TELEPERFORMANCE SE Simpler. Faster. Safer.
2020
Universal Registration Document
CONTENTS
Teleperformance in 2020
Message from the Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer 4
Highlights for the year 2020 6
A value creative business model 8 Composition of the Management Committee
and the Board of Directors 10
Group and Risk Presentation
1.1 Group 14
1.2 Risks and control 47
Declaration of extra-financial performance
2.1 Business model 70
2.2 Key extra-financial issues and CSR strategy 72
2.3 An employer of choice 76
2.4 A trusted partner 89
2.5 A major social commitment 94
2.6 Promoting Teleperformance's environmental
responsibility 97
2.7 A recognized CSR policy 107
2.8 Methodology 109
2.9 Report by the independent third party
on the consolidated non financial statement 111
Corporate Governance
3.1 Governance 117
3.2 Remuneration of directors
and executive officers 159
3.3 Additional information
on corporate governance 203
Financial review
4.1 Review of the Group's financial position
and results 208
4.2 Review of the Company's financial position
and results 214
4.3 Trends and outlook 216
Consolidated financial statements
5.1 Consolidated statement of financial position 218
5.2 Consolidated statement of income 219
5.3 Consolidated statement of comprehensive
income 219
5.4 Consolidated statement of cash flows 220
5.5 Consolidated statement of changes in equity 221
5.6 Notes to the consolidated financial statements 222
5.7 Statutory auditors' report on the consolidated
financial statements 259
Parent company financial statements
6.1 Balance sheet - Assets 264 6.2 Balance sheet - Shareholders' equity
and liabilities 264
6.3 Income statement 265 6.4 Notes to the parent company financial
statements 266
6.5 Schedule of subsidiaries and investments 282 6.6 Statutory auditors' report
on the financial statements 285
6.7 Five-year financial information schedule 288
Information on the Company
7.1 Information about the company 290
7.2 Share capital 292
7.3 Shareholding 299
7.4 Stock market listing 302
7.5 Dividends 303
7.6 Financial communication 304
Additional information
8.1 Person responsible for the Universal
Registration Document 308
8.2 Statutory auditors 308
8.3 Cross-reference table to the Universal
Registration Document 308
8.4 Cross-reference table to the annual financial
report (and other information included) 311
8.5 Cross-reference table to the management
report 311
8.6 Cross-reference table to the corporate
governance report 313
8.7 Cross-reference table to the declaration
of non-financial performance 314
8.8 General observations 316
2020 Universal Registration Document
INCLUDING THE ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT
Incorporation by reference:
In application of Article 19 of Regulation (EU) No. 2017/1129, the following documents are incorporated by reference in this universal registration document:
1. Regarding the financial year ended December 31st, 2019:
The management report, the consolidated financial statements, the Company financial statements and the corresponding statutory auditors' reports contained in the universal registration document filed with the AMF on March 2nd, 2020 under number D.20-0091 (https://www.teleperformanceinvestorrelations.com/media/5470427/teleperformance-2019-universal-registration-document.pdf).
2. Regarding the financial year ended December 31st, 2018:
The management report, the consolidated financial statements, the Company financial statements and the corresponding statutory auditors' reports contained in the Registration Document filed with the AMF on March 4th, 2019 under number D.19-0093 (https://www.teleperformanceinvestorrelations.com/media/4502596/teleperformance-ddr-2018-vf.pdf).
The annual financial report included in the Universal Registration Document is a translation of the official version of the annual financial report which has been prepared in French, in format ESEF (European Single Electronic Format) and is available on the issuer's website.
The universal registration document has been filed on February 26th, 2021 with the French financial markets authority (AMF) as the competent authority pursuant to Regulation (EU)
No. 2017/1129, without prior approval in accordance with Article 9 of the Regulation.
The universal registration document may be used for the purposes of an offer of financial securities to the public or the admission of financial securities to trading on a regulated market if it is accompanied by a securities note and if applicable, a summary and all amendments to the universal registration document. The entire documentation then constituted is approved by the AMF in accordance with Regulation (EU) No. 2017/1129.
Teleperformance serves businesses and government agencies to help them solve the problems their clients' and citizens' face on a daily basis. The Group operates in an increasingly complex environment with regard to interaction channels, security, and disruptive technologies.
ACTIVITIES
Founded in 1978 by Daniel Julien, Teleperformance is a leading global Group in digitally integrated business services. It is the preferred high-tech, high-touch partner of market leading global companies undergoing rapid expansion, as well as government agencies. The Group implements digital strategies to optimize and transform their customer experience and other business processes to make interactions simpler, faster, safer.
Simpler. Faster. Safer.
SOLUTIONS
Teleperformance offers clients a comprehensive and integrated range of "One-Office" solutions broken down into three high value-added services:
Customer Experience | Back-office Services | Knowledge Services |
Services | ||
• Industry-specific services | • Consulting in organization | |
• Customer care | • Financial & accounting | and digital transformation |
• Technical support | • Human Ressources | • Advanced analytics |
• Sales | • Content moderation | • Automation and Artificial |
• Account receivable | • Visa application management | Intelligence |
• Interpreting & translation | & consulate services |
Teleperformance's unique service offering is underpinned by a high-tech, high-touch approach combining latest tech with emotional intelligence, which is the Group's underlying culture.
High-tech: empowered by technology
• Procedures and integrated cloud-based work-from-home solution
• Automation
• Omnichannel
• Security
High-touch: people helping people
• Human-centric and empathic customer experience
• Hiring, coaching and training for all positions, on-site or remotely
• A multicultural, inclusive, safe, diverse, and nurturing working environment
Global Leadership
Operating in 83 countries, Teleperformance is a multicultural Group with the largest geographical footprint in its core business market and has the capacity to manage programs in over 265 languages.
The Group has 1,000 clients and posted revenue of €5.7 billion, 50% of which is earned with multinational companies.
During 2020, Teleperformance shored up its global footprint by expanding and opening new sites as well as deploying work-from-home solutions. It also launched operations in new countries, such as in Nicaragua.
Un acteur citoyen
et respectueux
de l'environnement,
contribuant à la création
d'emplois et à l'économie
locale
clients
With a solid and dynamic business model, Teleperformance is committed to creating value for all its stakeholders and being:
83 | 265+ | 170+ | 1,000 | 380,000+ |
countries | languages | markets | employees |
TELEPERFORMANCE IN 2020
Message from the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
DANIEL JULIEN
CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
In 2020, Teleperformance set new growth records and demonstrated
THE RESILIENCE AND THE STRENGTH OF ITS BUSINESS MODEL as well as the agility of its organization in 83 countries, in the unique and uncertain context of global health crisis.
Like-for-like growth of nearly +12% for the year after a sharp acceleration in the fourth quarter to +23%, more than 250,000 people now working from home and the record number of countries certified as Best Employer, covering 87% of our global workforce, all attest that we've achieved our objectives and successfully tackled challenges to overcome the Covid-19 crisis.
In short, we have protected our employees' health, developed business with our clients and maintained the Group's financial strength. We have also pursued our acquisitions-led growth strategy in high-value services, announcing the acquisition of Health Advocate, a US-based healthcare cost management company.
With revenue close to €6 billion for the year, we consolidated our global leadership in outsourced omnichannel customer experience management in an increasingly digital environment.
The digital transformation and the constant quest for excellence in high-tech, high-touch strategy continue to underpin our value creation model. We're rapidly deploying TP Cloud Campus, our integrated solution for managing the customer experience remotely.
And we're continuing to invest in priority areas such as cybersecurity and employee health, as illustrated by our recent commitment to supporting Group employees worldwide with their Covid-19 vaccinations. Delivering an enhanced, more personalized customer experience that is 'simpler, safer, faster' is central to our vision. Maintaining our status as a Top Employer and taking action to support diversity and environmental responsibility are among our priorities. New, ambitious and results-oriented targets have therefore been set this year.
In 2021, we remain committed to our strategy of growth and progress for all our stakeholders. Thanks to Teleperformance's dynamic business development and accelerated transformation, we expect to continue growing our revenue by at least +9.0% like-for-like, while also widening our margins, creating jobs and deepening our commitment to corporate social responsibility.
We're also maintaining our financial targets for 2022, confident in our ability to continue
delivering effective solutions to meet our clients' ever-changing needs and our employees' aspirations. Their many messages of gratitude for our assistance in overcoming
Cosmos | Integrity the crisis are the best reward and the ultimateincentive to continue achieving our goals."
Cosmos | Integrity
I say what I do,
I do what I say
I say what I do,
I do what I say
Earth | Respect
I treat others with kindness and empathy
The five Teleperformance values underpin our corporate
Cosmos | Integrity
culture and business model while assuring world-class
I say what I do,
I do what I say
Earth | Respect
I treat others with services and solutions.
kindness and empathy
Metal | Professionalism
I do things right the very first time
Cosmos | Integrity
I say what I do,
I do what I say
Earth | Respect
I treat others with kindness and empathy
Metal | Professionalism
I do things right the very first time
Air | Innovation
I create and I improve
Cosmos | Integrity
I say what I do,
I do what I say
Earth | Respect
I treat others with kindness and empathy
Metal | Professionalism
I do things right the very first time
Air | Innovation
I create and I improve
Fire | Commitment
I am passionate and engaged
Fire | Commitment
Earth | Respect
I treat others with kindness and empathy
Metal | Professionalism
Metal | Professionalism
I do things right the very first time
Air | Innovation
Air | Innovation
I create and I improve
Fire | Commitment
I am passionate
I am passionate and engaged
The global health crisis linked to Covid-19 led many countries to implement country-wide lockdowns and travel bans.
This context brought the global economy into a phase of systemic crisis. The Group took all possible decisions to ensure, above all, the safety of its employees, jobs protection, and the continuity of business for its clients, following the recommendations of world health organizations and local authorities, as well as its financial strength.
THE MEASURES TAKEN TO OVERCOME THE CRISIS
A dedicated and efficient organization
The Teleperformance Global Business Continuity Model was quickly implemented worldwide. A dedicated internal organization led by Teleperformance's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and its Executive Committee, in close collaboration with its Board of Directors, has been set up to monitor the course of the epidemic and its impact on the Group's operations as well as the implementation of operational measures designed to weather the crisis. The organization comprised a new global task force known as the Crisis Transformation Committee (CTC), bringing together a hundred key Group managers. This new ecosystem has also enabled regular and efficient communication during the crisis with all Group employees as well as external stakeholders, notably employee representatives, clients and shareholders.
Health and safety of employees on-site
The Group has implemented a strict safety and hygiene policy throughout the world, overseen daily by a dedicated central team to guarantee in particular:
• adherence to guidelines and recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) and close collaboration with local governments;
• social distancing policies, frequent and reinforced cleaning of facilities with disinfection products as well as adequate availability for employees of sanitary supplies;
• the implementation of a strict "no travel" policy.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
• Teleperformance entered the CAC 40, the primary index of the Paris Stock Exchange, on June 19, 2020.
• Teleperformance announced on Octobre 27, 2020 it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Health Advocate, a leading
US‑based company specialized in integrated digital solutions in the field of consumer health management.
All the sites of the Group are 100% compliant with all hygiene standards. It also committed to support vaccinations for its employees worldwide in 2021.
Quick deployment of work-from-home
Teleperformance has implemented many emergency measures, such as work at home activations to guarantee business continuity for its clients, in compliance with the specific security standards and certification requirements in force. Teleperformance achieved a tour de force by deploying more than 200,000 agents on a work-from-home model in just two months at the height of the crisis. Through the rapid development of work-from-home, the Group was also committed to protecting employment. Today, Teleperformance employs more than 250,000 people working-from-home and is quickly deploying digitally integrated solutions dedicated to remote management of customer experience (TP Cloud Campus).
A key role for economies worldwide in crisis period
Around the world, Teleperformance employees are on the front lines, providing critical customer-facing and back-office services to many essential businesses in industries such as healthcare, logistics, energy and public sector. At the heart of the crisis and still today, Teleperformance is responsible for numerous emergency numbers and essential services set up by governments around the world (16 countries today) to fight against Covid-19.
Reinforced financial liquidity
At the height of the crisis, the Group had more than €1.5 billion, including cash and cash equivalents, to cope with crisis contingencies. On April 14, 2020, the Group's financial strength has been acknowledged by the S&P rating agency, which affirmed Teleperformance's BBB- Investment Grade credit rating with a stable outlook.
A FEAT RECOGNIZED BY THE EMPLOYEES,
THE CLIENTS AND THE PARTNERS OF THE GROUP
CLIENTS
Teleperformance's efforts to ensure business continuity are unanimously applauded by its clients, thanks to stickiness. 90% of Group's clients have adopted work-from-home solutions.
I want to say thank you and well done for all the hard work carried out in the last two weeks to set up the teams to work from home. It's been really impressive to see how proactive you have all been.
Teleperformance's support through these times, and its adaptability, confirms that we have chosen the right strategic partner.
PHOTOBOX ALBANIA
DESPEGAR LATIN AMERICA
Your team is doing a phenomenal job working with us right now. TP clearly stands out as the responsiveness has been off-the-charts amazing - virtually around the clock. I want to say thank you for the support you've given, and for aligning us with the best leaders and support model possible.
SIRIUSXM
UNITED STATES
EMPLOYEES
Since 2008, Teleperformance has been carrying out a large-scale employee satisfaction survey (E.Sat)
in order to better understand the perception that employees have of their activity. Following the survey carried out in 2020, the NPS™ (Net Promoter Score*) was significantly higher, reflecting increased employee satisfaction compared to the situation beforethe crisis. Among the main drivers of satisfaction, Teleperformance has managed to transfer the majority of its employees to work-from-home model in record time, which has generated a sense of belonging and pride among the employees. Internal opinion surveys launched during the pandemic showed that employees felt that they were actually listened.
I worked tirelessly to cover day shifts in the Philippines and U.S., to ensure our on-site employees had food and supplies during the lockdown.
ANGELA G
SENIOR DIRECTOR, GLOBAL ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT, PHILIPPINES
I did not ask myself any questions. I just wanted to honor the requests of the center and create the best possible working conditions to reassure the staff.
MARIUS S
GENERAL SERVICES MANAGER,
FRANCE
PARTNERS
Teleperformance's European Works Council, which brings together trade union representatives from 22 countries, applauded the measures taken by the Group and gave positive feedback on its commitment to hygiene standards and employee protection at the Group's European sites; among these are important workforce contributors such as Greece, Portugal, Spain and France.
* The NPS is calculated by subtracting the percentage of detractors (dissatisfied employees) from the percentage of promoters (satisfied employees).
Testimonies from
"TP Heroes": fully dedicated Group's employees
SUSTAINED GROWTH AND PROFITABILITY
Revenue | Current EBITDA | Current EBITA |
(€M) | (€M) | (€M) |
1,138 1,128
5,732
5,355
4,441
2018
+10.6%
LFL
2019
2020
Like-for-like growth
2018
2019
2020
Current EBITDA/revenue
764
735*
2018
2019
2020
Current EBITA/revenue
Net free cash flow
(€M)
487 400
Net result Group share (€M)
Dividend per share
(€)
2020
324
312
2018
282
2019
321
2018 2019
2020
Pay-out ratio
* Negative impact from TLScontact because of the Covid-19 crisis: -€79m on Group EBITDA and -€78m on Group current EBITA.
** Subject to shareholder approval at the Annual General Meeting, to be held on April 22, 2021.
A DIVERSIFIED PORTFOLIO OF ACTIVITIES
Middle East
1.90
2.40 2.40**
2018
2019
2020
Current EBITA breakdown by activity in 2020 vs 2019 (€M)
764
735
225
539
174
561
2019
2020
Specialized Services
SUSTAINABLE AND RESPONSIBLE GROWTH
A favorable work environment
EWAP
IBERO-LATAM
CEMEA
INDIA & ME
ChinaIndonesia
MalaysiaPhilippinesArgentinaBrazilColombiaCosta RicaAlbaniaEgyptGermanyGreeceIndiaSaudi Arabia
UAE
UKUSADominican RepublicEl SalvadorMexicoPeruPortugalSpain
KosovoMadagascarMoroccoRussia
28
Tunisia
87%
of the employees benefit from a work environment of excellence and well recognized*
countries certified Great Place to Work® or Best Places to work®
* Share of employees working in a subsidiary certified by the following independent organizations:
Great Place to Work® or Best Places to Work®.
Carbon footprintCommitment in favor of communities
0.495t carbon footprint tonne per employee
of which 17% renewable energy
*Collected to the NGO's, as part of the Citizen of the World program
€5.1M of donations in cash in any kind*
Evolution of total headcount
383,233
331,065
306,532
2018
2019
2020
Diversity and equality
in the Management Committee in management positions in the total headcount
A recognized CSR strategy
52% 45%
Share of women:
AAA rating by
TELEPERFORMANCE IN 2020
Teleperformance Management Committee
A seasoned and agile team to overcome the crisis and lead the transformation of the Group
MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE*
Composition currently composed of 32 members comprising all members of the Executive Committee and the main key operational and functional managers of the Group.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Daniel Julien
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
8
members
Miranda Collard
Group Chief Client
Officer
Éric Dupuy
President of Global Business Development
Agustin Grisanti
Group Chief Operating
Officer
Olivier Rigaudy
Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Group Chief Financial Officer
Scott Klein
President of Specialized Services
Leigh Ryan
Group Chief Legal, Compliance and Privacy
Bhupender Singh
President of Transformation
Officer
24
Group key managers
Human capital, research and development, security, technologies, transformation, business development, finance
* Comprehensive composition of the Management Committee available on the Group's website:www.teleperformance.com- section "About / Leadership".
Teleperformance Board of Directors
An expert, diversified and independent Board of Directors to set the Group's strategic orientations
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Emily Abrera
Alain Boulet
Bernard Canetti
Philippe Dominati
⁕
I
⁕
I
Evangelos Papadopoulos
Robert Paszczak
Leigh Ryan
⁕
I
C Chairman and CEOL Lead independent director
Board diversity policy
Daniel Julien
⁕
C
Pauline Ginestié
I
Christobel E.Selecky
I
I Independent director
Committed to diversity, increasingly international, predominantly independent.
64%
62.5%
Of independent members*
* Excluding directors representing the employees.
Jean Guez
Angela Maria Sierra‑Moreno
I
⁕
Terms of office expiring in 2021
Patrick Thomas
Director representing the employees
Véronique de Jocas
Wai Ping Leung
I
Stephen Winningham
L
I
⁕
I
43%
Of women*
Of non-French directors
Group and Risk Presentation
1.1
Group
14
1.1.1
Major stages of the Group's development 14
1.1.2 The Group's businesses 15
1.1.3 Group markets 21
1.1.4 Group strategy 30
1.1.5 2020 highlights 43
1.1.6 Organization chart (December 31st, 2020) 45
1.2 | Risks and control | 47 |
1.2.1. | Risk factors | 48 |
1.2.2 | Insurance, risk coverage | |
and crisis management | 59 | |
1.2.3 | Risk management and internal | |
control procedures | 60 | |
1.2.4 | Vigilance Plan | 65 |
1.1 GROUP
1.1.1
Major stages of the Group's development
1978-1995: Building Teleperformance's European leadership
1978
Teleperformance was founded in Paris by Daniel Julien, currently Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Initially, the Company's principal activity consisted of providing telemarketing services to French clients operating mainly in the media, financial services and insurance industries.
1986
The Company became French market leader and began to expand globally by opening subsidiaries in Belgium and Italy.
1988
The Company continued to expand in Europe, with new subsidiaries opened in Spain, Germany, Sweden and the UK.
1989
Daniel Julien and Jacques Berrebi joined forces at the head of Rochefortaise de Communication, parent company of Teleperformance International listed on the Paris Bourse. Ten years later, Rochefortaise Communication and Teleperformance International merged to form SR Teleperformance. This company was renamed Teleperformance in 2006.
1990
Teleperformance set up its first outsourced customer service centers and carried out its first customer satisfaction surveys.
1993
Teleperformance opened its first contact center in the US.
1995
Teleperformance became European market leader and continued to strengthen its market share over the following years with new subsidiaries in Switzerland, Norway, Greece, Finland, the Netherlands and Denmark.
1996-2007: Building Teleperformance's world leadership
1996
Teleperformance gained a foothold in Asia with the opening of contact centers in the Philippines, followed by Singapore.
1998
Teleperformance began operations in Latin America by acquiring companies in Brazil and Argentina. Four years later, Teleperformance continued its growth through the acquisition of a company in Mexico.
2003
The Group shifted its operations focus back on contact centers, gradually selling off its marketing services and health communication operations. In the same year, Teleperformance became the No. 2 global customer experience management provider.
2004
The Group continued to expand by moving into Eastern Europe: Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia, and two years later, Russia.
2007
The Group became the world leader in outsourced customer experience management thanks to the rapid growth of its international operations, both organically and through acquisitions.
2007-2015: Consolidating world leadership
2008
Teleperformance acquired The Answer Group, a big US technical support provider in the telecommunications, Internet access, cable TV, specialized retail and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) markets.
2009
Teleperformance reorganized its France-based legal entities and operations forming a new subsidiary Teleperformance France.
2010
Teleperformance significantly bolstered its UK presence by acquiring beCogent, primarily operating in the retail, financial services, telecoms and ISP markets. Meanwhile, Teleperformance pursued expansion in Latin America: after acquiring Colombia-based Teledatos in 2009, a subsidiary was set up in Costa Rica.
2011
Teleperformance adopted a Board of Directors structure; Daniel Julien became Chairman and CEO. A year later, co-founder Jacques Berrebi resigned from his position as Board advisor and stepped down from his operating duties.
2013
The Board of Directors separated the roles of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, appointing Daniel Julien as Chairman and Paulo César Salles Vasques as CEO.
2014
Teleperformance shored up its North American market share by acquiring Aegis USA Inc., a leading manager of US outsourced contact centers.
TLScontact, a Teleperformance outsourced services management subsidiary working for governments, started a contract with the UK government's Visas and Immigration Department (UKVI). Teleperformance ramped up its value-enhancing operations across the world by establishing visa application centers in 15 new countries.
2015
In addition, the Group consolidated its global leadership by adopting the legal form of a European company and the name Teleperformance SE.
Since 2016: Development of Specialized Services and stepping up Teleperformance's transformation into a leading global business services and integrated digital solutions provider.
2016
Teleperformance launched a new Specialized Services range provided by LanguageLine Solutions LLC, a US-based over-the-phone and video interpretation solutions leader, which it acquired in 2016 together with the TLScontact visa application and accounts receivable management (AllianceOne) business.
2017
The Group received its first public long-term credit rating, "BBB-" investment grade, the best financial rating of the sector, from Standard & Poor's (S&P). It successfully performed a €600 million seven-year bond issue. This issue helped fund the LanguageLine Solutions LLC acquisition.
In October, following the resignation of Paulo César Salles Vasques as Group Chief Executive Officer, the Board of Directors decided to combine the duties of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and appointed Daniel Julien as Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
He therefore assumed responsibility for the successful completion of the five-year plan announced during the year.
2018
Teleperformance created a new range of solutions: Teleperformance D.I.B.S. (Digital Integrated Business Services), which primarily covers the operations of Intelenet, a major value-enhancing and digital transformation services provider, which it acquired on October 4th, 2018, and the Praxidia advisory business launched in April 2018. The Intelenet acquisition was funded by a €750 million bond placement.
Teleperformance launched its new visual identity and 'TP' logo symbolizing its transformation and its new market focus on high value- added digital transformation integrated services.
2019
Teleperformance stepped up its transformation into a leading global group in digitally integrated business services.
The Group's managerial organization was strengthened. The position of President of Transformation was created in September 2019
and entrusted to Bhupender Singh, ex-CEO of Intelenet. Ibero-LATAM region President and Chief Operating Officer Agustin Grisanti also took on the role of CEMEA region Chief Operating Officer.
The Group inaugurated the Teleperformance Innovation Experience Center (T.I.E.C.) in Santa Clara, California. Reflecting the Group's transformation, this new showroom presents the Group's global expertise and innovative digital solutions, which form the core of its new digital ecosystem for clients and partners.
2020
In response to the Covid-19 global health crisis that emerged at the beginning of the year, Teleperformance took measures all possible measures to ensure, above all, the safety of its employees and the continuity of business for its clients, following the orders of the authorities in each of the countries where it is present. The Group also took steps to shore up its financial strength:
●
implementation of a crisis management system including the creation of agile committees and a dedicated monitoring and communication system;
●
●
compliance with hygiene and social distancing standards issued by local authorities as well as World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines and recommendations at all Group facilities; work-from-home solutions set up in record time at the height of the crisis, with more than 200,000 remote jobs created in two months;
●
continuation and creation of essential services, helping 16 governments to tackle Covid-19;
●
strengthened financial liquidity.
The Group's management structure continues to be strengthened in order to step up its transformation. Agustin Grisanti has been appointed Group Chief Operation Officer. He is a member of the Executive Committee.
On October 27th, 2020, Teleperformance announced the signing of an agreement for the acquisition of Health Advocate, a US company specializing in consumer health management business services and digital solutions integration,. This acquisition will enable Teleperformance to significantly strengthen its strong added-value Specialized Services business portfolio.
On June 19th, 2020, Teleperformance joined the CAC 40, the primary index of the Paris Stock Exchange.
1.1.2
The Group's businesses
Introduction: a leading global group in digitally integrated business services
Founded in 1978 by Daniel Julien, Teleperformance is a leading global group in digitally integrated business services. It is the preferred partner of market leading multinationals undergoing rapid expansion, as well as government agencies for the implementation of digital strategies to optimize and transform their customer experience and business processes.
The Group has over 380,000 employees in 83 countries, and manages programs in over 265 languages and dialects in over 170 markets spanning numerous business sectors. Its operating capacities include 242,000 workstations at some 450 locations.
Teleperformance operations comprise two main businesses:
● Core Services & D.I.B.S. (Digital Integrated Business Services):
• customer care;
• technical support;
• customer acquisition (sales);
• back-office solutions and integrated services in human resources and accounting, and specific to each client sector;
• knowledge services in the field of analytics solutions, automated systems and artificial intelligence.
● Specialized Services:
• interpreting and translation services;
• visa application management and consulate services;
• accounts receivable management.
The service offering includes many D.I.B.S. solutions (Digital Integrated Business Services), development of which has been stepped up since the acquisition of Intelenet on October 4th, 2018(1). This segment notably includes the former Intelenet businesses, comprising digital solutions, high value-added BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) services, as well as the Group's consulting activities. This range of solutions was fully integrated and deployed across all of the Group's Core Services, giving rise to the Core Services & D.I.B.S. business on January 1st, 2019.
The majority of the D.I.B.S. solutions cover integrated services and dedicated support services. By combining experience and know-how in business-critical processing services, D.I.B.S. comprise a range of integrated digital transformation solutions spanning the entire customer experience value chain.
Teleperformance defines itself as a high-touch, high-tech business, reflecting the two pillars of its value-enhancing business model: a human touch and technology. The Group offers companies around the world its know-how in human resource management, management of dedicated customer experience infrastructures, and high-performance technology ensuring quality, security and reliability.
Specialized Services include niche, high value-added businesses. These will be significantly strengthened in 2021 thanks to the acquisition of Health Advocate announced on October 27th, 2020, set to be closed during the second quarter 2021. This US-based company provides integrated digital solutions in the United States consumer health management market.
1.1.2.1
Core Services & D.I.B.S.
• 2020 key figures
Core Services & D.I.B.S. Linguistic regions
Scope of activities
EWAP Ibero-LATAM
India & Middle East*
* Ex-Intelenet operations in the Middle East.
Revenues
(in millions of euros) - % of total Group revenues
5,080 (89%)
CEMEA
1,791 (31%) 1,538 (27%) 1,299 (23%)
Core Services & D.I.B.S. cover a broad service offering primarily comprising technical support, customer care, customer acquisition (sales), back-office and business process consulting services.
Core Services & D.I.B.S. break down into four broad linguistic regions:
●
English-speaking and Asia Pacific (EWAP);
●
Ibero-LATAM;
●
Continental Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA);
●
India & Middle East, including the ex-Intelenet operations acquired in October 2018.
Core Services & D.I.B.S. provides an omnichannel offering including management of all channels used by consumers or people to contact firms and government agencies, whether by voice (i.e. phone, video and face-to-face) or non-voice (i.e. chat/messaging, email and social media) services. These integrated services are backed by global quality standards and state-of-the-art IT systems.
A large portion of the Group's Core Services & D.I.B.S. revenues are generated by handling incoming calls from consumers or information seekers. In the long-term, downward trend of this revenue stream is due to growing digitalization of interactions. This was confirmed in 2020: 75% share of revenues, down from 78% in 2019.
(1) Description of the operation in the 2018 Registration Document.
Total headcount at Dec. 31st, 2020
369,793
452 (8%)
98,475 133,627 70,401 67,290
Number of countries of operationClient key sectors
56
All sectors
13 14 28 6
All sectors All sectors All sectors All sectors
Following the October 2018 Intelenet acquisition and amid the continued digitalization of the environment, which was boosted by the health crisis (general lockdowns) in 2020, the contribution of non-voice services (such as BPO, operational advisory services, messaging and email solutions) increased in 2020 to 17% of Core Services & D.I.B.S. revenues, up from 14% in 2019.
Outbound call handling, a small Group business, was flat at 6% of revenues largely comprising customer acquisition (sales) services.
The Group draws on its global network to serve a larger number of markets from domestic, multilingual, nearshore or offshore operating centers.
Due to the health crisis, in 2020 the Group extended its operational offering to include work-from-home solutions, catering for over 250,000 Group employees at the end of the year. TP Cloud Campus (TPCC), an integrated cloud work-from-home and management solution, is deployed Group-wide in 32 countries, with the support of 13 management centers (TPCC hubs) tasked with the training, coordination and supervision of agents and teams.
• Breakdown of Core Services & D.I.B.S. revenue (2020)
By linguistic region
By contact type
By contact type
26% 6%
EWAPCEMEA
2%
9%
10%
75%30%
68%
Inbound callsIbero-LATAM
India & Middle East*
Outbound callsFace-to-face, e-mail, chat, messaging, BPO**Other
Customer care
Technical supportCustomer acquisitionOther
* Ex-Intelenet operations
* Ex-Intelenet operations.
*BPO : Business Process Outsourcing
** BPO: Business Process Outsourcing.
• Details of main service type
Service type
Description of services and solutions
Customer care
●
●
Invoice explanations and payment requests Claim processing and dispute resolution
●
Pro-active steps to boost customer care, such as welcome offers, satisfaction questionnaires and contract renewal reminders
●
Social media assistance
●
New specific e-services, such as online gaming assistance
Technical support
●
Corrective action procedure management and co-ordination
●
Customer assistance during the installation of products (e.g. equipment, software and networks) and applications (operating systems, databases and programming environments) as well as post-installation assistance (BtoC)
●
Assistance installing, operating and repairing networks, and setting up firewalls and data distribution (BtoB)
●
Teleperformance provides several levels of support:
●
Level 1 - solutions to standard problems
●
●
Level 2 - solving complex problems by phone, through remote systems access, or on site Level 3 - high-level assistance for one-off and critical cases
Sales
●
●
Generating leads and scheduling appointments Data verification services
●
●
Cross-selling and up-selling Loyalty campaigns
●
●
Surveys and programs to attract customers Customer account management
Back-office services
●
Back office services provide transparent procedures between back and front office operations, guaranteeing a more efficiently managed, better quality customer experience. Teleperformance's back office services break down as follows:
●
Dedicated solutions specific to each client sector (e.g. data processing for financial services during the bank loan process)
●
●
●
Outsourced payroll and workforce management Payment procedures/client order processing Fraud risk management
●
●
Order and account management Invoicing and refunds
●
Coding
●
New e-services, such as social media content moderation
Knowledge services*
●
●
Operational consulting/evaluation - optimization procedures - implementation of a global transformation program Development of predictive models based on interactions with consumers
●
Automated solutions & artificial intelligence
* 2019 merger of Praxidia and Intelenet's knowledge services, acquired in October 2018.
1.1.2.2
Specialized Services
• 2020 key figures
Specialized Services Main companies
Business scope
LanguageLine Solutions (LLS)TLScontact
AllianceOne Receivables
Management (ARM)
* Excluding external interpreters under LLS contracts. ** TLScontact visa application centers.
Total headcount at Dec. 31st, 2020
2020 Specialized Services revenues amounted to €652 million and accounted for 11% of total Group revenues. The Group does not disclose revenues by company.
Specialized Services include niche, high value-added businesses, in financial and strategic fit with Core Services & D.I.B.S.. These will be significantly strengthened in 2021 due to the acquisition of Health Advocate announced on October 27th, 2020, set to be closed during the second quarter 2021. This US-based company provides integrated digital solutions in the United States consumer healthcare management sector.
• Details of main service type
Service type
Over-the-phone | 24/7 year-round fast access to top-class interpreters covering over 240 languages |
● | |
interpreting (OPI) | |
Video remote | Direct face-to-face interaction thanks to dedicated equipment or mobile platforms that improve the |
● | |
interpreting (VRI) | communication experience, due to visual cues and body language |
Specially suited for groups and young children | |
● | |
On-site interpreting | Required for more complex interactions regarding confidential issues |
● | |
(OSI) | Or involving several participants or young children |
● | |
Other services | Document translation and localization services. These services are often selected in addition to online |
● | |
interpreting services already provided to a client | |
Specific training and equipment related to linguistic services | |
● |
Number of countries of operation
13,374
53
6,661*
20
1,317 5,396
42** Government agencies/Authorities
7
Financial services Government agencies Telecommunications
Distribution
LanguageLine Solutions (LLS)
Client key sectors
All sectorsHealthcare Government agencies Banking and insurance
Telecommunications
Founded in 1982 and acquired by Teleperformance in September 2016,
LanguageLine Solutions is the leading provider of over-the-phone and video interpreting solutions in North America, serving a range of companies and institutions in the healthcare, insurance, financial services, telecommunications and public sectors. Based in Monterey (California - United States), LLS posted US$388 million revenues in 2016, prior to being acquired by Teleperformance. The LLS acquisition has consolidated the Group's global leadership in the high value-added services sector while boosting revenues and earnings.
LLS provides essential services to a wide range of clients in sectors where Teleperformance already has a strong foothold via its Core Services & D.I.B.S. business. In 2020, LLS delivered services in over 240 languages to 30,000 clients in the United States, Canada and the UK, backed by an efficient, top-class network of 13,700 employed and freelance interpreters.
Description of services and solutions
• Breakdown of LanguageLine Solutions revenue by language service type (2020)
11%
Over-the-phone interpretation ("OPI")
Document translationOn-site interpretation ("OSI")
Video-remote interpretation ("VRI")
• Breakdown of LanguageLine Solutions workforce by language (2020)
• Breakdown of LanguageLine solutions revenue by client sector (2020)
Financial services Insurance
European languages Russian
3%
Asian languages Other
Medical Other
Arabic
Government
A global network of interpreters working from home
In 2011, LanguageLine Solutions made a major change to the management of its interpreter organization, by switching from a contact center system to a work-at-home (WAH) system. The 13,700 LLS interpreters are currently spread across 28 countries. 6,661 are LLS employees and the rest are subcontracted or freelance workers under contract with the company.
The expanding pool of WAH interpreters is a key strategic advantage enabling LLS to provide a constant supply of interpreters perfectly tailored to demand. While already representing 80% of the company's interpreters in 2019, 100% of the pool worked from home in 2020 in the health crisis context.
LanguageLine Solutions interpreters can deliver top quality of service thanks notably to the ERP Olympus cloud platform system.
Synergies with other Teleperformance Group business activities: development of offshore
The first synergies between Teleperformance's Core Services & D.I.B.S. and LanguageLine Solutions were developed in the hiring process from 2017. In 2020, close to 2,600 interpreters, i.e. almost doublecompared to 2019, were hired by Teleperformance to serve the North American market offshore. This "shoring" model was rapidly developed over the last three years. It is currently provided mainly in Arabic, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and since recently in Chinese and Hindi. For LanguageLine Solutions, these interpreters have external provider or "affiliate" status. This development can be explained by Teleperformance's significant presence in Egypt, Colombia, Albania, Portugal, Lithuania, Dubai, India and Malaysia. These synergies have a positive impact on LanguageLine Solutions' business growth and earnings.
Teleperformance aims to progressively develop the LLS business on all its markets and generate synergies between Teleperformance and its other businesses.
TLScontact
TLScontact is a major player in the global outsourced visa application management and consulate services market. Its business involves assisting government clients in processing visa applications submitted by persons wishing to travel to a country requiring such a document as securely, efficiently and quickly as possible.
• Description of the visa issuance procedure
The company opened its first visa application center in Beijing in 2007, on behalf of the French embassy. It joined Teleperformance's global network in 2010 in order to step up its expansion.
