BNP Paribas Cardif, an insurance subsidiary of BNP Paribas, launched a "Culture of Service" program to help transform its operations and business model in response to changes in the insurance sector and digital technologies. The program aims to develop a customer-centric service culture among employees. It defines service commitments and managerial promises, provides training to employees and managers, and deploys the approach internationally in a flexible way adapted to each local context. Four years after launching the program, BNP Paribas Cardif continues to focus on training, innovation, and internationalization to ensure the continuity of its service culture transformation.

1. CULTURE OF SERVICE: A
BEHAVIORAL TRANSFORMATION
PROGRAM TO ACCOMPANY
INDUSTRIAL AND DIGITAL CHANGE
Drawing on the expertise of the Académie
du Service, the Efficiency-Technology-
Operations (ETO) function of BNP Paribas
Cardif has made the culture of service a
lever for adaptation to accompany its
transformation. Four years after the launch
of the approach, BNP Paribas Cardif is
focusing on training, innovation and
internationalization.
WITH HIGH STAKES…
In order to deal with the financial crisis, a changing
regulatory environment as well as technological
change, the life and health insurance sector is
undergoing an unprecedented revolution. Affecting
all sectors and practices, digital communication and
technologies are pushing the profession to evolve
and are confronting it with 3 challenges:
 Respond to customers' increasing demand for
greater satisfaction and value
 Develop intelligently and transparently the
opportunities offered by big data, connected objects,
etc.
 Increase the speed of execution of operations.
This entails greater "retailization" (simplification of
offers) and "servicization" (transition from product to
service).
Aware of all these stakes, BNP Paribas Cardif (an
insurance subsidiary of the BNP Paribas group) is
taking steps to adjust its BtoBtoC model. Until now,
its savings and protection products were primarily
marketed by partner distributors (banks, major
retailers, automobile dealers, utilities, telco, etc.).
The explosion of digital technology brings the
company closer to policyholders, etc. which means
getting to know them better and acquiring new
behaviors in order to serve them better.
KEY POINTS
 An approach launched to accompany the
consequences of developments in the
insurance sector and the change in the
company model
 A strategic plan based on 2 pillars: industrial
and relational pillars
 Pragmatic international deployment in France,
Italy, Portugal and Taiwan
 Strong emphasis on employee and
manager training
 A community of key referents to provide a network
close to each operational profession and ensure the
long-term implementation of the approach
 A way to measure the satisfaction of end customers,
internal customers and employees
 A partnership with Grenoble École de Management
for certified training and an applied research and
teaching chair
Reassuring and empathic human contact.
ACADÉMIE DU
SERVICE
Developing the Culture of
Service
BNP PARIBAS CARDIF

2. With a particular difficulty: the life and health
insurance field is above all a relationship-based
after-sales profession, where one becomes involved
in important events in customers' lives, which can
be emotionally difficult (theft and loss, inheritance,
etc.) and which require reassuring and empathic
human contact. This calls for tact and relationship
skills. Yet traditionally, back offices that deal with
customers – i.e., telephone platforms and
management centers – are trained in data-entry and
file or operations management but not in behavioral
attitudes in relation to service. "We had to change
our internal culture so that back offices and their
support functions could be recognized as an
essential link in the customer relationship chain and
improve the company's service quality" recalls
Brigitte Feist, General Secretary of ETO (Efficiency -
Technology - Operations) at BNP Paribas Cardif, in
charge of the Culture of Service program.
… STRONG WILL
This revolution was initiated in 2010 when ETO had
just been set up and was seeking to unite its teams.
Bringing together 40% of the workforce and 8
operational professions, the function is an important
driver of change for the company. "To lend a
competitive edge to our profession, we decided to
implement two complementary levers: build an
industrial transformation plan AND implement a
culture of customer service. Although one operates
according to multi-year projects and the other by
small daily steps, we have to move forward using
both these support points to improve customer
satisfaction. Even if industrial strategy structures the
development and measures operational efficiency
quantitatively, it is human behavior which provides
meaning and motivation, and which inspires
leadership in managers and a sense of service
among employees" explained Brigitte Feist.
An invitation to tender was thus launched. A
consultancy in organization? A change management
expert in the financial sector? Operating from a
completely different perspective, it was the
Académie du Service which was the winning tender
in February 2010. "We possessed a ‘native’ culture
of service stemming from our roots in the hotel
industry. We came with a method, but also with
experience and many practical cases from other
sectors" notes Claire Bonniol, associate director at
Académie du Service. "We wanted to work with
consultants who had already implemented a service
approach for themselves and for others, had already
broadened their methodologies, and had tools and
concrete examples that could be transposed by
analogy," confirmed Brigitte Feist.
