HERMÈS - 2018 Registration document

Corporate social responsibility

People: savoir-faire

The various Leather Goods divisions (Franche-Comté, Val de Seine, Savoie-Dauphiné, Sud-Ouest, Maroquinerie de Sayat; Maroquinerie de Guyenne) are piloting a number of projects aimed at supporting the strengthening of savoir-faire in the leather métiers. This can be seen in partnerships with the École Boudard and the Fongecif de Bourgogne, where a new training programme for cutters is being launched; co-de- velopment workshops to enable managers to share and solve delicate managerial situations: the creation of a booklet of best sewing practices; a preservation plan covering glove savoir-faire (sewing, hand-stitching and shaping of gloves). HermèsMaison created a training programme onmaterials and finishes for a wide audience (Collections Development personnel, Technical per- sonnel, Sales personnel) in order to disseminate general knowledge in this field. Beyrand focused on the development of employee versatility to give flexibility to the organisation. The printer’s “Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant” certification was renewed, confirming its status as a living heri- tage company. La Cristallerie de Saint-Louis made significant efforts to boost manage- rial skills through co-development workshops, training for annual evalua- tion interviews, and local manager training. At Puiforcat, the transmission of savoir-faire is accompanied by a more detailed and progressive follow-up. This process was set up in 2018 to improve the passing-on of knowledge between masters and appren- tices. It currently covers the métiers of Planisher, Silversmith, Polisher and Engraver. This year, one of the young craftsmen was awarded a Silversmithing diploma (CAP d’Orfèvre), marking a new step in his development. External training continued through the renewal of the Engraving course at Ecole Boulle. Hermès Commercial introduced operators to all aspects of the supply chain through a programme called “La logistique de A à Z” in which three sessions were offered to all those working in the preparation of orders on a daily basis. The division also set up the Switch programme, dedicated to developing the logistics operators’ versatility so they can broaden their range of skills in order to meet the logistics department’s needs and diversify their activities. Retail Academies Providing our customers in each of our stores with service that matches the quality of our products is a constant goal. The sales associates are trained via the Sales & Service Ambassadors programme created by the Group HR department and rolled out locally. In 2018, 59 sessions enabled 706 employees to improve their customer welcoming skills and adopt elegant and positive attitudes towards all people entering the stores. The Sales & Service Leader programme, launched in 2017 by the Group HR department, continued to be rolled out in Europe and Latin America. Through a set of two sessions focused on team management and the manager’s relationship with each employee, the programme gives store managers the means to become the real bosses and entrepreneurs of their local projects. This is a way of reasserting the importance of their role and the commercial strategy.

This programme was also provided to the Travel Retail teams of the Boissy Retail Korea branch in Korea and in the rest of Asia. The Sales & Service Leader programme was also rolled out in the Japan Academy for the 60 store managers. In Latin America, all store managers were able to improve their manage- rial skills through Sales & Service Leader training sessions. In the United States, HOP organised six training sessions, following the first wave of rollouts in 2018. The Hermès Greater China Academy organised six sessions of the Sales & Service Leader programme in various cities in Greater China. The H Change programme enabled 15 sales associates to spend two weeks in a store on another market to learn from another team and a different context. Such exchanges of viewpoints are beneficial for both the host store and the visiting sales associate. Some 100 managers of Hermès Greater China met in Shanghai at a seminar on the topic of “emotion”. Through ten sessions of the Retail Developer métier programme – which is linked to the Sales & Service Leader programme, also initiated by the Group HR department in 2017 – 266 store managers and assistant store managers frommost of our regions were able to improve their spe- cific technical skills: coordination of customer relations and customer services, management of the product offering, key performance indi- cators, etc. In 2018, Hermès Parfums created the Perfume & Beauty Academy to support the métier’s growth strategy and to use training as a real employee development lever. A 2-day seminar brought together 90 Hermès Parfums managers to raise their awareness of its values, the métier’s ambition, and their role as active players in its transformation. John Lobb placed special emphasis on the way customers are welcomed in the stores by makingmystery visits to assess the quality of the service. In addition, a 4-module customised training programme was provided to sales associates. In Asia, the teams in charge of Visual Merchandising shared their prac- tices and were stimulated with new ideas at a seminar. Results In 2018, Hermès Group devoted 243,781 hours to training, inclu- ding 108,256 in France (excluding apprenticeships and apprentice contracts). Some36,550 training activities took place (this figure corres- ponds to the total number of trainings followed; any one employee may have followed several training activities during the year), i.e. an average of 6.7 hours per training activity. Training costs in France (invoicing in 2018 of external and intra-group training) amounted to €3,264 thou- sand. This number does not reflect the entire training effort, since it does not include métier training directly at the workspace. Hermès is continuing to develop its growth model based on a culture of continuous progress. In particular, this involves supporting employee development in order both to nurture excellence and efficiency in terms of savoir-faire and operations, and to preserve employability, ensure a solid understanding of the Company’s culture and provide a consistent managerial culture that is a source of value. 2.2.1.3

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2018 REGISTRATION DOCUMENT HERMÈS INTERNATIONAL

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