EDF’s TAMA initiative aims to transform the way its people work together

TAMA – which stands for “work differently, manage differently” in French – is the name of a new initiative at EDF. After the first lockdown, during which a third of its employees were working from home, the group decided to come up with a new business model for itself moving forward.

An outcome of the back-to-business agreement (1) negotiated in June with labour groups, the initiative aims to “boost employee engagement and team cohesion” and apply lessons learned from the pandemic, such as new collaboration methods.

More than just building on positive experiences, it also involves finding the right balance to maintain team dynamics and meet the different needs of its employees: 70% want to keep working from home, while the same percentage also report missing workplace interactions.

The first step was to expand the criteria for eligibility to a hybrid model, which will eventually be made universal. By encouraging managers to redefine positions, HR hopes to avoid having categories of staff left out of the system.

As for on-site days, which are important for maintaining working relationships, a number of tried and tested approaches (staggering schedules to avoid congestion, working occasional days at other sites) will be considered for more wide-scale use.

¹ Collective agreement on employee protections and social measures for the resumption of business activities.