Revenues have multiplied by nearly 50 in 10 years since its creation in 2009. Its success is driven by cutting-edge technology, which is primarily based on:
●
biometrics and digitalization techniques, for data security;
●
its ability to meet the standards and certificates required on its markets, such as ISO/IEC 27001 certification obtained in 2009; and
●
strong demand from governments for solutions that meet their obligations in terms of budget cuts and help promote tourism in their countries.
The company operates from nearly 140 locations (welcome desk and mobile staff) throughout Europe, Asia and Africa, handling close to 4 million visa applications a year (pre-Covid-19), for 11 countries:
●
in the Schengen area: France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal;
●
●
in Commonwealth countries: UK; and other countries with specific needs: Israel, Cyprus and Morocco.
TLScontact expects to add the United States to its list of government clients in 2021. In partnership with PAE, a global leader in delivering smart solutions to the U.S. government, TLScontact has been awarded a place on a global U.S. State Department contract with a potential value of up to US$3.3 billion over 10 years. The U.S. State Department's Global Support Strategy 2.0 Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract vehicle covers the provision of support services for U.S. consular operations around the world. At the end of the tender process, TLScontact will be awarded some of the 18 task orders (regional contracts) to provide extraterritorial consular assistance services throughout 120 countries.
TLScontact has a robust and unique business model. While it enters into long-term contracts with governments, it is usually individual applicants who pay for TLScontact services in addition to visa costs and so they expect top quality application handling service. As a "one-stop shop" for visa applicants, TLScontact is able to offer them a range of high value-added products and services (travel insurance policies, VIP or fast track processing, etc.).
The outsourcing market continues to evolve with new governments signing up, won over by the value-added solution, and TLScontact in particular in view of the strong productivity gains that the company offers.
Over the long term, after the health crisis that should still weight on TLScontact's activity in 2021, the company's growth trajectory is positive.
It is based on the continued development of tourism from Asia, as well as the company's ability to leverage its visa application business expertise, its client portfolio and its global network integrated with that of the Teleperformance Group. TLScontact is therefore well-placed to expand into other markets relating to the issuance of secure identity documents, such as residence permits and driving licenses.
The upcoming arrival of TLScontact on the North American visa management market reflects its core business expertise and ability to identify opportunities in terms of new services to the US authorities.
Changes in the geo-political and geo-economic landscape in certain regions (e.g. Brexit, Middle East conflicts, etc.) also offers many new business opportunities for TLScontact, given the influx of people to accommodate and process. Deployment of the outsourcing processes is still lengthy, and largely depends on the effective coordination of governments in setting up coherent and structured accommodation policies.
AllianceOne Receivables Management
AllianceOne Receivables Management ("AllianceOne") is a major player in the North American outsourced accounts receivable management market. The firm offers a comprehensive range of debt collection services and contact center solutions designed to meet the needs of clients, primarily in the North American market. The company employs nearly 5,400 people at 15 sites in the United States, Canada and in countries where it conducts its nearshore and offshore activities (Jamaica, Costa Rica, Mexico, El Salvador, the Philippines and India). The offshore offering was significantly strengthened in 2020 to support the subsidiary's business recovery.
78% of AllianceOne's revenues were generated in the debt collection segment for debts less than 90 days overdue. The company therefore acts on behalf of its clients. When AllianceOne is mandated by its clients to collect receivables 90 days or more overdue (22% of its revenues), the company acts in its own name.
• Breakdown of revenue by type of receivable to be recovered (2020)
22%
AllianceOne primarily operates in the following client sectors: telecommunications, financial services (credit cards, bank loans), retail (consumer credit cards) and the public sector (taxes, customs duties, healthcare).
• Breakdown of revenue by client business sector (2020)
Telecommunications Financial services
22%
Retail
Public sector
78%
Major brands are increasingly aware that their debt collection strategies have an impact on customer perception and loyalty. This common point with customer relations strategies enables AllianceOne to develop its debt collection operations in coordination with the Group's other businesses. It serves clients to whom the Group already offers customer experience solutions, in the financial services, retail, healthcare, automotive, local government and telecommunications sectors.
Less than 90 days delinquent
90 days or more delinquent
1.1.3
Group markets
1.1.3.1
Core Services & D.I.B.S. markets
The step-up in the Group's digital transformation since 2018, including the creation of new Teleperformance D.I.B.S. solutions, has helped significantly expand Teleperformance's market. In addition to outsourced customer experience management, this covers BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) and knowledge services, primarily in Human Resources, finance and accounting, and industry-specific solutions.
The total market for business services (or BPO) with high technological content (automation and artificial intelligence) covered by Teleperformance is worth four to six times more than the Group's core market, where it is still the worldwide leader.
The total business services market declined slightly in 2020, mainly due to supply disruptions at the beginning of the health crisis, while demand remained relatively high, despite varying from one client sector to another. It is expected to return to solid growth from 2021.
1.1.3.1.1 Customer experience management market
In 2019, the global customer experience management market was worth around US$330-360 billion, up by an annual average of +2% from US$280-300 billion in 2010. Market growth was driven by an ongoing increase in the volume of omnichannel consumer and brand interactions, mainly due to:
●
rapid adoption of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, allowing consumers/users to instantly connect with brands and get immediate answers;
●
a surge in non-voice contact channels (email, SMS, social media, messaging and chat) which generate double-digit annual growth.
Phone calls remain the main channel by far, albeit with slower growth;
●
ongoing expansion of new online services designed to assist consumers and citizens in their daily lives, such as IoT and cloud services, which are creating new needs in a variety of client sectors such as retail and leisure.
The market mainly comprises customer care, technical support and customer acquisition (sales).
• Customer experience management global market size and trends (2010-2019) (in billions of US dollars)
Source: Everest (2020).
280-300
2010
Source : Everest (2020).
* Compound Annual Growth Rate.
330-360
2019
CAGR* 2010-2019
*Compound annual growth rate
Everest estimates that the market is still under-outsourced at 26%, albeit up from 22% in 2010. This outsourced market is expected to reach average annual growth of between +4% (Everest estimate) and +5% (Frost & Sullivan estimate) by 2022.
Frost & Sullivan and Everest estimate that this market was worth US$74 or US$84 billion respectively in 2020.
• Size and evolution of the outsourced customer experience management market (2019-2022E)
(in billions of US dollars)
+4% to +5% p.a.
75-87
82-91
74-84
78-87
2019
2020E
2021E
2022E
Source: Frost & Sullivan (2020) for the low estimates and Everest (2020) for the high estimates.
In 2020, the outsourced market was impacted by the health crisis: it is estimated to be down -2% by Frost & Sullivan and -3% by Everest versus 2019. This change is mainly due to the disruption in market player supply, which occurred in spring 2020 following the announcement of lockdown measures in many countries. The ensuing rapid deployment of home-from-work solutions helped the market regain momentum. Demand remained high overall, despite varying from one client sector to another.
The ability of specialized outsourcing companies to improve the customer experience explains the steady increase in the outsourcing rate. The solutions developed by these companies meet the increasingly complex needs of customers in an omnichannel, digital, automated and uncertain environment in terms of individual safety and data and systems security.
The health crisis has challenged the in-house model (non-outsourced).
The challenges faced by customer relationship management in this new disruptive context and the weakened cost structures of many companies have boosted the development of outsourced solutions.
• Change in customer experience management world market outsourcing rate (2010-2019)
22%
Outsourced
Source: Everest (2020).
78%
In-house
Source : Everest (2020).
The North America region was the biggest market in terms of outsourced customer experience management in 2020. It represents 41% of the global market.
• Regional breakdown of the outsourced customer experience management market in 2020E
8%
North America
Latin America
SoSuorucrcee::FFrroosstt &&SSuullilvliavna(n20(2200)20).
Europe, Middle-East & Africa Asia-Pacific
The Asia Pacific region is one of the fastest growing markets with +6% average annual growth forecast from 2020 to 2024, driven mainly by China and India. CEMEA is also particularly buoyant and is expected to grow by an average of +5% per year between 2020 and 2024.
• Outsourced customer experience management world market growth forecast by region (2019-2024E)
(in billions of US$)
Asia Pacific
CEMEA
Latin America North America
CAGR* | |||
2019 | 2020E | 2024E | 2020E-2024E |
18.1 | 18.4 | 23.1 | 5.9% |
20.7 | 19.2 | 23.6 | 5.3% |
6.9 | 5.5 | 6.5 | 4.3% |
29.4 | 30.5 | 35.1 | 3.6% |
Source: Frost & Sullivan (2020).
* Compound Annual Growth Rate.
74%
By client sector, Telecommunications, including Internet and pay TV, and consumer electronics were the most significant market for outsourced customer experience management in 2020. They represent 30% and 14% of the global market, respectively.
• Breakdown of the outsourced customer experience management market in 2020E by client sector
Pay TV & telecom-internetTech., consumer electronics
Financial services 10%
Healthcare, insurance 10%
Retail, e-commerce
Energy
7%
Public sector 6%
Other 6%
Media & entertainment 5%
Travel agencies, hotels, airlines 5%
Transportation & logistics
Source: Nelson Hall (2020).
30%
14%
7%
1%
The retail and e-commerce sector is among the most buoyant, with average annual growth of nearly 8% expected between 2020 and 2024. The healthcare, insurance, financial services, and media and leisure sectors were also particularly dynamic, and are expected to grow by around 5-6% per year on average between 2020 and 2024.
• Outsourced customer experience management world market growth forecast by client sector: breakdown evolution and annual growth (2019E-2024E*)
2019E
Retail, e-commerce Healthcare and insurance Financial services
7%
10%
11%
Media and leisure
4%
Telecoms, internet and pay TV Technology, consumer electronics Transport and logistics
30%
14%
1%
Energy
7%
Public sector Other
5%
5%
Travel agencies, hotels, airlines Source: Nelson Hall (2020).
* Compound Annual Growth Rate.
Digitalization of outsourcing
The growth of the outsourced market is being driven by the rapid development of digital solutions based on machine learning, automated solutions, chatbots and artificial intelligence.
From 2019 to 2022, Everest estimated the compound annual growth rate of these digital solutions at around +42% per year, compared to just +2% for the "traditional" market (management of phone interactions, for example). Digital solutions are expected to represent close to 20% of the outsourced customer experience market by 2022, up from 7% in 2019.
CAGR*
2020E
7%
10%
11%
5%
30%
14%
1%
7%
6%
5%
5%
5%
2024E
8%
10%
11%
5%
30%
14%
1%
7%
5%
5%
4%
2020E-2024E
7.9%
5.7%
5.7%
5.2%
5.1%
4.8%
4.5%
3.0%
2.9%
2.7%
1.9%
The adoption of digital solutions accelerated in 2020 in response to the Covid-19 health crisis, including:
●
the search for efficiency by clients, whose cost base has been eroded by the decline in business due to the pandemic;
●
automation of simple interactions has increased to compensate for limited agent availability due to lockdowns, such as, in the logistics sector, the process of checking orders or delivery status;
●
deployment of coronavirus assistance and information services on behalf of governments, leading to the development of offline communication channels such as messaging made accessible to as many people as possible.
• Digital solutions* share of outsourced customer experience management market (2016-2022E)
~17
2016
2019
Digital solutions (in US$ billions) Penetration rate of digital solutions
SouSroceu:rcEev: eErversets(t2(2002200)).
2022E
* *AAuuttomatteeddddaatatalealeranirnnginsygstseymsst,ermobso, tricosboolutitciosnos,luchtaiotbnost,sc,mhaetsbsaogtisn,g, messaging, and artificial intelligence.
and artificial intelligence
** Compound annual growth rate ** Compound Annual Growth Rate.
The proportion of voice interactions in the outsourced customer experience management market is still predominant but continues to decline.
• Breakdown of outsourced customer experience management market by communication channel (2019)
Social networks Chat/messaging
SourcSeo: uErvce:reEvsetr(e2s0t(20)2.0)
Development of the work-from-home model
The outsourced market is also benefiting from increasing integration of the work-from-home model within customer experience management programs. The operational challenges include hiring, training and employee commitment. This trend accelerated following the Covid-19 health crisis and is expected to continue with the strengthening of client business continuity plans. Over the long term, Nelson Hall expects the work-from-home model to represent between 25% and 30% of the total market from 2021 onwards, compared to a very low adoption rate before the health crisis hit. Over the long term, Teleperformance is aiming for an employee work-from-home rate of 50%.
• Breakdown of on-site and WAH agents on the outsourced customer experience management market (2021E)
70-75% 25-30%
Work-at-home agents
Source: Nelson Hall (2020).
On-site agents
1.1.3.1.2 The BPO (or "business services") market
In order to fully meet client demand for more integrated and complex services, the Teleperformance Group is expanding into new markets.
With the acceleration of the Group's digital transformation first launched in 2018, Teleperformance has extended its scope of activities and development market to include Business Process Outsourcing.
The market's complexity and expansion is the result of its digitalization, with the emergence of two categories of clients: the disruptors and the disrupted companies. The first are "digital" companies that develop online activities, such as FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google), often multinationals, which require support from companies with expertise in omnichannel integrated customer experience management worldwide. They aim at reducing the "frictions" of the real world. The second category belongs to the traditional economic environment ("legacy" clients) seeking to minimize their operating costs by implementing automated, end-to-end solutions.
Digitalization of the environment
According to Nelson Hall, the BPO global market (or "business services market"), corresponding to Teleperformance's Core Services & D.I.B.S. business, was worth US$405 billion in 2019.
It covers industry-specific integrated BPO services (healthcare, banks, travel agencies) and support functions (customer experience, Human Resources, finance and accounting, etc.).
Email Voice
Hence, the BPO market is worth four to six times more than the outsourced customer experience management market.
• Size and evolution of business services* market (2019E-2024E) (in billions of US dollars)
467
2019E
405
SoSuorucrece: :NNellsonHHaallll (2020).
400
2020E 2024E
CAGR** 2020-2024E
* * HHuummaan ressoouurcrecse,sfi,nfianacenacnedaancdcoaucnctoinugn, itnidnugs,triny-dspuesctirfiyc-bsupseinceifisscpbruocseinsseesss, parnodceosustesosu, racnedcouusttosmouerrceexpdecriuensctoemeanraegxepmeernietnce management.
**** CCoompounnddaannunaul aglrogwrtohwrathterate.
The total business services market declined slightly in 2020, mainly due to supply shortages at the beginning of the health crisis, while demand remained relatively high, despite varying from one client sector to another.
This market is expected to return to steady growth in 2021. Nelson Hall estimates annual growth in value at approximately +4% over 2020E-2024E. This growth will mainly be driven by new requirements of businesses and governments. Government agencies in particular have considerable process automation needs and their demand for global end-to-end digital transformation solutions is growing every day. This market offers major growth opportunities for any business services company capable of innovating and investing to identify new sources of value.
This trend is underpinned by the current boom in customer interactions (see above) as well as the Covid-19 health crisis: improving quality, offering flexible solutions (work-from-home) and enhancing business process efficiency are increasingly important considerations.
Industry-specific BPO services (banking, tourism, etc.) are the largest source of market demand and account for 48% of volumes.
• Breakdown of the BPO market by business (2019E)
26%
7%
19%
48%
Industry-specific BPO Customer Experience
Source: Nelson Hall (2020).
Human Resources Finance & Accounting
This market excludes visa application management and online interpreting services, niche markets related to the Group's Specialized Services business (see section 1.1.3.3 Specialized Services market and competition).
1.1.3.2
Core Services & D.I.B.S. competitive environment
1.1.3.2.1 Direct competitors in outsourced customer experience management
Teleperformance is the world leader in outsourced customer experience management, a market that remains highly fragmented.
• Ranking of the top outsourced customer experience management market firms worldwide by revenue (2019 reported and estimated data) (in millions of US$)
Teleperformance
Concentrix
* Former Arvato.
Alorica
Source: Internal estimates and companies.
With €5.2 billion in revenues in Core Services & D.I.B.S. in 2019, Teleperformance's share of the global market is 6%.
• Market share of the top market players worldwide in outsourced customer experience management (2019 reported and estimated data) (in %)*
6%
Teleperformance**Atento
ConcentrixAloricaSitelWebhelpTTEC
Source: Internal estimates and companies.
Source: Internal estimates and companies
**
Sykes
MajorelOther
Using the average of Everest and Frost & Sullivan's 2019 estimates for the global market the size of the global market.
using the average of Everest and Frost & Sullivan's 2019 estimates for the size of
** Teleperformance Core Services & D.I.B.S. business ** Teleperformance Core Services & D.I.B.S. business.
The customer experience management market is characterized by an often global demand (covering several markets) from large multinational groups but managed according to a local approach linked to the specifics of each market. It is also omnichannel and increasingly digital and complex, especially in terms of data security and automation. It is also marked by the emergence of alternative solutions from "Tech" newcomers, offering disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence and automation.
In this fast-changing, demanding environment, the sector's ongoing trend towards consolidation is expected to continue over the coming years, with:
●
acquiring companies seeking both critical mass and new expertise, technologies and business lines, so they can develop global Digital Integrated Business Services offering the highest potential for profitable growth;
●
financially distressed companies and/or those lacking a robust strategy, which have been hard hit by the economic impact of the health crisis and lack the resources to compete or grow without support from an operational or financial partner.
• 2019-2020 main M&A transactions in the customer experience management market
Date | Country | Type | Target | Buyer | Target revenues |
In progress | Canada/USA | Disposal by Telus | Telus International | Institutional investors | US$1.6 bn (2019) |
Corp. and IPO | |||||
November 2020 | USA | Disposal by Synnex | Concentrix | Institutional investors | US$4.7 bn (2020) |
and IPO | |||||
August 2020 | USA | Acquisition | VoiceFoundry | TTEC | Not disclosed |
March 2020 | Germany | Equity stake | Ströer | Tricontes Group | €1.6 bn (2019) |
acquisition | GmbH | ||||
February 2020 | USA | Acquisition | Zen3 Infosolutions | Tech Mahindra | US$25 m in H1 2019 |
February 2020 | USA | Acquisition | Serendebyte | TTEC | Not disclosed |
December 2019 | USA - Germany | Acquisition | CCC | Telus | US$450 m (2019E) |
September 2019 | Brazil | Acquisition | Chain Serviços and | Almaviva Do Brasil | Not disclosed |
Contact Center | |||||
July 2019 | France | 61% stake acquisition | Webhelp Group | Group GBL | €1.5 bn (2019E) |
April 2019 | Sweden - Germany | Partnership | ASA | Transcom | Not disclosed |
Informationsdienste | |||||
GmbH | |||||
March 2019 | Sweden - Germany | Acquisition | TMS connected! | Transcom TopCo AB | Not disclosed |
March 2019 | Italy | Acquisition | PayCare | Comdata | Not disclosed |
January 2019 | Italy - Spain | Acquisition | Grupo GSS | Covisian | Not disclosed |
January 2019 | Germany - Morocco | JV: 50% Saham + 50% | Arvato CRM | Saham Group | Combined revenues |
Bertelsmann | (excl. France) | of €1.2 bn |
Teleperformance's global positioning, services and diverse client base give it a big lead over most direct US and regional competitors, in terms of both revenue growth and earnings growth.
• Ranking of the global top 10 market firms by number of operating countries (2020E)
#
Competitors
1
Teleperformance
3
2
4
5
6
Webhelp Concentrix Majorel Sitel Sykes
8
7
TTEC Transcom
9
Telus International
10 Sutherland
Source: Internal estimates and companies
Number of countries 83
• Financial results of direct competitors : revenue growth (2012-2019 CAGR*)
49
+4.5%
40
29
29
23
22 22
4 main competitors average**
*
C*omCopmouponudndAnannuuaallGgrowwththraRteate.
+12.5%
Teleperformance
20
** S*a*mSapmleplceocmompprrisisiing theefofollollwoiwnginlgistleisdtceodmcpoamniepsa: nAtienst:oA, tCeonntvoe,rgCyosnvergys
(com(cobminbaintaiotinonoof fCCooncenttrrixixaandndCoCnovenrvgeyrsgdyastadfaotra20fo1r2)2,S0y1k2e)s, aSnydkeTsTEaCnd
16
TTEC.
Source: Group and corporate estimates
Source: Group and corporate estimates.
1.1.3.2.2 Competition extended to consulting and IT service companies in the BPO market
Given the growing complexity of the outsourced customer experience management markets and the changing needs of increasingly integrated customers (digital and automated end-to-end solutions), Teleperformance's competitive environment is broadening and diversifying.
The boundaries of this competitive environment are becoming increasingly blurred (see above - Group markets). New firms are
• An expanding competitive environment: examples
emerging in the customer experience management market, including technology service companies and information technology outsourcers (ITO), Business Process Outsourcing consulting firms and back-office service specialists (BPO).
Multidisciplinary players are positioning themselves as global business services partners. These new competitors stand out from most traditional customer experience management players backed by a strong focus on high value-enhancing services rather than labor cost arbitrage.
Main direct competitors (CCO) | ITO/BPO companies* | Consulting firms |
Atento | Cognizant | Accenture |
Concentrix | EXL | Cap Gemini |
Sykes | Genpact | |
TTEC | Infosys | |
Telus International | Tata Consultancy Services | |
Webhelp | Wipro | |
WNS |
* Information Technology Outsourcing/Business Process Outsourcing.
Teleperformance is the market leader in Business Process Outsourcing for the customer experience, including solutions for automating customer experience management, artificial intelligence to improve the customer experience, and process optimization consulting.
This overlapping of the various BPO markets is reflected in Everest consulting firm's analysis of customer experience management companies in its PEAK Matrix 2020®.
• PEAK Matrix 2020® assessment of customer experience management companies
Source: Everest (2020).
Everest regularly assesses the strategic positioning of companies operating in the outsourced customer experience management market.
Teleperformance was recognized in 2020 as a Top Leader and Star Performer in the PEAK Matrix 2020®, acknowledging the success of its digital transformation, strong organic growth, and investments in promoting its global expertise and innovative, digital solutions.
Providers of integrated technological solutions (Software as a Service/ Cloud as a Service/workflow management/CRM, etc.) in omnichanneland automated systems, and using artificial intelligence generally do not compete with Teleperformance. They more often take on roles as expert partners, involved in the development of integrated global digital, omnichannel, multilingual and multi-market offerings.
Teleperformance takes a pragmatic approach to its partnerships based either on Group initiative, where suitable proprietary solutions are not available, or on client specifications.
• New ecosystem of high-tech expert partners
1.1.3.3
Specialized Services market and competition
1.1.3.3.1 Online interpreting services
The language services market includes translation and localization services (written) and interpreting (spoken). Recent studies estimate this market at over US$50 billion in 2020, with translation accounting for 60% and on-site and online interpreting services nearly 13%. The market is estimated to grow to nearly US$56 billion in 2022, representing expected growth of more than +4% per year between 2020 and 2022.
• Size and evolution of language services market (2020E-2022E) (in billions of US dollars)
CAGR* 2020-2022: > +4%
52
2020E
SourScoeu: rCcoem: Cmomomn oSnenSesnesAedAvdivsisoorry.
54
2021E
* Compound Annual Growth Rate.
The outlook for growth in the online interpreting market is primarily driven by the following factors:
●
new technologies and functionalities enabling a broader application of language solutions;
●
corporate refocusing on core business, leading to the outsourcing of interpreting services;
●
●
growing regulatory requirements in key sectors (healthcare, insurance, etc.), which continue to generate client demand; and changing demographics in the United States.
Today, in the United States, 67 million residents speak a language other than English at home, i.e. 20% of the total population. This comprises more than 350 different languages and dialects. By 2065, 90% of US population growth will be driven by immigration.
• Increase in US residents who speak a language other than English at home (in millions of people)
2022E
67
64
1980
23
1990
32
2000
47
2015
2020E
Source: US Census Bureau - National Population Projections and LLS estimates.
Source : US Census Bureau - National Population Projections and LLS estimates
There are also 10 million deaf or hard of hearing people in the country, who also need support when communicating with government agencies and major brands.
Primarily operating in North America, LanguageLine Solutions is the leading provider of telephone and video online interpreting solutions, serving a range of companies and institutions in the healthcare, insurance, financial services, telecommunications and public sectors.
In the global on-demand interpreting market, LanguageLine's revenues are four times higher than its closest competitor and higher than the next 10 competitors combined, according to the 2019 Nimdzi Interpreting Index.
1.1.3.3.2 Visa application management services
The visa application service market in which TLScontact operates was significantly impacted by the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic which severely curtailed international travel. TLScontact primarily serves governments in the Schengen area and the United Kingdom (UKVI). Before the health crisis, the Schengen area and the English-speaking countries in the FCC (Five Countries Conference), including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK and USA, represented a market of around 41 million visa applications per year, i.e. a value of over €1 billion.
Growth outlook in the outsourced visa application management market is difficult to predict in view of the current health crisis. Data published by leading world organizations, including the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the World Economic Forum and the International Air Travel Association (IATA), suggests that international travel will return to growth of around +3% per year in 2022.
An upturn in the number of visa applications is expected during 2021. Its pace will depend on when travel restrictions are lifted and the effectiveness of the global roll-out of vaccination campaigns. Based on IATA conservative estimates, the outsourced visa application management market is not expected to return to pre-crisis levels until 2024.
• 2013-2022E change in number of visa applications for the Schengen zone and English-speaking countries
(in millions of applications)
2016
2021
2017
2018
Source: TLScontact estimates.
2019
2020
2022
2023
2024
Source: TLScontact estimates.
TLScontact is a major player in the world outsourced visa application management market, with a share of just under 10% in the market serving governments in the Schengen zone and English-speaking countries in the FCC zone combined in 2019 . Its main direct competitor is VFS, global leader with a 57% market share. Other competitors with a similar size to TLScontact include regional operators serving the North American market.
• Market share of key players in the world outsourced visa application management market in 2019 (in %)
TLScontact VFS
CGI
Source: Group and corporate estimates.
GDIT Other
Source: Group and corporate estimates
The market for ancillary services related to visa applications is expected to remain strong, including services to enhance travelers' safety and protection against infection.
Digital innovations are also expected to streamline visa application management procedures and increase user satisfaction over the coming years. Governments, which have always been slow to adopt digital processes and innovate in terms of biometric technology, have seen the impacts of this lack of action during the health crisis. They are now seeking to protect themselves further against the risk of visa application center closures, by deploying more automated and digitized services.
Thanks to the Teleperformance Group's expertise in digital transformation, TLScontact is well positioned to take advantage of these opportunities.
1.1.3.3.3 Accounts receivable management services in the United States
Kaulkin & Ginsberg estimated the US outsourced accounts receivable management market at US$18.5 billion in 2019. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is expected to exceed +3% between 2018 and 2022.
• US outsourced accounts receivable management market trends (2018-2022E) (in billions of US dollars)
21.0
18.5
c. +13%
2018
SouSrocuersc:eKs:aKualukliknin&&Giinsberrgg(2(201091)9. ).
2022E
1.1.4
Group strategy
1.1.4.1
Transformation
Over the last few years, Teleperformance has successfully transformed itself. Today, by anticipating and adapting to major changes in the global business services market, the Group has stepped up its transformation via the Intelenet acquisition and late 2018 launch of D.I.B.S. (Digital Integrated Business Services), enabling it to expand its services offering.
It has also diversified its activities and revenue streams from high value-added services, which combine strong organic growth with improved profit margins.
• 2000-2020 milestones in the evolution of the global business services* market
Late 1990s - Early 2000sEarly 2000s - 2015
Since 2015
|
|
|
*Business Process Outsourcing (BPO).
• 1990-2020 milestones in Teleperformance's transformation
Digital IntegratedBusiness Services
Digital Customer Experience
Customer Experience
380K+ employees
1978
1990
2000
2010
2020
The acquisition of Intelenet which have been integrated in the Core Services & D.I.B.S. business of Teleperformance in late 2018, made it possible to step up Group's transformation into a leading global group in digitally integrated business services, thereby taking advantage of the Group's changing market environment.
Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Mumbai India, Intelenet was a key player in the provision of high-end services encompassing omnichannel customer experience management, back-office, HR management as well as financial and administrative management.
At the time of its acquisition, Intelenet had over 110 blue-chip clients, mainly in English-speaking countries, India and the Middle East.
Intelenet clients operated mainly in banking, insurance, travel, tourism, e-commerce and healthcare.
Thanks to integrated solutions, Intelenet helped clients boost revenue, enhance quality and reduce operating costs while improving customer satisfaction:
●
the company delivers proprietary solutions designed by multi-skilled consultants including highly qualified engineers and expert business and procedure consultants;
●
digital integration underpinned by Robotic Process Automation;
●
best-in-class operations with nearly 60,000 employees in over 40 centers mainly in India, the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates, Poland and Guatemala.
The Intelenet acquisition was strategic for Teleperformance for three reasons:
●
high value-added integrated solutions and expertise in corporate digital transformation have significantly strengthened its offering;
●
its leading position in India has also helped consolidate the Group's presence on this growing market;
●
its expertise in a wide range of sectors has enabled the Group to continue diversifying its global client base.
This acquisition was a major step towards the successful implementation of Teleperformance's medium-term strategic plan, with the launch of D.I.B.S. (Digital Integrated Business Services).
Continuing its strategy to expand its portfolio of solutions, on October 27th, 2020, Teleperformance announced the signing of an agreement for the acquisition of Health Advocate. The acquisition of this US company specializing in digital integrated business solutions and services for consumer health management will enable Teleperformance to significantly strengthen its value-enhancing Specialized Services activities.
1.1.4.2 Medium-term strategic plan and objectives: step up value-enhancing transformation
1.1.4.2.1 Driving forward the transformation strategy in the medium-term
This strategy is designed to create value through robust, sustainable and profitable growth in the Group's operations based on organic growth and targeted acquisitions.
A favorable environment
Teleperformance's transformation underpins its medium-term strategic plan to seize opportunities on a high-growth market tapping into four decades of experience. It is also based on the trust and reputation built up among a broad range of blue-chip multinational companies.
● Expansion of the Group's target market - a BPO global market worth four to six times more than the outsourced customer experience management market, which is Teleperformance's core business.
●
The customer experience management market still offers
major outsourcing potential - 74% of services still managed in-house by companies and government agencies (according to a 2020 Everest survey).
● The digital revolution has led to an increase in both transactions and new business sectors (e.g. content moderation, online sales, messaging, sales and services). The digitalization of the environment was stepped up in 2020 during the health crisis.
● Teleperformance is well positioned with its high-tech, high- touch global integrated offering, alongside market newcomers primarily focusing on high-tech, and traditional customer experience management competitors, some of whom lack sufficient expertise or resources to strengthen their offering and pursue growth.
● In the wake of the health crisis in 2020, the Group stepped up the global deployment of its cloud-based remote employee management solution, TP Cloud Campus, a genuine competitive advantage in a new environment marked by changes in working methods and risks of disruption to operational capabilities. The Group responded quickly to the health crisis during the year by developing a WAH-based operating model on a global scale, thereby protecting its employees and their jobs while continuing to support clients' business activities.
A strategy founded on sustained organic growth
The outsourced market continues to offer attractive growth opportunities in many parts of the world and presents definite consolidation potential. This positive trend is bolstered by an increasingly complex and digitalized environment, with steady growth in customer interactions.
Since 2019, the Group has endeavored to accelerate the global deployment of its digital solutions (omnichannel offering, T.A.P.™ solutions, predictive models, automation and procedures), backed by a team of over 700 dedicated engineers today, a key driver of the Group's transformation and differentiation from its competitors:
The Group has optimized its organizational structure to ensure the success of this transformation and make things simpler, faster, safer and more efficient for its clients:
●
Go-To-Market strategy founded on a three-pronged "service offering/client sector/digital solutions" approach to boost revenues with existing clients ("farming") and develop the client portfolio ("hunting"); this involves a coordinated sales approach at the international level ("pack" approach) between the various regional sales teams alongside expert operational, technology (T.A.P.™), and sector teams;
● ongoing expansion to new regions around the world that offer strong potential for serving clients and winning new ones, notably in Asia over the next two years;
●
as part of the high-tech, high-touch strategy, continuing to invest in key areas such as information systems security (cybersecurity), training with the deployment of the "Lean Six Sigma" management method among all Group managers, and the protection of employees in the fight against Covid-19, as well as support for the vaccination campaigns announced in early 2021;
● bolstering the management team to manage the health crisis and accelerate the Group's transformation: creation of a Crisis Transformation Committee at the beginning of the year, which later became the Company Transformation Committee (CTC), comprising hundreds of top managers with high potential, as well as new appointments to the Executive Committee, such as Agustin Grisanti, who is now in charge of the Group's global operations.
A strategy including targeted acquisitions
The Group's acquisitions strategy primarily targets medium-sized companies offering a robust business and financial model and synergies with the Group's client base, operations and business activity.
The Group specifically keeps an eye out for all opportunities in high- value services that would shore up its business, revenue and earnings.
The acquisition of LanguageLine Solutions in September 2016 reflected the Group's strategic decision to develop high value-added Specialized Services. With the acquisition of Intelenet in October 2018,
Teleperformance has stepped up the digital transformation of its Core Services and D.I.B.S. business. (see below).
The October 2020 announcement of the acquisition of Health Advocate, a US-based healthcare plans management specialist, will significantly strengthen the Group's Specialized Services business, alongside LanguageLine Solutions, TLScontact and AllianceOne.
Via targeted acquisitions, Teleperformance is gradually positioning itself as a global leader in multilingual, high-end, digital, automated and integrated business services with global reach.
1.1.4.2.2 Medium-term objectives
Backed by its global sales approach, a market positioning increasingly centered on digital transformation solutions, and a bolstered management team, in the medium term Teleperformance plans to grow its revenues faster than the market growing in average by +4 to +5% per year.
The Group is targeting revenue of around €7 billion in 2022, including the impact of acquisitions.
As part of its development strategy to upgrade its service offering, the Group will continue to acquire companies offering high value-added services.
Ramping up Teleperformance's transformation into a leading global group in digitally integrated business services, while keeping tight control of costs and pursuing a dynamic yet selective new client strategy, gives the Group confidence in targeting an EBITA margin of around 14.5% in 2022.
The Group also plans to continue generating a strong level of net free cash flow.
1.1.4.3
Teleperformance's strategic strengths for achieving its targets
1.1.4.3.1 40+ years managing the customer experience: global and multicultural leadership
A broad geographical and linguistic scope
Teleperformance is a partner of choice on the major multinationals market and a highly reputed global employer.
With operations in 83 countries, the Group covers over 170 markets in over 265 languages and dialects on behalf of 1,000 clients, mainly major multinationals operating in various sectors.
This global presence and these capabilities are a real asset for multinational groups seeking the same standards of quality, safety and efficiency in the rapid roll-out of complex, integrated, global solutions worldwide, whatever the market. These global accounts represent around 50% of the Group's Core Services & D.I.B.S. revenues.
The Group has a stable and buoyant corporate client base around the world. The revenue breakdown per region and the Group's total workforce in Core Services & D.I.B.S. reflect its world market leadership in its core business.
The breakdown of operating countries is presented in section 1.1.6.2 Operational organization chart.
• Breakdown of revenue by business and linguistic region (2020)
8%
EWAP Ibero-LATAM CEMEA
* *EExx--Intelleenneet topoepreatriaontiso. ns.
India & Middle East* Specialized Services
• Breakdown of total workforce at December 31st, 2020 by business and linguistic region
• Total headcount of the Group's top 10 countries at December 31st, 2020
3%
Country
India Philippines Colombia United States Brazil Mexico Netherlands Portugal Greece
Total headcount 65,535
45,963 42,155 36,738 25,712
25,401
12,901
11,798
10,130
United Kingdom
9,082
EWAP Ibero-LATAM CEMEAIndia & Middle East* Specialized Services
* * Ex-Intelenet operations.
Ex-Intelenet operations.
A global offering of operational "Smart-Shoring" solutions
Backed by a global integrated domestic, nearshore and offshore network of operations in 36 countries, Teleperformance offers a unique range of smart-shoring solutions worldwide in all languages, tailored to all clients needs and constraints. The Group also delivers work-from-home solutions.
• Breakdown of Core Services & D.I.B.S. revenue by program type
(in % of total revenue) | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
Nearshore/offshore/multilingual | 47% | 46% | 43% |
Domestic | 53% | 54% | 57% |
Domestic, offshore and nearshore solutions |
The offshore service is defined as the ability to serve a market from sites located in another country, using the language of the served country. Teleperformance's offshore solutions mainly serve the North American market from Mexico (nearshore) the Philippines and India (offshore), in English and Spanish, and some European markets (nearshore solutions).
• Benefits offered by program type
Domestic
Nearshore
Offshore
No cultural differences | Geographic proximity | Cost-effective operations |
● | ● | ● |
Same language and time zone | Cultural proximity | Highly skilled agents |
● | ● | ● |
Proximity of operations | Easier travel | Select locations with the closest cultural |
● | ● | ● |
Same regulations | Less expensive communications | affinity to the market served |
● | ● |
Multilingual hubs
Teleperformance also operates multilingual hubs delivering optimal customer experience management omnichannel solutions to major multinationals. These hubs house staff from around the world, who work together on Pan-European and Pan-Asian multilingual programs.
