Rewiring managerial DNA: Two years into its training program, AREAS France counts the gains
Through AREAS France's ambitious management training program, co-designed with emlyon business school, cultural transformation is taking shape. Just two years after its launch, over 50 manager recommendations have been adopted and behavioral shifts are already visible on the ground. Here, AREAS France takes stock.
From training to action: Over 50 recommendations adopted
The action learning approach, a cornerstone of the "Manager Leader" program, is bearing fruit. Sixteen groups from the first two cohorts have presented recommendations to the executive committee and over 90% of recommendations have been approved, producing around fifty action plans now being deployed.
These plans fall into two categories: structured management routines for day-to-day practice, and policy recommendations to support AREAS' broader strategy. They cover issues including talent attraction and retention, recognition, DE&I, and improving positive feedback practices to support operational performance. "It's the managers who tell us where to act. When recommendations come from those who experience day-to-day, on-the-ground reality, they are both more relevant and more readily accepted," says Henry Mottet.
“For each plan, we identify a leader responsible for driving deployment within the relevant departments. The first contributors we call upon are the members of the action learning group from which the idea originated. Typically, at least two participants volunteer to stay involved,” explains Sandrine Bocquelet.
The result is a virtuous circle: new cohorts can see that their predecessors' work leads to concrete change. 'This isn't a theoretical exercise – recommendations are actively being implemented. That makes people want to engage,' notes Henry Mottet."
The melting pot: How cross-functional mixing transforms practices
From the outset, AREAS France and emlyon business school mixed operational managers from the field airports, railway stations, motorway service areas with colleagues from headquarters, including IT, marketing, and finance.
This cross-functional diversity has quickly become one of the elements participants value most, disrupting established habits and producing remarkable effects. "It breaks down silos, enables people to discover and understand each other’s roles, and creates a culture of mutual support that didn't exist before,” says Sandrine Bocquelet. “Managers from completely different environments discover they share similar challenges and exchange best practices.”
It has also helped forge what Henry Mottet calls "cultural dual nationals": managers who feel genuine belonging to AREAS Group while remaining attached to their brand Starbucks, McDonald's or Paul, for example."We have demonstrated that brand strength and our group identity can coexist and reinforce one another," he says.
Sandrine Bocquelet confirms: "For brands with a strong concept like McDonald's, where managers sometimes identified more strongly with the brand's DNA than with the group's, the program has aligned everyone in the same direction. It generates genuine pride in belonging to AREAS."
Behavioral shifts observed in daily practice
The qualitative impact is just as significant as the numbers; participants describe the experience in terms "self-reflection", "stepping out of one's comfort zone" and "group cohesion" and the effects are visible within their teams.
"Employees tell us that their managers listen and collaborate more," reports Sandrine Bocquelet. "Some have genuinely rediscovered themselves, particularly at headquarters. They have learned to work in a new way." AREAS' six values collective strength, responsibility, commitment, innovation, passion for service, operational excellence are truly becoming a part of everyday operations.
For Henry Mottet, the systemic dimension is key: "The program is built on the principle of cross- hierarchical solidarity. Executive committee members are directly involved in monitoring the groups, and this shared experience strengthens cohesion across the entire management body."
Keys to a successful transformation
At this interim milestone, Henry Mottet would encourage any company to launch their own, similar, initiative with one condition.
"The key is total leadership alignment. First, the CEO and executive committee have to champion it with authenticity it's this support at the highest level that enables the entire management body to get on board. But it can't stop there,” he explains. “In a constantly changing world, a handful of senior leaders can't manage complexity alone. When managers are part of the thinking, they absorb new ways of working more naturally, and cascade them more effectively to their own teams.
Sandrine Bocquelet also points to the importance of academic partnership: “We wanted our managers to feel equipped with learning that could be applied immediately relevant to the catering sector, not overly theorectical and disconnected from their daily reality. emlyon business school delivered exactly that."
As the fourth cohort gets under way, AREAS France continues its transformation. For Henry Mottet, the "Manager Leader program's lasting value lies in what it has built beneath the surface: a common management culture that makes every subsequent HR initiative, policy rollout, and strategic shift easier to land. “Without this foundation, it's hard to act on the right things at the right time,” he concludes. “Culture, vision, a shared sense of purpose – that's where everything has to start.”