Stormshield believes that our individual characteristics and differences are what give us our collective strength. These differences are a source of considerable synergy: in a company, everyone has a place to fill and a role to play. That’s why we want to change the way disability is viewed, and we’re doing everything possible to get Stormshielders involved in this process. Dorine Gambart, Human Resources manager and Disability advisor, explains more.

The question of disability is still burdened with a number of stereotypes today. We use a variety of awareness campaigns to help our staff change the way they think about disability issues… and provide the most effective support to those who need it in their daily lives. Every year, we go beyond basic awareness campaigns to encourage Stormshielders to get involved in practical initiatives on this issue, which is close to our hearts.

In recent years, for example, we have broadcast video clips featuring testimonials from people with disabilities, set up hotlines of advisors available to answer anonymously submitted questions, and also organised collective events such as blind tastings.

In 2019, as part of European Disability Employment Week, we decided to form an innovative partnership with the Papillons Blancs de Paris mental disability charity. We organised sales of brioche pastries to our employees and paid all of the proceeds directly to this association. Keen to play their part, Stormshield’s management decided to match the financial giving total! We are very proud of this initiative, in which nearly a hundred Stormshielders were involved. And, of course, we hope to be able to increase our involvement still further in the next few years.

In 2019, nearly 130 employees made contact with advisors from our partner organisation (France Intégration Handicap, FIH), either for themselves or on behalf of family and friends. To date, the advisors have identified some fifteen employees suffering with mental illness issues. They are currently being assisted in the proces of registering themselves accordingly with the HR department, after which their needs will be considered and adjustments made to their roles and working conditions.

Stormshield is committed to improving working conditions for employees living with such disabilities. Our flexibility, responsiveness and adaptability mean that we can meet every need, whether in terms of timetables, workstations or working methods. For example, one of our employees with a disability recently completed a work contract and needed to be assigned a new role within the company. As the employee in question was partially sighted, we provided support to them and the whole of their new team to ensure a smooth transition. We adapted their workstation to facilitate their integration into the new role. One of their colleagues even developed a voice recognition system which enabled the employee to code using the same system as the rest of the team – an act of solidarity which demonstrates that we can all make a difference!

Recently, Stormshield also appointed another Disability advisor to enable more of our employees to discuss and share their personal situations with dedicated staff.

Diversity and inclusion are values that bring our company to life, and we will continue to make progress in this direction as we devise new ways to energise our workforce. That’s what it means to work here at Stormshield!