A genuinely differentiating factor, Teleperformance's multilingual offering is assured by seven centers serving 140 markets, in more than 50 languages and dialects located in Portugal, Spain, Greece, Romania, Turkey, Egypt and Malaysia. Criteria applied to selecting these locations are very exacting. Hubs should be set up in appealing, stable cities with an educated, multicultural population.
Solution features:
●
Operations centralized in strategic locations best suited to providing an efficient and quality service
●
●
●
Consolidated data management, standardized and consistent omnichannel and multilingual processes involving multiple markets Nimble HR practices during start-up phase and in an emergency Agents native to countries where they work ensuring effective communication with end-users
●
Sites regularly certified Great Place to Work
The Cross Border Cloud Campus solution
Following the health crisis, the Group adapted and continued to develop its multilingual offering. By capitalizing on the success of multilingual hubs, the Group launched the Cross Border Cloud Campus solution during the year, a multilingual cloud solution. It appears as a natural evolution of the Multilingual Hub.
Principle
• A hub campus located in a specific country (Hub Country) is responsible for the overall management of the service and the relationship with the client; to deliver part of this service, it relies on operational resources located in other countries (Delivery countries).
• The delivery country is responsible for recruiting and managing employees, mainly agents, supervisors and quality audit expertson behalf of the hub campus. The organization thus put in place must best meet the needs of each client.
• The "hub" campus can also be called a supervision center ("Command Center"), because it centralizes operational management and support functions (audit quality, management of activity flows, reporting, IT & security, customer account management).
Benefits for Teleperformance
• The hub Country is located in an environment benefiting from a framework and high performance standards, a strong client proximity, a good reputation in terms of excellence and multilingual know-how. This solid base makes it possible to leverage the operational capacity of delivery countries.
• The model is efficient for the Group in terms of cost.
Benefits for the client
• A powerful and efficient multilingual solution, combining centralized, integrated and standardized management, and use of best practices from delivery countries.
• It also offers additional recruitment flexibility thanks to a connected network offering access to an expanded talent pool.
Work-from-home
Prior to the health crisis, a promising but underdeveloped operational model
Teleperformance's WAHA (Work At Home Agents) solution combines the services of highly qualified and effective agents, a flexible organizational structure, cutting-edge communications technology and the strictest security standards in the market. This delivery model enables all types of candidates to access agent functions.
Solution features:
●
access to a global workforce: agents can work from their home location;
●
increased flexibility in the recruitment process and in reacting to seasonal volume spikes;
●
improved employee engagement leading to improved employee satisfaction and, in turn, greater customer satisfaction;
●
access to agent jobs for people with disabilities.
Before the health crisis, nearly 10,000 of Teleperformance employees were working remotely.
Protecting employees during the pandemic
Remote work was one of the primary solutions adopted by Teleperformance to overcome the global Covid-19 crisis. This crisis significantly disrupted economic activity worldwide and prompted governments to impose strict health requirements in order to protect the population, including compliance with hygiene standards, social distancing and lockdowns. Under these circumstances, businesses were forced to rapidly rethink the way they operated. Work-from-homearrangements were initially rolled out by the Group a few weeks after the first lockdowns, particularly in China, in compliance with safety standards and certifications.
The Group's agile handling of this unprecedented crisis included deploying over 200,000 home workstations in less than two months at the height of the crisis. This transformation not only protected employees and their jobs, but also strengthened the Group's development model by ensuring business continuity for new and existing clients. 90% of clients accepted this new operating model, which was set up in record time.
Work-from-home as a sustainable and value-creating business model: global deployment of TP Cloud Campus (TPCC)
The Teleperformance Cloud Campus (TPCC) solution should be seen as an upgrade of legacy work-from-home arrangements.
Its deployment started in 2019, i.e. before the health crisis, in a range of business sectors such as e-commerce, utilities, telecommunications and healthcare. Its features include: "virtual" hiring, training, development, coaching, team-building, customer interaction, quality control, management and an environment that promotes employee wellbeing and social interaction. This gamified solution also provides employees with entertainment, learning and networking opportunities as part of the new Teleperformance "campus life".
This value-enhancing offering for client is based on high quality support to ensure business continuity, improved agent performance, enhanced data security, unparalleled global flexibility and the ability to interact at any time with Teleperformance's dedicated teams.
Above all, TPCC provides a standard for ensuring that all of the Group's remote operations are the same every where in the world.
There are four main benefits of the solution over traditional work-from- home arrangements:
●
●
●
●
broader talent pool; team efficiency; team wellbeing; security.
• Benefits of TP Cloud Campus vs. traditional working arrangements
Level
Sourcing and broader talent pool
Efficient virtual teamsWell-beeing ; high-touchSecurity
Themes
Traditional work-from-home
Sourcing Recruitment interview Contract signing Training
In one country
In multiple countries
By phone Paper
Electronic signature
Identical to the on-site model; partly face-to-face
Hub
Digital tools Content availability
Impersonal management Varied
Classic
Induction Collaboration Commitment Employee wellbeing HR technical support
Induction day
No video, or only for managers No specific activity
Standard support from Human Resources By phone and through the supervisor
Online, omnichannel tutorials
Service quality Equipment Security
Reduced control, availability of FAQs Mostly provided by Teleperformance Global Essential Compliance and Security Policies (GECSP)
Teleperformance Cloud Campus
By video
Specific program for work-from-home; fully online
Proximity; real time; centralization Identical for all teams
Online access
Welcome plan and kit Video always available Remote engagement plan Support program
TP sentinel, additional levels of control Use of agents' personal equipment TP observer, monitoring tools
By the end of 2020, the TPCC solution had already been implemented in 32 countries via the launch of 13 dedicated "cross-border" hubs in eight countries to manage, train and coordinate the agent network via this solution. The Group plans to deploy TPCC across 30% of its operations by the end of 2021.
Today, more than 250,000 employees are working remotely.
1.1.4.3.2 40+ years managing the customer experience: a diversified client portfolio
With 1,000 clients (excluding LanguageLine Solutions), Teleperformance has the most diversified client base in the industry. This subsidiary, LanguageLine Solutions, US market leader in over-the-phone interpreting services, has further boosted diversity by bringing an additional 30,000 (including many individuals) clients.
Teleperformance develops offers that meet the specific needs of every business sector. The Group is particularly well positioned in
• Breakdown of revenue by client business sector
(in % of total revenue)
the healthcare and insurance, telecommunications, financial services, technology and consumer electronics, public services and e-tailing sectors.
Diversification continued in 2020, driven by strong momentum in highly digitalized sectors such as retail, media and leisure, in particular during the health crisis. The contribution of the telecommunication, Internet, and pay TV sectors continues to decline, hitting 15% in 2020, down from 47% in 2013.
Telecoms, Internet Pay TV
"Telecommunications" sector
Healthcare and insurance Financial services
Technology, consumer electronics Retail, e-commerce
Public sector Media and leisure
Travel agencies, hotels, airlines Transport and logistics Energy
Other
"Non-telecommunications" sector TOTAL
2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
11% | 12% | 14% |
4% | 5% | 6% |
15% | 17% | 20% |
15% | 16% | 13% |
13% | 14% | 12% |
12% | 11% | 14% |
10% | 7% | 8% |
7% | 6% | 7% |
6% | 4% | 2% |
5% | 6% | 6% |
4% | 5% | 4% |
3% | 3% | 3% |
10% | 11% | 11% |
85% | 83% | 80% |
100% | 100% | 100% |
The Group's business portfolio is more diversified than that of the market. For example, the telecommunications sector accounted for just 15% of Group revenues in 2020, compared to 30% for the market as a whole.
• Breakdown of the outsourced market by client sector (2020)
30%
15%
15%
13%10%
12% 14%
Pay TV & Telecom-Internet
Healthcare, Insurance
10%
Financial Services
Tech., Consumer Electronics
TeleperformanceMarket
Source: Nelson Hall (2020) for market estimates.
10%7%
10%
6%
7%
6%
7%
5%
5% 5%
6%
Retail, e-CommercePublic SectorMedia & Travel Entertainment agencies, hotels, airlines
4%1%
3%
Transportation & Logistics
EnergyOther
The Teleperformance offering is perfectly adapted to the increasingly digital customer environment. The contribution of new economy players covers a wide range of sectors.
• Contribution of new economy players to the Group's 250 top clients' revenue
26%
21%
5%
2013
2019
2020
The share of digital economy clients in the Group's revenue from its 250 top clients has surged over the last years. This contribution increased from 21% in 2019 to 26% in 2020, up from just 5% in 2013. The most prominent sectors in this e-services environment include retail, transport, leisure, travel agencies, consumer goods and social media.
This change contributes significantly to the Group's strong revenue growth worldwide. It is a reflection of the Group's ability to meet the new customer experience requirements of new economy players. This trend was stepped up in 2020 due to the health situation. Lockdowns and the development of work-from-home solutions have changed consumer habits, benefiting the online activities of digital economy clients.
Despite Teleperformance's status as the partner of choice for a large number of leading multinationals in their industries, no single client accounts for over 6% of revenues, excluding the LanguageLine Solution business. The biggest client accounted for 5.7% of 2020 Group revenues, including LanguageLine Solutions. The overall concentration of the client base has also decreased compared to last year due to the large number of new clients, including global players in the digital economy.
The client retention rate is under control at over 95%, reflecting an average client relationship with the Group of around 12 years.
• Client portfolio concentration rate (in % of total revenue*)
2020 | 2019 | 2018 | |
Top client | 6% | 6% | 8% |
Top 5 | 15% | 16% | 18% |
Top 10 | 25% | 26% | 28% |
Top 20 | 38% | 39% | 41% |
Top 50 | 56% | 56% | 58% |
Top 100 | 69% | 68% | 72% |
* Excluding LanguageLine Solutions revenues - given the specific nature of the LLS interpreting business serving around 30,000 clients including individuals, this company, a Group subsidiary since September 2016, is not included in the calculation of the concentration rates.
Moreover, thanks to its unique global foothold, the Group earns around 50% of its revenues with multinational clients served in more than two markets.
1.1.4.3.3 A Go-to-Market strategy for successful transformation and to accelerate growth
Since 2019, Teleperformance has applied a "Go-To-Market" product marketing strategy based on a three-pronged approach: business lines, client sector, and digital solutions. As a result, it can significantly improve its positioning as an expert global business services partner. So the Group can now meet clients' varied needs, depending on their status as a disruptor or a disrupted company.
"One-Office" service offering
The Group now provides clients a global and integrated "One-Office" service offering, divided into three lines of business, each drawing on specific expertise: customer experience, back-office services and knowledge services.
Customer experience
Back-office
Consulting/Knowledge Services
●
●
●
Customer care Technical support Sales
●
●
●
●
●
Accounts receivable management Interpretation and translation
●
Industry-specific solutions Finance & accounting Human Resources services Content moderation
●
●
Consulting Advanced analytics
●
Automation & artificial intelligence
●
Visa application management and consulate services
Since January 1st, 2019, this services range has been divided into two activities: Core Services & D.I.B.S. and Specialized Services, as presented in the financial breakdown of revenues and operating income.
Specific client activity
The Group's main client sectors include: banking and financial services, healthcare and insurance, e-commerce and other online activities such as entertainment and logistics, social media and content moderation, telecommunications, consumers electronic, technology, and the public sector.
Digital platforms
●
●
Predictive models and advanced analytics. Omnichannel solutions.
●
Intelligent automated systems.
●
Integrated digital solution for remote customer experience management: TP Cloud Campus.
Digital solutions enable agents to deliver an optimized customer experience.
1.1.4.3.4 Backed by a strong high-tech positioning: technologies and dedicated teams
The Group develops and acquires technology to deliver cutting-edge services as a major player in digital transformations.
An integrated global IT and telecommunications network
Teleperformance delivers client services underpinned by a complex high-tech platform tapping into several data technologies covering state-of-the-art connection systems, computer hardware and software.
Teleperformance's global network provides secure connectivity between contact centers, WAH agents, including the TP Cloud Campus remote management solution, and the Group's clients, regardless of local infrastructure.
The Group continues to streamline the architecture of systems and technological standards. The Group has a wide range of proprietary technical tools and solutions, tested and scalable mainly in customer relationship management, operations, Human Resources and security.
The main solutions and tools are described per field below:
A comprehensive range of high-tech, proprietary tools and solutions
Human Resources and operations
Solution type
Description of services and solutions
CCMS
Integrated software package for the management of on-site services (Contact Center Management System - CCMS) created in 1998 and rolled out Group-wide from 2005. The software helped to standardize operational procedures and shore up security of business data production processes.
Olympus
Developed for US-based online interpreting services.
Created in 2013, LanguageLine Solutions® OlympusSM is a schedule management cloud-based platform. For online service orders, the platform enables users to find the right interpreter among the company's 13,700 interpreters working from home, the right language from over 240 languages on offer, the right area of expertise (healthcare, law, finance, insurance, etc.) and level required (from making an appointment to a medical diagnosis) in record time. This system can meet any interpreting service demand on any channel, including voice, video, chat or messaging.
World-class tech solutions in four fields
●
Omnichannel contact center tools.
●
Analytics and artificial intelligence tools.
●
Automation tools.
●
Industry-specific solutions.
Examples of solutions | Description of services and solutions |
TP client | Versatile CRM platforms enabling omnichannel interaction with voice, video, chat, messaging, email, bots |
(omnichannel customer | or social media. |
experience CRM solution) | Created in 1999, the late 2017 version includes new features to manage chat interactions. |
This CRM tool is the basis of the Group's integrated omnichannel strategy. | |
It has been implemented with more than 300 clients. | |
TP observer | Real-time agent monitoring and security alerts in case of fraudulent behavior. |
(security solution in omnichannel | Audio and visual monitoring of workstations and their immediate environment. |
customer experience) | This solution was created in 2007 and has been upgraded and optimised regularly. |
TP chat bot | Automated smart service. |
(automation solutions) | Advanced natural language processing functionality, support for various languages and interfaced with |
all social media platforms. | |
The fields of application are varied and include the IoT (smart cars, smart homes etc.), mobile apps and | |
smart websites. | |
TP travel | Automated smart system. |
(back-office solution tailored to | It is a solution designed for the travel and hospitality sector that taps into AI technology for an airline |
the tourism and air travel sector) | ticketing fare calculator. It provides a more user-friendly experience while reducing operating costs. |
iFARE has been praised for its excellence on many occasions and is an award-winning solution. | |
TELEPERFORMANCE - UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT 2020 |
The Technology, Analytics, Process Consulting (T.A.P.™) teams
Following the integration of Intelenet in late 2018, the Group has formed a new worldwide "Technology, Analytics, Process" (T.A.P.™) unit composed of expert engineers and analysts, who support the Group's operations and sales teams and are tasked with rolling out high value-added digital transformation solutions worldwide. Fields of
• Organization of T.A.P.™ people on three levels
expertise include predictive models, automation, artificial intelligence and business process consulting.
This high value-added service is delivered by over 700 flexible and responsive staff meeting Group client needs and seeking in turn to improve clients' customer satisfaction in a dynamic environment while minimizing overheads.
Cybersecurity
Group strategy
Like many large B2B and B2C firms, Teleperformance operates in an increasingly high-risk IT security environment. It is marked by a surge in cyber attacks on IT systems of large companies and government agencies.
In response, in 2019 the Group launched a cybersecurity investment program (Eagle Project), seeking to adopt the best practices defined by the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) set up by the US Department of Commerce in 2014.
Teleperformance has established a unit and procedures that aim to ensure complete control over cybersecurity risks (covering prevention, early detection and appropriate responses), thereby becoming a "cyber- resilient" business partner for its clients.
This program is entirely in line with the Group's high-touch, high-tech approach. It involves a high-tech aspect including an IT environment supported by latest tech and a human and procedural aspect including building a genuine corporate culture, regular audits and ad hoc training.
Investments in technology mainly concern the overhaul of the information systems network, ensuring greater segmentation and therefore protection, and rolling out systems to build a more secure cyber-environment. This program includes modernizing and standardizing global Security Operations Centers (SOCs), which will significantly improve cyber attack detection capabilities around the world.
2020 changes
In response to the global health crisis, the Group's data security risk profile has changed significantly, as the number of employees working from home has increased from nearly 10,000 to over 250,000.
A survey published by cybersecurity firm Carbon Black identified a +148% increase in 2020 worldwide in ransomware attacks targeting businesses.
Many of the Group's clients and some of its competitors suffered attacks of this kind during the year, observing direct impacts on their business volumes. Fortunately, Teleperformance was spared. Although the Group's risk exposure has increased due to widespread work-from- home, security results have remained stable thanks to improvements generated by the Eagle Project.
The Group aims to earn itself a Top 10 position in terms of data security in all client sectors. Teleperformance plans to measure its performance using internal benchmarking against NIST best practices and external monitoring services in this area, as commonly used by the Group's clients and cyberinsurance underwriters.
As part of the Eagle Project, Teleperformance will continue to invest in additional security programs in 2021. This will help meet clients' growing contractual security requirements, and will bolster the Group's protection against cyber attacks impacting business in the medium term. The cornerstone of the Eagle Project is the deployment of the Global Security Operation Center (GSOC) which began operating worldwide at the end of 2020. Deployment should be completed by the end of H1 2021.
1.1.4.3.5 A high-touch positioning: human and procedure management
Human management: emotional and environmental intelligence at work
The Group constantly strives for excellence in the service it delivers to its clients. This goal is achieved through a quality human resource strategy (high-touch). In fact, the Group manages a genuine global "army" of over 380,000 people serving clients.
Teleperformance makes its employees the focus of its business. The Group is committed to being an employer of choice in its market, an essential prerequisite in creating value for all stakeholders. A happy employee is the first step towards ensuring end-user satisfaction and therefore satisfying Teleperformance's clients.
To this end, the Group deploys a number of initiatives and tools in the areas of hiring, professional training and development, human rights, diversity and inclusion, wellbeing and work safety to monitor progress and the achievement of this goal. (see sections 2.3.2 Human resources development and 2.3.3 Creation of a working environment conducive to health and safety).
As a responsible company, Teleperformance considers it a duty to monitor employee fulfillment closely. As such, programs and procedures were designed to stimulate human IQ (intellectual quotient) and EQ (emotional quotient).
Protecting staff: an absolute priority during the health crisis
In 2019, before the outbreak of the health crisis, as part of the acceleration of its transformation Teleperformance implemented measures to expand its range of profiles through hiring, training and continued deployment of the "Lean Six Sigma" management method.
This focus on progress continued in 2020, despite the unprecedented and challenging nature of the pandemic, which disrupted working environments. Protecting its employees is the Group's top priority. As such, Teleperformance implemented a broad range of health measures including Group-wide application of on-site social distancing and the rapid roll-out of work-from-home solutions: over 200,000 work-from-home positions were created in two months at the height of the crisis. This also made it possible to preserve jobs, guarantee client business continuity and support the Group's financial stability.
Ensuring the quality of the workplace environment underpins Teleperformance's high-touch strategy, above all in a crisis. The merits of its approach to employee wellbeing is often recognized by independent entities that specialize in this field. On December 31st, 2020,
Teleperformance was recognized in 28 countries as a top employer by independent experts such as Great place to Work®, representing 87% of the Group's global workforce.
Teleperformance's high-touch strategy aims to improve employee satisfaction and set itself apart as a company focused on the future (see section 2.3 An employer of choice).
Training and procedures for optimizing Human Resources
Training is a key factor in managing the Group's Human Resources, particularly given that its business relies on a large workforce. 44,248,896 training hours were provided in 2020, representing an decrease of 5%. This represents 137 hours on average per employee, vs 160 in 2019 (see section 2.3.2.1 Employee training).
Development of the Six Sigma culture within the Group
Since 2018, the development of the Six Sigma culture within the Group has been one of the five priorities of the Teleperformance Institute, one of the Group's three main e-learning platforms.
To highlight the importance of this initiative, in 2019 Teleperformance hired a director tasked with creating a Six Sigma culture at the Company.
Every year, in partnership with a network of instructors, the coordinator sets up a number of Six Sigma Green Belt and Six Sigma Yellow Belt, in-class and e-learning training sessions, designed for executives, managers and employees.
Reinforcement of training and implementation of new Human Resources management procedures
In 2020, the Group developed training modules to continue encouraging employee excellence and commitment (see section 2.3.2.1 Employee training).
The Group aims to encourage employees' professional fulfillment within a working environment that promotes performance and fosters skills development. Teleperformance has introduced a set of measures to help employees drive their professional development.
Teleperformance encourages internal promotion. For 2020 the Group posted an internal promotion rate of 68% in respect of all positions, from supervisor upwards.
JUMP!
Exclusively designed for Teleperformance employees, the JUMP! program was initially introduced to encourage promotion from agent to supervisor and supervisor to manager. The program has undergone a number of changes since then and has been supplemented by other programs designed to prepare individuals for their future role. The program is designed to:
●
promote career development within the Group;
●
identify high-potential employees and prepare them for management positions;
●
●
encourage leadership at every level of the business; encourage internal promotions.
This program is based on a dual training program offering both technical and behavioral training, as well as personal development plans. An enhanced comprehensive catalog listing all program components will be published in 2020.
Teleperformance University
Teleperformance University is an in-house university geared towards high-potential managers seeking to become future senior leaders within the Group. The course consists of four on-site modules over one week, followed by additional e-learning modules.
In early 2020, a further expert joined the Group's human resource department to bolster executive training and development. The entire training program was revised to bring it closer to the Group's digital transformation targets.
The first training session took place in January 2020 at the TIEC (Teleperformance Innovation Experience Center), the Group's innovation center opened in 2019 in Santa Clara in the heart of Silicon Valley. A raft of expert external players took part, such as the Great Place to Work Institute, design thinking agencies, an innovation management method, and communications firms for executives. Face-to-face training has been disrupted by the health crisis. Pending a return to in-class sessions, in early 2021 Teleperformance launched a management development program based on distance learning, specifically focusing on the strategic leadership skills required to understand the Group's vision and mission.
Quality management procedures
The success of the high-touch model also requires dedicated operational management procedures, which help deliver quality as required, measure and ensure quality is consistent worldwide in a strict work environment in terms of personal safety and data security.
• Three examples of operations management procedures
Group subsidiaries have implemented TOPS (Teleperformance Operational Processes and Standards), BEST (Baseline Enterprise Standard for Teleperformance), as well as business standards such as the COPC (Customer Operations Performance Centers) standard and the French Customer Contact Center Service standard. The system is also based on international management standards such as ISO 9001.
Procedure | Objectives |
TOPS | TOPS are processes used to manage daily performance. The TOPS process allows performance and quality |
(Teleperformance | to be optimized, while managers are able to dedicate the majority of their working time to their agents. It was |
Operational Processes | designed by the Group to manage its operations in a standardized manner in each subsidiary. It allows for |
and Standards) | improved quality control. TOPS was rolled out at all Group subsidiaries. The process is backed by the Group's |
integrated software suite for service management (CCMS - see next section). TOPS provides a reference | |
framework for Teleperformance that is tailored to its operations. | |
BEST | BEST are quality standard manuals to ensure top service quality, high performance and proactive management |
(Baseline Enterprise | of existing and future programs. BEST also serves to reinforce HR best practices and projects for all |
Standard | Teleperformance operations worldwide. |
for Teleperformance) | |
COPC | The COPC-2000® standard supplies contact center management teams with the necessary information to |
(Customer Operations | improve their operational performance. COPC certification also provides a model for global performance |
Performance Centers) | management linking all of the Company's business areas. It also ensures operational consistency by meeting |
the high performance criteria required by the COPC standard. Teleperformance develops its own team of | |
approved coordinators and COPC-qualified internal auditors. |
In 2020, all of these processes were updated to adapt to the new working environment: on-site or remotely, using the new tools at the Group's disposal.
Data protection and cybersecurity procedures, certification and compliance
In an increasingly complex and challenging environment with regard to data security, Teleperformance has become a leader in this field within its business sector. Clients see this as a major differentiating factor. The Group continues to invest to maintain excellence in a constantly shifting environment, and launched an investment program in 2019 to bolster cybersecurity procedures (Eagle Project). It will be fully operational in the first half of 2021.
Data protection
The Group is fully compliant with international standards such as ISO 27001 and the PCI (Payment Card Industry) and HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act) standards.
In 2015, the Group rolled out a set of ground-breaking security policies worldwide called the Global Essential Compliance and Security Policies (GECSP), designed to establish norms and standards to identify potential fraud or hacking risks.
The "closed circuit" personal data protection framework is based on proprietary technology designed to:
●
inform managers of agents' unauthorized access to information;
●
provide a standard and secure method enabling agents to take notes while switching from one screen to another, thus reducing the risk of data leaks;
●
manage and monitor end-to-end compliance, from proof of download required by GECSP rules to reports sent to senior management.
These standards were established in response to the new challenges thrown up by the current worldwide digital transformation in the area of fraud and data leakage risk.
In 2016, the Group embarked on furthering our stance on data protection as the EU approved the new GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), which came into force on May 25th, 2018. This major global project has enabled Teleperformance to keep up with changes and to ensure that all its facilities were GDPR-compliant as soon as new rules took effect.
Teleperformance is also fully aware of its duty towards clients and employees in terms of protecting sensitive data collected and used on a daily basis. In February 2018, Teleperformance became BCR (Binding Corporate Rules) approved by CNIL (French data protection authority), an EU supervisory authority. BCRs provide Teleperformance legal grounds to make totally secure international data transfers within and outside the EU. At the time of this approval, Teleperformance was the only BCR-approved international corporate services provider as both data controller and data processor.
In terms of governance, a Global Compliance and Security Council, chaired at Group level by the Deputy Chief Compliance Officer and by the Chief Information Security Officer, prepares a regular risk report, examines security-related incidents and risks relating to personal data, and ensures ongoing compliance with the GECSPs. As Teleperformance places special attention on security matters, all regional Presidents and relevant operational and compliance officers attend the Global Compliance and Security Council meetings (see section 1.2.1.3 Risk factors).
As part of the Group's ongoing efforts to manage these functions proactively, a Global Privacy Office has also been set up. This office is comprised of the Chief Privacy Officer, along with the two regional Senior Vice Presidents in charge of privacy and data protection. The Global Privacy Office is responsible for implementing the Group's globalprivacy policy and ensuring that Teleperformance is in full compliance with global privacy regulations such as the European Commission's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (see section 1.2.1.3 Risk factors).
Cybersecurity
In addition to introducing an IT environment backed by latest tech (see section 1.1.4.3.4 High-tech) to prevent cyber attacks, the cybersecurity program roll-out is based on the Group's high-touch approach:
●
●
in-depth training for all Group employees worldwide; promoting a cyber smart culture within the enterprise;
●
upgrading procedures by introducing a new IT architecture, security by design, audits, and white hacking.
1.1.5
2020 highlights
1.1.5.1
Organization and capital expenditure
Handling of the Covid-19 health crisis
The global Covid-19 health crisis led many countries to impose nationwide lockdowns and travel bans. These measures caused the global economy to descend into a phase of systemic crisis.
Given the exceptional circumstances, the Group has done all it can to guarantee staff safety, safeguard jobs, ensure client business continuity and support its financial solidity as a matter of priority, while complying with directives issued by the authorities in each country in which it operates:
●
implementation of a crisis management system including the deployment of a dedicated internal and external communication system, as well as daily reports on changes in the situation and the impact on the Group's operations;
●
●
●
●
compliance with hygiene and social distancing standards issued by local authorities as well as World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines and recommendations at all Group facilities; work-from-home solutions set up in record time, with over 200,000 remote jobs created in two months at the height of the crisis; continuation and creation of essential services, assisting numerous governments worldwide in the fight against Covid-19; strengthened financial liquidity.
Bolstering the Teleperformance management team to step up the Group's transformation
Following the departure of Jeff Balagna, Chief Operating Officer for the English-speaking and Asia Pacific region (EWAP), Agustin Grisanti, 48, an Argentinian national, assumed responsibility for Group globaloperations as of January 1st, 2021. He was previously Chief Operating Officer of the Ibero-LATAM and Continental Europe, Middle East and Africa regions (CEMEA).
Miranda Collar, 47, a US national, joined the Executive Committee as Global Chief Client Officer. She was previously Chief Client Officer for the English-speaking region (EW). Her missions will include strengthening the Group's client base, in close cooperation with the teams led by Eric Dupuy, the Group's Chief Business Development Officer, who is also a member of the Executive Committee.
These key appointments help shore up and rejuvenate the senior management team, aiming to boost the Group's transformation into a leading global business services and integrated digital solutions provider.
Announcement of the signing of an agreement for the acquisition of Health Advocate
On October 27th, 2020, Teleperformance announced the signing of an agreement for the acquisition of Health Advocate, a US company specializing in digital integrated business solutions and services for consumer healthcare management. This acquisition will enable Teleperformance to significantly strengthen its value-enhancing Specialized Services.
Health Advocate is a US leader in online healthcare platforms serving employers and designed for use by employee-consumers. Its key focuses are on human contact, health data management and technology, to simplify and personalize the user healthcare experience. Founded in 2001 and based in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, Health Advocate posted annual revenues of $140 million and adjusted EBITDA of US$50 million or 36% of revenues.
The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval and standard closing conditions, is expected to be finalized during the second quarter 2021.
1.1.5.2
Extensions, new facilities and capital expenditure
Extensions and new facilities
In 2020, Teleperformance continued to implement its global development strategy by creating around 14,000 new workstations, compared to 23,000 in 2019. The number of new on-site workstations in 2020 does not include the widespread deployment of remote workstations in response to the health crisis.
New workstations at new sites:
●
English-speaking & Asia Pacific (EWAP) region: South Africa, UK and the Philippines;
●
Ibero-LATAM region: Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Spain;
Capital expenditure
●
●
Continental Europe & MEA (CEMEA): Greece, Egypt and Russia; India & Middle East: India.
Increase in the number of workstations at existing sites:
●
English-speaking & Asia Pacific (EWAP) region: United States and Malaysia;
●
Ibero-LATAM region: Brazil;
●
Continental Europe & MEA (CEMEA): Turkey, Egypt, Sweden and Madagascar;
●
India & Middle East: India.
The Group's production capacity continued to increase despite tight control over expenditure.
(in millions of euros) | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
Net capital expenditure | 254 | 252 | 196 |
% of revenue | 4.4% | 4.7% | 4.4% |
The Group strictly monitors volumes and ROI per project, notably when supporting rapid business growth in booming markets, in order to optimize Group capital allocation. Investments in work-from-home solutions during the health crisis amounted to €49 million in 2020.
1.1.5.3
Awards
In 2020, Teleperformance once again obtained numerous awards from prestigious institutions and reputable independent research firms worldwide. The Group has been recognized for its leadership and service excellence in its market, as well as its human capital development strategy, data privacy capabilities, capacity for innovation, and commitment to CSR matters. The following list states the main awards received over the year by topic.
Teleperformance's leadership and world-class services
●
Teleperformance was recognized by the Everest Group:
• among outsourced contact center management world leaders for the seventh year in a row;
• as a leader in outsourced contact center management in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region;
• in the Top 3 of the Business Process Services Top 50 Global Report.
●
Teleperformance was awarded seven Frost and Sullivan awards in 2020:
• Contact Center Outsourcing Services Company of the Year - Latin America;
• Work-at-Home Agent Industry Company of the Year - Latin America;
• Contact Center Service Provider of the Year - Asia-Pacific;
• Customer Experience Outsourcing Services Leader - Asia-Pacific;
• Customer Experience Outsourcing Services Leader - Australia;
• Competitive Strategy Innovation and Leadership - North America;
• Customer Experience Outsourcing Services Leader - Europe.
●
Teleperformance was presented the following awards by ISG:
• Digital Operations - World, as well as in the United States, Europe & UK, and Brazil;
• AI & Analytics - World, as well as Brazil.
●
Teleperformance has also been recognized as a global leader in outsourced omnichannel customer experience management by independent research firm Forrester.
●
Teleperformance was named one of the Top 100 outsourced services companies in 2020 by IAOP® (International Association of Outsourcing Professionals®).
Excellence in social and environmental responsibility
Teleperformance earned the Verego label for corporate social responsibility for all of its locations. For over 10 years, the Group has been recognized as a world leader and CSR benchmark by independent analysts, professional associations and international philanthropic foundations.
On December 31st, 2020, the Group was certified as a Top Employer in 28 countries: Albania, Argentina, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Kosovo, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, the Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
These certifications relate to 87% of the Group's employees around the world, up from 70% in 2019 (22 certified countries).
●
Great Place to Work® (GPTW):
• Albania,
• Germany, for the WAH model;
• Saudi Arabia;
• Argentina for the second year running;
• Brazil for the eleventh year running;
• China;
• Colombia for the fourth year running;
• Costa Rica;
• the United Arab Emirates;
• Spain;
• the United States;
• Greece;
• India for the seventh year running;
• Indonesia;
• Kosovo;
• Malaysia;
• Mexico, for the fourth year running;
• Peru;
• the Philippines for the third year running;
• Portugal for the tenth year running;
• the Dominican Republic for the sixth year running;
• the United Kingdom;
• El Salvador, for the seventh year running.
●
Teleperformance also obtained specific certifications:
• Best Workplaces for Women® in Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Brazil, China, the United Arab Emirates, Spain and India;
• Best Workplaces for Millennials® in Saudi Arabia, Argentina and the United Arab Emirates;
• Diversity & Inclusion for domestic and nearshore activities in Mexico.
●
Best Places to Work® awards:
• Albania;
• Egypt;
• Madagascar;
• Morocco;
• Russia;
• Tunisia.
1.1.6
Organization chart (December 31st, 2020)
1.1.6.1
Teleperformance SE and subsidiaries
The parent company Teleperformance SE operates as a holding company vis-à-vis its subsidiaries while also performing management, control, support and advisory functions for the Group's companies, receiving fees for these services.
Moreover, Teleperformance collects a brand royalty charged to all subsidiaries. Note 23 Relations with related companies in section 6.4 Notes to the parent company financial statements gives details of the Company's relations with its subsidiaries.
The Company is also head of the French tax group, which includes French subsidiaries in which the parent company holds over 95% of the capital.
Detailed information on Teleperformance SE's main subsidiaries is provided in the table of subsidiaries and shareholdings (see section 6.5 of this Universal Registration Document).
1.1.6.2
Operational organization chart*
Core Services & D.I.B.S.
CEMEA
Albania Belgium Bosnia-Herzegovina
Czech Republic
Denmark Egypt Finland France GermanyGreece
Italy Kosovo Lebanon Lithuania Luxembourg Madagascar Morocco Netherlands North Macedonia
Norway Poland Romania Russia Suriname Sweden Switzerland
Tunisia Turkey Ukraine United Arab Emirates
EWAP
Ibero-LATAM
Australia Canada China Indonesia Ireland Japan South Korea
Chile Colombia Costa RicaDominican Republic
Malaysia MauritiusPhilippines
Singapore South Africa
UK USA
Argentina
Brazil
Guatemala Guyana HondurasMexico
Nicaragua
Peru Portugal Salvador Spain
India & Middle East (D.I.B.S.)
Egypt France India Italy Jordan Luxembourg Netherlands Saudi Arabia
UK United Arab Emirates
USA
* Countries where Teleperformance branches and subsidiaries are located by business and linguistic region.
LanguageLine
Solution
Canada Costa Rica Panama Taiwan
UK USA
Specialized Services
TLScontact
Albania Algeria Armenia Azerbaijan Bangladesh
Belarus Belgium Botswana Cambodia
CameroonCanada
China
Egypt Ethiopia
France
Gabon Georgia Germany
Ghana
India Indonesia
Ireland Italy
Jordan Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kosovo Lebanon Luxembourg
Madagascar
Malaysia Mauritius Mongolia Montenegro
Morocco
Namibia Netherlands
Nigeria Philippines
Poland
Russia Rwanda
Serbia Sierra Leone Singapore South Africa
Spain Sri Lanka Switzerland Tanzania Thailand
Tunisia
Turkey Uganda
UK USA
Ukraine Uzbekistan Vietnam
AllianceOne
Canada Jamaica USA
1.2 RISKS AND CONTROL
RISKS' IDENTIFICATION | INSURANCE |
& ANALYSIS | GLOBAL PROGRAMS |
Overall policy | Overview |
The objective of the risk management policy is to identify and analyze the risks that the Group faces and set appropriate risk limits and controls.
Responsibilities
Supervision
It is the Board of Directors' responsibility to define and oversee the framework for managing Group risks, the consequences of which are liable to adversely impact the Company's business, staff, assets, environment, objectives, earnings, financial position, stock price or reputation.
