Two policy choices in particular have emerged to become corporate priorities for the years ahead: .
1. Modernizing managing practices, and .
2. Breaking with tradition in the employment field.
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Far from the problems of the nineties, the SNCF already started its mutation. Their aim is to advance from the enormous French institution to a real company, to progress from a simple train business to a competitive service provider .
During the last decade social climate was tense due to :.
considerable number of strikes.
lack of social dialogue between unions and the directorship.
lack of customer-orientation.
In 1997 the situation became unbearable for both sides, customers and workers. Customers stating: "The product is good, but too expensive, too complicated and non accessible."" At the same time, employees afraid of loosing their old entitlements launched one of the biggest strikes in SNCF's history.
Employees felt as subordinates and not as win-win partners. The feeling of working for an organization that provided them with something in return was missing. The company offered no:.
- opportunity to develop themselves.
- encouraging environment.
- access to skills, information and support from a knowledge-generating team.
Additionally, the French railway market is going to be liberalized soon. As in service competition the manufacturer logic has to be replaced by new service logic, the SNCF was obliged to introduce a variety of internal activities and processes to develop service-orientation and the interest in customers and marketing.
In this report we try to analyse these strategic issues taken by the SNCF to counter their various problems.
The time for change and adaptation.
As a service company dedicated to the customer, the new SNCF brings into play the synergies of a broad group of companies and positions itself as a major operator in travel and logistics in Europe.
Need To Improve Labour Relations .
