Companies invited to collect “the memory” of their employees

“A people who forget their past have no future,” said the great British statesman, Winston Churchill. The B2V Memory Observatory supports a company in its memory approach, relying on a scientific method. Details from Sarah Lemoine.

Does the concept of memory apply to businesses? The B2V Memory Observatory has embarked on this new project with a pilot project within the Michelin group. The Clermont-Ferrand tire manufacturer chose to collect the RAM of 20 employees.

franceinfo: Without memory, can businesses continue to prosper?

Sarah Lemoine: This question was at the center of an event organized on September 7, 2023, in Lille, by the social protection group B2V, which created the “Observatory of Memories” in 2013. A space dedicated to reflection, research, and the dissemination of knowledge around individual, collective or digital memory.

A year ago, this observatory embarked on a new project: corporate memory. With the conviction that, in a rapidly changing world, the collection and transmission of knowledge and know-how are essential to innovate and face the crises of tomorrow. To also bring together young and senior employees in groups sometimes stretched by teleworking.

What does the B2V Memory Observatory actually offer?

In return for a financial contribution to its endowment fund, the Observatory supports a company in its memorial process, relying on a scientific method. Supporting example: the pilot project within the Michelin group. The Clermont Ferrand tire manufacturer chose to collect the RAM of 20 employees, close to retirement or already retired. For two hours, they are interviewed individually about their journey, their daily life in the factory and in the company, and the developments they have experienced.

The interviews are developed with historians and neurologists. “Michelin’s bias in this approach is the life story”, explains Anne Kieffer, responsible for partnerships at the Observatory. The project also consists of capturing and analyzing the know-how and technical gestures that disappear with retirement. The final restitution of this collection to Michelin is announced for the month of September.

To raise awareness among businesses, the Observatory has just created ongoing training at Paris Dauphine University?

It is a 70-hour training course, spread over 10 months, which begins next fall. It is aimed at HR managers, members of executive committees, directors of innovation or organizational consultants. Its promise is to learn how to preserve and pass on the know-how of experts and seniors in the company. And to promote the knowledge and heritage of organizations.