Through its training and management rules and procedures, the Group aims to develop a rigorous and constructive control environment in which every employee has a clear understanding of his or her role and duties.
Organization
Identifying, analyzing, measuring and processing risk is the responsibility of the Group's five main departments, which manage the risks within their remit on a daily basis: finance, legal & compliance, the transformation department, which includes Human Resources and IT, business development and operations, at individual company and Group level, with their local managers. This organization provides the framework for the risk management system.
The system is based on interaction between the five main functional and operational departments and senior management, the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee and the Board of Directors.
Implementation
Interaction mainly takes the form of procedures carried out jointly by the main departments.
In 2020, this work focused on protection and compliance issues in the context of the health crisis. So far this has been a success, as illustrated by the fact that more than 250,000 of the Group employees have been placed under work-from-home arrangements to protect them and their jobs while continuing to support clients.
INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEM AND
INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
Presentation of this section
This section was prepared jointly by the main departments that play a key role in identifying and controlling the main risks. It is based on the internal control and risk management system implemented groupwide, which is based in particular on the Reference Framework prescribed by the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF - French Financial Markets Authority). It takes into account European prospectus regulations applicable since July 21st, 2019.
This section presents the main risk factors to which the Group is exposed in relation to its business operations, insurance, risk coverage and crisis management, the internal control and risk management systems, application of which is ensured by Teleperformance senior management and staff in order to anticipate and control these risks, and the Vigilance Plan.
Risk factors presentation
The risk factors likely to have an adverse impact on the Group are presented in the summary table under section 1.2.1 Risk factors.
They are identified and assessed by Group senior management and the subsidiaries according to their criticality. The results of this joint risk criticality assessment are presented in the risk factor table. This assessment takes into account the analysis carried out by senior management in May 2020 using a top-down approach, and by the subsidiaries in June 2020 based on a bottom-up approach. The follow- up and results of this joint assessment were presented at the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee meetings on May 27th and July 27th, 2020.
The importance of each of these risks is assessed in relation to the probability of them occurring, and the expected scope of their impact, taking into account the risk management measures implemented by the main departments responsible.
Risk factors are presented under four categories only, in no order of priority: strategic risks, operational risks, legal and regulatory risks and financial risks. Within each category, the most material factors should be mentioned first. The following factors are not placed in order of priority.
Risk criticality is presented on to a three-level scale: high, intermediate, and moderate.
However, the Group cannot provide an absolute guarantee regarding the achievement of objectives and the total elimination of risks. Furthermore, other risks not currently known to the Group or which are not considered material on the date of this Universal Registration Document may become major factors having an adverse impact on the Group.
1.2.1.
Risk factors
Risk factors to which the Group is exposed in the course of its business are presented in the table below. An analysis is carried out on the basis of net risk, once the risk management measures implemented have been taken into account.
Categories
1.2.1.1 Strategic Risks
1.2.1.2 Operating Risks
1.2.1.3 Legal and regulatory Risks
1.2.1.4 Financial Risks
Risk Factors
International presence (country, health and climate crisis) Innovation and disruptive technology
Competitors
Acquisitions
Human resources and employees safety System failure and cybercrime
Campaigns and/or negative image in the media/social medias Client portofolio
Personal data protection Litigation and employee disputes Ethics, corruption and human rightsExchange rates
Interest rates and official Group rating
Liquidity (debts)
Credit (clients) Equities
* The criticality level is determined based on the probability of occurrence and the risk materiality level. It is presented on a three-level scale: high (• • •), intermediate (• •), and moderate (•).
Impacts of Covid-19 on the main risk factors
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Covid-19 epidemic a pandemic on March 11th, 2020. The health crisis continues to severely affect the entire world, plunging the economy into unprecedented turmoil. The pandemic is forcing many countries to impose lockdown measures or curfews, in addition to travel restrictions or bans.
During this unprecedented period, Teleperformance's priority is to ensure the safety of its employees, the continuation of its business in order to maintain critical services to various clients' core operations, and its financial solidity, in accordance with directives issued by authorities in each of the countries where it operates.
Criticality*
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
These matters are covered under the risk factors presented below, and under "Risks relating to the Group's international presence" (political, health and climate crises), "Human Resources and personal safety", "Systems failure and cybercrime", "Client portfolio" and "Financial risks". The Group has so far successfully navigated the health crisis. Nevertheless, ongoing uncertainty makes it difficult to accurately estimate the potential impact of these risks, for which mitigation and management measures are also described below.
1.2.1.1
Strategic risks
Risk relating to the Group's international presence (political, health or climate crisis)
Risk identification
Teleperformance has subsidiaries in 83 countries. This broad geographical footprint increases the Group's exposure to geopolitical risks and global health crises, such as Covid-19 at present, or natural disasters.
Growing political tensions, social instability and acts of terrorism, as well as epidemics, earthquakes, hurricanes and floods may occur in some of these countries, resulting in the loss or shutdown of a Group location, as in the case of certain Group facilities due to the pandemic.
Covid-19: The evolution and uncertainty regarding the duration of the pandemic could considerably increase the level of risk relating to the Group's operating environment. Such events could interrupt services provided to clients, directly or indirectly impacting clients, customers, employees or Group assets, if the Group is unable to keep implementing measures to ensure continuity of its clients' business activities. This could lead to operating losses, overturn the profit forecasts underlying investment decisions and curtail earnings.
Risk management
Together with the operating divisions, Teleperformance senior management constantly assesses the Group's exposure to risks relating to its international operations, in particular in countries currently hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Covid-19: An effective structure has been set up, including the creation of a dedicated Committee to deal with the events described in section 1.2.2.3 Crisis management. This Committee is currently supporting the Group's transformation.
Risks relating to the Group's international presence may result in a discontinuation of services and adversely impact the Group's results. To deal with this, Teleperformance has introduced a series of emergency measures such as remote work and digital solutions, to ensure continuity of its clients' business activities, in co-operation with them and in accordance with applicable security standards and certifications.
More than 250,000 of the Group employees currently work from home.
The Group has implemented a strict global safety and hygiene policy, coordinated daily by a dedicated central team that ensures the protection of its employees, which is top priority. This policy is in strict compliance with the guidelines and recommendations issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) and local government bodies, while implementing its own internal regulations, many of which go beyond the recommendations.
In January 2021, the Group also undertook to reimburse the cost of the Covid-19 vaccine administered to its employees in countries where it is not covered by the local health insurance scheme. This program will be rolled out in accordance with the decisions of authorities in each of the Group's 83 operating countries and in partnership with key private sector healthcare operators.
Risk relating to innovation and disruptive technology
Risk identification
Teleperformance operates in an environment subject to high-speed technological evolution. The Group must adapt to its clients' latest requirements with regard to services and innovation, in order to anticipate increasing demand for solutions, particularly digital solutions, that will transform the customer experience.
The Group may be impacted by these disruptive innovations if it fails to adapt by offering clients new solutions.
Risk management
Teleperformance ensures that it responds to client demands by developing its customer relations solutions, advisory and data analysis offering, high value-added Specialized Services and integrated digital solutions.
In 2019, Teleperformance continued its digital integration and extended its range of business services by deploying its high-tech, high-touch strategy. The Group has expanded beyond its core activities into new fields of expertise closely related to customer experience management, such as content moderation, data analysis and business process management services in the healthcare sector. The Group continues to develop a TAP™ team (Technology, Analytics, Process) comprising engineers dedicated to digital integration and the implementation of RPA solutions (Robot Process Automation). In October 2020,
Teleperformance was recognized by an independent research firm as a world leader in outsourced customer experience management, capable of offering omnichannel, automated solutions based on artificial intelligence (AI), a key differentiating factor.
Competition risk
Risk identification
Teleperformance is a global leader in outsourced customer experience management that is currently transforming itself into a worldwide leader in business services and integrated digital solutions, in response to client demands for increasingly complex and integrated services.
Due to its growth and transformation strategy, the Group's competitive environment is expanding and now includes other market operators such as global leaders in consulting, IT services and digital transformation. Furthermore, in each country where the Group operates, it faces extensive competition from international and domestic players and companies specializing in contact center management.
The Group is in competition with these companies both in terms of retaining existing clients and acquiring new ones. The expansion and growing complexity of the competitive environment could force the Group to reduce its prices, which could adversely impact revenues and earnings.
Acquisition risk
Risk identification
Acquisitions form part of the Group's development strategy aimed at extending its range of services and developing the Group's business in high-growth sectors. However, identifying potential acquisition targets can prove complex, as it involves finding opportunities at an acceptable price and under suitable conditions.
The integration of a newly acquired company within the Group can also generate risks and may not produce all of the expected benefits. Difficulties encountered during the integration process could impact earnings if the Group is unable to overcome these difficulties and achieve the expected results.
Any goodwill recorded on the Group's balance sheet in relation to acquisitions may need to be impaired when valued at the balance sheet date. The assumptions made in estimating future earnings and cash flows at the time of these valuations may not be confirmed by subsequent results. If this is the case, the Group would be required to record impairment losses, which may adversely affect its earnings and financial position.
Risk management
Since 2019, the Group's client-focused high-tech, high-touch transformation strategy has enabled it to extend its range of business services. This strategy is supported by a strengthened management structure designed to accelerate the Group's transformation and maintain its global leadership while improving its competitive positioning.
In addition, the Group's acquisition strategy is constantly adapted to changes in the competitive environment.
In October 2020, the Group signed an agreement to purchase Health Advocate, a US-based business services company providing integrated digital solutions in consumer health management. This acquisition will enable Teleperformance to considerably strengthen its high value- added Specialized Services business.
Risk management
The Group has significant experience in carrying out acquisitions. As part of its external growth strategy, Teleperformance takes all steps to identify acquisition targets, in terms of country, product or job synergies, as well as identifying risks associated with these acquisitions.
The Group follows a centralized acquisition process coordinated by senior management, to which the main departments contribute, before acquisition opportunities are reviewed and voted on by the Board of Directors.
For all acquisitions, the Group implements the customary procedures under its consolidation policy for acquired companies.
The analysis of goodwill recorded on the Group's balance sheet is presented in note 4 of section 5.6 Notes to the consolidated financial statements in the 2020 Universal Registration Document.
1.2.1.2 Operating risks
Risk relating to Human Resources and employee safety
Risk identification
The Group's employees are its most precious asset. The quality of the services provided by the Group depends on its ability to manage its employees and offer them a high-quality working environment, guaranteeing them the necessary safety conditions, particularly in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.
This quality also depends on the Group's ability to attract, train, retain and develop the skills of its employees, in order to ensure the proper execution of their tasks, while maintaining an optimal level of training.
The departure of certain executive officers could have an adverse impact on the coordination of the Group's operating and strategic activities and earnings.
The ability to maintain a high-quality working environment is a key part of the Group's culture, given that its business depends first and foremost on its employees. Difficult working conditions and inadequate health and safety represent a serious risk for employees that would also impact Group operations.
Risk management
The Group pays close attention to the quality of its Human Resources management and working conditions. The safety of employees has always been the Group's priority, and even more so during the current global Covid-19 pandemic.
Covid-19: From the outset of the epidemic in China, Teleperformance implemented measures to ensure the safety of its employees, which have now been deployed worldwide. They are set out in section 1.2.4.3
Mitigating risks and preventing serious harm of the 2020 Universal Registration Document. They are based on World Health Organization guidelines and recommendations. These include physical distancing policies, regular and more frequent cleaning of facilities with the use of disinfectants, and adequate availability of supplies such as hand sanitizer and masks, which have been purchased in the millions and proactively distributed to employees worldwide.
More generally, the Group has implemented a number of mechanisms to limit the impact and occurrence of individual safety risks. A dedicated global department reports to the Group's Chief Administrative Officer.
It focuses on the development of global programs to promote employee engagement and wellbeing. These programs are in line with the Group's high-tech, high-touch strategy. All of the initiatives taken to improve employees' quality of life at work, promote health and prevent workplace accidents and occupational illnesses are detailed in section 2.3 An employer of choice of the 2020 Universal Registration Document.
Employee expectations are regularly gaged through satisfaction surveys conducted at each subsidiary, after which appropriate action plans are drawn up. Similarly, the employee turnover rate is regularly monitored so as to meet respective expectations. In order to protect the Group's interests, certain key executives are bound by non-compete clauses or benefit from performance share plans as set out in section 7.2.6.3 of the 2020 Universal Registration Document. The Group has also implemented a succession planning process in order to identify high-potential key executives.
The Group's status as a preferred employer in the market is widely recognized. Teleperformance has been recognized as Best Employer for a major portion of its subsidiaries. The Group has also obtained international certification awarded in recognition of the best working environments across all sectors.
System failure and cybercrime risk
Risk identification
Teleperformance delivers its services to clients through a technological platform that integrates various aspects of information technologies: powerful telephone technology, hardware and software.
Covid-19: To ensure continuity of customers' business activities, the Group has developed remote work and digital solutions for more than 250,000 of the Group employees.
The growing use of these technologies at its facilities or at employees' homes exposes the Group to risks such as IT or telecommunication system failure (due to internal or external factors), malicious acts (such as cyber attacks), human error, whether unintentional or deliberate (phishing, whaling) or employees' failure to comply with Group procedures These risks are greater when employees work from home, particularly with regard to cybercrime and data privacy risks. Although the information security technology for home-based workstations and call centers is the same, physical security checks cannot be applied at employees' homes at the same standard as those carried out in the call center environment.
Risks relating to system failure and cybercrime may result in a loss or unintended disclosure of data, client service interruptions and additional costs. If these risks materialize, the Group's liability may be invoked. These risks may impact clients and employees and may have adverse consequences for the Group's business, earnings and reputation.
Risk management
The Group's goal is to establish the highest standards and best practices in order to satisfy and protect its clients and their customers, whether on site or at home.
The Group has set up an organizational system that has earned worldwide recognition for best practices in terms of compliance, data security and privacy. It is based on a specific security structure that pursues a policy of comprehensive and regular operational assessments for our clients in order to reduce risk. The protective measures implemented are set out in section 2.4.3 Data protection and cybersecurity of the 2020 Universal Registration Document.
Covid 19: As part of its remote working solution, the Group has developed support services for its agents working from home, specific technical solutions designed for secure remote work, as well as more frequent control measures.
Each subsidiary adheres to internal data security and protection standards, as well as international security and quality standards including ISO 27001 and 22301. In addition, Teleperformance complies with PCI Data Security standards when required by clients. This is based on procedures to safeguard its business in the event of system failure. Additional, contractually defined measures may be implemented to protect information systems and networks dedicated to specific projects or clients.
The Group makes regular investments in order to maintain cutting-edge IT architecture in response to the growing complexity of cybercrime.
The Group ensures that the requisite insurance cover is obtained and applied in relation to its business.
Risks relating to campaigns and/or negative image in the media and on social media
Risk identification
The Group could be exposed to the risk of defamation or unsubstantiated or false allegations, due to negative comments made on social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) or media attacks by external or internal stakeholders considering certain policies, decisions or actions taken by the Group to be unacceptable or acting with malicious intent.
This risk of defamation could jeopardize the Group's image. New technologies, the rapid dissemination of information and the growing influence of social networks encourage the spread of negative information in the media, whether proven or not. If the Group is the subject of prejudicial media coverage or inappropriate messages, these could have a negative impact on the Group's image and business, which could in turn affect the share price.
Risk management
In order to understand the risks arising from such events, the Group has asked an external, specialized agency to monitor press and social media, so as to keep abreast of relevant posts and publications and be ready to act if necessary. Senior management has designated persons authorized to make statements on behalf of the Group, which is listed on the Paris Stock Exchange, to control risks relating to its image.
The Group has adopted a global crisis management plan designed to prevent, manage and limit the consequences of such events. In the event of widespread criticism or allegations against the Group, crisis management and communication procedures can also be activated locally with the support of specialized agencies.
Client portfolio risk
Risk identification
Teleperformance's business depends on its ability to retain customers and win new business, thereby maintaining a diversified portfolio. This ability is generally assessed in light of various contractual criteria such as service quality, security, cost and any aspect enabling it to stand out from its competitors. The duration of contracts in the inbound calls business, which accounts for most of the Group's revenue, generally varies between two and five years.
A client may request that certain criteria be amended. Price, which is a determining factor for certain business sectors (particularly in telecommunications) and allocation of entrusted volumes are aspects that can impact the Group's business.
A decrease in volumes, whether or not linked to a deterioration in economic conditions, such as Covid-19, could lead to a decline in or the loss of the client's business, which would in turn have a negative impact on the Group's business and earnings, as in the case of the visa application management business (TLScontact) since mid-March 2020, especially if the client represents a significant percentage of business.
Risk management
A large proportion of Group revenues is generated by long-standing clients. The average length of a client relationship is 12 years. This loyalty is the result of the Group's extremely customer-centric culture, reflected in rigorous processes, contractual compliance, solid understanding of client expectations and a highly responsive organizational system. This is founded on specific management of key accounts, regular business reports and the creation of fast-responding operational units.
The Group places particular importance on regularly assessing client satisfaction in order to continuously assess the risk of losing major contracts. Client satisfaction is monitored by the operating departments and at Group level. It is maintained throughout the contract so as to forestall any risk of withdrawal.
Teleperformance has a diverse portfolio comprising around 1,000 clients (excluding LanguageLine Solutions - as stated in section 1.1 of the 2020 Universal Registration Document). No single client accounts for more than 6% of Group revenue. The top 5, 10, 50 and 100 clients accounted for 15%, 25%, 56% and 69% respectively of Group 2020 consolidated revenues. The Group's clients operate across a broad range of business sectors.
Covid-19: During the ongoing health crisis, Teleperformance is ensuring continuity of its clients' business by providing critical and back-office services to many essential businesses in these sectors, such as healthcare, finance and banking, distribution, communications, transport and logistics, information technology, energy, public services and the public sector. During the outbreak, Teleperformance is also handling many emergency numbers set up by local governments in 16 countries and five continents.
1.2.1.3
Legal and regulatory risks
Data privacy risk
Risk identification
The Group's activity requires its subsidiaries, acting as data controllers, to collect, process and transfer personal data regarding our employees. When acting on behalf of its clients, Teleperformance acts as a data processor and collects and processes personal data of the customers of its clients based on strict guidelines for each client.
The Group must meet not only statutory requirements and contractual commitments to clients but also more than 300 data security compliance criteria. Non- compliance with statutory and contractual requirements could lead to adverse consequences for the Group's performance.
Electronic fraud cases have continued to increase worldwide, as evidenced by the most significant cases published in the international press. These incidents are settled confidentially in the normal course of business.
Risk management
The Group has implemented a set of security rules ("Global Essential Compliance and Security Policies" or "GECSPs") designed to anticipate and limit the risks of fraud or violation of statutory data security requirements. The Group has established an internal compliance audit function, which reviews the operational sites on a rotating 24-month or for the top 10 clients, 12-month basis, for adherence to the GECSPs and client requirements. In addition, external auditors audit selected sites in order to assess compliance with the GECSPs and other security processes implemented in our sites.
In addition, a Global Compliance and Security Council, chaired by the Global Chief Information Officer and the Group Deputy Chief Compliance Officer, creates a monthly risk report, meets quarterly to review security incidents, evaluate privacy risks, ensure regular compliance with the GECSPs and review internal and external audit findings and other compliance matters. As Teleperformance places special attention on security matters, regional Presidents and relevant operational and compliance officers attend the Global Compliance and Security Council meetings.
The Group Deputy Chief Compliance Officer reports to the Group Chief Legal, Compliance and Privacy Officer who is under direct supervision of the Group Chairman and CEO. These officers provide reports of activities to the Board's Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee.
As part of the Group's ongoing efforts to manage these functions proactively, a Global Privacy Office has also been established. This office is comprised of the Senior Vice-President of Privacy and Compliance, along with the two regional Senior Vice-Presidents in charge of privacy and data protection. The Global Privacy Office is responsible for implementing the Group's global privacy policy and ensuring that Teleperformance is in full compliance with global privacy regulations such as the European Commission's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) effective May 25th, 2018. The Group has established an independent audit team that reviews the subsidiaries and the Privacy Office for adherence to the Teleperformance Privacy Program. All subsidiaries are reviewed on a rotating three-year basis, with an external review performed within the three-year rotation period.
Teleperformance also has a Global Technology, Privacy and Security Committee co-chaired by the Global Chief Information Security Officer and the SVP of Privacy and Compliance. The members of this Committee are the Global Chief Information Officer and all regional Chief Information Officers, as well as the Global Deputy Chief Compliance Officer, the regional Senior Vice-Presidents for privacy and data protection, and the regional Chief Information Security Officers.
The main function of this Committee is to evaluate all new and existing technologies prior to deployment to ensure that a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) has been completed. This process ensures that Teleperformance evaluates the privacy implications of the technologies used for collecting or processing data as both data processor and data controller. The Committee is also conducting a detailed review of cyber and data security issues.
On February 12th, 2018, Teleperformance obtained certification of its Binding Corporate Rules (BCRs) from the CNIL (the French data protection authority). This certification applies to all Group subsidiaries acting as data controllers for Group employees and data processors for clients and allows Teleperformance to transfer and process data globally.
Teleperformance is working to achieve global certification to the ISO 27701 Privacy Standard by the end of 2021.
Risk relating to litigation and employee disputes
Risk identification
In some countries where the Group operates or is located, failure to comply with applicable domestic legislation or regulations could expose the Group to legal action by employees, third parties or an administrative or regulatory authority. In addition, the Group or any of its subsidiaries could be jointly summoned or called as a witness in a lawsuit brought against one of its clients by a third party or administrative or regulatory authority.
In the ordinary course of business, the Group is involved or risks being involved in various administrative, regulatory or court proceedings.
Within the scope of some of these proceedings, monetary claims are made or may be made against the Group. Such claims could have a negative impact on the Group's earnings.
In the course of its business, the Group is also involved in a certain number of employee disputes. In the future, the Group may further restructure or reorganize its business in certain countries. Such operations may involve closing down or merging sites in order to adapt to the needs of an ever-changing market.
Although Group management pays particular attention to such restructuring operations, they could nevertheless damage the Group's relationships with its employees, which could lead to employment disputes or disruption that could adversely impact the Group's reputation, revenue, financial position or earnings.
The Group considers that the provisions booked to cover the risks, disputes and proceedings of which it is aware or that are currently pending provide sufficient assurance that the Group's consolidated financial position will not be materially impacted in the event of an unfavorable outcome. Provisions for employee-related risks mainly concern disputes with former employees, particularly in Argentina, Brazil and France. A breakdown of provisions is provided in note 9 of section 5.6 Notes to the consolidated financial statements of the 2020 Universal Registration Document.
Risk management
In order to anticipate risks relating to non-compliance with legislative or regulatory changes, the Group's network of in-house lawyers based in its operating regions, assisted by external counsel, tracks changes in legislation and regulations.
Group and subsidiary managers take care to consult employee representative bodies, if any, and/or take into account employee comments and aspirations in the relevant countries via other mechanisms.
Covid-19: During the current health crisis, the measures taken by Teleperformance to ensure safety at its European sites were recognized by the European Company Works Council (ECWC), which acted as an independent employee representative to assess the individual responses of each Teleperformance subsidiary against the Covid-19 pandemic.
To the Company's knowledge, as of the date of this 2020 Universal Registration Document, there are no governmental, legal or arbitration proceedings (including pending or potential proceedings) other than those stated in this section and in note 9.5 Litigation of section 5.6 Notes to the consolidated financial statements of the 2020 Universal Registration Document, that could have or have had, over the last 12 months, a material impact on the financial position or profitability of the Company and/or the Group.
Risk relating to ethics, corruption and human rights
Risk identification
Due to its operations in 83 countries, the Group may be exposed to inappropriate behavior by some of its employees or by third parties, whether with regard to ethics, compliance with human rights or corruption.
Practices in conflict with anti-corruption regulations and business ethics could arise in countries where the Group operates.
Such practices would expose the Group to penalties and a risk to its reputation, which would impact the Group as a whole. They would also impact its overall credibility as a socially responsible company, preferred employer, trusted partner for stakeholders and good corporate citizen.
1.2.1.4
Financial risks
The Group is exposed to the following risks:
●
●
●
●
●
foreign exchange risk; interest rate risk; credit risk; liquidity risk; equity risk.
Risk management
As part of its business activities, including procurement and sales, the Group ensures that all acts of corruption are prohibited. This zero-tolerance approach is set out in the Group's Code of Conduct. This Code refers to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), which aims to align businesses with human rights, labor, environmental, and anti-corruption principles. The Group has been a signatory of the UNGC since 2011.
The Group's Code of Conduct, Code of Ethics and Supplier Code of Conduct setting forth Teleperformance's values, as well as the principles for respecting diversity in dealings with third parties, are published on the Group website. These codes aim to prevent any unethical activities or practices, notably by raising awareness among Group employees in the performance of their duties, so that the Group is always viewed as a preferred employer, a trusted partner for its stakeholders and a responsible corporate citizen.
Furthermore, in accordance with the French Sapin II law, the Group has developed a global program on fighting corruption and influence peddling, under the responsibility of the Group Legal and Compliance department and the Deputy Chief Executive Officer. This program, applicable to all entities of the Group, is based on a strong commitment from Group management, an organizational structure with defined missions, a dedicated communication plan and a set of measures aimed at preventing any act of corruption or influence peddling, detecting them as quickly as possible, and reacting, as appropriate.
The Group's commitment to ethical business practices is described in section 2.4.2 Fair practices of the 2020 Universal Registration Document.
This section provides information on the Group's exposure to each of the above risks, its objectives, policy and procedures for measuring and managing risk, as well as its share capital and equity management. Quantitative disclosures appear elsewhere in the consolidated financial statements.
All strategic decisions relating to the hedging policy for financial risks are the responsibility of the Group's Finance Department.
Management considers that the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Brexit) effective February 1st, 2020 should not have a material impact on the financial statements of the Group, in view of the Group's business in that country.
Foreign exchange risk
Risk identification
The Group is particularly exposed to foreign exchange risk on revenues and charges denominated in a currency other than each company's functional currency, i.e. principally exchange rate risk between the Mexican, Philippine and Colombian pesos, the Indian rupee, and the US dollar.
The materialization of this risk, due to the continued appreciation of foreign currencies linked to local costs, in relation to the invoicing currencies from one year to the next, could have a negative impact on the Group's earnings.
The Group is also exposed to exchange risk on loans denominated in currencies other than the euro or the functional currencies of Group entities.
Finally, the Group is exposed to foreign exchange risk when translating foreign subsidiaries' financial statements for consolidation purposes.
The translation difference on Group consolidated revenue is disclosed in note 7.8 Exposure to exchange risk due to consolidation in section 5.6
Notes to the consolidated financial statements in the 2020 Universal Registration Document, which shows the breakdown of revenue by currency over the last two years.
The impact of changing foreign exchange rates on the Group's revenue, profit before tax and net profit Group share are also disclosed in note 7.8 Exposure to exchange risk due to consolidation in section 5.6 Notes to the consolidated financial statements in the 2020
Universal Registration Document.
Interest rate risk and official Group credit rating Risk identification
The Group is exposed to interest rate risk on its financial liabilities and cash holdings. Amounts subject to interest rate risk are as stated below:
Fixed | |||
(in millions of euros) | 12/31/2020 | rate | rate risk |
Total financial liabilities | 3,270 | 2,718 | 552* |
Total cash and cash | |||
equivalents | -996 | -996 | |
NET DEBT | 2,274 | 2,718 | -444 |
Subject to | |||
Fixed | interest | ||
(in millions of euros) | 12/31/2019 | rate | rate risk |
Total financial liabilities | 3,083 | 2,270 | 813 |
Total cash and cash | |||
equivalents | -418 | -418 | |
NET DEBT | 2,665 | 2,270 | 395 |
* €250 million of which is hedged with caps. A 100 bp increase in interest rates would lead to a €5.2 million increase in interest expense, while an equivalent reduction in interest rates would reduce interest expense by €5.3 million.
Subject to interest
Like any Group subject to credit rating, Teleperformance could suffer an unfavorable impact on its capacity to fund ongoing operations and to refinance its debt if Standard & Poor's were to downgrade the Group's long-term credit rating due to a higher-than-expected debt level or other credit-related reasons. A possible downgrading of the Group's long-term credit rating by a rating agency could potentially curb the Group's ability to raise funds, thereby resulting in an increase in the interest rate at which the Group could borrow in the future.
Risk management
The Group hedges this risk in respect of revenues and expenditure mainly for rate movements between the Mexican, Philippine and Colombian pesos, the Indian rupee and the US dollar.
These hedges are described in note 7.3 Currency and interest rate hedging operations of the 2020 Universal Registration Document.
For risk on borrowings denominated in currencies other than the euro or entities' functional currency, it should be noted that:
●
the Group hedges loans granted to subsidiaries with loans or advances in the same currency and with the same maturities, or with foreign exchange contracts;
●
the principal bank loans granted to Group companies are denominated in the functional currency of the borrower;
●
interest due on borrowings is denominated in the same currency as the cash flows generated by the underlying operations of the Group, primarily the euro, the US dollar and the pound sterling. This provides an economic hedge without resorting to derivatives.
Risk management
The Group currently has the best credit rating in the customer experience management sector. Its long-term credit rating is "BBB-" - Investment grade - with a stable outlook. This rating was confirmed on November 6th, 2020 by Standard & Poor's, which considers that it reflects Teleperformance's leading position, the diversification of its client portfolio and global presence, as well as the development of high value-added digital solutions.
Liquidity risk (liabilities)
Risk identification
Liquidity risk is the risk that the Group may experience difficulty settling its liabilities as they fall due.
Covid-19: Due to the ongoing pandemic, the Group may not be able to generate sufficient free cash flow to meet its commitments. This situation may also impact the Group's financial position and cause it to default on its commitments under covenants.
Credit risk
Risk identification
Credit risk is the Group's risk of financial loss in the event that a client or counterparty to a financial instrument fails to meet their contractual obligations. This risk primarily concerns customer receivables and short-term investments.
Covid-19: During the current health crisis, credit risk may be greater for some, primarily customers of the Group, who may find themselves in financial difficulty and unable to settle their invoices.
The Group's exposure to credit risk is mainly influenced by the individual characteristics of its clients. Sales to the main Group client account for 5.7% of Group revenues. In addition, sales to telecommunications sector clients and Internet access providers account for 11.6% of Core Services and D.I.B.S. revenues. The Group's dependence on this sector is constantly decreasing. No country accounts for more than 10% of customer receivables, except for the United States, which accounted for approximately 30% of total customer receivables as of December 31st, 2020.
Risk management
The Group policy in respect of its financing is to maintain, at all times, sufficient liquidity to finance Group assets, short-term cash requirements and development, both in terms of amount and duration, and at the lowest possible cost.
On November 6th, 2020, Standard & Poor's confirmed the Group's BBB- stable investment grade rating.
Covid-19: In order to prepare for any cash shortfall, on April 15th, 2020 the Group signed a 12-month €655 million Revolving Credit Facility, with a 6-month extension option, renewable up to April 2022.
For several years now the Group has implemented a centralized cash management policy when permitted by local legislation. Cash pool member companies represent over 66% of Group revenues.
In countries where cash pooling is not permitted, short-term cash management is provided by the subsidiaries' operational management team, which generally has access to short-term bank facilities plus, in some cases, confirmed credit line facilities from the parent company.
All medium- and long-term financing operations are authorized and overseen by the Group's Finance Department.
The Group obtains financing in the form of loans, credit lines and bond issues from top-tier credit and financial institutions, repayment of which falls due between 2021 and 2027, as stated under note 7.4 Financial liabilities of section 5.6 Notes to the consolidated financial statements in the 2020 Universal Registration Document.
The available balance of the multi-currency syndicated credit line (euro, US dollar) is €300 million and the balance available on credit lines contracted from a number of banks is €855 million as of December 31st, 2020.
Net debt as of December 31st, 2020 stood at €2,274 million, including €674 million in lease liabilities.
Given the timing of our borrowings and the Group's ability to generate free cash flow, liquidity risk is low.
Information relating to liquidity risk is provided in note 7.4 Financial liabilities of section 5.6 Notes to the consolidated financial statements in the 2020 Universal Registration Document.
Risk management
Credit risk is continuously monitored by the Group Finance Department, through monthly reports and quarterly Executive Committee meetings.
The Group does not require specific credit guarantees for its customer and other receivables.
The Group determines the level of its impairment losses by estimating losses incurred on customer and other receivables.
Covid-19: The Group is closely monitoring the situation of its main customers, as well as government measures worldwide, to ensure they are able to handle the crisis and honor their payments. As part of the account closing procedure, credit risk is assessed and a provision is recognized, where required.
The Group provides contract performance guarantees at the request of some clients. Guarantees are disclosed in note 9.4 Guarantees and other contractual obligations of section 5.6 Notes to the consolidated financial statements in the 2020 Universal Registration Document.
Equity risk
Risk identification
Equity risk represents the risk of financial loss in the event of counterparty default in investments of Group available cash reserves in liquid securities, certificates of deposit, or financial instruments.
Short-term liquid investments at December 31st, 2020 amounted to €90 million, principally represented by money market funds and mutual funds.
Risk management
The Group limits its exposure to equity risk by investing available cash reserves in short-term liquid investments, certificates of deposit, and low risk financial instruments such as mutual funds, while choosing top-tier financial institutions and avoiding significant concentration.
1.2.2 Insurance, risk coverage and crisis management
1.2.2.1
Overall Group insurance strategy
Teleperformance's insurance strategy is designed to protect the Group's assets against risks to which they might be exposed.
The strategy aims to standardize and optimize coverage, manage insurance policies centrally and minimize costs.
The Group has set up international insurance programs covering property damage, loss of profits and civil liability. Insurance policies are taken out via brokers with top-tier international insurance companies.
Coverage caps are implemented in line with the Group's inherent business risks, taking into account its claims experience and market conditions, and comply with local regulations.
A third-party organization may be entitled to audit and analyze the insurance programs to ensure the risk coverage is appropriate and sufficient.
The Group does not have a captive insurer and there are no material risks that the Group self-insures.
Total premiums paid for 2020 amounted to €9.5 million.
1.2.2.2
Insurance programs
General and professional liability insurance
The Group has set up a centrally managed general and professional liability insurance program. In principle, all subsidiaries are covered by this program, either under the Group policy or under separate policies managed locally in accordance with local regulations.
Coverage for any new entity is always assessed in advance so as to define the conditions of their integration in the global program.
The terms and conditions of this program can be amended to take into account changes in business activities, the insurance market and risks incurred.
Property damage and business interruption insurance
The Group has set up a property and business interruption insurance program in Europe and more generally in many countries of the CEMEA region. The scheme is extended to subsidiaries in other parts of the world whenever this is possible with regard to local legislation and the opportunities for optimizing cover and costs. Non-consolidated subsidiaries are insured separately in accordance with applicable local legislation and regulations.
"Cyber" risks
A "cyber" risks insurance program supplements the existing policies for damage, business interruption and liability. These policies in combination cover the Group primarily for damage incurred to third parties and business interruption arising from the unavailability, alteration, theft and/or disclosure of its customer and operating data, together with the related incident-management costs.
Other risks
The Group is covered by other insurance policies. Depending on the type of risks involved, these policies are taken out either at local level, in accordance with the legislation in force in each country, or at global level in order to optimize insurance costs and the level of coverage required.
1.2.2.3
Crisis management
Since 2018, Teleperformance has implemented a Group-wide crisis management scheme to anticipate and manage sudden, unforeseen and major events with a likely negative impact on staff, continuity of business, financial results or reputation.
This scheme is based on:
●
a manual setting out all procedures and rules associated with crisis management: alert reporting, the composition of the crisis management unit, the unit's operating rules, dedicated crisis management communication tools;
●
a training program for staff and managers;
●
regular crisis exercises contributing to fostering awareness among staff and managers of the features specific to crisis management and continuously improving the scheme. These exercises make it possible to test the Group's ability to manage major events by processing information flows, identifying crisis stakeholders, anticipating adverse trend scenarios and developing the appropriate communication strategy.
In 2020, in response to the global health crisis, a Covid-19 Global Crisis Committee was set up to closely monitor developments relating to the pandemic, inform and support key decision-makers and rapidly coordinate response efforts. Crisis Committee meetings were held daily via conference call (Crisis Executive team calls) and the Executive Committee met weekly with the Company's 22 top executives. The crisis management system is supported by a global task force of 100 senior managers under the age of 45 tasked with driving and monitoring implementation of the strategy. It also relies on regular discussion with the Board of Directors and European trade union bodies.
The Covid-19 crisis management system has four major objectives:
●
employee health and safety, through the application of a strict safety and hygiene policy at all Group facilities;
●
client business continuity through the roll-out of remote working;
●
maintaining the Group's financial strength through robust measures designed to secure its cash position;
●
preserving the Group's reputation through a communication plan tailored to all internal and external stakeholders.
