Interview with : Valérie Sauteret, Director of Communications and Head of Corporate Citizenship at Barclays Bank France

What is the "Make A Difference" programme?

Valérie Sauteret - Every year for more than 12 years, the Barclays Group has mobilised more than 20,000 employees in 29 countries around the "Make A Difference Day" programme. In France, we started this Make A Difference Day in 2010. Today, nearly 250 of the bank's employees take part in solidarity days every year, in October and November, for around fifteen different associations in the Paris region, Bordeaux, Nice, Lyon and Toulouse. The aim is to unite them and encourage them to donate not money, but time and energy.

How do these days work?

V.S. - Volunteers take a day out of their working day to help an association in a variety of ways: renovating accommodation for young people in precarious situations, running environmental protection awareness workshops in classrooms, accompanying a group of sick children or young single mothers on an outing, helping to write CVs and covering letters, workshops to transfer skills in managing personal finances, creating sensory charts to help children with autism learn, preparing meals with young people from food donations and then distributing them to people in need... As you can see, there are many possibilities!

How do you select your partner associations?

V.S. - We rely on Unis-Cité's knowledge of the associative fabric, as it is a pioneer in civic service in France. In fact, Unis-Cité has a whole network of relationships with leading and trusted associations to organise civic service missions for thousands of young people every year in France. We are asking Unis-Cité not only to put us in touch with associations that make sense in terms of our "Citizenship" policy, which focuses on supporting disadvantaged young people, but also to help us put together a real catalogue of solidarity actions available to our volunteer employees. Finally, Unis-Cité supports us in the field, during our employees' solidarity days.

Do you have any examples of other initiatives you have developed in addition to Make A Difference Day?

V.S. - In 2007, we set up Barclays Solidarité, an internal committee made up of representatives from all the bank's departments. The aim of this unit is to support local community projects initiated or proposed by employees. Even today, this committee meets every month and chooses to provide financial support for one or two projects, provided that they are presented by one of our colleagues and that they are aimed at our favourite cause: supporting the younger generation to help them integrate more fully into society. In parallel, we have two programmes that mobilise volunteer employees around the idea of skills transfer: the 'Rêve et Réalise' programme with Unis-Cité and 'La Mini Entreprise' with Entreprendre Pour Apprendre. In both cases, we are organising master classes that will enable our employees to coach young people in order to pass on financial and entrepreneurial skills, as well as social skills such as how to present themselves or build a network.

What does this civic involvement mean for your employees?

V.S. - Our employees tell us that they appreciate the fact that they can rediscover themselves personally and mutually through the experience of volunteering and through contact with young people. In this way, personalities are revealed! They also find that these experiences enable them to reconnect with people. It's an enriching experience both personally and for the company.