On 11 June, Groupama Centre Manche unveiled its new completely revamped operational headquarters in Le Mans. Staff moved into new work spaces that are more modern, functional and conducive to co-working. But the success of the move was planned well in advance, as part of the Ré-Unis* project.

In December 2018, to prepare for the change in environment, the regional mutual invited employees of the Le Mans site to join the Ré-Unis contact community. 43 volunteers contributed to the process. In the first half of 2019, they worked together to picture themselves in the new spaces, test new co-working methods, and prepare all the stages preceding the move.

In January, the team set up a showroom close to headquarters, where employees could view their future workspaces, in close-to-real conditions. During the visit, everyone could share their impressions and choose layout options for their own workstation (furniture, computer, etc.). The Ré-Unis initiative continued in February, with inspirational talks open to all staff members, to introduce them to collaborative and agile working methods.

“Happy Cleaning Days” were held in April: Groupama Centre Manche organised a big spring clean on its management site. For four days, to prepare for the future move, employees sorted out their cupboards, files and draws, etc. And because sorting out is doing something good, all the recovered material was made use of. The amount recovered was donated to a local charity working to promote reintegration in the job market.

All these actions contributed to the success of the move on 11 June in Le Mans. The 400 employees moved into their new work spaces and took part in an original visit to the headquarters, in the form of a giant escape game. With smiles on their faces and tablets in their hands, they explored every corner of the building: modern work spaces, lots of meeting rooms, convivial spaces, etc. In short, they observed that everything had been redesigned to foster dialogue and cooperation. The cherry on the cake to support this change in décor: a chatbot was created especially for the occasion, in order to answer employees’ questions and guide them around the premises.

But the Ré-Unis project will not stop at Le Mans! In 2020, employees in other Groupama Centre Manche sites will be involved in the initiative.

*The “Ré-Unis” initiative is part of the Groupama Centre Manche Corporate Plan to 2020, called UNIS-VERS 2020.