1.2.3
Risk management and internal control procedures
1.2.3.1
Choice of reference framework
In drafting this section, the Group drew from the Reference Framework of the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) updated in July 2010.
Firstly, the risk management and internal control systems are defined and their objectives set out. Then, the components of the system and the key players involved are summarized.
Finally, the application guide included in the Reference Framework is taken into account in order to define the risk management and internal control procedures with regard to financial and accounting information published by the Group.
The scope of application for the risk management and internal control procedures described below covers the parent company and all consolidated companies. In the event that new entities are consolidated, these procedures are systematically and progressively implemented.
1.2.3.2
Risk management and internal control definition and objectives
Definition of internal control
The Group has adopted the definition in the AMF Reference Framework:
Internal control consists of a set of resources, behaviors, procedures and actions that contribute to the management of the Group's activities, the effectiveness of its operations and the efficient use of its resources. It should enable it to manage in an appropriate manner any significant risks, be they operational, financial or relating to compliance.
The system that has been defined and implemented within Teleperformance specifically aims to ensure:
●
compliance with laws and regulations;
●
●
implementation of instructions and directions issued by management, following discussions and in agreement with the Board of Directors; proper functioning of the Group's internal processes, especially those relating to the protection of its assets; and
●
reliability of financial information.
The definition of internal control does not cover all initiatives taken by the executive or management bodies, such as defining Company strategy, setting objectives, making management decisions, dealing with risks and monitoring performance.
Furthermore, internal control cannot provide an absolute guarantee that the Company's objectives will be achieved (…). It cannot prevent Group personnel from committing fraud, contravening legal or regulatory provisions, or communicating misleading information outside the Company about its situation.
Internal control and risk management
Risk management and internal control systems complement each other in controlling the Company's activities.
The internal control system relies on the risk management system to identify the main risks that need to be controlled. The risk management system includes controls that are part of the internal control system.
1.2.3.3
Risk management and internal control system components
Introduction
The main guidelines for internal control are determined in accordance with the Group's objectives.
These objectives have been communicated to the relevant managers and employees in the Group so that they understand and comply with the general policy of the organization with regards to risks and controls.
The risk management and internal control systems rely on five closely related components, as set out below.
Control environment, values and codes
The control environment is a fundamental component of risk management and internal control systems and forms the common basis of the systems.
Teleperformance values
The Group's internal control system is based on five core values: Integrity, Respect, Professionalism, Innovation and Commitment. These values infuse the Group's leadership strategy and form the key value charter for its employees and subsidiaries.
The Group's values are brought to the attention of all Teleperformance personnel. Teleperformance places great emphasis on its managers' ability to live up to these values on a daily basis, and appropriate training programs are developed.
The Code of Conduct, Code of Ethics and Supplier Code of Conduct covering these values, as well as the principles for respecting diversity in dealings with third parties, are published on the Group's website. The Code of Conduct refers to the United Nations Global Compact, which Teleperformance joined in July 2011. The principles of the Global Compact are also set out in section 2 Declaration of non-financial performance in this Universal Registration Document.
Organization and responsibilities
The Group's organization is based on two categories of services: customer experience management (Core Services & D.I.B.S) and Specialized Services, which include interpreting, visa application management and debt collection services.
Since 2019, Teleperformance has been stepping up its digital integration and extended its range of business services by deploying its high-tech, high-touch strategy, aiming to become a world leader in integrated digital solutions for businesses.
The Group's senior management structure is tailored to Teleperformance's strategy. Since October 2019, it has comprised the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer and a Senior Management Committee composed of the Executive Committee and Group key managers in their respective fields.
The Executive Committee is responsible for the Group's operational management. It implements the strategic guidelines defined by the Board of Directors, ensures subsidiary compliance and discusses the major operational initiatives required to drive the Group's performance and growth.
The Group's key managers assist senior management and the Executive Committee in developing and coordinating key strategic initiatives and projects defined by the Executive Committee. They are responsible for the Group's business activities and for implementing its main cross- functional policies within the remit of their respective skills and expertise.
They are also responsible for ensuring widespread consultation on Group strategy and development and contribute to ongoing dialog. They do not have any collective decision-making powers.
Within the linguistic regions, the Group's organizational system relies on matrix management structures to establish a direct link between countries, business lines, sales teams and support functions.
The objective is to foster the Group's expansion, in a uniform fashion, with performance regularly and closely monitored by the Board of Directors.
Human Resources management
Human Resources management is a major component of the internal control system, especially in the Group's business sector.
Our Human Resources policy for Teleperformance employees is defined by a constant quest for excellence in recruiting, building employee loyalty, developing talent and enhancing employee skills. Our aim is to enable everyone to perform their duties well and for the Group to achieve its objectives.
These Human Resources programs are developed and deployed under the responsibility of the Group Chief People Officer. All of these programs are described in section 2.3 A benchmark employer.
These activities contribute to the development of employees, so that the Group continues to be a rewarding company for them, while giving them the ability to quickly take on a management role within the Group.
Information systems
Group management and the Information Systems Department determine the Group's strategic guidelines for production tools and information systems for subsidiaries. They ensure that the development of information systems is consistent with Group objectives.
The Information Systems Department also issues directives on security, data protection and business continuity. These directives are based on compliance with international standards, including ISO 27001 and PCI (Payment Card Industry), HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in order to satisfy regulatory requirements specific to each business sector or to obtain certification requested by clients.
Management and industry procedures
The internal control system also depends on subsidiaries implementing TOPS (Teleperformance Operational Processes and Standards) and BEST (Baseline Enterprise Standard for Teleperformance), as well as business standards such as the COPC (Customer Operations Performance Centers) standard.
This system is based on international management processes such as the Six Sigma approach. Since 2018, the Group has been systematically developing the use of this methodology, providing training for all its managers, so as to develop a common language grounded in the notions of measurement, analysis and control. This development plan is described in section 2.3.2 Human Resources development.
The standardization and application of these procedures and standards enable us to make our global network more internally consistent, while providing greater control over our operations.
Information sharing
The Group has a policy of internally releasing all relevant financial or operating information enabling employees to perform their job.
Under the responsibility of a dedicated department, key employees can share knowledge, know-how and best practices within the Group via intranet. This global knowledge management system encourages those involved to exchange and circulate useful information.
Group information and procedures are also regularly communicated to the managers of all subsidiaries at international seminars or presentations. These rules are also reiterated at Board meetings. Subsidiary executives are expected to communicate instructions from Group management to their employees.
The heads of corporate support departments also inform their teams of specialized personnel at meetings and training sessions.
Risk management system
Definition
In the operation of its business, the Group is exposed to a variety of risks that could affect the Company's personnel, assets, environment, objectives, earnings, financial position, stock price, or reputation.
Risk management is a lever for anticipating the main potential threats to the Group, whether internal or external, in order to preserve its value, assets and reputation, help it achieve its targets, ensure that action taken is consistent with Group values and rally employees in support of a shared vision of key risks.
Organizational framework
The risk management system depends on procedures and risk managers as described in the introduction to this section and under 1.2.1 Risk factors.
Group management pays particular attention to this organizational framework, in order to ensure that the necessary measures and procedures are in place to control the business and prevent risks, in accordance with rules defining Teleperformance's objectives and strategy.
Process and control
Key risks are identified and analyzed under 1.2.1 Risk factors in this section, along with the measures that can be used to mitigate their impacts. Key risks are monitored by the Group management.
This monitoring process, along with the operating priorities and management controls to be adopted with respect to these risks, is reviewed with all Group managers, meeting together as a group or at the time of Board or management meetings.
The results of the annual analysis of key control points covering the subsidiaries' financial reporting procedures, the process for which is described under Process for preparing accounting and financial reporting of section 1.2.3.5 herein, were presented at the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee meetings held in May, July and November 2020.
Risk maps were drawn up on the basis of this analysis
Control activities
In addition to the measures listed under 1.2.1 Risk factors, this paragraph sets out the centralized and decentralized control measures implemented in order to limit the risks liable to jeopardize the achievement of our objectives. Control measures are devised both by Group management, through centralized control procedures, and by local management through decentralized control procedures.
Centralized control procedures
Centralized internal control procedures cover areas common to all Group companies. These procedures involve finance, legal, IT and sales operations.
Financial procedures
Section 1.2.3.5 Description of the risk management and internal control system for published accounting and financial information provides details of the financial procedures related to the processing of financial information.
The Group's policy for managing foreign exchange and interest rate risks, which is designed to limit these risks, preserve sales margins and control interest charges, is presented in section 1.2.1 Risk factors.
Legal procedures
As part of its responsibilities, the Group Legal Department oversees the Group's compliance with applicable laws and regulations in the countries where it operates, through its local and international network of internal and external lawyers. It also plays a central role in monitoring changes in laws and regulations and advising the various Group entities.
As part of the main internal policies and procedures, for several years the Group Legal Department has implemented a monitoring system for the trademarks used and registered by Group companies, and in particular a system for worldwide monitoring of the "Teleperformance" corporate name, domain names, the brand name and other flagship brands of the Group. The purpose is to be able to contest registrations or use of trademarks or other intellectual property rights by competitors and to avoid misuse of these assets, especially on the Internet.
In addition, a procedure defining the powers of the subsidiary executives to commit their subsidiaries legally vis-à-vis third parties has been implemented under the supervision of the holding company's Legal Department and Group senior management.
To mitigate the legal risks inherent in client contracts, the Group's lawyers have defined a series of best practices for certain provisions in client contracts and calls for tenders that may present a particular risk. Any deviation from these principles is subject to a specific approval procedure with the executives, financial officers and operational managers concerned. In addition, global client contracts are reviewed by the Group's lawyers before being signed, such that risks are limited and drawn to the attention of management.
Major litigation or litigation risks are monitored directly or coordinated by the Group Chief Legal Officer, who is assisted by a local network of internal and external lawyers.
With respect to the protection of personal data, the Group applies a global policy to ensure that personal data is collected, processed and transferred within the Group in accordance with applicable legislation.
IT and security procedures
The Group is constantly updating its data security technology, including cybersecurity, in accordance with market best practices in order to apply clients' contractual requirements or comply with applicable regulations.
This technology aims to reduce the installation of malware, protect personal data and detect and prevent intrusions that disrupt revenuegeneration or result in significant fines and penalties that disrupt income generation or result in significant fines and penalties that disrupt income generation or result in significant fines and penalties.
Each subsidiary adheres to internal data security and protection standards, as well as international security and quality standards including ISO 27001, ISO 22301, ISO 27701, HITRUST (US HIPAA Law requirement) and PCI Data Security Standards when required by clients.
The third-party certification requested by clients and obtained by Group subsidiaries also serves as a guarantee that the application of strict control procedures will be verified in order to ensure compliance with security and/or quality standards and processes.
All personal data is collected and processed in accordance with applicable laws in the countries where the Group operates. A set of Global Essential Compliance and Security Policies (GECSPs) is applied at each Teleperformance location, in order to prevent any potential risk of fraud, breaches of security standards and physical security procedures at contact centers.
The Group has a large, global operational team composed of specially trained IT, compliance and security experts tasked with identifying and assessing security risks and resolving and remedying security issues. This team implements comprehensive anti-fraud programs for the duration of business relations with Group clients and their customers. These programs focus on technological innovation, such as rapid detection of fraud and secure exchange of identifiable personal information between the caller and the customer.
Sales procedures
To manage its sales processes, Teleperformance has created a set of best practices to follow in order to standardize the approach to managing requests for proposals (RFPs). Key international RFPs are handled directly by specialized staff.
Decentralized control procedures
Local internal control procedures are decentralized at the individual subsidiary level, where the management team is responsible for their implementation to prevent risks and comply with local legislation. The team also ensures that these procedures operate smoothly, in accordance with instructions given by senior management, which are reviewed at the meetings of each subsidiary's Board of Directors (or equivalent body).
Oversight of the internal control system
Group senior management
The internal control system is overseen by the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer and the Senior Management Committee, under the supervision of the Board of Directors, in order to verify the relevance and appropriateness of this system with regard to the Group's objectives.
This includes regular reviews on the part of management and supervisory staff. It falls within the scope of their day-to-day activities and ensures that each organizational process is consistent with the Group's vision and strategy.
The role of internal audit
Internal audit assignments are carried out at Group subsidiaries according to the annual audit plan and priorities set by management during the year. As part of its work, the internal audit team defines action plans with each subsidiary's management, under the supervision of Group management, to ensure that internal control procedures are continually improved.
1.2.3.4
Parties involved in internal control
The risk management and internal control departments form an integral part of the Group's organization.
The Board of Directors
The Board of Directors is charged with several tasks: it upholds the interests of employees, implements the Company's policy and performs the necessary checks and verifications. The Board also represents shareholders.
Pursuant to its duties, the Board of Directors closely monitors the Group's results on a regular basis and reviews all types of risks (financial, commercial, operational, legal or personnel-related) relating to its business.
The Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee
The Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee, the organization and functions of which are explained in section 3 Corporate Governance, is responsible for preparing the control procedures carried out by the Board of Directors on accounting and financial matters and on the process of preparing the financial information and risk management.
The Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee actively monitors areas within its remit. Based on the information it receives, this monitoring allows it to intervene at any time deemed necessary or appropriate and may lead it, where it detects warning signals as part of its mission, to discuss the matter with senior management and to convey the appropriate information to the Board of Directors.
Senior management
Senior management comprises the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer and a Senior Management Committee composed of the Executive Committee and Group key managers in their respective fields.
The Executive Committee is responsible for the Group's operational management. It implements the strategic guidelines defined by the Board of Directors, ensures subsidiary compliance and discusses the major operational initiatives required to drive the Group's performance and growth.
The Group's key managers assist senior management and the Executive Committee in developing and coordinating key strategic initiatives and projects defined by the Executive Committee. They are responsible for the Group's business activities and for implementing its main cross- functional policies within the remit of their respective skills and expertise.
They are also responsible for ensuring widespread consultation on Group strategy and development and contribute to ongoing dialog. They do not have any collective decision-making powers.
The Global Compliance and Security Council
The Group Global Compliance and Security Council, chaired by the Deputy Chief Compliance Officer and by the Chief Information Security Officer, meets to review security incidents and analyze their potential risks.
To manage these functions proactively, a Global Privacy Office was created, as well as a Global Technology and Privacy Committee.
The functioning and management of these Committees and the various parties involved are described under Risks relating to personal data protection in section 1.2.1 Risk factors.
The Internal Audit Department
The Group is audited internally by a central team reporting to the Group Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, who is a member of the Executive Committee. The Internal Audit Department also reports to the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee as part of its duties.
The Internal Audit Department helps develop internal control tools and benchmarks. It carries out the missions included in the annualplanning cycle approved by Group management and reviewed by the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee. Summary reports on internal audit procedures and findings and progress with action plans are presented to the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee and shared with the auditors.
The Legal & Compliance Department also has an internal audit team, whose findings are presented to senior management and the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee.
Departments and employees
Each department is involved in internal control by drafting and following policies and procedures designed to meet the Group's various goals, as well as by ensuring compliance with related control procedures and rules concerning the Group's business and operations.
Each employee is also involved in the internal control process, according to their respective level of expertise and access to information, so as to ensure its effective operation and regular review.
1.2.3.5
Description of the risk management and internal control system for published accounting and financial information
This section derives from the application guide for "Internal Control Procedures Related to the Accounting and Financial Information Published by the Issuers", taken from the AMF Reference Framework.
Definition and scope
The accounting and financial information risk management and internal control system ensures the preparation of reliable information that fulfills legal and regulatory requirements.
The accounting and financial internal control system encompasses the processes used to manage and produce published information as well as the system for managing risks that could affect these processes, i.e. that could affect the reliability, due transfer and completeness of the information.
Within the scope of preparation of the consolidated financial statements, the accounting and financial internal control process encompasses the parent company and consolidated companies ("the Group" as defined above).
Management processes in the accounting and financial organization
Organization and responsibilities
General organization
The Finance Department has a corporate practice and an operational practice. These two practices manage the organization of accounting and financial matters within the Group.
Corporate and operational practices
Within the corporate practice, dedicated teams of specialists ensure the implementation of accounting and financial management, under the supervision of senior management, in the following areas: consolidation and reporting, treasury, internal audit and financial communication.
The consolidation and reporting teams have joined together and are now managed by a single department, which also supervises the accounts of the holding company in Paris. The Treasury Department processes and centralizes movements of the Group's funds, manages its means of financing and hedges exchange rate and interest rate risks. The Internal Audit Department reviews the internal control processes inherent in published accounting and financial information.
The department dedicated to investor relations and the market reporting system is described below in the paragraph entitled Financial communication.
The operational practice includes the Chief Financial Officers in charge of the linguistic regions and Specialized Services.
Responsibilities
The preparation of the Group's consolidated financial statements is the responsibility of the Group Chief Financial Officer, who relies on the Chief Financial Officers of the Group's linguistic regions and subsidiaries. The latter, along with senior management, are in charge of implementing a financial organization that conforms to Group best practices and ensures that accounting and financial information is reliable and consistent for the purpose of the financial statements published by the Group.
The information system and management tool
The consolidation of accounting information, monthly reporting and budgets are managed on a single information system used by all Group subsidiaries.
This Group information system was implemented in order to meet information security and reliability requirements. It enables a detailed monthly financial report to be produced using the Group's model. It also allows a precise analysis of the formation of cash flows and results and compares them with budgets.
The Group information system is continually updated in line with the Company's requirements in terms of organization and management indicators.
Accounting standards
The Group's accounting standards comply with IFRS issued by the IASB and adopted by the European Union. These standards have been used as the guidelines for preparing the consolidated financial statements since 2005. All consolidated subsidiaries are required to apply them.
The Chief Financial Officers of all subsidiaries are familiarized with the accounting definitions and principles, which may be consulted on the Group consolidation and management system, to ensure that they are applied consistently across the Group and that all financial information complies with such standards. An Accounting Guide setting out the standards applied in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements may be downloaded from the Group intranet.
The Group's Finance Department, with the help of the statutory auditors, keeps a constant watch on new IFRS under development, in order to alert management and anticipate their impact on the Group's accounts.
Statutory auditors
The statutory auditors of the parent company carry out a limited review of the consolidated financial statements for the six months ended June 30th and a full audit of the parent company and consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31st.
Senior managers must concert with the auditors, as the former are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and the implementation of accounting and financial internal control systems.
The auditors attend the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee meeting.
They inform the Committee of their work on Group procedures and present their conclusions on the financial statements. They report on the key points raised during the audit. The auditors also present their audit plan to the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee.
The Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee
Items relating to financial reporting are reviewed at Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee meetings. For 2020, these items are set out in the section covering the work of the Board of Directors.
Process of preparing accounting and financial reporting
Operational processes related to the production of accounting and financial information
Group procedures and best practices have been established in respect of the main operational processes used by subsidiaries for the production of accounting and financial information, particularly sales, payroll, purchases and fixed assets, in order to ensure that such entries are monitored and that they comply with the authorization and accounting rules set out in the AMF Reference Framework application guide.
Use of the Reference Framework application guide
The Group uses the application guide to review internal control procedures for the main processes used to post entries in the accounts, by implementing a self-assessment system for each subsidiary.
Self-assessment questionnaires taken from the application guide and adapted to the Group and its business are completed three times a year under the supervision of the subsidiary Chief Financial Officers. The action plans put in place following this self-assessment are monitored by the Internal Audit Department. The results of the questionnaires and information on the monitoring of action plans are provided to Group management and presented to the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee. A selection of the answers to the questionnaires from the main subsidiaries is also checked by those subsidiaries' auditors.
These questionnaires enable each subsidiary to review its financial and accounting information internal control procedures and to prepare the confirmation letters signed by the subsidiaries' directors and forwarded to Group management.
Accounts closing
The process of closing the Group's accounts involves checks at every information reporting and processing stage, in accordance with a schedule set by the Finance Department and communicated to all subsidiaries.
Information forwarded by subsidiaries is inspected by the consolidation team, who eliminate internal transactions, test for consistency and check the items that pose the greatest risk.
The accounts are consolidated at Group level, without any intermediate consolidation stage. The Group Finance Department therefore has sole authority to make consolidation entries.
The published consolidated financial statements are prepared by the Group Finance Department on the basis of the largest subsidiaries' audited financial statements.
The main accounting options and estimates used by the Group are reviewed with the auditors before the accounts are finalized.
Approval of the accounts
The subsidiaries' Chief Executive Officers give Group management a formal commitment, expressed in a letter of representation, that their financial statements present a true and fair view of the subsidiary, that they use the AMF Reference Framework, that no fraud has been detected and that all legal and regulatory provisions have been complied with.
Finally, the consolidated financial statements are presented by the Group Chief Financial Officer to the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee. Within the scope of its responsibilities, the Committee examines them in preparation for the meetings and deliberations of the Board of Directors, which reviews and approves them.
Financial communication
The Group Finance Department, via its investor relations department, sees that all information is provided in accordance with market requirements, within the legal time frames and under the applicable regulatory and statutory conditions, thereby satisfying market requirements.
Teleperformance applies best market practices in this area. The Group provides shareholders with an extensive database of information on its activities and latest news on its website atwww.teleperformance.com.
The Group also organizes regular meetings with the financial community, not only on the occasion of result disclosures, but throughout the year on the major European, US and Asian stock exchanges.
Covid-19: In order to maintain a high standard of internal and external reporting during the global Covid-19 crisis, including financial communications, the Group set up a specific internal unit to provide daily and weekly reports to the Group's top managers. Steered by the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and the Group Executive Committee, this unit closely monitors changes in the health situation in each of the Group's operating countries, in order to assess the impact on the Group's staff, business and finances, and to ensure that appropriate operational and strategic measures are implemented.
This structured and agile system helps the Group quickly identify all relevant information related to the health crisis and its management that has a major impact on the Group's business and strategy, value creation model and, consequently, its share price.
1.2.4 Vigilance Plan
In accordance with Article L.225-102-4 of the French Commercial Code, the vigilance plan ("Vigilance Plan") of Teleperformance SE ("Teleperformance" and, together with its subsidiaries, the "Group") is designed to present the reasonable vigilance measures implemented Group-wide in order to identify the risks and prevent serious harm to human rights and fundamental freedoms, health and safety, and the environment resulting from the operations of Teleperformance and the companies it controls within the meaning of Article L.233-16 (II) of the French Commercial Code, whether directly or indirectly, and from the operations of suppliers or subcontractors with which an established business relationship is maintained, where such operations form part of this relationship.
This Vigilance Plan is based on the five main obligations set out in French law: (i) risk identification and mapping, (ii) risk assessment procedures, (iii) deployment of systems for mitigating risk and preventing serious harm, (iv) establishment of a hotline policy and internal reporting system, and (v) system for monitoring measures in place.
The 2020 Vigilance Plan was presented to the Group's Executive Management. It was also presented to the new CSR Committee added to the panel of Board committees in January 2021, as explained in section 3.1.2.3 of this Universal Registration Document. The new Committee's responsibilities include verifying the integration of Group CSR commitments (social and environmental), reviewing the Vigilance Plan and examining the nature and impact of non-financial risks in consultation with the Audit, Risks and Compliance Committee.
Teleperformance commits to comply with applicable laws and regulations in each of the Group's operating countries to safeguard the objectives of the Group and the Vigilance Plan. In addition, Teleperformance has been a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact since 2011 and has committed to abide by the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ILO Conventions and the OECD guidelines.
This information, which is provided to the financial community, concerns the Group's three priorities during the crisis: protecting employees and jobs, business continuity, and maintaining a strong financial position.
For example, updates may cover the rate remote working arrangements are rolled out across the Group, or the securing of credit lines to meet new cash requirements arising from the crisis.
All information channels are used by the Investor Relations and Financial Communication Department as part of this assignment (see section 7.6
Financial communication). These include the Group website, press releases, dedicated social media communication campaigns, as well as regular virtual meetings with the financial community, shareholders and financial analysts, by conference call or webcast, which have taken the place of face-to-face meetings prohibited since the first lockdown.
In particular, the Group shareholders' meeting was held on June 26th, 2020 in a closed session, via the use of an electronic voting platform (Votaccess).
This financial and shareholder communication strategy is part of a more global communication campaign aimed at all Group stakeholders: employees, clients, partners and the communities in which the Group operates. In addition to stock market risk, the Group has set up appropriate communication measures to manage reputation risk, which has been heightened in this particularly unstable information environment. In 2020, the development of this integrated approach gave rise to a number of meetings between management and financial communication teams but also the CSR and legal departments.
The Vigilance Plan sets out the manner in which Teleperformance identifies, assesses and mitigates risks in three main areas:
●
●
●
human rights; health and safety; the environment.
Stakeholder dialogs were conducted in all main subsidiaries to ascertain stakeholders' key expectations and to identify and prioritize risks.
Several tools and procedures have already been introduced Group-wide in order to meet new regulatory requirements and provide for the Group's new consolidation scope.
More additions and enhancements will be made in the future as part of a continual improvement process.
To ensure the deployment of the Vigilance Plan and the success of its programs and targets, a dedicated governance structure was set up, articulated around the CSR Department, the Human Resources Department, and the Compliance, Privacy and Security teams.
1.2.4.1 Risk identification and mapping
Group risks are presented in section 1.2.1 of this Universal Registration Document.
In 2019, Teleperformance completed an exhaustive extra-financial risk mapping exercise, including human rights, international labor standards, health and safety, ethics and compliance, corporate governance, environment, value chain and communities. The risk map was reviewed in 2020, in particular in order to factor in the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The methodology used to draw up the risk map is detailed in section 2.2.1 of this Universal Registration Document.
The global risk map is supplemented by more detailed risk maps covering specific areas:
●
human rights risks, including discrimination, working conditions, child labor, forced labor, freedom of association and data privacy, taking into account both inherent risks and theoretical country-specific risks;
●
health and safety risks;
●
environmental risks, in accordance with TCFD (Task Force on Climate- related Financial Disclosures) recommendations.
As part of the duty of vigilance, Teleperformance has identified the following risks:
● risks of serious harm to human rights and fundamental freedoms: discrimination in respect of employment and occupation, inappropriate behavior by some of its employees or by third parties, alignment of working conditions with international standards, breach of freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, or risks related to data security and data privacy of Teleperformance's employees, corporate clients and final end customers;
● risks of serious harm to health & safety and security: psychosocial risks, risks of musculoskeletal disorders due to sedentary work, or risks related to physical security (fire, growing political tensions, social unrest, acts of terrorism or epidemics such as Covid-19);
●
environmental risks: risks of harm to the environment caused by Teleperformance operations, mainly related to excessive consumption of resources, particularly electricity; the Group also operates in regions severely impacted by climate change leading to increased risk of natural disasters; and
● risks of CSR breaches in the value chain: following the
CSR risk mapping and the materiality matrix, the risks linked to Teleperformance's supply chain are not the most salient for the Group.
Besides, the group makes very limited use of subcontracting. With that said, the behavior expected from suppliers and subcontractors covers the following issues: respect for human rights, prohibition of child labor, prohibition of forced and compulsory labor, elimination of all forms of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation, occupational health and safety, freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, respect of data privacy, responsible use of natural resources and prevention of gradual or accidental pollution of the air and soil.
1.2.4.2
Assessment of the situation of subsidiaries, subcontractors and suppliers
The Group has established procedures for assessing risks at subsidiary level. These procedures are conducted by Group teams or in consultation with external organizations in order to identify and prevent risks of serious infringement of human rights and fundamental freedoms or damage to health and safety or the environment.
All Group facilities are extensively controlled, inspected and audited. They do not operate in silos, but on the contrary are closely managed following the Group's global values, global operating standards and global policies.
The risk management and internal control system components, such as the control environment, management and industry procedures, the risk management system or control procedures, are presented in section 1.2.3.3 of this Universal Registration Document.
Beyond the global risk assessment and control scheme, Teleperformance developed specific procedures linked to the areas of the Vigilance Plan.
Specific assessment procedures with regard to human rights and fundamental freedoms
●
Human rights assessment: in 2020, the Group introduced a new procedure for assessing aspects related to human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Under this procedure, the Group CSR Department surveyed 19 subsidiaries accounting for more than 80% of the Group workforce on 70 checkpoints covering discrimination, working conditions, child labor, forced labor, freedom of association, availability of whistleblowing mechanisms (Global Ethics Hotline) and data privacy.
The 19 subsidiaries surveyed during this first round were placed in order of priority according to their share of the global Teleperformance workforce and the country risk as defined by the ITUC Global Rights Index.
The procedure assesses subsidiaries' compliance with Group codes and policies, OECD guidelines, ILO conventions and the United Nations Global Compact. The procedure also serves to identify risk areas requiring improvement or correction and best practices to be replicated, as well as to track progress and the implementation of corrective plans via the annual reassessment.
●
"Chats with the CEO" and focus groups are organized and conducted at each facility by local management (Philippines, Colombia, etc.).
●
Employee satisfaction survey (E.Sat): since 2008, Teleperformance has been measuring employee satisfaction. Based on the results, specific action plans are defined in each subsidiary and implemented under the responsibility of the local Chief Human Resources Officer.
●
HR assessments: when the Group identifies a decrease in employee satisfaction or overall performance, an independent global team, responsible for Employee Engagement, performs a thorough assessment reviewing all Human Resources processes and human rights aspects.
●
Security & Compliance Audits: the Group has established an internal compliance audit function, which reviews the operational facilities on a rotating 24-month or 12-month basis for the top 10 clients, for adherence to the Group's policies in terms of security, data privacy, health & safety and anti-corruption.
●
Teleperformance's global operating standards (TOPS and BEST) cover the entire business lifecycle, including recruitment processes, training and development, global premises standard, wellbeing at work, and management guidelines. Each subsidiary is required to assess its own
performance twice a year under these procedures. Additional audits may be conducted in order to award certification to the subsidiaries.
Specific assessment procedures with regard to health & safety and security
●
These procedures are presented in section 2.3.3 of this Universal Registration Document.
Specific assessment procedures with regard to harm to the environment
●
Environmental data (electricity, fuel, water and paper consumption, business travel) is reported monthly and closely monitored by the CSR Department, senior management and the Board of Directors, in order to achieve the Group's objective of continuously reducing its carbon footprint per employee. The full environmental scheme is presented in section 2.6 of this Universal Registration Document.
In addition to internal control mechanisms, Teleperformance's facilities are also visited, audited, assessed and certified by numerous external stakeholders (clients, prospects, government departments, certification bodies, auditors, etc.).
Specific assessment procedures with regard to CSR breaches in the value chain
●
Procurement spend accounts for 13% of the Group's total revenue.
Teleperformance mainly purchases computer hardware and software, telecommunications services, and property and services related to its contact centers and temporary service agencies.
●
The Group is committed to exercising vigilance in identifying potential adverse impacts in its supply chain, whether direct or indirect, in order to prevent and, if identified, minimize such impacts. The Group requires its subsidiaries to work with suppliers and subcontractors that agree to comply with the Group's requirements in this area and to abide by the Supplier Code of Conduct.
●
Suppliers and subcontractors are periodically assessed, at subsidiary level, in accordance with the precepts of the Group Supplier Code of Conduct and Internal Procurement Policy.
●
Teleperformance has been working on standardizing procurement processes and supplier assessment and selection procedures globally, by:
• setting up procurement committees at Group, regional and local level to ensure that Group global policies and procedures are applied consistently;
• setting up a Group procurement department and supplier risks Committee to strengthen and standardize procurement processes among the various entities;
• introducing an optimized and standardized Group-wide supplier assessment procedure to be rolled out in 2021.
The Group's policy on responsible procurement is set out in section 2.4.2.3 of this document.
1.2.4.3
Mitigating risks and preventing serious harm
Teleperformance has introduced measures to mitigate risks and prevent serious harm that are tailored to different circumstances.
These measures are deployed at Group and subsidiary level, as well as with suppliers and other stakeholders. They are adapted in accordance with changing circumstances or risks identified in accordance with audit findings and messages reported via the various hotlines already set up or undergoing deployment.
Teleperformance's success and reputation are closely related to the Group's conduct of its business activities in a responsible manner in accordance with its core values and applicable law.
Teleperformance has developed global standards and processes to ensure the Group complies with the ten principles of the UN Global Compact and with international labor standards in all its subsidiaries.
These consist primarily of the following codes and policies:
●
Code of Ethics;
●
Code of Conduct, including anti-corruption and anti-influence peddling, revised in 2020;
●
Human Rights Statement;
●
Diversity & Inclusion Policy launched in March 2019, replacing the previous Equal Opportunity Policy;
●
Privacy Policy;
●
Global Essential Compliance and Security Policies, updated in January 2021;
●
●
Health and Safety Policy, updated in August 2019; Environmental Policy, updated in 2020;
●
Supplier Code of Conduct launched in Fall 2019, replacing and
enhancing the previous Supplier Policy.
Teleperformance sees to the due application and continual improvement of the Group's global policies and Vigilance Plan.
Training sessions on the Group's codes and policies ensure their effective deployment and application in all subsidiaries:
●
as part of the Group onboarding process, all new employees receive training in CSR, compliance and health & safety;
●
the Group has developed a comprehensive training module on the Code of Conduct, including anti-corruption, provided to senior managers and employees;
●
the Group has appointed local CSR ambassadors in each subsidiary responsible for liaising with the Global CSR Department. All localCSR ambassadors must complete a mandatory learning path, which includes knowledge of the ten principles of the UN Global Compact and training on their mission and responsibilities.
Together with the operating divisions, Teleperformance senior management constantly assesses the Group's exposure to risks relating to its international operations, in particular in countries where the economic and political outlook is deemed uncertain or highly uncertain, or in countries hit by natural disasters. Employee and client protection remains an absolute priority. Regulation drills are conducted in relevant countries in order to prepare facilities should these events occur. The Group has also implemented a crisis management plan to handle these events.
Since 2018, Teleperformance has implemented a Group-wide crisis management scheme to anticipate and manage sudden, unforeseen and major events with a likely negative impact on staff, continuity of business, financial results or reputation.
The crisis management scheme is described in section 1.2.2.3 of this Universal Registration Document.
Regular discussions with stakeholders lead to the implementation of corrective or adaptive measures based on their feedback.
In addition, the Group has set up specific mitigation and prevention measures, all presented in this Universal Registration Document.
In the framework of the Covid-19 pandemic, Teleperformance reacted quickly, taking numerous measures, as described in section 2.3.3.2 of this document.
Measures with regard to human rights and fundamental freedoms are presented in sections 2.3.2 Human Resources development, 2.3.4.3 Remuneration and benefits, 2.3.5 Labor relations, 2.3.6 Diversity and equal opportunities, 2.4.2 Fair practices, and 2.4.3 Data protection and cybersecurity.
Measures regarding health & safety and security are set out in section 2.3.3 Creation of a working environment conducive to health and safety.
Measures related to the environment are detailed in section 2.6 Promoting Teleperformance's environmental responsibility.
Mitigation and prevention measures in the value chain are presented in section 2.4.2.3 Suppliers and subcontractors.
1.2.4.4
Whistleblowing and grievance mechanisms
Teleperformance fosters a culture of openness and dialog that allows all employees to express their point of view and voice their concerns. Employees are free to approach their line manager, HR manager, corporate counsel or compliance officer.
In 2018, the Group launched the Global Ethics Hotline (whistleblowing mechanism), accessible to both internal and external stakeholders, to report on any breach relating to human rights and fundamental freedoms, health and safety of persons or the environment, ethics, corruption, or fraud. It has been made available to 100% of Teleperformance's workforce.
Prior to launch, the Global Ethics Hotline was submitted to local employee representatives and trade unions in any country where the law required it. The hotline can be accessed at the following link:https://www.teleperformance.com/en-us/ethics-hotline/
The Global Ethics Hotline Policy, which details the Ethics hotline's purpose, protection, reporting and investigation procedures, is publicly available on the Teleperformance website (https:// teleperformanceinvestorrelations.com/media/4547460/global-policy- may-2018-tp-global-ethics-hotline-policy-en-nb.pdf). More details are available in section 2.4.2.1 of this Universal Registration Document.
1.2.4.5
System for monitoring measures in place
Teleperformance closely monitors a large number of indicators to evaluate the effectiveness of its policies. Here are some examples:
●
●
●
●
employee satisfaction is measured once a year through the annual Employee Satisfaction Survey. The results are analyzed by a dedicated team and communicated internally at local, regional and Group level, leading to specific action plans to improve weak spots. Actions plans are approved by the local leadership team, and progress is closely monitored. Teleperformance leadership team's incentive remuneration is tied to the implementation of these action plans; attrition; absenteeism; accident rate;
●
Internal Control Questionnaire (over 200 questions and controls, submitted to each subsidiary three times a year);
●
●
results of human rights assessment; percentage of employees paid above a living wage;
●
change in the percentage of women in management and executive positions;
●
●
results of health, safety and compliance audits; Global Ethics Hotline statistics and resolution rate;
●
GHG emissions, reported on a monthly basis by all subsidiaries, and consolidated and analyzed by the CSR Department;
●
●
●
percentage of employees trained in the Group's global policies; percentage of suppliers having signed the Supplier Code of Conduct; percentage of at-risk suppliers assessed.
