Company sports: Safran champions

Earlier this year, in February, the 32,500 employees of Zodiac Aerospace joined Safran. In early June a unifying sports-themed project, dubbed "Go Safran", was launched to support their integration within the Group.    

 

Acquisition of Zodiac Aerospace: integration through sports

The principle is quite simple: people download the app then register their teams. Mixed teams that bring together Safran and Zodiac Aerospace members get bonus points. The program gets employees to run, bike or walk to earn a maximum number of points. The top teams are regularly recognized. The aim is to encourage activities that are fun, easy to do and build team spirit.

 

Sports, a path to workplace well-being

Developing the practice of sports within a company also benefits employees’ well-being at work. One of the best illustrations at the Group is Safran Nacelles, which has had a sports and fitness program for several years at its Colomiers site, near Toulouse. Volunteer line employees are invited to take part in a physical fitness program during their work hours. For 20 minutes before starting their shift they do exercises to warm-up and strengthen muscles, followed later in the day by a series of stretching exercises before they finish. The site has also introduced an innovative incentive to help people quit smoking: for every pack of cigarettes people stop smoking, they receive an hour of sports time during work hours. The results have been impressive: two years after the project kicked off the absentee rate at the site has dropped by half, and 60% of smokers have stopped entirely! 

 

Safran champions

Safran not only encourages its employees to practice sports, it also supports the professional development of employees who are already accomplished athletes. In 2017 Safran signed a partnership agreement with the French National Institute of Sport, expertise, and performance (INSEP). Under the terms of the agreement, Safran presents its career opportunities to athletes at INSEP and, above all, helps them prepare for job interviews while proposing tailored training programs. In turn, INSEP has pledged to identify and select top athletes to take part in job interview simulations and training proposed by the Group.

 

Safran actually counts quite a few top athletes among its staff. One of the prime examples is Clément Maynadier, a rugbyman, who began with the Sporting Club Albigeois before continuing his career at Union de Bordeaux-Bègles. He played at the international level as a member of the French team during the Six Nations tournament in 2017, and is also an M88 technical support engineer at Safran Aircraft Engines.

 

Another Safran champion is Kevin Le Cunff, a preparation technician at the Commercial Engine division of Safran Aircraft Engines, who became a professional cyclist with the HP BTP-Auber 93 cycling team in 2017. Then there’s Vincent Ricard, an equipment production engineering manager who also works at Safran Aircraft Engines and who competed at two Winter Olympic Games (Sochi in 2014 and Pyeongchang in 2018) as a member of the French 4-man bobsleigh team.   

 

Safran and sports: shared values

All athletes at Safran agree that there are considerable similarities between practicing a sport and working in a company, notably professionalism, concentration, team spirit and a willingness to challenge yourself. French university boxing champion and engineer trainee at Safran Transmission Systems, Naoufal finds that the control and self-knowledge he cultivates in his sport helps him in everyday life as well. James, who holds a world record in powerlifting and is a methods engineer on the military engine assembly line at Safran Aircraft Engines, applies his knowledge of postures and actions to advise colleagues on how to safely carry heavy loads. The similarities between professional and sports activities are summed up by Eric, who at 54 was crowned France’s Senior Marathon champion in 2017*; Eric emphasizes his fundamental principle: “Never give up and always give your utmost.”  

 

*Time: 2h36’54’’

 

Did you know?

Safran took part in World Company Sports Games at La Baule on France’s Atlantic coast at the end of May, sending a delegation of 70 athletes. The 2018 games counted 6,000 competitors from 50 countries. For five days they vied for medals in 25 disciplines, including track and field, swimming, cycling, soccer, basketball, volleyball, sailing and chess.