, optimising its industrial processes, and experimenting with new ways of working. To become simpler, more efficient, more competitive and more attractive.

9 ways that show our transformational

drive to remain industry leader.

The energy sector and labour

market are changing rapidly.

The ramp-up of low-carbon energy,

digitised energy services, market

liberalisation, development

of self-consumption solutions,

computerised processes,

the growing proportion of digital

natives on the job market…

all these factors are redefining

how people work together, forcing

us to reinvent ourselves, and

the way we do business and deal

with others. This is even more

important when you are called EDF,

the world’s largest electricity

company and the historic player

on the French energy market,

and for an organisation that works

across the entire electricity value

chain. To remain that industry

leader, EDF is transforming.

Transformation is the key to

staying competitive, innovative

and attractive.

Which processes were automated and how is your profession changing?

Elina Badetz: We have

automated account

reconciliation, checking of

invoices sent by the producers

of renewable energy purchased

by EDF, and even entering

mobile asset file forms.

Our accountants do less

reconciliation so that they

can concentrate on analysing,

formatting and using data.

As for the profession in general,

accountants are now shifting

towards using more information

system skills (adjusting or

even creating small automated

processes, analysing and

interpreting large volumes of

data, etc.). And we are training

our teams in all these areas.

How did you go about this?

Elina Badetz: As any mention

of robots inevitably causes

concern, we adopted an

approach based on trials

and volunteers. Employees

were asked to identify the

repetitive or boring tasks that

could be handled by robots.

Automation is pointless unless

it frees up our accountants

from repetitive tasks so they

can focus on analysis and

other higher value-added

tasks, hence the name

of our system, e-renfort

(“e-support”). And most

importantly, automating

a process must go hand-in-

hand with an operational

excellence approach with

human intelligence at its core.

The role of managers is crucial

in this transformation, as they

must build a management

style with their team in which

standards and practices

are continually questioned

and improved collectively.

“Transparency and trust

generate performance.”

Why has EDF’s Accounting Shared Services Centre decided to begin introducing automation and artificial intelligence?

Elina Badetz: Technological

innovations are changing

the accounting profession.

We have decided to take our

destiny in our own hands

to make steady progress

rather than to be confronted

with the inevitable in

the future. We are now

a pioneering accounting

department in France with

s everal automated operations

already in use: chatbot

(artificial intelligence) and

strong management support.

Our aim is to provide our

internal businesses

with the best value for

the products and services

they buy. If we are to do that,

we must meet the best

standards for managerial

and digital innovation.

ELINA BADETZDIrector of the Accounting

Shared Services Centre, EDF group

“We can head to the future with enthusiasm and peace of

mind by creating something positive for all our employees.”

R2DJ

ONBOARD

TO AUTOMATE

TASKS

Who isn’t talking about artificial intelligence? Some fear it and others see nothing but advantages. AI is already being used: smart sensors on equipment for predictive maintenance; facial recognition for security purposes or to unlock equipment; or voice recognition and synthesis to talk with a machine. AI relieves employees of repetitive and low value tasks. It was with this in mind that EDF’s Legal Department acquired its own chatbot. R2DJ can understand 6,000 questions and has 600 pieces of legal knowledge. This conversational robot already answers thousands of repetitive questions that legal staff are asked and helps with writing contracts. Freed from these tasks, legal staff can concentrate on complex issues that are of greater importance for the Group. Given the system’s success, the Human Resources and Purchasing teams are looking at developing their own chatbots.

LET’S TALK ENERGY

CONSULTATIONS

TO DESIGN THE

FUTURE OF EDF

The transformation of the energy sector and EDF Group raises questions, concern and enthusiasm. Every employee has an opinion about it. Because words free up energy, in the first half of 2018 the Group launched a vast in-house consultation calling on volunteers. A first on this scale in France, “Parlons Énergies” (“Let’s Talk Energy”) aims to share and inform the Group’s vision by fuelling discussion and providing insight to understand all the challenges facing the energy sector. To cover as many issues as possible, talks were organised at around 60 events. Participation and quality of the dialogue matched expectations. Over 10,000 employees enthusiastically joined in

exchanging ideas at sessions held in 30 cities across France. Their contributions were sorted into 20 major challenges, including storage, customer strategy, data mining and even regional presence. To wrap up discussions, 20 multidisciplinary teams expanded the Group’s vision and proposed potential areas of action to the Executive Committee.

