Louis Vuitton 2008 Annual Report Download - page 59

LVMH010_2008_GB:Mise en page 1 24/03/09 11:14 Page 60
Developing in a dynamic
professional environment
The development of women and men in high-performance teams
around the world is a key objective of the Human Resources policy.
The interest of each employee exactly matches the interest of the
Group when it comes to ensuring the development of individual talents,
validating personal ambitions and preparing for the future.
An international conference
on Human Resources
In October 2008, an international conference was held in Paris
for about one hundred Human Resources Directors from the
Group's principal entities. The purpose of this initiative – which
had a very specific dimension to it this year – was to discuss
current projects, analyze the summary of our annual review of
talent, and align the entire organization with clear, shared
objectives.
It was also a demonstration of the eminently international nature
of the network formed by the LVMH Human Resources Directors
working around the world.
Building career paths
The key mechanism of the Human Resources development policy is an
annual review of the organizations and a systematic inventory of internal
resources in order to identify future needs. The positions critical to the
long-term future of the Group are therefore identified, succession plans
are prepared, and individual development plans are established to form
the road map for the Human Resources teams.
This approach, which involves all the entities of the Group around the
world, allows LVMH to identify the critical skills and specific talents that
will be vital for the strategic plans and, thanks to anticipating these needs,
allows the Group to take any corrective measures that may be necessary.
PASSIONATE ABOUT CREATIVITY 57
This process also identifies the high-potential employees who could in time
hold the top positions in the Group. As a result, true professional career
paths are built for these employees, which are designed to add to their
knowledge, skills and managerial abilities.
Internal mobility is, naturally, the priority career-building tool. The Group
encourages and organizes this in an effort to offer a very broad variety of
paths among its different companies, their subsidiaries, the holding struc-
tures, or even between business segments.
Frequent periodic career committees, at different levels, are intended to
consider vacant positions and the employees who could occupy them.
Today, about 40% out of the managerial positions are filled through inter-
nal transfers, including 30% to other Group companies and 28% to other
countries.
The other highlight of career development in the Group is an annual
performance interview organized for each employee with his direct super-
visor. During this interview, the achievements of the past year are revie-
wed, the objectives for the coming year are defined and future prospects are
discussed. The vectors for individual development are considered: personal
goals, training needs, participation in group-wide projects or inter-House
networks.
Sharing knowledge
The objective is to make LVMH a "learning organization" in which each
employee can give and receive the capital of experience and knowledge
constituted by the individual and collective expertise that exists in the
Group. This exchange is perceived as a competitive advantage that should
be used in the interest of all.
The Group companies offer a wide range of training courses designed to
develop the professional skills of their employees, perpetuate the "busi-
ness" expertise of their artisans and designers, and share their common
cultural heritage. In accordance with the Group's organizational philosophy,
the companies take all the specific initiatives in this area which are more
particularly adapted to their businesses.
In addition to orientation seminars, the Group also offers an extended
range of training sessions in management, sales or negotiating techniques,
marketing, project management, foreign languages, etc. These training
courses are organized in-house or outside the company with training profes-
sionals, including well-known professors and Group managers considered
to be experts in their field of expertise.