A "BABY STEPS" STRATEGY
Pilot phase: define and implement the "Culture of
Service" program
The ETO Corporate teams (functions of the
registered offices) and the ETO France teams were
the first to start. Following the approach of the
Académie du Service, they devised, between March
and June 2010, RéférenCiels de Service© (Service
Benchmarks) for the 8 professions concerned. With
one specific feature: "each person created their own
reference system" explains Claire Bonniol. Then
employees and managers summarized this into an
overall governing principle that was coherent for the
entire function, combined with a promise: "Within 48
hours, I provide a solution or I explain myself".
Validated by the Management Committee, this
service commitment reassures, provides visibility
and educates." The style of service is laid down in
the PDF document, "3 systematically implemented
rituals which have become the hallmark of service at
ETO, both internally and externally".
DID YOU SAY PDF?
P for Presentation (I present myself, I explain my
role and my added-value)
D for Deadline (I commit to a deadline and will meet
it),
F for Feedback (I ask my interlocutor about the
quality of the service I have just rendered; I ask
whether I met his/her needs).
At the same time, according to the "attention
symmetry ("symétrie des attentions©" ") principle,
which is at the heart of the approach of the
Académie du Service, ETO defines a management
reference system (RéférenCiel de Management©),
the managerial embodiment of the change to be
achieved, valid for all managers.
Thus, mirroring the ETO service promise: "To make
our daily service simple and effective for you and
your customers", the managerial promise is defined
as follows: "To make each managerial 'Meeting' with
ETO employees a time of simple, effective and
honest dialogue".
Training is subsequently provided to 200 managers
and then to 800 employees (see sidebar). "For
teams accustomed to working with roadmaps and
precise timetables, it was necessary to learn how to
accept and manage a "blank page." Because it is
impossible to foresee how the relationship with the
customer will unfold down to the last detail, initiative
needs to be developed" said Claire Bonniol.

3. This implies adapted teaching methods.
From January 2011, the Culture of Service became
part of day-to-day operations within the Corporate
and France teams. Means were implemented to
ensure its continuity with the nomination of key
referents and the creation of benchmarking and
measurement tools … the Corporate team in charge
of the program begins to focus on international
deployment.
Internationalization phase: convince,
understand and adapt
According to a traditional industrial approach, it
would have sufficed to export the "pilot" that was
developed to the 37 countries where BNP Paribas
Cardif is established. But to deploy such a project,
another approach is necessary. Brigitte Feist can
testify to this, three years after the launch of the
process, while the teams of ETO Taiwan, ETO Italy
and of the shared services center in Portugal are
currently experiencing the Culture of Service.
First lesson: to convince and motivate, saying "You
must" is ineffective. "You have to choose the right
argument and time: show that the service approach
is an accelerator, a unifying element which will give
meaning to a strategy and help the entity take a
decisive step forward" explains Brigitte Feist.
Thus in Italy in 2012, the service approach was
used as a guideline during the merger of two
companies. In the middle of the back office
restructuring process, it opened up new
perspectives and helped employees see their
positive aspects. And during the creation of a new
shared service center in Portugal in 2013, the
culture of service was adopted as a company
project and facilitated the commencement of
activities.
Next, it is essential to "decipher the local culture",
since the concept of service is firmly rooted in the
local culture. Promises, rituals and words cannot be
the same when, for example, service means "honor"
in Taiwan, "responsiveness" in Italy or
"commitment" in Portugal. Consultants with a
command of the local language are needed to guide
teams in the development of projects and for
training.
Lastly, the service project should be flexibly adapted
to the maturity and size of the entity. In Italy, "with
the assistance of Italian-speaking consultants of the
Académie du Service, the entire approach
implemented in France was duplicated and
accelerated on a smaller scale, and 150 employees
were trained" specifies Claire Bonniol. While in
Portugal, team members were trained in-house by
the Culture of Service Program.
Deployment phase: generalize, ensure continuity
and measure
ETO continues to adapt the culture of service to the
international scale by leaving sufficient autonomy to
the professions and countries so that they can find
and develop their own way. To maintain a standard
base while ensuring the sustainability of the
program, overall coordination is carried out by the
ETO General Secretary at the head office in close
cooperation with the community of trained key
referents. "These referents manage the culture of
service on the ground, making sure that newcomers
are trained… Every month, we share experiences,
good practice, information and results." Each entity
uses satisfaction measuring instruments in order to
have a "benchmark". The analysis of first reactions
or questions of the employer-employee relations
barometer then make it possible to measure
progress at regular intervals.
What about the ETO Corporate and France teams
which already have some experience in this regard?