FLEX & OPEN

MOTIVATED

TO WORK IN NEW

WAYS WITH

FLEX OFFICE

Teleworking, dynamic meetings, flex office, and so on… employees now move around with their laptop, use a different office every day and spend a lot of their time in shared spaces (design thinking and creativity rooms, cafeterias, etc.). Over 3,500 Group employees already use flex offices. While new technology obviously makes this new way of working possible, it has above all rung in a change in management practices. It means managers can boost their teams’ agility, motivation and effectiveness, and tap into their combined skills more easily. This in turn improves customer service. To fuel acceptance of these new ways of working, EDF group is increasing the number of dynamic work spaces equipped with multimedia facilities. Examples include Cube in Nanterre, and Équilibres in Levallois-Perret, both in the Paris region, along with EDF Luminus in Belgium. Open plan offices with a host of different spaces, such as forums, creativity rooms, bubbles where employees can isolate themselves to work alone as well as audio-visual equipment so that several people can work together remotely.

PAPER TOWER

GOING PAPERLESS

EDF Tower rises 165 metres above the esplanade in La Défense, Paris. It is also the height that would be created by stacking all the reams of paper saved each year by employees if a few foolhardy souls were to attempt such a feat. This is the result of collective and individual awareness, new everyday reflexes and the result of technology and paperless processes. The other major reason for this reduced use of paper is the electronic signature. With several million documents signed each year at the Group, this paperless approach results in substantial savings of paper and the number of kilometres otherwise travelled to transport the documents.

ALTERN’UP

OPPORTUNITIES

FOR WORK-STUDY

STUDENTS

A springboard into employment, work-study programmes are a win-win strategy for both the student and the company. With one out of every 100 work-study students hosted in France, EDF plays a key role in the system. Each year, over 6,200 young people, supervised by over 5,500 tutors, complete their work-study programme within the Group. To encourage innovation, EDF has joined the foundation for innovative learning (Fondation Innovations Pour les Apprentissages). Chaired by Jean-Bernard Lévy, this foundation is the first inter-company organisation focused on innovation in learning. For example, the Altern’up competition is designed

to encourage work-study students to found startups. Winners are supported in testing their project’s economic feasibility, with certified training on starting a new business and financial assistance to help get their business off the ground.Among the 2017 winners, “À table” (“Dinner’s ready”) is a mobile system installed in places with high foot traffic for people to place orders from a wide range of meals in jars, pay and collect their purchase from an individual locker indicated on the receipt. “Drops” was another winning project. It is a crowdfunding platform to help finance local projects through touchscreen donation terminals installed in local shops.

CHANGE

PREPARED

TO ANTICIPATE

CHANGES

IN BUSINESS

ACTIVITIES

When changes to the energy sector are mentioned, public stakeholders and opinion leaders mostly focus on consumers, producers and distributors. But how will the growth in renewables and new technology affect skills and employment? As part of the Group’s strategic vision, the HR vision is crucial to overcoming uncertainty and maintaining EDF’s pledge to its employees. That is why an ambitious approach was initiated with EDF’s business lines to construct five-, ten - and fifteen-year plans to address the changes to employment and skills. The purpose is to give employees greater visibility about their future, prepare them for new careers and facilitate mobility.In 2018 alone, 800 employees are already on their way to starting new careers. While each case is unique, the underlying approach is the same: examine all an individual’s aptitudes and not just formal qualifications, to keep all options open. At the same time, the teams are working on creating a new intuitive and fully digital HR tool. In just a few clicks, each employee will be able to find out what jobs are available and receive notifications.

DATA LAKE

GETTING THE

MOST OUT OF DATA

Our data is a gold mine. Data is a strategic asset that we need to leverage. With 25 million customers, EDF’s Sales and Marketing Department knows a thing or two about that. Today, the production businesses should be taking a closer look at their digital assets. Working with the IT and R&D teams, all production businesses got involved in creating a data analytics factory. They had to identify, collect, sort and select all the data according to its value. Pooled in a “lake”, data is used by each business according to its needs. Ordered and qualified, data can be used, for example, for predictive equipment maintenance, to trim servicing and outage costs, and even to start up a reactor again after a unit shutdown using the data collected from previous shutdowns. Sophisticated algorithms are used to extract meaning from the data. After the production businesses, it will be the Purchasing and Human Resources teams’ turn to tackle this data inventory.