Risk management and internal control systems complement each other in controlling the Company's activities.
The internal control system relies on the risk management system to identify the main risks that need to be controlled. The risk management system includes controls that are part of the internal control system.
1.2.4.6
Vigilance Plan implementation report 2019/2020
The report below summarizes the measures taken in 2019/2020 under the duty of vigilance law:
●
●
completion of a CSR risk mapping exercise, updated to include Covid-19 impact and supplemented by more detailed risk maps covering human rights, health & safety, and the environment; governance strengthened via the creation of a CSR Department in 2019, a Group procurement department in early 2020, and a Board CSR Committee in January 2021;
●
presentation of CSR action plan to the Board of Directors and shareholders' meeting;
●
renewed adherence to the UN Global Compact;
●
revision of global policies, aligned with the ten principles of the UN Global Compact: Code of Conduct, Diversity & Inclusion, Supplier Code of Conduct, Health & Safety Policy, Environmental Policy;
●
overhaul of the CSR and ethics & compliance training module delivered to all new hires;
●
launch and Group-wide roll-out of the Global Ethics Hotline (whistleblowing mechanism), accessible to both internal and external stakeholders, to report on any breach relating to human rights and fundamental freedoms, health and safety of persons or the environment, ethics, corruption, or fraud;
●
launch of a human rights assessment procedure at 19 subsidiaries representing more than 80% of the Group workforce to continue to monitor compliance among all the subsidiaries and incorporate compliance checks into the Group internal control system.
Teleperformance is committed to a continual improvement approach and has already listed some of its upcoming priorities:
●
ongoing incorporation of non-financial risks at global level, including the addition of new non-financial and CSR controls to the internal audit plans;
●
repetition of the human rights assessment, extended to more subsidiaries;
●
global roll-out of the new supplier due diligence process and CSR assessment.
The full Vigilance Plan may be downloaded on the Group's website atwww.teleperformance.com
Declaration of extra-financial performance
2.1 Business model 70
2.2 Key extra-financial issues
and CSR strategy 72
2.2.1
Main risks 72
2.2.2 CSR vision and governance 75
2.3
An employer of choice 76
2.3.1 A major job creator 77
2.3.2 Human resources development 78
2.3.3 Creation of a working environment
conducive to health and safety 79
2.3.4 Working conditions 84
2.3.5 Labor relations 85
2.3.6 Diversity and equal opportunity 87
2.4
A trusted partner 89
2.4.1 Driving innovation and development through streamlined
information distribution 89
2.4.2 Fair practices 90
2.4.3 Data protection and cybersecurity 92
2.5
A major social commitment 94
2.5.1 Measures in favor of regional
and community development 94
2.5.2
Citizen of the World (COTW) 95
2.6
Promoting Teleperformance's
environmental responsibility 97
2.6.1 Climate change governance 97
2.6.2 Climate change strategy 98
2.6.3 Risk management 100
2.6.4 Climate change performance -
Metrics and targets 101
2.6.5 Environmental certifications 107
2.6.6
Environmental awareness campaigns 107
2.7
A recognized CSR policy 107
2.7.1
Certification 108
2.7.2 Extra-financial ratings and ESG index 108
2.8
Methodology 109
2.8.1 109
2.8.2 110
Scope and collection of information Main indicators
2.9
Report by the independent third party on the consolidated non financial statement
111
Teleperformance's mission is to "help brands, businesses and government agencies find solutions to their customers' and citizens' daily problems". The Group therefore specializes in handling their
Business Model
relations with brands and governments.
Teleperformance uses a range of resources and assets to achieve its
in strict compliance with the Group's values, which must be observed worldwide in all locations and departments.
The Group creates value for its stakeholders based on the universal principle of individual satisfaction: employee satisfaction is the first step in ensuring end-user satisfaction and, as such, that
mission. These resources and assets are presented below and deployed
Through its activities, Teleperformance creates long-term value to all its stakeholders.
of Teleperformance's clients. This "satisfaction chain" needs
Values
Resources & Assets
Business model
HUMAN
• 380k employees
MISSION
• 265 dialects & languages
FINANCIAL
• €5.7B Revenue
TP is a company of people serving other people by helping them find solutions to their daily problems.
Cosmos || IIntegrity CosImsaoysw|haInt Itdeog, rity CosIImsaoyswh|haItnt IItdeog,, rity
• 12.8% EBITA margin
• €487M Free cash flow
II sdaoywwhhaattI Isdaoy,
I dsaoywwhhaat tI Isadoy,
I do what I say
I do what I say
INDUSTRIAL
Earth || Respect
• 460 sites
EIatrretahto|thReers pweithct EIIattrretahtt o|tthReersswpwieitthct
kinIdtnr eastsoatnhderesmwpitahthy kiinIdtnreasstsoatnhderesmwpiatahtthy kindness and empathy kindness and empathy
• Premises Standard
Customer Experience
• Multilingual hubs
Back-Office
• Customer Journey Showrooms
Knowledge services
Metal || Professionalism Metal Id| oPtrhoinfgessrsigiohtnalism MetalIId| oPtthrhoiinfgessrsiigihohttnalism thI deovethryinfigrssrtitgimhte tthIedeovethryinfigrstrttitgiimhte the very first time the very first time
INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL
• Operational Processes and Standards
More than a bridge between corporates, governments and their customers, Teleperformance is the agile business services partner that companies need in this digital world
• CX Lab (research center)
• 100+ proprietary digital Platforms
Air || IInnovation
II cAcrieratt|e IannndoIIviimaptpirovnve I create and I improve I create and I improve
I Acrierat|eIannndoIvimatpironve
SOCIAL AND RELATIONSHIP
• 1,000 clients*, of which 50% global accounts
Fire || Commitment FireI a|mCpoamssimoniatmte ent FireII am|mCpoamssiimoniatmtte ent
• 170+ markets
I amndpeansgsaiogneadte
I amndpeansgsaiogneadte and engaged and engaged
• Citizen of the World, charity initiative
ENVIRONMENTAL
• Natural resources (mainly electricity)
• Citizen of the Planet, environmental initiative
* Excluding LanguageLine Solutions (30,000 clients including individuals).
* Excluding LanguageLine Solutions (30,000 clients including individuals).
6
TELEPERFORMANCE - INTEGRATED REPORT 2020
2.1 Business model
to function smoothly in order to create value for other Group stakeholders (communities, lenders and shareholders).
The Group's vision is that, in an increasingly automated world driven by a growing need for efficiency and speed, "Each interaction matters". Teleperformance aims to become the preferred high-tech, high-touch partner for major brands and distributors as well asemerging companies by efficiently managing their daily interactions with customers, while ensuring total security. Striking a balance between human touch and technology is the cornerstone of the customer experience; emotional intelligence is essential in order to deliver value and ensure that changes are sustainable.
Creating value to all stakeholders
Impact on society
EMPLOYEES
€3.8B Wages and social benefits 68% non-agent positions filled internally 87% employees working at a best employer subsidiary
CORPORATE CLIENTS & GOVERNMENTS
25% revenue from Top 10 clients 26% revenue from the digital economy 13 years average client tenure (Top 50)
FINAL CUSTOMERS
1B** interactions
Tailored customer experience Data security: BCR, GDPR
.
SHAREHOLDERS
x2 Growth vs market 25% share price increase
COMMUNITIES
VISION
Each interaction matters
€179M income tax paid €5.1M raised for charities 80,000 volunteer hours
TP combines human touch and high technology to deliver simpler, faster and safer customer interactions.
ENVIRONMENT
-27.5% decrease yoy carbon footprint per employee -16% decrease yoy electricity consumption per employee 17% renewable energy
** Excluding Specialized Services.
** Excluding Specialized Services.
BUSINESSMODEL
TELEPERFORMANCE - INTEGRATED REPORT 2020 7
As a forward-looking company, Teleperformance has embarked on a significant transformation journey. From being the worldwide leader in outsourced customer experience management, the Group is transforming into a global leader in digitally integrated business services.
To meet today's major global challenges, Teleperformance is committed to developing in a sustainable manner: creating meaningful connections to bring people together and creating value for all stakeholders, while ensuring that future generations can meet their own needs.
The Group's strategy is detailed in section 1.1 of this Universal Registration Document.
• Teleperformance dialogs continuously with its main stakeholders
Stakeholders
Methods of dialog
Employees
Annual employee satisfaction survey (E.Sat), regular Chats with the CEO and focus groups, continuous dialog through Intranet, coaching, performance reviews
Needs & expectations
Wellbeing at work Competitive remuneration Career development Diverse and inclusive work environment
TP's strategic response
Health and wellbeing programs
Attractive compensation scheme Training and development: JUMP!, TP University Gender equality initiative, multicultural teams
Clients
Client satisfaction surveys (K.Sat), RFPs, strategic account management, events, websiteIncrease final end- user satisfaction & loyaltyEnd-users Systematic customer satisfaction surveys (C.Sat), omnichannel interactionsFind solutions to their daily problems, get aGrowth and digital simple and fasttransformation Easy to work with partner
Secure solutions Cost effectiveSimpler. Faster. Safer. Augmented Customer Experience, advanced analytics, digitalization and automation, Lean Six Sigma, subject matter experts by vertical, smart shoring, operational standardsEmotional intelligence, omnichannel solutions, multilingual capacities in 265 languages Data security (BCR approval)
Investors
Continuous dialog through investor meetings, roadshows,shareholders' meetings, and NGOs, industryfinancial reportingReliable and sustainable Find local workfinancial performance Transparency and sound governance
response when and where they need it
Strong and sustainable financial performance; Resilience and transformation; Ongoing dialog with main investors, incorporation of best governance practices
2.2 KEY EXTRA-FINANCIAL ISSUES AND CSR STRATEGY
2.2.1 Main risks
Extra-financial risk mapping
In 2019, Teleperformance conducted an extra-financial risk mapping exercise. The risk map was reviewed in 2020, in particular in order to factor in the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
While preparing the list of issues to be included in the analysis, Teleperformance took into account international standards (ISO 26000, the United Nations Global Compact and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and GRI standards), Article R.225-105 of the French Commercial
Local communities
Regular voluntary work, job fairs, partnerships with government departmentsassociationsopportunities, develop local economy, inclusion of minorities, responsible use of natural resourcesMajor employer, measures taken to promote employment and inclusion among local and underprivileged communities (Impact Sourcing)
Provide a customer experience to persons living in remote areas Citizen of the World charity scheme Citizen of the Planet environmental scheme
Code, sector and media watch benchmarks and analyses of existing internal documentation. The risk mapping was drawn up through consultation with executives representing all Group business functions (legal and compliance, human resources, operations, information system security, business development, client management, finance and risk management), and all regions and key countries (focusing on the Group's major operations in the EMEA region, India, the Philippines, USA, Mexico, Colombia and Brazil). The Group assessed the gross risks associated with each issue in terms of operational, financial, image- related, human, environmental and health risks.
Risk identification | Risk management | |
Social risks | The Group's employees are its most precious asset. The | Teleperformance has set up schemes to foster and |
quality of service delivered by the Group depends on its | enhance employee engagement, wellbeing, training and | |
ability to hire, train and retain skilled employees able to | career development, in order to make Teleperformance | |
meet clients' expectations. | the preferred employer in its market. These schemes are | |
Employee dissatisfaction and lack of commitment | described in section 2.3. | |
leading to a deterioration in productivity and quality, | The Teleperformance health and safety management | |
not to mention higher staff turnover and absenteeism, | system aims to control risks efficiently, enhance | |
represent a major risk that could diminish client | wellbeing and prevent staff injuries during the | |
satisfaction, disrupt operations and have a material | performance of their duties. This system is described in | |
financial impact (hiring and training costs, client | section 2.3.3. | |
penalties, etc.). | Teleperformance has developed a clear-cut Group | |
Health and safety risks are also a major issue, especially | policy to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic, as explained in | |
psychosocial risks and risks of musculoskeletal disorders | section 2.3.3.2. | |
due to primarily sedentary work. Teleperformance | ||
could also be exposed to risks of harm to physical safety | ||
(fire, growing political tensions, social unrest, acts of | ||
terrorism or epidemics such as Covid-19). | ||
Human rights risks | Given that Teleperformance employs over | Teleperformance has adopted a conscious proactive |
380,000 people worldwide, risks of infringement of | commitment to hiring and integrating people from a | |
human rights and fundamental freedoms certainly exist. | diverse range of backgrounds and promoting gender | |
Shortfalls in terms of anti-discrimination practices and | balance and equal pay for men and women. Diversity | |
social dialog could lead to infringement of employees' | measures are set out in section 2.3.6. | |
fundamental rights and loss of performance for the | The Group strives to establish effective social dialog | |
Company, as well as employee disputes, litigation and | at all levels of the organization, as described in | |
potential damage to the Company's image. | section 2.3.5. | |
Risks related to data security and data privacy of | The Group also seeks to guarantee optimum working | |
Teleperformance's employees, corporate clients and | conditions for its employees in terms of working hours, | |
end customers are inherent to the Group's business | pay and flexible working solutions. Working conditions | |
activity: Teleperformance delivers its services through | are described in section 2.3.4. | |
a complex technological platform that integrates a | In order to guarantee personal data security for | |
wide range of information technologies. Data privacy | employees, corporate clients and end customers, | |
breaches could generate human and operational risks | the Group has implemented a set of compliance and | |
potentially leading to loss of client trust or risks of | security rules designed to anticipate and limit the | |
financial and legal sanctions. | risks of fraud or breaches of statutory data security | |
requirements. Further information on these policies | ||
may be found in section 2.4.3. | ||
Risks related to | Practices in conflict with anti-corruption, business ethics | The Group's commitment to ethical business practices |
business ethics | and tax evasion regulations could arise in countries | is described in section 2.4.2 Fair practices. At |
where the Group operates. | Teleperformance, all acts of corruption are forbidden. | |
Such practices would expose the Group to penalties and | This zero-tolerance approach is set out in the Code of | |
a risk to its reputation, which would impact the Group as | Conduct. The Group has set up a robust anti-corruption | |
a whole by damaging its overall credibility. | system based on the eight pillars of the French Sapin II | |
law. It is presented in section 2.4.2.2. | ||
The Group believes that combating tax evasion | ||
and paying taxes are actions that show support for | ||
regions and communities. Group policy is set out in | ||
section 2.4.2.6. | ||
Environmental risks | Environmental risks, including transition and physical | Launched in 2008, the Citizen of the Planet (COTP) |
risks, have been identified in accordance with TCFD | program aims to ensure that Teleperformance operates | |
(Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures) | in an environmentally friendly and responsible manner. | |
recommendations. Teleperformance's business could | In 2020, Teleperformance decided to go a step further | |
present a risk to the environment in terms of excessive | by joining the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). This | |
consumption of resources. Furthermore, the Group | program is described in section 2.6. | |
operates in regions severely impacted by climate change | ||
leading to increased risk of natural disasters. These risks | ||
are set out in section 2.6.2. |
The extra-financial risks identified in the table above have been included in the Group risk map. The Group's major risks are all presented in section 1.2 of this Universal Registration Document.
The risks covered by the duty of vigilance (human rights and fundamental freedoms, health and safety, the environment and value chain breaches) and the policies and initiatives introduced to mitigate such risks are set out in section 1.2.4 Vigilance Plan of this Universal Registration Document.
Materiality analysis
The extra-financial risk mapping was used as a starting point to draw up Teleperformance's first materiality analysis. All extra-financial risks identified were submitted to a panel of internal and external stakeholders during the second quarter of 2019, after which a materiality chart was drawn up. The Group organized a consultation process with stakeholders consisting of interviews on relevant extra-financial issues identified during the risk mapping process on which Group management had already issued an opinion. Staff representatives, suppliers, partners, clients and interest groups (public bodies, NGOs, sector analysts) based in the main Teleperformance operating countries expressed their opinion on the importance of each extra-financial issue for Teleperformance so that these issues could be placed in order of priority.
In 2019, Teleperformance decided to involve mainly staff representatives (over 50% of the sample) and encourage dialog with employees for the first year of assessment. The Group plans to periodically update the materiality analysis by revising the list of relevant CSR issues identified as required and extending the consultation process to a broader sample of in-company and external stakeholders.
KPMG, acting as the independent third-party body appointed by the Group to audit non-financial reporting, has confirmed that the materiality analysis was conducted, under the responsibility of Teleperformance's CSR Department, in accordance with the methodology protocol and, in this respect, provided a report on agreed-upon procedures in accordance with ISRS 4400.
The materiality chart below presents extra-financial issues classified in terms of (i) their importance for stakeholders and (ii) the degree of risk they entail for Teleperformance's operations as defined during the extra-financial risk mapping process.
ImportancetoStakeholders
Important issues | Major issues Corporat Governanc | Critical issues WeLaborDiversity & Inc e e | ll-beingat work lusion Share and P | values riorities |
Ethi Compli Training Developmen | cs &nce &t | Data SHealth & Safe | ecurity ty | |
Impact on Local Emp | Client Satisfaction Social Dialogu oyment Innovation & D | e igitalization | ||
Cli | mate Change Mitigatio | n Supply Chai Philant | hropy | |
Natural D | isasters | |||
Impacts on Teleperformance Business
A Preferred employerHuman ResourcesHuman Rights
A Trusted Partner to all StakeholdersEthics
Value Chain
A Force of GoodCitizen of the WorldCitizen of the Planet
The purpose of the analysis was to establish an order of priority among a wide range of social, staff-related and environmental challenges facing the Group in view of its global stature. The analysis also helped strengthen dialog with stakeholders on CSR issues, in order to ensure that the initiatives and programs created by Teleperformance met their expectations.
In accordance with the priority areas pinpointed by the analysis, specific action plans and initiatives have been devised with the aim of mitigating and controlling the related risks and taking advantage of the opportunities arising from this procedure. These action plans and initiatives have been incorporated into the Group's strategic objectives.
As a further demonstration of the importance of these priority areas, part of executive officers' variable remuneration depends on the Group's performance in this respect.
2.2.2 CSR vision and governance
CSR vision
Identifying the main CSR risks and challenges has helped the Group organize its CSR initiatives. To fulfill the Group's mission and meet the expectations of its main stakeholders, Teleperformance has made three commitments in keeping with Group strategy:
Be the preferred employer in the market
Teleperformance is focusing on developing a Great Place to Work® ecosystem: being the best employer in the sector is essential in order to hire, train and retain the best people.
Be a trusted partner for all Group stakeholders
A Preferred employer
Employee engagement & well-being Career development
Health & Safety
by adopting the most stringent ethical standards and delivering long-term value.
Human Rights Diversity & Inclusion
A Force of Good
Positive impact on communities and the environment
Be a Force of Good within the Group's sphere of influence
by helping to create jobs and build the local economy, positively impacting communities, and promoting sustainable use of natural resources.
A trusted partner to all stakeholders
Business ethics
Customer Experience Data security Sustainable growth
The Group's commitments are in line with the United Nations Global Compact, which Teleperformance joined in 2011. The Group ensures that all of its subsidiaries apply and comply with the UNGC's fundamental principles.
This is the most important global initiative in terms of sustainable development. It is based on a commitment by companies to implement the ten sustainable development principles, as follows:
Human rights | 1. | Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights; and |
2. | Make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses. | |
International labor | 3. | Uphold freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining. |
standards | 4. | Contribute to the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation. |
5. | Contribute to the effective abolition of child labor. | |
6. | The elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labor. | |
Environment | 7. | Support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges. |
8. | Undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility. | |
9. | Encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies. | |
Anti-corruption | 10. | Work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery. |
Teleperformance's commitment is reflected in its policies, including the Code of Ethics, Code of Conduct, Diversity & Inclusion Policy, Global Essential Compliance and Security Policies (GECSPs), health and safety policy, human rights statement, environmental policy and Supplier Code of Conduct. The Group ensures that its policies are put into practice and that employees are trained in all operations.
Teleperformance has committed to contribute towards the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Group report on annual progress, which qualifies for the GC Advanced level, is included in the integrated report.
CSR governance
A dedicated governance structure was set up to ensure the success of these programs and objectives. The CSR Department, which reports directly to the Deputy Chief Executive Officer, manages Group CSR strategy in order to roll out initiatives to achieve set targets, standardize practices among the subsidiaries and carry out regular monitoring.
The Group CSR Department works with a network of local "CSR ambassadors" tasked with liaising daily with the Group CSR Department and subsidiaries in order to monitor local application of Group policies and tracking and reporting CSR information. The CSR ambassadors receive instructions from the CSR director, who sees that Teleperformance's practices are aligned with the ten principles of the United Nations Global Compact and with the Group Vigilance Plan.
2.3 AN EMPLOYER OF CHOICE
Teleperformance makes its employees the focus of its business.
The Group is committed to being an employer of choice in its market, an essential prerequisite in creating value for all stakeholders. A happy employee is the first step towards ensuring end-user satisfaction and therefore satisfying Teleperformance's clients.
To this end, the Group deploys a number of initiatives and tools in the areas of hiring, professional training and development, human rights, diversity and inclusion, wellbeing and health and work safety to monitor progress and the achievement of this goal.
The Group also launched a high-touch strategy spanning the entire human resources value chain. This high touch strategy, which places human aspects and emotional intelligence at the center of its operations, is aimed at Group employees, corporate clients and final end customers alike. It is illustrated by the catchphrase that encapsulates Teleperformance's identity and mission: "Each Interaction Matters". The Group believes that, as a responsible corporate citizen, it has a duty to help all of its employees fulfill their maximum potential through each interaction of their career at Teleperformance.
In 2020, Teleperformance adapted its human resources management approach to allow for the exponential growth in Group-wide teleworking arrangements due to the Covid-19 crisis (see section 2.3.4.2 Teleworking and TP Cloud Campus). The pandemic will have a lasting impact on human resources management, even after the crisis is over. For example, Teleperformance has developed a new digital hiring model to be rolled out Group-wide in 2021. The model uses various digital tools to identify and attract the best candidates more quickly and take into account candidates who appreciate the opportunity to work from home. Besides conducting a major overhaul of teleworking procedures, Teleperformance has revised its hiring processes, job descriptions and appraisals, as well as remuneration criteria, to make emotional intelligence a key consideration.
Teleperformance's high-touch strategy aims to boost employee happiness and help it stand out as a forward-looking company.
Teleperformance is fully committed to providing a unique work environment, including with regard to teleworking, and earns recognition from independent entities on a regular basis. In 2020,
The CSR roadmap and associated programs are also coordinated and overseen by a CSR steering Committee that meets at least four times a year. The Committee comprises representatives of key support functions and experts in the relevant fields (CSR, human resources, legal and compliance, operations, finance, communications).
A CSR Committee was added to the panel of Board Committees in January 2021, as explained in section 3.1.2.3 of this Universal Registration Document. The new Committee is responsible for verifying proper integration of Group CSR commitments (social and environmental), reviewing the declaration of extra-financial performance included in the Universal Registration Document, the annual integrated report, the Vigilance Plan and all information required under CSR regulations, and examining the nature and impact of extra-financial risks in consultation with the Audit, Risks and Compliance Committee.
the Group obtained or renewed Great Place to Work® or Best Place to Work® awards in 28 countries. These awards cover 87% of the Group's workforce.
The following countries received an award in 2020: Albania, Argentina, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Germany WAHA (work-at-home German subsidiary), Greece, India, Indonesia, Kosovo, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Tunisia, UK, United Arab Emirates and USA.
Competing companies must submit to a rigorous selection process to receive these awards. The Great Place to Work® ranking is based on employees' perception of their employer as well as company human resources management practices, which are measured by two tools developed by the Institute, Trust Index© and Culture Audit©:
●
A Great Place To Work® company is a company in which employees trust the people they work for, take pride in what they do and value the people they work with. Employee satisfaction is measured by the Great Place to Work Trust Index© sent out to employees. The survey contains one question on overall satisfaction and around 60 questions covering five values: Credibility, Respect, Fairness, Pride and Camaraderie. Overall satisfaction corresponds to the percentage of promoters (the number of respondents who would recommend the company) divided by the total number of responses. The results of the Trust Index© survey account for two-thirds of the final result.
●
A Great Place to Work company is also a company where targets are achieved alongside colleagues who give their all and work as a team, within an atmosphere of trust. The Culture Audit© measures the quality and variety of an organization's human resources practices and policies. 15 areas are assessed by a Great Place to Work® auditor on the basis of five criteria: Variety, Originality, All-Inclusiveness, Human Touch and Integration.
Awards and rankings given by independent entities in recognition of employee workplace satisfaction are now taken into account in the Group executive officer remuneration scheme (see sections 3.2 on executive officer remuneration).
2.3.1
A major job creator
The information contained in this section concerns all Group consolidated companies, unless otherwise specified.
2.3.1.1 Breakdown of total workforce by age, gender and linguistic region as of December 31st, 2020
2020
English-speaking world and APAC
(excl. USA)
Men 28,679
41% 63,095
Ibero-LATAM regionCont. Europe & MEA
47% 30,322
43% 42,845
India & ME
Core services & D.I.B.S.
(excl. USA)
Specialized Services (excl. USA)
64% 164,941
48% 1,928
34% 37
Holding companies
Total excluding USA*
56% 166,906
48%
USA
TOTAL
Women 40,795
44% 179,602
36% 175,851
57% 24,445
53% 40,079
59% 70,532
52% 3,722
52%
66% 29
< 35 years old
30,264
44%
49,067
37% 28,908
41% 31,702
47% 139,941
41% 2,310
41% 17
26% 142,268
41%
* The breakdown of total staff by age and gender exclude the US subsidiaries, as local regulations prohibit collecting this data.
The Group's business growth mirrored a consistent increase in total staff.
223,240
2017
331,065 306,532
383,233
2018
2019
2020
2.3.1.2 Full-time equivalent workforce by linguistic region
2020 payroll | ||||
expenses | ||||
2020 workforce | (in millions of euros) | 2019 workforce | (in millions of euros) | |
English-speaking world and APAC | 82,790 | -1,318 | 80,171 | -1,213 |
Ibero-LATAM | 114,945 | -981 | 89,098 | -784 |
Cont. Europe & MEA | 55,806 | -921 | 42,788 | -748 |
India & ME | 60,304 | -255 | 67,899 | -271 |
Core services & D.I.B.S. | 313,845 | -3,475 | 279,956 | -3,015 |
Specialized Services | 8,801 | -342 | 9,467 | -314 |
Holding companies | 66 | -29 | 64 | -20 |
TOTAL | 322,712 | -3,846 | 289,487 | -3,349 |
2019 payroll expenses
Salaries are determined in accordance with the laws in force in the countries in which the Group operates.
< 45 years old
> 45 years old
9,567
4,290
14%
6%
14,989
6,441
11% 12,351
5% 7,736
18% 5,898
11% 1,150
9% 42,805
2% 19,617
13% 720
6% 235
13% 19
4% 27
29% 43,544
41% 19,879
13%
6%
2.3.1.3 Change in total headcount in 2020 by type of employment contract
Permanent | Fixed-term | |||
contract | contract | Temporary | Total | |
As of 01/01/2020 | 270,675 | 49,099 | 11,291 | 331,065 |
Hiring | 273,948 | 42,290 | 18,544 | 334,782 |
Lay-offs | -52,760 | -4,766 | -650 | -58,176 |
Transfers | 3,666 | -3,729 | 36 | -560 |
Other departures | -191,870 | -24,775 | -7,233 | -223,878 |
AS OF 12/31/2020 | 303,126 | 58,119 | 21,988 | 383,233 |
It is not possible to determine the exact number of employees with disabilities working for the Group, given that this information is considered to be discriminatory in certain jurisdictions, such as the USA.
In 2020, 6.1% of the Teleperformance France workforce were officially recognized as persons with disabilities (excluding temporary workers).
2.3.2 Human resources development
Employee development is a central focus of HR strategy. It is essential for providing clients with the best possible service and promoting internal promotion. The Group is making significant investments in this area. This policy is based on a number of training and employee development programs offered to employees on arrival and throughout their career with the Company.
The Group has developed specific on- and off-site training programs for all employees. These training programs cover a wide range of subjects, including Teleperformance corporate culture, individual functions and client programs the Company wishes to support, professional development, safety, compliance and data security.
After the success of the 2019 pilot phase, the global platform to meet skills development requirements was deloyed in 2020. Teleperformance is now able to offer employees a centralized engagement platform for all their training and development needs, accessible anywhere and any time.
2.3.2.1
Employee training
Training is a key factor in managing the Group's human resources, particularly given that its business relies on a large workforce.
44,248,896 training hours were provided in 2020, representing an decrease of 5%. This is due to the Covid-19 crisis, which led to an emergency situation delaying the launch of some training courses. In addition, the accelerated implementation of teleworking for most of the employees has led to the necessary redesign of the training contents in remote mode. This represents 137 hours on average per employee, vs 160 in 2019. This demonstrates Teleperformance's strong commitment to employee training, even in times of crisis.
Training is provided in the form of face-to-face sessions and e-learning modules (MyTP).
MyCompany Orientation
Since 2014, all new employees have attended an orientation seminar on their first day at Teleperformance, with a strong focus on Group culture, values and safety. In 2020, the MyCompany Orientation initial training program was revised and deployed, ensuring that all employees were familiar with Teleperformance from Day One in the Company and that they completed all general training programs before branching out into specialized training geared to specific occupations or clients.
The training courses provided to all employees cover areas such as Group policies, health and safety, and the CSR policy. Every new agent must also complete a module on compliance to ensure that Teleperformance continues to provide rock-solid data security for clients, final customers and employees alike.
Furthermore, training programs covering new campaigns are specifically provided to seconded agents to help them support a new customer or product launch or develop a new line of services. Depending on the specifications agreed upon with the client, these training sessions last on average between one week for simple operations and five weeks for more complex products requiring more in-depth knowledge.
MyTP
In 2020, the Group migrated its e-learning platform to an online skills management platform in SaaS mode (Software as a Service). Following a pilot phase in 2019, the new platform was rolled out on April 1st, 2020. This global platform for training, development and commitment allows the Group to send a consistent message to employees, direct clients and final end customers. For example, rules are defined on the platform to assign dedicated training content to each position, which will be automatically attributed to each new employee occupying this position.
MyTP includes gamification tools (learning through games) and content dedicated to soft skills. The tool was rolled out in an agile manner via an initial phase devoted to deployment of online training, followed by phases focusing on performance development and collaborative workspaces.
The platform has scored a resounding success, as witnessed by key indicators including an average of 103,235 unique visitors per month (versus 58,604 in 2019). This performance was partly due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but also to changes in learning methods.
2020 highlights
1) Training and teleworking: the pandemic highlighted the importance of training and commitment within an organization. At Teleperformance, more than 250,000 employees were working from home as of December 31st, 2020. Under these circumstances it was essential to ensure that all training (compliance, products, soft skills, etc.) was efficiently dispensed. A permanent Group teleworking solution named TP Cloud Campus was introduced in 2020 and the global training and development team revised all procedures in order to ensure the same learning results when content was delivered online. The Group updated its entire training corpus to be able to deliver it online and foster commitment, including via gamification. Additional online certification courses and workshops were organized in order to develop trainer skills, and over 3,000 trainers received certification in 2020. Furthermore, the Group was able to offer 20,000 employees a catalog of over 1,000 modules offered by an external provider specializing in employee personal development.
2) Gamification plays an integral role in the Group's learning strategy.
Both Company teams and clients are provided with a number of solutions, including rapidly deployed quizzes and games based on key performance indicators (KPIs). 2020 also saw a considerable increase in the number of games used for learning purposes,with nearly 900,000 games deployed for 157,000 players, 20 times higher than in 2019.
3) Compliance training: data security has always been a major concern for Teleperformance. In 2020, in response to the astronomic increase in teleworking, the Group extended its training on data security and compliance. Each new hire receives a module on data security, anti-corruption training and specific courses on the Code of Conduct depending on their position.
4) Emotional intelligence is key to Teleperformance's adoption of a high touch culture. As part of this program, in 2020 Teleperformance revised its skills matrix to include emotional intelligence, particularly within the context of the new global performance management program to be rolled out in Q1 2021. Specific training is provided to all non-agents and has been completed by over 65,000 employees to date.
2.3.2.2
Professional development
The Group aims to encourage employees' professional fulfillment within a working environment that promotes performance and fosters skills development. Teleperformance has introduced a set of measures to help employees and drive their professional development.
Teleperformance encourages internal promotion. For 2020 the Group posted an internal promotion rate of 68% in respect of all positions, from supervisor upwards. It offers regular employee performance monitoring. Each employee has pre-defined quantitative and qualitative objectives and receives regular appraisals enabling them to establish their career path.
JUMP!
Exclusively designed for Teleperformance employees, the JUMP! program was initially introduced to encourage promotion from agent to supervisor and supervisor to manager. The program has undergone a number of changes since then and has been supplemented by other programs designed to prepare individuals for their future role. The program is designed to:
●
promote career development within the Group;
●
identify high-potential employees and prepare them for management positions;
●
●
encourage leadership at every level of the business; encourage internal promotions.
This program is based on a dual training program offering both technical and behavioral training, as well as personal development plans. Despite the pandemic, the continuation of programs such as JUMP! has been vital to the continued development of the talent pool.
Teleperformance University
Teleperformance University is an in-house university geared towards high-potential managers seeking to become future senior leaders within the Group. The course consists of four on-site modules over one week, followed by additional e-learning modules.
In early 2020, a further executive director was hired to bolster executive training and development. The entire training program was revised to bring it more in line with reality and the Group's digital transformation targets. The first week of training took place in January 2020 at the Teleperformance Innovation Experience Center (TIEC) in Santa Clara and was a resounding success. A number of sessions run by external instructors from the Great Place to Work® Institute, design thinking agencies and communications firms were organized for executive directors. The remaining three weeks of training were postponed due to the pandemic but Teleperformance University will be back in 2021.
2.3.3 Creation of a working environment conducive to health and safety
With over 380,000 employees operating in 83 countries, Teleperformance requires matters of health and safety to be handled with the same level of expertise and according to the same standards across all regions.
The quality and safety of the working environment must enable Group employees to feel comfortable and realize their potential.
2.3.3.1 Health and safety policy organization and approach
The Teleperformance health and safety management system aims to control risks efficiently, enhance wellbeing and prevent staff injuries during the performance of their duties.
The Group health and safety policy may go beyond local regulatory requirements. Where Group policy is more stringent than local requirements, Group policy prevails. Otherwise, the Company must abide by local requirements.
Besides focusing on employer and employee responsibilities, Group policy aims to increase awareness of workplace hazards and promote the use of preventive measures by all persons concerned. Staff representatives are periodically consulted to ensure the Group health and safety policy is rigorously applied at local level.
Each Group entity has its own Health and Safety Committee In most Group subsidiaries, one or more staff representatives sit on the Healthand Safety Committee, which is supervised by the local management team, local experts and the central health and safety department. The health and safety committees oversee matters related to health and safety at subsidiaries.
The Teleperformance health and safety management policy is designed to provide a consistent approach integrating risk assessment within the corporate culture. The global health and safety department works closely with each subsidiary through direct involvement with the local management team and via an operating relationship with all health and safety experts forming part of the Teleperformance global network.
Network of health and safety experts and training
One or more health and safety experts are appointed by the local managing director of each subsidiary. The main role of an expert is to ensure the subsidiary's compliance with the Group health and safety policy by implementing the rules and procedures laid down by the Group. In order to maintain a consistent approach and a high degree of compliance, the constant development of health and safety experts' expertise and skills is essential. In this regard, specific training sessions are provided covering the requirements and practices set out in the Teleperformance health and safety policy. In order to monitor and assess network expertise, the health and safety experts are asked to complete questionnaires throughout their training.
Staff training
Teleperformance aims to promote a health and safety culture and related expertise across all levels of the organization. As part of the orientation program, new employees complete mandatory health and safety training. The goal is to raise awareness, encourage accountability and familiarize employees with these areas from the very beginning of their career.
To guarantee all employees access to health and safety training, the global H&S team has developed an e-learning module for teleworking employees, available via the global training platform. The module provides an overview of health and safety issues as well as more specific information on the ergonomic risks associated with posture, lighting and acoustics.
Health and safety awareness video
The Group has created a health and safety awareness video available to all the subsidiaries. This entertaining and instructive video is presented by a Group senior executive in order to drive home the importance of occupational health and safety issues. The video is played in waiting areas at call centers, as well as in recruitment, relaxation and operating areas. It has been translated into multiple languages and is an efficient way to convey key messages to all those concerned.
