« The most important thing is to regularly raise employees’ awareness of ethical issues and to make the systems accessible and scalable. »
Since 2021 and the drafting of the company’s Ethics Charter, Rizlaine Saghraoui, ECT’s Administrative, Financial and HR Director, has been the Group’s ethics referent. This mission places it at the heart of the company’s business transparency and anti-discrimination policy.
How do you approach the role of ethics consultant?
With enthusiasm! And in collaboration with all managers. The work on defining the charter was very collaborative. Employees from all departments were involved, and the exercise was very free. Our core values – respect, leadership and excellence – reflect the company. My department is, de facto, at the crossroads of many ethical issues; by being a referent, I am able to deploy a shared commitment to our employees and stakeholders.
How can we perpetuate this shared ethical commitment?
It’s up to each and every employee to make the company’s values their own, and to put them into practice in their day-to-day work. We expect our relationships with our stakeholders to be based on mutual respect for these values. Once this has been said, we need to identify and assess exposure risks in each department, prioritize them and formalize clear, efficient procedures. The most important thing is to raise employee awareness on a regular basis, and to make the systems accessible and scalable. It’s a big job, and we’re planning departmental sessions on these subjects in the autumn.
What measures have been put in place to ensure fair practices with all stakeholders?
ECT has « zero tolerance » for corruption and anti-competitive behavior. We favor collegial decision-making, with management involvement. Financial flow control procedures require several levels of validation, both internal and external. We carry out consistency checks and a posteriori analyses. Anti-corruption procedures apply to all employees, suppliers, customers and stakeholders. Confidence is strengthened by good practices that promote business transparency.
And what about the fight against discrimination and harassment?
These subjects are often complex and difficult to grasp. I received specific training on the subject. Understanding the criteria and the legal framework is fundamental. Fighting harassment requires compulsory procedures, but also a climate of trust, and that’s a big part of my role. Equal opportunities must cover the entire HR process: recruitment, hiring, training, pay and promotion. We favor a collegial structure, fine-tune our indicators and carry out regular checks on each department. In the field, equality between men and women is a real challenge. We’ve just hired our first female public works machine operator on a professionalization contract!