FOCUS ON DIGITAL

UNITED TO BUILD

THE DIGITAL

ROADMAP

Our future is electric, and we are making that future digital. This digital transformation is essential. That is why EDF’s Executive Committee held a special one-day meeting in March 2018 to define the Group’s digital roadmap, adopting a four-pronged approach: EDF and its customer relations, EDF the industrial concern, EDF and its internal operations, and basic IT systems and skill sets.Work focused on the impact of digital technology on all our businesses and the issues around cybersecurity, blockchain(1) technology and artificial intelligence. The meeting was also an opportunity to review all digital projects under way, business-by-business, and to assess their progress. An online vote was organised to choose the main indicators for measuring progress with our digital transformation.

PROJECT Y

SETTING OUT TO

SHAKE THINGS UP

“You are under 35, have a keen interest in digital technology and innovation, and want to shake things up?” That was the catchphrase for the “Project Y” recruitment drive launched internally in June 2017. And it hit home, as over 400 employees applied. The aim was to join a pilot team of 30 people,

“We all belong to

the Group... It’s not

necessarily about

a generation, it’s

more a notion of

open-mindedness

and the drive

to move the

company forward.”(1) Data storage and transmission without a control element.

representing all businesses, to shake up the way the Group does things and to contribute to its digital transformation.The guiding principle was to simplify the way information is shared based on three watchwords – Use, Support and Discuss – and arrive at three challenges. For example, the programme led to the creation of the EDF Store. This website is where people can share knowledge about digital uses and employees are encouraged to help each other. This collaborative store provides tutorials, a chatbot, and online employee profiling to recommend apps and software related to their work. Our 30 independent thinkers also came up with the Support’R system to create a direct link between support functions and operational staff, and to handle everyday problems that can cause frustration and undermine performance. “Parlons Tous Les Jours” (“Let’s Talk Every Day”) is a programme aimed at developing a culture of open discussion.The team presented these challenges in person in March 2018 to an expanded Executive Committee. To build on the success of this operation, a second season has been launched with a new team.

HR AND DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

FOCUS ON DIGITAL –

UNITED TO BUILD THE

DIGITAL ROADMAP

Over 10,000

employees

60 events

30 cities

60 talks

20 major challenges

20 teams

One of the initiatives implemented to develop

new ways of working and collaborating

Reduce

Predict

Analyse

Serve

Maintain

Optimise

DATA LAKE –

GETTING

THE MOST OUT

OF DATA

CHANGE –

PREPARED

TO ANTICIPATE

CHANGES

IN BUSINESS

ACTIVITIES

ALTERN’UP –

OPPORTUNITIES

FOR WORK-STUDY

STUDENTS

LET’S TALK ENERGY –

CONSULTATIONS

TO DESIGN THE

FUTURE OF EDF

PAPER TOWER –

GOING PAPERLESS

FLEX & OPEN –

MOTIVATED

TO WORK IN NEW

WAYS WITH

FLEX OFFICE

PROJECT Y –

SETTING OUT TO

SHAKE THINGS UP

R2DJ –

ONBOARD

TO AUTOMATE

TASKS

Hello!Hello :)

I’m R2DJ, your chatbot assistant.

I have plenty of questions!

I have over 600 pieces of legal knowledge...

and can understand nearly 6,000 questions.

9 ways that show the broad range of initiatives taken to make Group operations simpler and more efficient. Driving change for a transformed EDF group.

Editorial design: Communication Division.Design: Editorial design: Communication Division.Editorial design: Communication Division.

Copyright registration: ISSN pending.Author: Antoine Blachez.Translation: Alto.

Photo credits: © EDF/Jean-Baptiste Baldi, © EDF – CAPA/Yves Manac’h, © DR EDF, © EDF – Getty Images/Artistdesign13/Irina Strelnikova/Massimo Colombo/Ojogabonitoo/PeopleImages/Valery Inglebert/Westend61, © EDF – REA/Denis Allard, © EDF – Shutterstock/Guillaume Murat.

@illotv

@edfofficiel

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RULE OF NINE

9 topics in 9 booklets

each illustrated with 9 examples

That is 81 ways that demonstrate how EDF

is engaging in the energy transition.

Month after month, topic after topic,

action after action, we will share with you

our progress and our emblematic achievements.

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www.edf.fr