Local Health and Safety Committees, risk assessment and facility inspections
In an effort to strengthen the global organization and ensure consistency at local level, every subsidiary has its own local Health and Safety Committee. These local committees handle the collective issues facing each center, enabling managers to efficiently implement the Group health and safety policy at their facility.
One of the cornerstones of the safety management policy is the identification of risks facing the Group at both global and local level.
Annual assessments are carried out at each facility to identify potential risks and devise appropriate risk mitigation or elimination solutions.
The Group periodically audits local risk assessments to improve their accuracy. The importance of health issues in the risk assessment has been increased in order to continuously improve staff safety and wellbeing.
2.3.3.2 Resilience and adaptation in response to the global health crisis
From the very outbreak of the health crisis, Teleperformance implemented protective measures for employees based in China, then Italy, before such measures were ramped up and rolled out globally following the World Health Organization's announcement of a global pandemic on March 11th, 2020.
Since then, Teleperformance has pursued two strategic objectives: (i) protecting employees and ensuring continuity of service for clients, primarily by rolling out teleworking in record time, and (ii) introducing a strict hygiene and safety policy at all Group facilities.
Roll-out of teleworking
Teleworking was one of the primary solutions adopted by Teleperformance to overcome the global Covid-19 crisis. This crisis significantly disrupted economic activity worldwide and prompted governments to impose strict health requirements in order to protect the population, including compliance with hygiene standards, social distancing and lockdowns. Under these circumstances, businesses were forced to rapidly rethink the way they operated.
Teleworking was extensively and systematically applied as soon as possible for all positions that allowed such arrangements in view of technical, material and legal constraints. As a service provider, Teleperformance is required to process personal data which is, by definition, confidential. This data can only be processed under secure conditions requiring an appropriate working environment including specific equipment, tools and licenses. Furthermore, teleworking requires the express consent of Teleperformance's clients with regard to both the general principle and the terms and conditions of its implementation. Teleworking was adopted across the Group as an extension of the enactment of initial lockdown measures, particularly in China, in compliance with safety standards and certifications.
Teleworking has enabled the Group to achieve the priorities defined in order to overcome the crisis:
●
protect employees by significantly reducing the number of people working at the operational facilities, thereby ensuring maximum compliance with social distancing requirements. In a little under eight weeks, 200,000 employees were working from home;
●
protect jobs, thereby preserving employees' and their families' standard of living, particularly in countries with no furlough schemes, and bolstering local community resilience. Teleworking solutions have largely enabled the Group to continue to help clients pursue their business activities. At the height of the crisis, 90% of Group clients were using teleworking arrangements.
Strict hygiene and safety policy
Teleperformance defined and applied a large number of measures to protect employees working at facilities that stayed open. A strict hygiene and safety policy was applied worldwide and coordinated daily by a central team in order to ensure:
●
compliance with directives and recommendations issued by the WHO and the Center for Disease Control, working closely with local governments and health authorities;
●
●
●
social distancing policies in accordance with WHO recommendations; the reinforcement of hygiene, cleaning and disinfection measures; the provision of equipment for disinfecting hands and surfaces and the distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE) including surgical masks, gloves and visors where specifically required by the local authorities, etc.
From March 20th, 2020 onwards, the Group succeeded in ordering and delivering around seven million masks to on-site employees worldwide.
Masks were distributed to employees unable to work from home and provided in due course to those returning to their workplace.
Controls including systematic temperature measurement upon entry into the premises and medical supervision, subject to applicable laws and regulations, were incorporated into standard procedures for dealing with the various situations encountered.
Where permitted under local regulations, some subsidiaries gave employees the option to take an antigen test in order to minimize the risk of positive cases in the workplace.
In addition, in January 2021, Teleperformance committed to reimburse the vaccination costs incurred by its employees in countries where there are not covered by the local healthcare system. This program will be implemented in accordance with the decisions of the authorities in each of the 83 countries where the Group operates and in partnership with key players in the healthcare sector.
Directives were circulated limiting local and international business travel in order to minimize the presence of visitors at Group facilities.
In addition to these measures, Teleperformance has developed a range of information materials for teleworking employees in the form of videos, emails and computer graphics designed to raise awareness of preventive and protective measures.
Certification
Lastly, Teleperformance acted quickly to tackle the psychological impact of the health crisis by developing procedures and communication tools designed to help employees cope with stress and manage their work-life balance while working at home. Teleperformance took active steps to maintain professional and social ties in order to reduce the feeling of isolation and the associated risks.
Teleperformance has obtained certification in a number of countries in recognition of its serious approach to managing the Covid-19 crisis worldwide.
Country | Results |
Albania | Teleperformance was the first company in the country to obtain Covid-19 certification for reducing the risk of workplace |
infection and complying with applicable anti-Covid regulations. | |
Brazil | Teleperformance Brazil was voted Best Contact Center of the Year for crisis management of the Covid-19 crisis. |
Colombia | Teleperformance was awarded SAFE GUARD certification by Bureau Veritas for its good practices in relation to |
biosecurity procedures for preventing and mitigating the risks of transmitting Covid-19. | |
Spain | AFNOR Trust certified Teleperformance Spain for its action procedures to combat Covid-19. |
France | Four facilities in France were certified by Bureau Veritas for compliance with health procedures enacted by the French |
Ministry of Labor. | |
Italy | Teleperformance obtained Covid-19-Free certification in Italy, where the Group met the criteria for managing its |
operations in a safe manner for employees and clients. | |
Morocco | AFNOR certified the health charter rolled out at Teleperformance facilities in Morocco at the start of the Covid-19 crisis. |
The charter sets out 52 measures in line with the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health. | |
Portugal | Teleperformance was the first company in its sector to obtain Covid Clean certification from EIC/VERYCER. This |
certification covers 11 facilities in Portugal, proving the efficacy of the practices introduced to tackle the virus. | |
Colombia, | Teleperformance obtained ISO 45001 certification for its health and safety management system in several subsidiaries. |
India, Peru, | |
United Kingdom |
2.3.3.3 Supporting local roll-out
of the Teleperformance health
and safety policy
Toolkit: safety directives
Teleperformance is committed to providing all of its employees and subcontractors with a safe working environment and minimizing the risk of injury and illness. To achieve this, the Group provides all of its subsidiaries with a health and safety toolkit on its intranet. This includes directives and best practices on subjects such as evacuation drills, emergency containment, smoke detectors and alarms, emergency exits and pandemic prevention plans. The health and safety experts are also given tools (models, best practices, etc.) concerning health and safety training provided to new employees, facility inspections and risk assessments. Furthermore, every year the Group examines locally deployed tools in order to identify new best practices to share with those concerned.
An excellent working environment: guidelines on work premises
The working environment is an integral part of an employee's life.
Teleperformance aims to create an appropriate and innovative working environment, focusing on wellbeing and culture at work, in which employees can fulfill their potential.
Teleperformance implements directives and guidelines on workplace layout in order to provide a working environment conducive to wellbeing and efficiency. Acoustics and lighting are also important for a calm andhealthy working environment. Plans and designs for adapting specific areas such as hiring and training areas, are shared with all subsidiaries.
Good practices are submitted to the internal expert network for quality feedback. Teleperformance provides employees with specially designed relaxation areas and cafeterias, as well as gyms, games rooms and other communal areas.
These directives were extensively revised in 2019 in consultation with architect and designer partners in order to keep up with market trends, employee expectations and international safety standards. Using a predefined validation process, Teleperformance makes sure that each new facility complies with Group principles in terms of workplace layout.
Passion 4U: wellbeing and stress reduction
Group employees spend a substantial amount of time and energy at work. Teleperformance therefore plays a vital role in improving their health, wellbeing and, ultimately, their quality of life, both as an employer and as a contributor to the health of broader society. In this context, Teleperformance teaches its employees about health in order to encourage them to make healthy decisions on a daily basis - at home, within their communities and at work.
The global Passion 4U initiative promotes wellbeing and better quality of life at work. By improving awareness of the benefits of adopting healthy habits and reducing stress, this program encourages the sharing of best practices between all Group entities. All of the Passion 4U initiatives are rolled out locally and include measures to reduce stress, promote work-life balance, encourage health and healthy eating, as well as ergonomics, fitness, physical activity, etc.
All of these measures have been adapted in light of the health crisis to ensure employee wellbeing both at work and at home.
Main themes
Stress reductionContent moderationSpecial attention is paid to agents in charge of social media content management and moderation, as their job tends to generate a good deal of stress. A number of measures have been implemented, including hiring people with appropriate profiles and skills, resilience training during the induction seminar, a positive working environment enhanced by custom-developed infrastructure, expert counseling to foster psychological and emotional wellbeing and a 24/7 support program.
Work-life balance
Examples of policies
The stress inherent to work can result in health and safety issues. Identifying stress factors is essential. In this regard, the Group focuses on creating ergonomic workspaces, relaxation areas, flexible schedules and programs to combat specific types of stress, aiming to encourage wellbeing and cultivate a feeling of belonging.
During the Covid-19 crisis, Teleperformance deployed a module on the MyTP platform for sharing advice and good practices in relation to stress management and work-life balance while teleworking.
A healthy work-life balance is essential for every employee. Having too little time to relax can cause stress and impact employees' health. Thanks to its staff management processes and programs, Teleperformance aims to bring balance back to its employees' lives, specifically through family-inclusive programs, childcare subsidies, flexible tailored work schedules and teleworking solutions.
Health and healthy eating Healthy eating, regular physical exercise and getting enough sleep can help employees reduce stress and illness and have a better sense of wellbeing. The Group encourages each subsidiary to communicate and offer a balanced and varied choice of food and drink. Local campaigns are organized with a focus on specific issues, such as smoking, obesity, sleep disorders and hydration. Weeks dedicated to health initiatives are also organized.
The Group provides access to health platforms, health specialists and dietitians, on-site doctors and nurses and complementary healthcare.
Ergonomics
Given that the positions Teleperformance offers are predominantly sedentary, workplace ergonomics are an important health and safety factor. Through local and global campaigns and training, the Group aims to create a working environment that takes employee diversity into account with regard to size, height, age and different working environments in terms of noise/hearing, lighting/sight, temperature and design.
Fitness
To promote wellbeing, performance and health, Teleperformance encourages employees to do physical exercise through initiatives such as fitness, yoga and zumba classes at work, stretching exercises, riding to work, sports days and active breaks. Employees are also encouraged to take part in locally-organized sports challenges and games. (see Xtra-mile challenge in section 2.5.2.2).
A number of online fitness and yoga classes were offered to employees during the Covid-19 crisis.
2.3.3.4
Workplace accidents
The workplace accident frequency rate in 2020 was 1.2, excluding commuting accidents. Including commuting accidents, it was 2.9. This indicator is tracked by most subsidiaries in accordance with local regulations.
Any accident or incident at the workplace is reported and recorded. Each of these accidents is also analyzed in detail in order to determine the root cause and to continuously improve employee safety and reduce identified risks.
A comparison of the frequency rate in 2020 with previous years is not recommended. Indeed, the health crisis has had a strong impact on the presence of employees on the premises. In order to protect employees and ensure business continuity, between 200,000 and 250,000 employees have been working remotely since March. This undoubtedly contributed to a decrease in commuting accidents and accidents in the workplace.
2.3.3.5
Risk prevention: audits and inspections
A global remote audit system has been set up to ensure that all locations comply with the Group health and safety policy. The system is backed up by systematic on-site inspections, aiming to cover all Group locations over an 18-month period. Depending on the maturity level and results obtained by each inspected location, the Group offers to work closely with the subsidiary in order to achieve compliance with the required standards. A full health and safety audit of the location is also proposed.
The 2020 health crisis gave rise to travel restrictions affecting all personnel. For this reason, part of the on-site inspections could not be completed, but new online inspection procedures were implemented to plug the gaps.
Remote H&S audits
Objectives
Remotely assess whether key health and safety elements comply with Group H&S requirements, identify discrepancies and prepare an action plan to rectify them.
On-site H&S inspections
Conduct a H&S facility inspection and determine whether the key elements are satisfactory, or if any risk, critical or not, has been identified. Define an action plan to correct any deviation.
These inspections are conducted by an in-house safetyand compliance audit team trained in critical health and inspected in 2020. safety aspects, via a three-stage process:
1. prior evaluation;
2. on-site inspections using an evaluation sheet;
3. bi-monthly meetings to align with auditors.
The inspection findings are forwarded to country management, which then requests an action plan with monthly tracking.
The overall findings are sent to Group management every quarter.
Online health and safety inspectionsFull H&S audit and support
Evaluate an entire facility following the identification of risks and a thorough investifation that will havedetermined the need for a comprehensive health and safety assessment of the site.
Compliance of H&S licenses
Inspect the facility from a health and safety point of view, including protective and preventive measures related to the health crisis. Determine whether the key elements are satisfactory or if any findings or risks, critical or otherwise, have been identified. Define an action plan to correct any deviation.
Check that all facilities have the health and safety licenses required by local legislation.
These audits will be conducted by the Group H&S team via a three-stage process:
1. risk identification;
2. prior evaluation;
3. on-site audit using a comprehensive H&S audit evaluation sheet.
The audit findings are forwarded to company management, which then requests an action plan with monthly tracking.
The overall findings will be sent to Group management every month.
An initial investigation (phase 1) was conducted by each subsidiary to identify all licenses required for each facility. Next (phase 2), each license identified was recorded in the internal system. This review is carried out three times a year and the results presented to the Management Committee and Audit, Risks and Compliance Committee attached to the Board of Directors.
Client auditsLocal authority inspections
In some countries, government agencies organized on-site inspections of private-sector companies in order to verify compliance with measures adopted to protect employees against the risks of spreading the virus.
Methodology
Each company provides documents as proof of its compliance with Group minimum requirements, via the Group's compliance platform.
Each supporting document is examined remotely by a Group auditor. Compliance reports are issued monthly to all country directors for their respective entity, and quarterly to the Group management team.
Employee health and safety is a core component of most major international clients' subcontracting policies. In this context, clients conduct their own on-site H&S audits.
Some clients carried out specific audits and inspections to verify compliance with the rules designed to protect employees against Covid-19.
The methodology varies depending on the client. Most inspections were carried out online.
The methodology varied depending on the country.
2020 audits
Over 300 locations audited in 2020, including new facilities integrated during the year.
55 facilities wereDelayed launch of the process in 2020 due to the global health crisis.
The compliance team broadened the scope of subsidiaries covered in order to include the whole Group.
Data unavailable.
In 2020, over 300 inspections were carried out at Group facilities by the local health authorities.
2.3.3.6
Health insurance
97% of the Group's employees have access to health insurance. In some countries this is a legal requirement, while in others it is a benefit offered by Teleperformance. Furthermore, 60% of all subsidiaries extend health insurance to family members of insured employees.
In the Philippines, Teleperformance provides inclusive health insurance extended to the employees' partners, irrespective of their marital status or sexual orientation.
2.3.4 Working conditions
2.3.4.1
Work organization
Working hours
The Group human rights charter caps working hours at 48 hours per week, except for overtime, which is applied on an individual basis and always in compliance with local legislation, up to a maximum of 60 hours per week in accordance with ILO conventions.
Accordingly, the working hours of staff employed in contact centers and sales and administrative offices is organized in strict compliance with working time legislation, which varies from country to country.
Group employees work according to different procedures, mainly depending on clients' needs and local preferences, in compliance with the applicable statutory and regulatory provisions of each country.
The Group may hire employees under full-time and part-time contracts and also hires temporary workers in order to achieve the flexibility required by its business operations, essentially in Continental Europe, Middle-East and Africa.
The Group is committed to reducing absenteeism at its facilities.
Absenteeism is an ongoing measure of wellbeing and motivation. It is covered in a monthly report and a separate analysis per subsidiary, facility and region. This indicator is reviewed at each subsidiary's Board of Directors meeting. Average absenteeism was 5.2% in 2020 versus 4.6% in 2019, with peaks in March and April due to the pandemic and a number of regional differences depending on the local social and regulatory environment.
2.3.4.2
Teleworking and TP Cloud Campus
For several years now, Teleperformance's WAHA (Work At Home Agents) solution has combined the services of agents working from home, a flexible organizational structure, cutting-edge communications technology and the strictest security standards in the market.
This service model enables all types of candidates to access agent functions:
●
people in remote locations (rural areas);
●
people with disabilities (difficulties getting around);
●
people with a specific profile and not seeking to work at a traditional contact center (seniors, homemakers, etc.).
Working methods at Teleperformance have changed permanently as a result of the Covid-19 crisis. Over the period, over 250,000 employees had switched to the WAHA mode. Encouraged by this experience, Teleperformance decided to roll out a permanent WAHA solution on a large scale: Teleperformance Cloud Campus, the new online platform for employees offering new-generation services in terms of customer experience. It is based on five key principles:
●
single contact point with clients;
●
extended online hiring procedures to identify the most qualified candidates and provide a suitable environment for hiring, developing and supporting teams;
More than half of Group subsidiaries also provide on-site medical assistance: doctors, nurses, psychologists, etc.
In Portugal, Teleperformance has rolled out the TP Feel Well program, which offers psychological and general clinic consultations, medical examinations and other initiatives focused on wellbeing. This program provides ongoing free professional medical assistance at the workplace.
●
a judicious combination of technologies, data analysis and support tools for agents to optimize team performance;
●
highly secure technology, procedures and policies guaranteeing client data security;
●
team commitment and productivity maintained despite remote working due to enhanced communication and numerous interactions and activities organized within teams.
The WAHA training model guarantees agent excellence.
The management of remote agents has become particularly effective in creating close ties, developing loyalty to the Company and brand and improving efficiency.
2.3.4.3
Employee remuneration and loyalty schemes
The Group remuneration policy is based on shared principles and is applied in a decentralized manner in line with the regulatory framework and local labor and market conditions. This policy aims to:
●
●
attract and retain talented individuals; reward individual and collective performance;
●
be fair and consistent in line with the Group's financial and operational objectives.
Teleperformance regularly includes its most valuable managers in a profit-sharing scheme through a bonus performance share plan, in compliance with its rules of governance. These bonus share plans are allotted on a case-by-case basis and aim to reward managers' loyalty and contribution to the Group's development. This is an exceptional remuneration scheme and is therefore distinct from the Group's general remuneration policy applicable to all employees. A detailed summary of the performance shares allotted by the Group is presented in section 7.2.6.3 of this Universal Registration Document.
Certain Group subsidiaries have set up local staff incentive schemes.
For example, the operating subsidiary in France has introduced an open-ended profit-sharing scheme.
Living wage
To go further, Teleperformance has partnered with Wage Indicator, to conduct for the second year in a row an analysis to benchmark local Teleperformance salaries against the local living wage. As a market leader, the Group is committed to providing competitive remuneration to all its employees and to promoting higher standards for its sector.
Different from the minimum wage, the living wage is a higher standard corresponding to the minimum income necessary for a worker to comfortably meet their basic needs, including food, housing, and other essential needs such as clothing, phone costs, water, transportation, education, and health. The purpose of the living wage is to enable a person to earn a proper living through employment. The living wage varies from one city or country to another, depending on the local cost of living.
Wage Indicator is a non-profit foundation based in Amsterdam that has developed a highly robust methodology and global database on living wages. It operates national Wage Indicator websites in more than 125 countries, functioning as online local labor market libraries for employees, employers, governments, academics and the media. Thus, Wage Indicator provides an exhaustive data base updated every quarter that can be used to assess and deploy a living wage approach in its operations.
2.3.4.4 Employee benefits
Staff benefits are organized locally in accordance with established practices in each country.
According to their financial performance, Group subsidiaries can decide to grant bonuses.
Extra leave
Over 70% of Teleperformance employees benefit from annual paid vacation leave in addition to the local statutory allowance. Extra leave depends on company agreements in place at each Group subsidiary.
2.3.5 Labor relations
Since its creation, Teleperformance has developed its business on the basis of its convictions and values, while remaining committed to its social responsibility. The Group is aware of the role played by trade unions in representing and promoting employees' interests, and aims to build its reputation as an ethical company that applies good practices with regard to labor relations, in compliance with local regulations. All employees are free to meet or join organizations without interference, reprisals or discrimination. Teleperformance maintains regular and constructive dialog with recognized trade unions and other employeeFor instance, six extra days are awarded to employees in Malaysia, five in the Czech Republic, 4-10 additional days in Germany depending on the facility, up to 25 days in the Philippines, where the statutory minimum is five days annual paid leave, and extra days depending on length of service in the UK, France, Mexico and China. Other subsidiaries award paid holidays for special events (birthdays, family occasions, emergencies, etc.), for example in Indonesia, Lithuania, India and Madagascar. The subsidiaries in Argentina, France and India award longer paternity leave than the local statutory allowance (five days in India, three extra days in Argentina and two extra days in France).
Subsidized meals
Around 80% of employees receive partly or fully subsidized meals, depending on local laws and customs: access to a canteen, restaurant vouchers or food purchase vouchers.
This is a statutory requirement in some countries, including Brazil and France, while in others it is a benefit offered to its employees.
Many subsidiaries negotiate reduced prices for their employees, usually with restaurants located near the office.
Preferential rates
Around 80% of employees benefit from negotiated rates on various services other than restaurants, and sometimes enjoy them free of charge:
●
●
discounts or free access to gyms and other sports facilities; discounts to cultural activities such as movies, concerts, shows and exhibitions;
●
discounts at travel agencies and for holiday activities.
These discounted or free services are offered through the works councils, where they exist, or by the HR Department at each subsidiary, sometimes in partnership with clients.
legal representatives. Social dialog takes place at every level within the Company and may exist in different forms depending on the culture, customs, practices and applicable legislation in each country.
Since 2020, employees have been represented by two members of the Group Board of Directors, who act as spokespersons for employees by taking active part in the Board's operations and decision-making procedures.
2.3.5.1
Social dialog
Teleperformance respects freedom of association and recognizes the right to collective bargaining, in accordance with the third principle of the UN Global Compact. In countries where these fundamental freedoms are not guaranteed, Teleperformance ensures that channels for social dialog exist. Each Group entity included in the reporting scope has at least one employee representative body: employee representatives, works council, Health and Safety Committee, Grievance Committee, etc.
Multiple channels of dialog and consultation
Employees can also share their opinions and express their concerns through the E.Sat employee satisfaction survey, regular chats with the CEO, discussion groups, etc.
An Ethics Hotline is also available to any employee or third party wishing to report breaches of international commitments, including principles relating to freedom of association (see Global Ethics Hotline Policy in section 2.4.2.1.
The corporate culture encourages direct access to Group managers and executives. Teleperformance has implemented a number of initiatives at its subsidiaries to encourage dialog and discussion with employees:
• Examples of initiatives to encourage discussion with employees
Initiative | Description |
Meetings with management | Organization of regular meetings between management and staff representatives or, where they exist, |
trade unions. | |
Chats with the CEO | Offer employees the opportunity to talk about current operations at the facility and share their views, |
without the involvement of their direct supervisor, and in a friendly atmosphere. | |
Focus groups | Focus groups between agents and managers. |
Intranet and online | Deployment of an online communication tool enabling employees to anonymously share their concerns |
communication tools | with HR and management. |
Employee consultation during the Covid-19 crisis
In 2020, specific procedures and communication resources were deployed in order to facilitate dialog between staff and management during the crisis: a weekly video conference organized by senior management in order to communicate transparently with employees (20,000-25,000 participants on average each week), a dedicated Covid-19 channel on the Ethics Hotline, SMS alerts sent directly to employees, discussions with trade unions, etc.
The subsidiary health and safety committees made a valuable contribution during the crisis. Generally composed of health and safety experts, staff representatives, management representatives and, in some cases, medical personnel, these committees checked that local measures were in keeping with Group directives. Some countries changed the composition of their Health and Safety Committee to give greater and more direct consideration to employee concerns.
In India, four staff representatives were admitted to the Health and Safety Committee for the first time. In the Philippines, Teleperformance changed the structure of its Health and Safety Committee to include a staff representative chosen from among the 21 Group facilities in the country.
Measures to ensure safety at Teleperformance's European facilities have been recognized by the European company Works Council (ECWC), which acted as the independent representative of employees based in the 18 countries to review the solutions adopted by Teleperformance subsidiaries in response to the Covid-19 pandemic: "Teleperformance acted and adapted quickly to this unprecedented global crisis. Using centralized tools to monitor and verify application, Teleperformance managed to achieve its primary objectives, i.e. ensuring employee health and safety and continuity of operations in order to deliver satisfaction to clients, also disrupted by the pandemic."
Employee satisfaction
An extensive employee satisfaction survey (E-sat) has been conducted every year since 2008. The aim of the survey is to provide a better understanding of how employees view their activity.
This survey is conducted by a team that ensures the continuous improvement of the method and procedures. An external partner provides the results of a benchmark survey covering all countries in which the Group operates, enabling each subsidiary to compare its results against the local market.
Taking employee opinions into account serves as a means of improving working conditions and promoting their professional development.
Based on the results, action plans are defined in each subsidiary and implemented under the responsibility of each local Human Resources director. In order to ensure continuous improvement in results, progress on each project is monitored on a monthly basis by a dedicated head office team.
In 2020, 196,225 employees at 84 subsidiaries (51% of the Group's total workforce) completed the survey. Due to the Covid-19 crisis, over half of the employees who replied to the E.sat survey were teleworking, compared to 1% in 2019. Employee satisfaction increased versus 2019.
The survey results show that this positive trend is due to five major factors:
●
working from home: the pandemic has revolutionized working patterns worldwide. Teleperformance managed to switch most of its staff to teleworking in record time, a feat that generated a feeling of loyalty and pride among employees who saw that their employer cared for their health and wellbeing. This also made a major contribution to reducing the stress induced by the health crisis;
●
on-site work: while most employees switched to teleworking, others continued to work on site and witnessed first-hand all the health measures introduced by Teleperformance. These measures gave employees a sense of security and increased their trust in their employer;
●
regularly reaching out: Teleperformance has proactively maintained contact with its employees in order to listen to their needs and expectations. Opinion polls organized during the pandemic showed that employees felt their employer really listened to them. This constant attention improved the trust index and helped boost employee satisfaction, increasing the likelihood that they would recommend Teleperformance as an employer;
● communication: the crisis prompted Teleperformance to communicate more often with employees into order to provide reassurance and support, and to encourage them to achieve their daily targets and those of clients. This constant communication increased employees' feeling of security and confidence in the future of the Company;
●
job security: the pandemic has increased the risk of job losses. Under these circumstances, employees have seen the efforts made by the Group to safeguard their jobs, which helps foster loyalty.
Collective bargaining agreements
Certain Group subsidiaries have a specific collective bargaining agreement. If no such agreement exists, the labor laws in the country in question apply. Collective agreements are also regularly entered into each year with staff representatives. These agreements generally provide for the number of working hours, the notice period in the event of departure, salary increases, vacation time, the length of parental leave, payment of public holidays, team rotas, etc. Collective agreements are currently in place in 17 countries representing around 29% of the Group workforce (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Dominican Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia and UK). In addition, Teleperformance also maintains an open dialogue with unions in most operations and has recently recognized a union in Albania.
European Works Council
Launched in 2014 and officially registered in 2015, a Works Council currently comprising 22 standing members represents employees in the 18 European countries in which the Group operates. In 2020, the Works Council met Group management representatives eight times, versus four times in 2019, either in plenary session or in the form of a six-member delegation (the officers), While discussions naturally revolved around managing the Covid-19 crisis, they also covered Group financial and operating results, teleworking arrangements, preparations for Works Council elections and the reappointment of officers, and the procedure for appointing the new employee representative on the Board of Directors. At the height of the crisis, the Works Council held fortnightly meetings with senior management representatives (see above Employee consultation during the Covid-19 crisis).
2.3.6 Diversity and equal opportunity
The Teleperformance diversity and inclusion policy is based on the 6th principle of the United Nations Global Compact: "The elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation."
The policy was revised in 2019 and cancels and supersedes the former equal opportunity policy. The purpose of this policy is to provide guidelines to the subsidiaries so that procedures promoting equal access to employment, the elimination of discrimination, diversity, integration and fair hiring practices are respected. Improvements include a more conscious pro-active commitment to hiring people from a diverse range of backgrounds, promoting gender balance and equal pay for men and women.
The selection and promotion process is not founded solely on the type of vacant position. It is designed to offer equal opportunities to all candidates, irrespective of personal characteristics such as ethnic background, religious beliefs, gender, political opinion, nationality, social background, age, health, union membership or sexual orientation.
Every year, Teleperformance interacts with people from all over the world. It is therefore essential that the profiles and experiences of its employees are just as varied. The Group's approach to diversity comprises five main areas:
●
●
gender equality; integration of people with disabilities;
●
commitment to professional equality for people from the LGBTQIA+ community;
●
the promotion of multiculturalism at all levels;
●
consideration of local diversity issues specific to each entity (ethnic minorities, etc.).
Controversies
On April 17th, 2020, the international union UNI Global Union filed a specific circumstance concerning Teleperformance with the French OECD National Contact Point (NCP). According to the referral, the absence or inadequacy of preventive measures and the lack of social dialogue would have endangered workers in 8 countries in the context of the Covid-19 epidemic.
While strongly contesting these allegations, Teleperformance accepted the good offices and indicated its willingness to engage in a dialogue with the NCP to provide evidence. Thus, the Group participated in five hearings in June, July and September 2020, and provided detailed documents and notes to explain precisely each of the points raised in the specific circumstance. It has endeavored to respond with transparency and professionalism, and to report on all the measures taken to protect its employees, such as the deployment of accelerated teleworking (more than 200,000 employees switched to teleworking in just eight weeks), the implementation of an appropriate health and safety policy at all its sites, dedicated governance, enhanced communication with all its stakeholders and control tools to ensure safe, consistent and effective crisis management in all its operations.
A description of the measures taken in response to the pandemic is available in section 2.3.3.2 Resilience and adaptation to the global health crisis. In addition, Teleperformance promotes social dialogue at all levels of the Company and is committed to setting up appropriate representation and dialogue bodies in each of its entities, as described above.
Cultural diversity is present at all levels of the Group's structure, starting with its employees in over 80 countries who provide services in over 265 languages and dialects. Building on this approach, a voluntary selection procedure is being deployed for management positions. Its purpose is to increase diversity within management bodies. Similarly, succession and development plans are being reviewed to better integrate diversity.
A dedicated governance structure, including a Diversity Committee, has also been set up within the Group to steer and accelerate these changes.
2.3.6.1
Measures taken to promote gender equality(1)
The Group has introduced a set of procedures and directives in order to promote equal treatment for men and women:
●
gender is not specified in Teleperformance's internal hiring process and therefore cannot influence the recruiting officer. To go further, a proactive selection procedure with regard to parity and, more broadly, diversity, is currently being rolled out for management positions;
●
salary bands, classification, career opportunities and work schedules are not based on gender;
●
the annual employee satisfaction survey generates an alert when a correlation is detected between the degree of satisfaction expressed and the gender of the respondents.
Teleperformance's objective is to maintain a more or less equal gender distribution in the Group's workforce and in management positions, and to increase the proportion of women in governing bodies.
(1) All of the figures presented in this chapter exclude the subsidiaries in the United States, where local laws prohibit collecting information on the gender of employees.
Change in the percentage of women in the total headcount
53.0%
49.4%
51.8%
49.0%
2017
2018
2019
2020
In 2020, the proportion of women in the total workforce was 51.8% female to 48.2% male.
Change in the number of women in management positions
In 2020, the proportion of women in managerial positions (all employees excluding agents and supervisors) was 44.8%, compared with 43.9% in 2019.
Six women sit on the Teleperformance SE Board of Directors, representing 43% of Board members, a ratio that complies with therecommendations of the AFEP-MEDEF corporate governance code and statutory provisions regarding gender balance on boards of directors.
The Group reshuffled the Executive Committee, and 25% of its members (two out of eight) are now women. The goal is for at least 30% of the Executive Committee to be women by 2023. Women make up 28% of the Extended General Management Committee which is composed of 32 members.
In addition, the Group has identified 307 employees as being in positions of higher responsibility, 29% of whom are women.
Initiatives to promote gender equality
TP Women
TP Women is an initiative launched in 2019 that promotes diversity, inclusion and equality and is committed to equal opportunities at all levels and in all respects. The initiative aims to create a more diverse working environment, increase the number of women promoted to managerial positions, and develop a network of men and women devoted to raising awareness and promoting equality at work, while encouraging a corporate culture based on equality.
The TP Women board comprises 15 primary members and 75 secondary members, all women holding senior positions in the Group. They are tasked with promoting best practices and setting up initiatives to achieve gender equality in their respective positions and countries. TP Women board members are involved in a mentoring scheme designed to help high-potential female talent access more senior roles in the Group.
In addition, each subsidiary rolls out local initiatives geared towards gender relations in accordance with cultural issues:
Country
Denmark, Spain, France, IndiaGermany, Greece
Several subsidiaries, such as Germany and Greece, allow parents to adapt their schedules around their family life.
Examples of local initiatives
A number of subsidiaries offer more maternity or paternity leave than that required by law - see "Extra leave" in section 2.3.4.4.
During maternity leave, Teleperformance Denmark employees receive 100% of their salary instead of the 50% required by local law. In Spain, Teleperformance supplements the remuneration of its employees on maternity leave so that they receive 100% of their salary.
India
Equal pay index
Several years ago, Teleperformance India set up the "Gendersmart" initiative, an extensive system of targeted communications at schools and higher education establishments in order to present our corporate culture and the safety and security measures we have implemented for our employees. Flexible working hours compatible with family life are also offered, as well as teleworking options, the right to maternity leave irrespective of seniority as well as a guaranteed return to the same position and salary.
Teleperformance is committed to promoting equality between its male and female employees in terms of promotion and pay, as well as maintaining a healthy work-life balance. The subsidiary has established strict and efficient procedures for preventing sexual harassment at work and has set up a special committee for this purpose, as required by the Indian POSH Act.
The Group has decided to implement the equal pay index universallyIn 2020, Teleperformance France scored 94/100 on the gender equality index, up from 84 in 2019.
Companies with a score above 75/100 are considered to be workplaces that promote gender equality.
In accordance with the French Decree No. 2019-15, this index evaluates five criteria:
●
reduction of the wage gap between men and women: Teleperformance France scored 39 out of 40 in this criterion, which means that salary disparities are less than 1%;
●
●
equal opportunities to get a raise; equal opportunities to get a promotion;
●
the fact that all women receive a raise when they return from maternity leave, whenever raises have been granted during their absence;
●
the number of people from the underrepresented gender among the 10 highest-paid employees.
across 19 of its subsidiaries, representing more than 80% of the workforce, by using the same methodology. The average score obtained by the 19 subsidiaries evaluated was 79/100, which is above the 75 threshold. The average score obtained for the wage gap between men and women is 38/40, i.e., wage disparities of between 1% and 2%.
Other initiatives to promote gender equality
In 2020, seven subsidiaries received Best Workplaces for WomenTM certifications: Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Spain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The following criteria are taken into consideration for these certifications:
●
quality of life at work: being a company that has received Great Place To Work® certification;
●
the percentage of women in the organization and in management positions;
●
a positive collaborative experience: positive perceptions of women in the Trust Index® survey;
●
strong, proactive professional equality practices in place.
2.3.6.2
Measures taken in favor of employment and integration of disabled workers
The Group employs disabled workers and complies with applicable local legislation on hiring, non-discrimination and workstation layout.
In addition to its legal obligations, wheelchair access at the centers has also been taken into account; a number of premises have already been adapted.
Local initiatives are implemented to promote the hiring of disabled workers.
• Main local initiatives implemented to promote the hiring of disabled workers
Country
Germany
Initiatives
An agreement on the inclusion, employment and promotion of disabled persons came into force in 2019. The agreement provided for the creation of working groups at each center comprising employee, HR and company representatives tasked with developing programs to encourage the promotion of disabled persons.
Argentina
Teleperformance works with local organizations to include people with disabilities in its hiring process.
Disability training is offered to employees to familiarize them with the initiative.
Bosnia
Teleperformance works in partnership with the Employment Office and the Office for the Integration of People with Disabilities to receive applications from people who speak German.
Colombia
In partnership with the Cuso International organisation, Teleperformance is committed to the inclusion of people with physical disabilities.
France
In 2020, 6.1% of the Teleperformance France workforce were officially recognized as disabled (excluding temporary employees). Group employees take part in European Disability Employment Week in partnership with the LADAPT and AGEFIPH organizations, schools and charities, and in the Handiperformant week in France. This program includes daily personal support, reorganization of workstations and an internal policy of raising awareness so that each person's differences and specific traits are considered as assets conducive to working better together.
Throughout the year, in partnership with the CAP-emploi disability services and support organizations and local integration organizations, the Group constantly strives to safeguard disabled workers' employment, adapt workstations and help them integrate into the workplace.
Portugal
Teleperformance uses support structures for disabled people to get in touch with potential candidates. Thanks to the TP Cloud Campus, people who cannot leave their home for health reasons are able to work remotely.
