Modernizing and digitizing HR administration at Vinci Autoroutes

Going paperless boosts the HR departments in the group’s three companies and enhances the brand’s image

Vinci Autoroutes began going paperless 5 years ago. The group includes three companies: Cofiroute, ASF and Escota that employ a total of 6,000 people. We have set up workshops in each company to modernize and digitize our HR processes. We wanted to increase productivity and have cutting-edge technology, while respecting the environment. We also wanted to optimize the onboarding of new employees. We started our first digitizing project in 2017 with the launch of our HR service portal, “MonaLisa”. This portal now offers comprehensive HR services that employees can access on their smartphones and tablets. Initially, these were only links to different external applications (health insurance, social security, etc.). Then, in 2018, we offered electronic of payslips in all three companies. This was the first important step towards our digitization. In March 2018, we continued our modernization with workshops to expand our digital HR services. In January 2019, we decided to offer an e-vault. Then, we started digitizing all the paper HR records through an external provider. In 2020, the V2 version of 'MonaLisa' was launched.  

Document management made easy 

The HR department now offers employees various digitized features such as: a personal e-vault, a personal record and e-signature for these administrative documents. We use eIDAS-compliant Docusign technology for electronic signatures.  

The employee portal includes an HR knowledge base with numerous articles to get to know our 3 companies better, as well as HR forms to easily send data and documents. The processes are all automated. Signing on is easy (SSO – Single Sign-On) and can be done from a PC or smartphone. The library of HR articles and forms includes information on health and pensions, time savings accounts, managing absences and working hours, compensation and benefits, administrative procedures, career and mobility, employee savings schemes, life in the company, training and retirement. Depending on the type of forms, the workflows are different and routed to the departments concerned, the managers or the HR managers, or the payroll department.  

More than 60 articles have been written and about twenty forms have been filed, sorted by category and made accessible 24/7 since the portal opened on January 6, 2020. The HR library continuously grows based on the company’s activities and employees’ needs. Articles are updated by the HR teams. We have also set up a process for welcoming new employees. New hires are automatically greeted by our HR department and are asked to provide information online and complete and sign numerous administrative and contract documents.  

We have set up a classification scheme for the HR teams so they can easily find documents. All the HR records of the three companies have been sorted, scanned and stored based on such a classification scheme, in compliance with confidentiality and the GDPR.  

The effect of Covid on online processes 

Currently, the digitization rate is 83% and the rate of refusal to digitize only 17%. The pandemic reinforced our strategy, as we realized that the electronic vault could also be an effective tool for interacting with our employees and maintaining a connection, while informing them of the health rules requiring compliance and providing them with the documents they needed. During this period, many employees saw how effective paperless processing can be. In 2020, 3,400 documents were signed using digital signatures. During lockdown periods, requests for forms increased greatly. In order to get all employees on board, we launched communication campaigns with “All Connected” posters, push mailing, connected Cafés, as well as articles and videos.  

Online digitized processes have changed our HR practices and eliminated the use of paper (nearly 200,000 payslips per year) and significantly reduced email and physical exchanges with HR teams. Employees have now become accustomed to communicating via their professional smartphones. Each month we have new requests to continue to modernize our HR offering. This is good for our Vinci Autoroutes brand image both with employees in the company and future hires.  

Stéphanie Talbot,
Payroll and HRIS Manager ESCOTA - VINCI AUTOROUTES