The first improvements can be felt through various
sources (flash surveys of employees, satisfaction
surveys of ETO internal customers, satisfaction
surveys of end customers and policyholders,
employer-employee relations barometer, etc.). A
policy for the steering of customer satisfaction and
dissatisfaction is based on 3 indicators: the rate of
satisfaction, the NPS (net promoter score) and the
CES (customer effort score). Measuring is essential
for progress and benchmarking, in all areas of
quality: promised, delivered, expected and
perceived.
TWO FIGURES
❶ A culture of service is established by "baby
steps" or small "movements"
Question of the employer-employee relations
barometer of May 2013:
"In your opinion, is the customer really at the
heart of the company's concerns?"
answer: YES for 74% of ETO Corporate teams
and 83% of ETO France teams
❷ The culture of service constitutes a true
managerial challenge, because the team leader
must 'inspire' behaviors by his or her example.
Question from the April 2014 flash survey of ETO
employees: "Attention symmetry means that a
manager shows the same quality of attention to
employees as to customers. Do you see this at
work in your entity?"
answers: YES often + YES always = 76%

4. A PARTNERSHIP FOR IMAGINING
THE SERVICE OF TOMORROW
Today, BNP Paribas Cardif and the Académie du
Service are partners with a relationship based on
exchange and reflection.
ETO has joined the Customer Relations Club
created by the Académie du Service. "It allows us
to be confronted with other problems and to
consolidate our project. Analogy is invaluable for
the development of service. The Customer
Relations Club also helps us to organize field visits
for employees and the Management Committee,
which are very enriching and allow knowledge and
practical experience to be shared" explained
Brigitte Feist. On its side, the Académie du Service
has worked with BNP Paribas Cardif in skills
sponsorship for the association "Entreprendre Pour
Apprendre". It allows high-school pupils, throughout
a school year, to follow the complete life cycle of a
company. The two partners introduced the culture
of service into the teaching content of the program
and sponsor pupils.
They also seek together the service concepts of
tomorrow in order to stay at the forefront of
innovation. "Stimulated by ETO, we are pushing
back borders" said Claire Bonniol. "For example,
they pushed us to formalize service approach
stages over the long term (3-4 years) by defining
the milestones to be reached but also encouraged
partnerships for applied research or certified
training courses".
Indeed, brought together by the Académie du
Service, Grenoble École de Management and BNP
Paribas Cardif not only created with the school a
BADGE* (see text box) but also a Service
Engineering Research Chair. Since September
2012, it has thus been financing research projects
on a variety of topics such as: 'Build a culture of
service implementation kit', learn the culture of
service basics using digital tools (e-learning,
MOOC(1))' or 'raise young people's awareness of the
culture of service'.
As Brigitte Feist puts it, in a nutshell, "Our meeting
with the Académie du Service was crucial at the
beginning because its method and tools structured
and channeled our thinking. It continues today in a
partnership rich in exchanges of ideas and projects
for the future, with the shared desire to continue to
innovate together. Incidentally, we get great
satisfaction from seeing this collaboration extended
to the BNP Paribas Group today via its Group
Quality function and its Retail in France network."
1
Massive Open Online Course
TRAINING, INVESTING IN
THE FUTURE
The acquisition of service behaviors cannot be
improvised. That is why ETO trained and continues
to carefully train its teams in the Culture of Service.
ACT 1 - 2010: The Académie du Service creates
modules using actors to meet the need for
cooperation and solidarity between teams and role
play to galvanize, add humor, reassure and
communicate the secrets to success in these
relationships. ETO trains its Corporate and France
teams, in mass amounts, within very short
timeframes (and then its Italian team in 2012).
ACT 2 - 2012: BNP Paribas Cardif wants to go
further and professionalize ambassadors. The
Académie du Service makes contact with Grenoble
École de Management, with which it is a partner.
That meeting gives rise to a certified training course
in service management and marketing, which is
certified with a Badge(1)
. This course, already
recognized for its quality, is open to other
companies (including the employees of Hardis,
Schneider Electric and Ikea). Each year, 4 to 5
employees of BNP Paribas Cardif, both French and
non-French, graduate from the program.
ACT 3 - 2014: The Académie du Service shares its
know-how. Trainers from the community of referents
now provide in-house training to new employees in
"mature" countries and the Culture of Service
program raises awareness and helps teams in the
new countries or professions to start using the
service approach.
ACT 4 - 2014/2015: Through their service
engineering research chair, BNP Paribas Cardif and
Grenoble École de Management work on digital
educational tools (online quizzes, e-learning, MOOC
(1)
) to popularize and spread the culture of service to
all audiences (schools, active professionals, etc.).
ACADÉMIE DU
SERVICE
Developing the Culture of Service