Optimizing shared governance with Rolebase

How to represent a complex organization in a simple way? How to get a precise snapshot of your team at any given moment? Rolebase is the answer to these questions.

A PRESSING NEED

At EVEA, we were 60 three years ago. Today, in February 2024, we've grown to 140! Our professions have evolved with regulations and the needs of our clients. A simple PowerPoint slide update was no longer sufficient to visualize the structure and organization of our Scop (French cooperative and participative company).

Moreover, our teams are spread across 3 sites in France (Nantes, Lyon, Troyes), with some team members working remotely from other cities. They are segmented into different skillset poles (IT and Development, Building, Goods and Services, Agro-resources and Green Chemistry, Social Footprint, Administrative Service, Training, R&D, Climate, support teams). These poles are further divided into several circles of sectoral expertise (agriculture and food, cosmetics, textiles, packaging, eco-innovation, etc.; listing them all would take about ten lines).

Added to this are thematic working groups and all the interrelationships specific to the shared governance model. Visualizing EVEA in a simple and straightforward way was akin to navigating the twists and turns of an unknown river with a hand-drawn map.

A SIMPLE AND PRACTICAL TOOL

Several online solutions were considered, but it was at a trade show in Nantes (France) that Jean-Baptiste Puyou, CEO and founder of EVEA, discovered Rolebase in a conversation with Godefroy de Compreignac, from Product Studio Lonestone.

His team was in the testing phase of an open-source software solution called Rolebase, designed to "simplify the life [of] teams." After several tests, we adopted this tool, primarily for its organizational chart functionality.

Rolebase goes beyond a simple organizational chart. It's a giant directory, a map in the form of circles ("roles"). With the mouse wheel, you can zoom in to see the faces of team members or zoom out to visualize the major entities structuring the company, depending on the desired level of precision.

With Rolebase, we finally have the exact image of what EVEA is at any given moment: which entities are "business," which ones are "support," which ones are in governance. Clicking on a circle opens a sidebar with detailed information about its purpose or responsibilities. With one click, a new team member profile is added or moved from one team to another based on the vagaries of our activities.

At 140 faces, we know exactly who is who, who does what, in which teams. One person can have multiple roles; for example, an LCA and eco-design consultant can also be a member of the CSE, part of the methodology working group, a trainer, bilingual in Spanish, and an avid rock climber.

Farewell to traditional organizational charts, headshots, and long presentations to newcomers! For my role as head of external and internal communication, Rolebase has become an essential tool to present EVEA from all angles, even in front of partners, clients, or during the recruitment process.

To optimize your governance and modernize your company's organizational representation, we can only recommend Rolebase. And since they are our office neighbors in Nantes, we know the quality of the people behind it. ■

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Damien Delmotte, Brand & Communication Manager