PSA Peugeot Citroën

Functions: I worked in PSA Peugeot-Citroen from November 2008 to April 2012.

I've had various positions within the company, but the main one I held abroad and at Headquarters was that of internal controller.
This was to ensure the good implementation of the internal control in the subsidiaries of Banque PSA Finance (Bank financing automotive, a subsidiary 100% of the Group PSA Peugeot Citroën)

I was in charge of the monitoring of 5 subsidiaries, mainly in Europe and South America. With my colleagues, we provide methodological assistance to controllers as a subsidiary.
We are also, through sporadic audits, lack of resources within the different countries (vacancy, lack of experience of the controller or even long absence).
Our last mission was to prepare the quarterly audit committee and give an overview of the coverage in terms of operational risks of our subsidiaries, the members of this Committee.
We also manage the closure of the recommendations of the ACP (prudential, ex-Bank of France) in collaboration with these support functions at Headquarters.

Assessment: The assessment that I have drawn from my years spent in this company is quite ambiguous.

In professional terms, the balance sheet is more than positive. I was accompanied from the beginning and very quickly, the people in place were able to trust me. This is obviously due to the lack of Chronicle that sustained the company.
Abroad, after 2 months of experience, I was already sitting in the Executive Committee and spoke on operational, legal topics...

In Central, we were aware of the problems, embezzlement, difficult situations and I have learned to manage.
Professionally, I am out of school without anything know and very quickly, I got lots of skills.

In human terms, this is different. I met people very well who knew how to trust me and make me grow. I have colleagues with whom I am still in contact and who are people of quality. Their loyalty to the company is impressive. Even if Peugeot is deemed to ill to pay its employees, these individuals continue to live for the group.

However, in terms of management, the balance sheet is more than negative. Apart from two people of value, the rest of the Peugeot management is for me more that failed. There is an inability to manage conflict, to break the baronnies, to purge the incompetent in this society.

PSA Peugeot-Citroen faces colossal losses and only people at the bottom of the scale are dismissed. The incompetent principals are continually mutated with promotion. This box is sclerotic and cannot advance that by changing this mentality of paternalistic management. I have had the policy in the corridors as a result of one of my audits. For not to offend the ego of a Director, my N + 1 and N + 2 have not hesitated to dissociate itself from me...

Skills obtained: As I said previously, the lack of resources implies that employees of PSA are obliged to be multi-functional.

For my part, I have studied finance and was recruited as an internal controller. Therefore, I did not know what was the profession of internal controller / auditor.
I have gained all of the control methodology, namely the sampling, analysis of documents, the drafting of the audit report, as well as the preparation and the follow-up of the recommendations. I therefore acquired all the skills of listener.
I also learned the operation of the company with its codes and its obligations.

Internship, I was at school, namely that I was dealing with all my colleagues in the same way.
I learned within Peugeot-Citroën, that all employees are not equal, that some people are more "respectable" than others. I learned to create me a network society, which allowed me to make me hire in France after my experience as life.

Strengths: There are I think two strong points within the company.

First of all, men and women who make it up.
As I have said previously, these people demonstrate a loyalty that I've rarely seen elsewhere. There is a true spirit of Peugeot. This company often does work entire generations. Working at PSA from father to son (or daughter), or on the production lines in Montbéliard in the Avenue de la Grande Armée offices. Even paid below the market, people don't imagine not leaving the company.

The second strong point of this company is the ability to make a career.
Youth, volunteers, that bureaucracy and stagnation turn off can very well make a career within Peugeot. There are good prospects abroad (China, Latin America, Russia, Europe) and trades are extremely varied.

You don't ask me the question of weak points, but I would like to list them, because it seems to me that this might be important.
I'll not, develop them for the sake of brevity, but it should still talk about.

The weak point is clearly the shareholding of the Peugeot family, which makes this cushy society and did not take the measure of the world in which it evolved.
The second weak point is the top management and middle management who take up positions of responsibility, without ever taking any. All of the effort affects small employees. In addition, all decisions are in a hurry and are not thoughts. Patrons like the shareholders have no strategic vision in the medium or Long term (the product mix seems faulty)

Which I appreciated: What I particularly enjoyed at Peugeot, it is the development of my skills.

Advice to candidates : if I could give advice, it would be to work at PSA for 3 or 4 years professional and then go to work for a company that is leader in its segment or a dynamic and innovative SMEs.