Advancement and mobility

Each year, some 200 employees transfer jobs in the Group, either by changing subsidiaries or through internal mobility, i.e. through promotions or a change in job functions within the same company. Mobility provides an excellent opportunity to enhance skills and meet new challenges in France and abroad.

Stéphanie Lehoux Bouvier, APRIL Moto (formerly AMT Assurances)

After receiving an advanced vocational certificate in insurance from ENASS in Lyon in 2000, I joined APRIL in July of the same year as a client relations specialist in the product department at the Avandia subsidiary.

I advanced to the position of dedicated manager at Avandia, which later became APRIL IARD. I was responsible for processing the files of the company's 20 largest brokers.

I had to leave APRIL IARD in May 2004 to follow my husband to Touraine, where I was quickly hired as a production manager by APRIL Moto after submitting an unsolicited application.

Three years later, AMT Assurances was acquired by APRIL and I became an assistant to the production manager. In January 2008, I had the opportunity to take a job as production manager. I have also been serving as the "quality" contact person for APRIL Moto since January 2011.

Françoise Louberssac, APRIL Entreprise Prévoyance

After studying law, I began my career at ALP (which wasn't yet an APRIL company) in the corporate enrolment department (management of AGIRC¹ and ARRCO² mandatory supplementary pension plans and personal protection-health).

Four years later, in 1989, when a regional office was created in Lyon to administer AGIRC-ARRCO mandatory supplementary pension plans, I seized the opportunity to join this agency after a partnership agreement was signed with APRIL Santé Prévoyance (formerly APRIL Assurances), then the newcomer in the market. The goal was to combine skills and expand by offering startups an innovative package of pension, personal protection and health insurance. The group's employees, myself included, were assigned to manage the entire package.

I admired APRIL employees for their sense of client service and their energy and responsiveness, so I decided to join them in January 1992. I joined the external relations department so I could promote a group benefit plan to the distribution network.

I then became a sales manager and later a manager responsible for the group plans. In 2003, when APRIL Santé Prévoyance decided to organise itself by markets, I was appointed head of the Corporate and Managers market until the end of 2007.

After the Group was reorganised by business line, it decided to turn APRIL Santé Prévoyance's corporate sector into a subsidiary under an independent legal structure. As a project manager for the transfer, I was named managing director of APRIL Entreprise Prévoyance.

David DRAY, APRIL Santé Prévoyance

As a music lover since childhood and with a degree in broadcasting, I began my career in the entertainment field as a sound engineer for a public service channel. However, my precarious employment status and the lack of a network made it difficult to establish a career. So I made the decision to leave the Paris area and live with my wife in our home town of Lyon.

Seeking retraining and stability, I took advantage of a year of unemployment to go back to school (not easy to hit the books again!). My plan was to become a teacher so I got an undergraduate degree in education. At the same time, I worked at call centres part-time and full-time in Lyon and the Paris area for several years.

In late October 2005, I became a temporary worker at APRIL Santé Prévoyance (formerly APRIL Assurances); my job was to help the client relations staff with payment transactions for the credit insurance market. The assignment ended up lasting three months and gave me the time to get ready for the IUFM exam³.

I discovered a technical environment – insurance – and a company that recognises its employees, treats them with respect, considers training important and ensures that new employees make a smooth transition to their new role. I was delighted with the company, which really stood out from the workplaces I knew from the odd jobs I did at audiovisual production companies and "traditional" call centres.

I was very happy to join APRIL Santé Prévoyance on a permanent contract in February 2006 as a technical sales engineer. I worked in that job for a year and a half. What I liked most was working on a team, the projects I participated in and the brokers' and clients' appreciation of the advice that I provided.

I then moved up to a supervisory position. My job consisted of managing call flows and supporting employees as they improved their phone skills, while using my sales experience to manage policies with special risks. This very valuable experience also gave me a better understanding of the office manager profession.

In September 2008, my supervisory position changed; I was reassigned to overseeing management's call flows and supporting all employees because markets were reorganised. I then had an opportunity to meet people working on health and personal protection policies and, of course, to learn more about these two other ranges.

In September 2010, my manager assigned me management of the Greater Eastern division, which involves managing back and front office operations as they relate to individual and professional credit, health and protection insurance policies. This responsibility is especially interesting and enriching because it requires continually being attentive and explaining why we do what we do.

My career at APRIL Santé Prévoyance is just one example among others and shows that this company is always concerned about helping people reach their goals. I think its success owes a great deal to employees who want to give the best of themselves every day and to managers who are trying to find ways to provide excellent working conditions in a very tight, competitive market.

Émilie Golbery, APRIL Santé Prévoyance

In 1998 at the age of 20, I arrived at APRIL Santé Prévoyance (formerly APRIL Assurance) on a work-study contract as part of my advanced vocational certificate program in insurance. I worked as a client relations specialist and once I received my diploma, APRIL offered me a permanent contract. In December 2000, I moved up to a sales support position then, in 2002, became a sales representative.

After seven years with the sales department, I had a desire to pass on my knowledge and experience by becoming a trainer. Since November 2010, APRIL Santé Prévoyance has given me responsibility for the training department, a job I find completely fulfilling and a real personal and professional challenge.

When I took my first steps at APRIL, I was only a child without any job experience. APRIL allowed me to grow and has always given me the opportunity to advance. I took the chance and APRIL supported me!

Christèle Douy, Coris International

I worked for 10 years as an accounting manager (four years) and management controller (six years) for a large retail franchise.

In 2006, I joined the APRIL GROUP as a financial controller for APRIL Développment, which managed the subsidiaries handling corporate and individual accounts at the time. When divisions were created, I joined the "individuals" division. In January 2010, I became an administrative and financial manager for Moral Caraïbes and Assurdom Gestion, both located in France's overseas departments and territories – in Guadeloupe and La Réunion, respectively.

Since 1 February 2011, I have been an international financial controller at the Coris Group taking care of about 20 subsidiaries, mainly located in Eastern Europe.

The APRIL GROUP lives up to its image and is a very dynamic company, as my career with the Group proves; its mobility policy has given me regular opportunities for advancement.

1 - AGIRC : Association générale des institutions de retraite des cadres – a mandatory supplementary pension plan for white collar workers and managers
2 - ARRCO : Association des régimes de retraites complémentaires – a mandatory supplementary pension plan for blue-collar workers
3 - A national exam required of students who wish to become a teacher in a public primary school