2.3.6.3 A multilingual, multicultural Group
Given the Group's international scale and the development of multilingual centers, Teleperformance naturally hires people of different origin and nationality to work in every center. Specific programs are therefore organized to welcome foreign nationals and help them integrate.
In Europe and Asia, Teleperformance is leading the way in the development of multilingual hubs where employees of all nationalities work together in a single location to serve pan-European and pan-Asian
2.4 A TRUSTED PARTNER
programs. These platforms, located in Portugal, Spain, Greece, Malaysia and Egypt, provide large multinational corporations with dedicated, optimized omnichannel solutions in over 40 languages.
Teleperformance organizes local culture days for all new foreign employees and provides assistance to help them settle in their new country of residence.
Most of the management teams come from local communities and, like the Group, are decidedly international and multicultural.
Sharing the economic value it has created is an important principle adopted by Teleperformance. The Group is committed to ensuring that this economic value also benefits society, by examining its overall needs and challenges. Teleperformance is committed to seeing social progress alongside its own success.
2.4.1 Driving innovation and development through streamlined information distribution
The heart of the Group's business lies in quickly and accurately responding to consumers and citizens in need of information, contacts or solutions to their day-to-day problems. Teleperformance serves a broad spectrum of customers in this sector, handling 1 billion interactions every year worldwide (excluding specialized services). "Each interaction matters" for Teleperformance. This catchphrase reflects the importance it places on excellence in its line of business, which is the cornerstone of its success.
Teleperformance is a major player in the provision of innovative, multilingual solutions in local communities. This mission contributes to the social, economic and cultural development of Teleperformance's various markets.
Consumers' and citizens' needs are often largely ignored or unfulfilled by the different internal structures in place at large companies. Teleperformance's goal is to streamline the relationship between customers/citizens andbrands/public authorities, despite processes that are becoming increasingly complex. Consequently, the Group has a role to play in informing and educating the broader public about processes and functions that require human assistance. This can be easily understood when it comes to technical support for everyday devices and digital services. Teleperformance is thus working with more and more global brands and social networks looking to moderate their users' online content.
The ability to effectively and rapidly distribute reliable, verified information to a large multilingual customer base is one of the Group's fundamental qualities, making it an effective vehicle for distributing, developing and spreading innovation.
2.4.2 Fair practices
To provide the best service, the Group procedures ensure consistent high quality in all its operations - see section 1.1 of this document.
Besides, 19 of its subsidiaries have achieved the ISO 9001 certification for their quality management system.
Teleperformance is deeply committed to fair practices, which must guarantee integrity and honesty between Teleperformance, its stakeholders and its direct and indirect customers. Fair practices are essential components of an effective and comprehensive CSR policy.
2.4.2.1
Commitments to ethical business practices
Teleperformance is committed to complying with international regulations that promote the highest ethical standards, such as the United Nations Global Compact, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ILO conventions, OECD guidelines, and relevant local laws and regulations.
The United Nations Global Compact
A signatory to the United Nations Global Compact since 2011,
Teleperformance is committed to upholding and promoting the ten fundamental principles of the Global Compact relating to human rights, working conditions, the environment and anti-corruption (see section 2.2.2 Strategy and RSE governance).
Teleperformance values
The Group's business ethics commitments are based on its five values: Integrity, Respect, Professionalism, Innovation and Commitment. These values underpin the Group's strategy and reflect Teleperformance's firm commitment to fair business practices in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
Teleperformance Code of Ethics
The Teleperformance Code of Ethics defines the rules, attitudes, actions and behavior expected and adopted by the Group, its directors and employees vis-à-vis all stakeholders (employees, service providers, suppliers, clients, customers, shareholders and other external partners including the media and public bodies). It sets out the general ethical principles incumbent on all Group employees, whatever their status or duties. This code is inspired by the Group's values and refers to international texts, including the United Nations Global Compact. It is an expression of the Company's ongoing commitment and approach as a responsible, humane and honest corporate citizen. It fulfills the regulatory and statutory requirements applicable to the Group's operations and should be read in conjunction with the anti-corruption Code of Conduct (see hereafter). Compliance with these Codes is a condition for Group membership, whose reputation is based on the fair practices and relationships that it builds with all of its partners and stakeholders, both internal and external.
The Code of Ethics may be viewed on the Group website (https://www. teleperformance.com/en-us/codes-and-policies/code-of-ethics).
Global Ethics Hotline Policy
The purpose of the Global Ethics hotline is to provide a channel for reporting behavior that may constitute acts of corruption or any other unethical behavior (anti-competitive practices, failure to respect human rights, environmental damage, health and safety violations, etc.).
Alerts submitted via this system are treated confidentially. Where applicable, the hotline works in tandem with other existing whistleblowing channels in accordance with applicable local legislation.
The ethics hotline can be used by anyone and can be found on the Group's website (www.teleperformance.com/ethicshotline).
100% of Group subsidiaries have access to the ethics hotline. up from 98% in 2019.
In 2020, the hotline received 970 alerts, of which 65% were workplace issues reported to HR, 20% concerned ethics, 8% suspected fraud or breaches of group policies and 6% health and safety issues. 64% of reports were received via an online form, 33% by telephone and 3% by e-mail.
2.4.2.2 Anti-corruption measures
Teleperformance is committed to preventing and combating the risk of the Group's exposure to acts of corruption and influence peddling. This commitment is based on the principles of the United Nations Global Compact and on compliance with local laws and regulations that prohibit corruption, in particular the US's Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the UK's Bribery Act, the Sapin II Law in France and all other similar anti-corruption laws in the jurisdictions in which it operates.
Measures to prevent and combat corruption and influence peddling were significantly strengthened in 2020 following a compliance audit of existing procedures. Following this audit, the Group overhauled its procedures, implementing and deploying the Teleperformance Global Anti-Corruption Program, which is designed to harmonize procedures throughout the Group and increase its efficiency.
This program is based on a strong commitment from management, a clear structuring and definition of responsibilities, a specific communication plan and a raft of measures to prevent any acts of corruption or influence peddling, detect them as quickly as possible and take action where necessary.
Strong management commitment
The Teleperformance Global Anti-Corruption Program is the cornerstone of the measures and is based on a strong commitment from the Group's governing bodies.
This commitment is reflected in the definition of the global strategy for preventing and combating corruption, which is based on:
●
●
●
one of the Group's five core values: integrity; a commitment: Combating all forms of corruption; a principle: Zero Tolerance.
The governing bodies also form the core of the validation and supervision process for all components of the measures. Through its Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee, the Group's Executive Committee and Board of Directors approve all measures and oversee their implementation.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and members of the Executive Committee promote the program to all internal and external stakeholders through communication initiatives.
A defined structure and responsibilities
A multidisciplinary team reports to the Group's Deputy Chief Executive Officer and the Legal and Compliance Department and is responsible for the development of the measures, their implementation, the monitoring of performance and compliance indicators, and the communication plan.
This team is made up of two corruption officers tasked with overseeing these measures, who work in constant contact with all of the Group's support functions and with the operational teams at a regional and local level.
A dedicated communication plan
To guarantee their effectiveness, a communication plan is drawn up to ensure that all internal and external stakeholders are properly informed of the existence of the measures and their contents.
An update of the Teleperformance website is planned for 2021 to facilitate access to information about the fight against corruption and influence peddling.
Measures to prevent, detect and respond
Teleperformance's Global Anti-Corruption Program, which is part of the Group's overall compliance strategy, is based on a set of measures to detect as soon as possible and prevent acts of corruption and influence peddling and put a stop to them, and finally, to take any appropriate measures.
Prevention measures include:
●
Corruption risk mapping: the Group has put in place a specific methodology to identify, analyze and assess risks of corruption and influence peddling according to the relevant business process. The risk mapping is based on a bottom-up and top-down approach.
●
Code of Conduct: the code contains all of the fundamental principles that enable the Group's employees and managers to adopt the appropriate ethical behaviors. Designed to serve as a practical guide, it defines the rules that each employee must follow and the behavior to be avoided, as well as providing a contact for questions. It also provides for disciplinary measures to be established in the event of any failures to comply, in accordance with local laws and regulations.
●
Training Program: through the Group's e-learning platform, a training module has been developed to raise employee awareness of the risks of corruption. It is mandatory for 30,000 Group employees, and contains a test to verify knowledge acquired through the module.
Specific training sessions are provided to those identified as being the most exposed to risks of corruption.
●
Due Diligence procedure: a verification process is put in place prior to the signing of contracts with third parties (customers, suppliers, subcontractors, etc.). This procedure will be reinforced in 2021, through the integration of the supplier evaluation process within the Group's ERP system (see section 2.4.2.3 Suppliers and subcontractors).
Detection measures include:
●
Controls and audits: accounting controls are in place at various levels to prevent and detect any acts of corruption. These controls are supplemented by internal audits to verify subsidiaries' compliance with the Teleperformance Global Anti-Corruption Program.
● Performance and compliance indicators: in response to the goal of continuous improvement of the measures, key performance and compliance indicators have been defined to ensure their effective implementation. These indicators make it possible to evaluate the existence, quality and effectiveness of each of the measures put in place. These indicators are evaluated whenever necessary, and at least once a year.
●
Global Ethics hotline: the purpose of this system is to enable the reporting of behavior or acts that may constitute acts of corruption or any other unethical behavior, as described above.
Response measures include:
● Sanctions and disciplinary action: the measures provide for the application of disciplinary action in the event of failure to comply with the principles set out in the Code of Conduct, in accordance with applicable local laws and regulations. They shall be applied in addition to any administrative or penal measures that may be taken.
● Feedback and corrective measures: the measures for preventing and combating corruption were designed to be adaptable to any new risk of corruption related to the Group's activities, its environment or the countries in which it operates. The Anti-Corruption Program will be updated whenever necessary to improve its content and strengthen its application.
Further measures
Teleperformance's Italian subsidiary was the first to be ISO 37001-certified, demonstrating that an anti-corruption management system and robust controls are in place.
2.4.2.3
Suppliers and subcontractors
Teleperformance's procurement spending (external expenses) accounts for 13% of the Group's total revenue. Teleperformance mainly purchases computer hardware and software, telecommunications services, and goods and services related to its contact centers and temporary service agencies. Furthermore, Teleperformance makes very limited use of subcontracting excepted for payroll management in some countries. Core services & D.I.B.S (customer relations) are not outsourced.
Teleperformance makes sure that its subcontractors and suppliers are committed to an ethical approach and that they respect the principles of its Supplier Code of Conduct. Launched in September 2019, this code of conduct replaces the previous supplier policy. It includes the Group's updated requirements with regard to human rights, working conditions, health and safety, the environment, business ethics, integrity (including anti-corruption) and compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The Supplier Code of Conduct ensures the consistency of procurement processes, the continuous improvement of procurement practices and their understanding by all internal and external stakeholders. The Code may be consulted onwww.teleperformance.com.
The Group is committed to exercising vigilance in identifying potential adverse impacts of its business on its supply chain, whether direct or indirect, in order to prevent and, if necessary, mitigate such impacts.
The Group requires its subsidiaries to work with suppliers and subcontractors that agree to comply with the Group's requirements in this area and to abide by the Supplier Code of Conduct. Suppliers and subcontractors are subject to regular evaluations at subsidiary level in accordance with the Supplier Code of Conduct. Teleperformance has also created procurement committees at Group, regional and local levels, in order to ensure the systematic application of Group-wide policies and procedures. Since 2019, risks related to the supply chain have been incorporated into the Internal Control Questionnaire.
The Group also deploys responsible procurement procedures, which primarily involve the management of supplier risk through a due diligence procedure. This procedure is based on a questionnaire sent to suppliers who form part of the Group's ERP system, covering a wide range of topics such as ethics, human rights, personal data, the environment and anti-corruption.
A pilot phase for the project was launched in late 2020 in the United Kingdom, before extending it to the entire Group in 2021. The purpose of these procedures is to ensure that the group does not enter into relationships with suppliers who do not meet the Group's minimum compliance, security, data protection and CSR requirements. They also allow to identify high-risk suppliers and take the necessary steps to help them improve and correct any instances of non-compliance.
In order to strengthen and standardize procurement processes at all Group entities, a new governance structure was put in place. A Global Chief Procurement Officer assumed his responsibilities at the beginning of 2020. The CPO's tasks include restructuring the approach and ensuring that the procurement process is consistent with the Group's values and Global Compliance Framework at every step of the relationship.
To achieve this, the purchasing team's missions include reviewing the internal procurement policy, harmonizing purchasing categories and supplier relationship management tools, and defining a global strategy for negotiations. A dedicated Supplier Risk Committee with representatives from various functions (purchasing, CSR, personal data, information security, legal and compliance) was created in 2020 to ensure the continuous improvement of the supplier assessment process, its monitoring and the implementation of risk mitigation measures. It is also responsible for providing regular reports on supplier risks to senior management.
2.4.2.4
Prevention of antitrust practices
Teleperformance's relationship with the market and its competitors is based on fair and ethical competitive practices, in compliance with the law. Teleperformance abides by the principle of fair competition and does not enter into agreements or adopt behaviors that could be qualified as antitrust practices (abuse of a dominant position, dumping, artificial promotion of price increases and decreases, etc.).
Practices between competitors that intentionally or otherwise would lead to a result inconsistent with normal market operation are prohibited. Teleperformance seeks to stand out from its competitors, not through anti-competitive practices, but through the quality of its services and the relationships it maintains with its existing and potential customers.
2.4.3 Data protection and cybersecurity
2.4.2.5
Code of Conduct regarding securities transactions
Teleperformance has introduced a Code of Conduct relating to securities transactions pursuant to the recommendations of the French Financial Markets Authority (Autorité des marchés financiers) guide on prevention of insider misconduct in listed companies. The guide applies primarily to Group senior management and members of the Board of Directors. The procedures in place are described in section 3.3.3.1 Code of Conduct regarding securities transactions.
2.4.2.6
Combating tax avoidance
The Group considers the fight against tax evasion and the payment of taxes as an act of support for the territories and communities. Through the activities of its subsidiaries in 83 countries, the Group pays not only corporate income tax, but also all taxes due in the various countries where it operates, such as local taxes and social security charges. In addition, the Group ensures that all entities comply with the laws and regulations applicable to them, including the filing of the required tax returns and the payment of taxes on time. There is not any group-wide policy that would allow tax evasion through complex arrangements.
Furthermore, as the Group's activities are essentially international, the Group complies with the international tax standards set forth by the OECD and ensures that intra-group transactions comply with the arm's length principle. Transfer pricing documentation is updated annually to meet the requirements of local tax authorities. The declaration relating to taxes paid on a country-by-country basis (CBCR) is communicated by the parent company, Teleperformance SE, to the French tax authorities in accordance with applicable regulations.
The tax rate of 30.6% in 2020 as described in note 5 Income taxes in section 5.6 Notes to the consolidated financial statements reflects these practices.
In an increasingly complex and challenging environment with regard to data security, Teleperformance has become a leader in this field within its business sector. Clients recognize this positioning as a major differentiating factor.
2.4.3.1
Personal data protection
The Group is fully compliant with international standards such as ISO 27001 and the PCI (Payment Card Industry) and HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act) standards.
The Group's policies and processes comply with all international laws relating to data security, confidentiality and data protection in the countries where Teleperformance operates.
In 2015, the Group implemented worldwide 14 innovative compliance and security rules called the Global Essential Compliance and Security Policies (GECSP), designed to identify and limit potential risks of fraud or breach of security rules and standards. These policies are regularly reviewed and were updated in January 2021.They relate to the following themes:
1. Security data analytics policy
2. Clean desk policy
3. Infrastructure hardening policy
4. Fraud hotline reward & security awareness policy
5. Security and fraud communication policy
6. Facility access control policy
7. Contractual compliance policy
8. Security awareness training policy
9. Security guard post orders policy
10. ID badge policy
11. Login provisioning and de-provisioning policy
12. Risk discovery and fraud prevention policy
13. Social media confidentiality policy
14. Employee confidentiality policy
In 2016, the Group embarked on furthering our stance on data protection as the EU approved the new GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), which came into force on May 25th, 2018. Teleperformance is also fully aware of its duty towards clients and employees in terms of protecting sensitive data. In February 2018, the French Data Protection Authority (CNIL), a supervisory authority within the European Union, noted the compliance of Teleperformance's Binding Corporate Rules (BCRs), in its capacity as both Data Controller and Data Processor. BCRs are a legal framework enabling Teleperformance to safely and securely transfer data within and outside the EU.
The team in charge of data protection (the Global Privacy Office) is deploying the new ISO 27701 standard, which is an extension of the requirements contained in the ISO 27001 standard already in place, throughout the Group. This new standard strengthens data protection controls and requirements and includes two new annexes that apply to Teleperformance in its roles as Data Controller and Data Processor.
To facilitate the implementation of ISO 27701 certification, several major projects are being undertaken:
●
a review of data processing and retention procedures to ensure availability, protection against unauthorized and undocumented changes or deletions, compliance with legal retention requirements, retention for the required period, and secure deletion;
●
supply chain risk management to further harmonize supplier risk assessment in all global operations;
●
improvement of the data protection training program: data protection training is being redesigned on a global scale to train employees in the requirements of the ISO 27701 standard. The data protection team will deliver this training by the end of the first quarter of 2021.
Teleperformance continues to strengthen and expand its personal data protection program. The program and controls have been reviewed and revised to cover the requirements of more recent or updated data protection laws, such as the Philippine data protection act, the CCPA (California data protection act), the LGPD (for Brazil), the Nigerian data protection act and the South African data protection act.
The data protection framework is reinforced by a compliance audit function. The internal compliance audit ensures the application of GECSPs at the Group's operational sites on a rotating 24 months or 12 months schedule for the top ten clients. In addition, external audits are conducted. Il also relies on proprietary technology to inform managers of inappropriate access to information by agents, provide a standard and secure method for agents to take notes while moving from one screen to another, thereby reducing the risk of data leakage, and manage and track compliance end-to-end.
The Global Technology, Privacy and Security Committee (TPSC) is the governance body responsible for assessing risks and ensuring that projects are conducted in accordance with the global security and privacy policy. It is co-chaired by the Chief Information Security Officer and the Data Protection Officer. The TPSC is a body that analyzes proposed projects for privacy, information security and compliance issues before they are implemented by Teleperformance and conducts a full data protection impact assessment if necessary. The TPSC was considerably strengthened in 2020, improving and refining risk assessment criteria and broadening the types of risks examined. At the same time, the process has been streamlined through the use of a new tool that allows assessments to be conducted more flexibly to facilitate faster adoption of technologies.
In addition, the Global Compliance and Security Council meets quarterly to review security incidents, ensure regular compliance with the GECSPs and review internal and external audit findings and other compliance matters. As Teleperformance places particular attention on security matters, all regional CEOs and relevant operational and compliance officers attend the Global Compliance and Security Council meetings.
Activity reports are presented to the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee of the Board of Directors.
2.4.3.2
Cybersecurity
Teleperformance has invested in a comprehensive three-year (2019- 2021) cybersecurity program called Project Eagle, which is based on several pillars:
●
●
the implementation of appropriate governance structures with a Group director in charge of cybersecurity, shifting from a regional information security management strategy to a global strategy; adoption and appropriation of the principles of the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Department of Commerce) Cybersecurity Framework to align with industry best practices and be a "cyber-resilient" business partner for its clients;
●
the implementation of tools and procedures for the identification, assessment and management of cyber-risk;
●
improved perception and awareness through global training programs translated into 16 languages and given to all Group employees;
●
the review of processes and the improvement of detection devices through the deployment of relevant tools and new technologies throughout the Group;
●
the deployment of a specific operational component for crisis management in this area.
Project Eagle aims to reduce the risk of a cybersecurity incident impacting revenues, while protecting Teleperformance and its clients from data breaches. Attempted attacks have increased with the Covid-19 crisis and form part of the major operational risks.
The adequacy and effectiveness of controls are regularly reviewed by the Compliance and Security Committee to make the necessary investment decisions and provide high-level guidance to address the ever-increasing number of cyber-threats. Reports are submitted to the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee of the Board of Directors.
2.5 A MAJOR SOCIAL COMMITMENT
2.5.1 Measures in favor of regional and community development
2.5.1.2
A strong foothold in regions and communities
Site location strategy
The choice of the Group's site locations is primarily based on an employment area approach. The business relies on a considerably large workforce. It is vital that the Group has suitable candidates nearby.
Sites are therefore mainly located:
●
in areas that are easy to access via a large public transport network; while proximity to an airport is also a priority for the centers dedicated to offshore business;
●
near universities, in order to facilitate the recruitment of suitable candidates and multilingual personnel;
●
in regions where the unemployment rate is high.
An important local employer
The Group is generally considered a major employer in most of its operating regions.
Employment partnerships with local players
With nearly 46,000 employees in 13 cities across the country, Teleperformance Philippines is the second-largest Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) employer in the country. As such, Teleperformance's impact on the local economy and employment market is considerable, especially in Manila, where the Group operates in 18 centers. This is also the case in Colombia; with over 42,000 employees, the Group is the fifth largest employer in the country. Teleperformance is still the largest private employer in Egypt, the main employer in Tunis, Tunisia, and among the top ten employers in Albania. In Portugal, the Company has been repeatedly recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in the country.
As a leading employer in most of the regions where it operates, the Group is committed to having a positive impact on local economies and, more generally, on people's lives. Teleperformance is a gateway to employment for young people: in 2020, 85,000 agents were hired for their very first professional experience. Teleperformance offers numerous opportunities for advancement: it has a high internal promotion rate and most of its senior managers come from local communities. The Group contributes to the growth of the middle classes and the development of women's employment in developing countries, where it employs around 70% of its workforce.
Teleperformance works in partnership with government employment agencies and schools on a regular basis.
• Examples of major initiatives in place
Types of partners
Educational institutionsGovernment agencies
Country
Colombia
Partners
National Apprenticeship Institute.
Peru
Universidad Privada del Norte; Universidad César Vallejo; Instituto IDAT; Privateacher; Euroidiomas.
El Salvador
Local universities; English schools. First job offers to students. Reduced registration fees for employees.
Bosnia Philippines
Department of Labor and Employment; Local employment offices.
Local employment offices.
Portugal
Portuguese government.
Initiatives
Opening of more than 1,000 apprenticeship positions.
Reduced registration fees for employees.
Job offers to hire German speakers.
Job offers and talent development programs.
Teleperformance offers one-year internships.
In addition, most subsidiaries receive interns or students under apprenticeship and professional qualification contracts.
2.5.1.3
Impact Sourcing
Teleperformance has been a member of the Global Impact Sourcing Coalition (GISC) since it was founded. The GISC is a network of companies that offer job opportunities to people who would otherwise have limited access to formal employment opportunities, such as long- term unemployed people, people living below the poverty line, people with disabilities, refugees and veterans.
In 2018, Teleperformance made a commitment to hire 10,000 people over a three-year period (2018-2020) as part of the Impact Sourcing Challenge. By 2019, this goal had been surpassed thanks to the deployment of the program across the various countries in which the Group operates and numerous partnerships with specialized local governmental and non-governmental organizations. As of December 31st, 2020, Teleperformance had recruited more than 70,000 people from minority or disadvantaged communities, giving them access to decent jobs and better living conditions.
In 2020, Teleperformance adopted the Impact Sourcing Standard for the first time, demonstrating the robustness of its employment inclusion policies and programs and its commitment to continuous improvement.
GISC Director Sara Enright hailed this accomplishment: "By adopting the Impact Sourcing Standard, Teleperformance has taken significant steps to update its hiring and human resources practices and policies to be more inclusive, advancing its commitment to employing diverse people from around the world who would otherwise face barriers to decent employment."
Teleperformance is also included in the IAOP (International Association of Outsourcing Professionals®) ranking of Impact Sourcing Champions as an Impact Sourcing leader.
Several countries have established Impact Sourcing initiatives:
Country
Brazil
ColombiaUnited StatesGreeceIndia
Mexico
Morocco
PhilippinesPortugal
Initiatives
Teleperformance works alongside NGOs such as PARR (Programa de Apoio para a Recolocação de Refugiados) to advertise employment opportunities amongst migrants from other Latin American countries who are fluent in Spanish.
In partnership with several governmental and non-governmental organizations, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and TENT, an NGO that mobilizes the private sector on behalf of refugees, Teleperformance has implemented several initiatives to hire and retain refugees displaced by the crisis in Venezuela. According to the UNHCR, 5 to 6 million Venezuelans have fled their country since 2015. As of December 31st, 2020, more than 2,000 Venezuelan refugees had joined the Company. In addition to these measures, the Group provides administrative support, such as assistance in obtaining a work permit, thanks to the creation of a dedicated internal department.
In 2020, the Impact Sourcing program in the United States focused on the hiring of war veterans and their spouses. More than 1,900 were hired throughout the year. Teleperformance also continued to hire young people unemployed for over one year and people living below the poverty line.
In 2020, Teleperformance Greece created a dedicated Impact Sourcing team. Thanks to partnerships with dozens of Greek and European NGOs and public employment services, this team receives and analyzes the applications that are sent to them to identify which positions might be most suitable for each individual. Several actions are put in place to encourage people from minority backgrounds to apply and persevere in their research employment: discussions with social workers and psychologists in order to adopt the right approach to some candidates, follow-up with NGOs in case of lack of basic skills that do not allow for hiring participation in webinars to help refugees with their resume writing, weekly calls with NGOs in order to inform them of all new job openings, etc.
Through the TTNA program, the Teleperformance recruitment team works closely with several NGOs, which run training centers for people from rural and low-income areas.
In Mexico, Teleperformance works alongside governmental and non-governmental organisations to help vulnerable and unemployed young people find work.
Teleperformance offers training to young people who do not speak French well, in order to improve their chances of finding work.
The LEAP program (Learning English Application for Pinoys), co-designed in partnership with government agencies and private training institutions, offers English classes to Filipinos from remote rural areas.
Teleperformance Portugal has identified several NGOs to help them recruit vulnerable people or people with disabilities.
In 2020, 300 people living below the poverty line were recruited, including single mothers supported by the Casa de Santo António association.
2.5.2 Citizen of the World (COTW)
Founded in 2006, the Citizen of the World (COTW) charitable initiative strengthens Teleperformance's commitment to supporting disadvantaged communities. The Group encourages its employees to take an active part in local initiatives, such as donation campaigns and volunteer work, through partnerships with charities and non- governmental organizations.
Globally, Teleperformance is involved in various international awareness days: Zero Discrimination Day, International Women's Day, Earth Hour, International Day of Peace, World Habitat Day, Human Rights Day, etc. Subsidiaries roll out various initiatives on these days, such as posting on social media, organizing activities and raising employee awareness.
At each Teleperformance subsidiary, one or more COTW Ambassadors are appointed by the CEO. Their main responsibilities are to plan and carry out philanthropic activities, leveraging ties with local NGOs and associations, and encouraging employees to get involved in their communities.
All charities are selected at local level following Group guidelines, ensuring that the charity is legitimate and operates ethically. Receipts
of donations made to registered charities are to be signed and reported to both the local CFO and the Group through an online tracking tool, along with the description of the campaign, its main objectives and the nature of the donations.
In order to ramp up and unify its efforts, the Group organizes quarterly COTW meetings, where internal and external best practices are shared, in addition to ad hoc training sessions on specific topics, policies and procedures.
Group employees were strongly encouraged to offer their support to those impacted by the Covid-19 crisis and its health and social consequences. The program had to be rethought given the health constraints, as social distancing made it very difficult to collect donations via traditional means.
As part of the Citizen of the World program, in 2020 Teleperformance collected the equivalent of €5.1 million in cash and in-kind donations from its employees, exceeding its targets. Since its creation in 2006, the COTW program has collected over €45.2 million.
Philanthropic activities and collections of several types are organized throughout the year:
Cash donations | Fundraising and payroll donations in several subsidiaries, which offer the possibility for employees who wish |
to do so to support the actions of the associations of their choice, by making micro-donations on their net to | |
pay each month. | |
Volunteering | Organization of voluntary actions and skills patronage in order to support the missions of partner NGOs. |
Clothing/food drive | Organization of events and activities to raise money and collect non-perishable food and clothing to supply |
local families and children in need. Employees are encouraged to get involved in their local campaigns by | |
volunteering in the collection and distribution process. | |
Health drive | Fund-raising for medicine, toiletries and hygiene kits, as well as other essential healthcare items. With the |
belief that health equals wealth, the goal is to help ill and disabled children around the world by partnering | |
with organizations that provide medical care. | |
School drive | Collection of school supplies for children in need returning to school, helping them access quality education. |
Toy drive | Collection of toys and encouraging donations to local selected charities bringing joy to children and families in |
need during the end-of-year holiday period. This initiative aims to give back to the less fortunate by spreading | |
holiday cheer all around the world. |
2.5.2.1
Assistance to victims of natural and humanitarian disasters
The COTW program was originally designed to help the world's most vulnerable children meet their basic needs. Since then, the program's scope of influence has gradually been extended to other beneficiaries, for example in the area of education and in response to natural or humanitarian disasters. All around the world, subsidiaries organize campaigns for disadvantaged or disaster-stricken families and children.
Initiatives
Description
Support for people impacted by Covid-19
●
In Tunisia, Teleperformance has contributed its expertise and resources to help local emergency medical services (SAMU) by setting up a team of agents ready to respond to emergency requests from patients.
●
In Greece, a 24/7 support team was made available to the National Health Organization to handle incoming calls regarding Covid-19.
●
In the United States, Teleperformance has been associated with Feed the Children since 2006 through both regular and one-off crisis donations to support local communities whose needs are increasing dramatically during the pandemic. The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer has also committed to donating 20% of his variable annual compensation to this cause.
●
Several collections to support local communities in this difficult time (distribution of masks, hygiene equipment, foodstuffs) were organized by the Group's subsidiaries (Colombia, Italy, Mexico, Philippines, Portugal, United Kingdom, etc.).
●
Teleperformance Kosovo supported local charities through donations of masks and gloves at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Albania
In partnership with the charities Fundjave Ndrysh and the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, Teleperformance collected and distributed food, clothing and toys to the community affected by the powerful earthquake of 2019.
Colombia
Under the partnership with the TECHO NGO, Teleperformance employees based in Bogotá and Medellin helped build houses for poverty-stricken families.
Philippines
Teleperformance has been supporting the "Teleperformance Gawad Kalinga" village for the past ten years, a village that it helped to build following Typhoon Ondoy in 2009, and which now has several hundred families. In 2020, a support program for micro-entrepreneurs was set up to help build the resilience of this community in the face of the pandemic. This program provides training in entrepreneurship, finance and personal development, as well as financial assistance for the development of their activity. Five entrepreneurs have already been able to benefit from it.
United States
In response to the tornado in Tennessee in March 2020, Teleperformance mobilized five trucks to assist those affected by the natural disaster. Hundreds of families received assistance, with the help of charity Feed the Children.
2.6 Promoting Teleperformance's environmental responsibility
2.5.2.2 Assistance to highly vulnerable children and promotion of quality education
Believing education to be the foundation for improving people's lives, Teleperformance works for the education of disadvantaged children in the various countries in which it operates.
• Local initiatives
Country | Initiatives |
Europe, Middle-East & Africa | Teleperformance employees took part in the Xtra Mile initiative to support the most vulnerable children |
(CEMEA) Region | through sports. Throughout November, employee physical activity (walking, running, cycling, etc.) was |
recorded and then transformed into a donation for the organization Plan International. Some 2,931 employees | |
from 29 countries took part in the operation, which raised funds to enable children and young people to | |
continue their schooling despite the Covid-19 pandemic. | |
Argentina | In partnership with the León Foundation, Teleperformance sponsors children to help them stay in school and |
complete their education. The Group also offers them and their families psychological support. | |
Bosnia | In partnership with the NGO Pomozi.Ba, Teleperformance offers its support, through financial donations and |
volunteer time, in helping children with cancer and their parents. | |
Guatemala | Teleperformance is working with La Sociedad Protectora del Niño and Hogar Fatima to protect orphans and |
single mothers through donations of clothing, food, money, and volunteer time. | |
India | Teleperformance partners with various organizations to promote education, nutrition and digital literacy. |
As a result, Teleperformance contributed to the schooling of 1,600 children in 2020 and approximately 13,000 | |
since the beginning of the program, and has sponsored lunches for 1,000 children through the Akshaya Patra | |
foundation. | |
Morocco | Teleperformance makes donations (food, computers, school supplies) to local boarding schools, supporting |
young girls from rural areas to prevent them from dropping out. | |
Mexico | For the past ten years, Teleperformance has partnered with the NGO Un Kilo de Ayuda, which sets up |
development programs for vulnerable children between the ages of 0 and 5. Teleperformance's donations in | |
2020 have helped to strengthen the infrastructure of a family reception center and to finance the development | |
program for 217 children for six months (medical follow-up, nutrition, hygiene and care kits). | |
Tunisia | Teleperformance has collected school materials for SOS Children's Villages and the Tunisian Red Crescent. |
Besides initiatives to support underprivileged children and families affected by natural or humanitarian disasters, some subsidiaries support other local causes.
2.6 PROMOTING TELEPERFORMANCE'S ENVIRONMENTAL
RESPONSIBILITY
In February 2020, the World Economic Forum announced that, for the first time in its history, the five most probable global risks all relate to climate change and the environment. Moreover, according to the latest special report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), climate change is already affecting many industries and regions around the world, and its impacts will continue to increase in the near future.
Covid-19 has also highlighted the urgent need to adopt more environmentally friendly and sustainable practices in the global economy, and has amplified the call for transparency surrounding environmental factors in corporate strategy and governance.
Teleperformance is committed to reducing the environmental impact of its operational activities at each of its sites. Teleperformance's
2.6.1 Climate change governance
The Board of Directors oversees the organization's climate change strategy, approach and performance. It is chaired by the Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. The main responsibilities of the Board of Directors are:
●
examining key corporate social responsibility issues, including climate change;
●
promoting long-term value creation by the Group by taking into account the social and environmental aspects of its activities, and conducting regular reviews in line with the Group's strategy;
commitment is underpinned by an organization-wide environmental policy that focuses on two main areas: reduction of its environmental impact, and raising employee and stakeholder awareness.
Climate change is one of the organization's material risks (physical and transitional risks). These risks represent an increased reputational risk for companies. In addition, access to financing is increasingly linked to these issues. As a result, Teleperformance has decided to strengthen its reporting on climate change performance by adopting a reporting framework called the Task Force on Climate Change related financial disclosure (TCFD). In accordance with TCFD recommendations, the climate change performance report is broken down into four sections: governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets.
●
overseeing the Group's approach to risk management and opportunities, including environmental/climate risks, and the measures taken to manage those risks and opportunities.
The Board of Directors receives regular updates on various CSR-related topics, including climate-related issues, at the annual seminar on Group strategy and risk management, and on ongoing discussions and reports from the Executive Committee throughout the year. The Board of Directors coordinates with its various committees to ensure active and ongoing monitoring of these issues.
2.6 Promoting Teleperformance's environmental responsibility
As of January 1, 2021, the Board also has a CSR Committee whose duties include a specific review of climate-related issues. Its composition and the details of its responsibilities are presented in section 3.1.2.3 of this document.
The Deputy CEO (who is also Group Chief Financial Officer) is responsible for ensuring that the Group's sites operate efficiently and, among other things, examines their energy performance. He ensures the proper implementation of environmental objectives at the subsidiaries and accelerates transition. The Group's CSR Department reports to him
2.6.2 Climate change strategy
Teleperformance's presence in more than 80 countries increases its exposure to geopolitical risks and health crises, including epidemics and natural disasters, which may be made more intense by climate change.
The Group began its approach to sustainable development and the fight against climate change in 2008 with the launch of the Citizen of the Planet (COTP) program, which aims to promote responsible and environmentally friendly operations.
The environmental impact of Teleperformance's business activities mainly relates to energy consumption. Its business does not generate material direct emissions into the atmosphere, water or ground and does not create any particular noise disturbance for the local community. The Group's business has no material direct impact on biodiversity, and there have been no environmental incidents.
The Group's main objective is to reduce its carbon footprint per employee, and in particular to reduce its electricity consumption, which represents 92% of its carbon footprint.
Teleperformance has adopted risk mitigation and decarbonization as key strategies to reduce its climate change risks.
Physical risks
Acute risks:
The potential financial impact of extreme climate events has increased the cost of facility operation due to rehabilitation costs after a climate event and business disruptions.
Chronic risks:
Changing global temperatures have increased the cost of greater cooling or heating requirements for sites.
●
directly. This department is responsible for measuring and monitoring the Group's greenhouse gas emissions, developing concrete action plans to reduce the carbon footprint, periodically reviewing the environmental policy and ensuring its consistent application throughout the Group. It also liaises with subsidiaries and develops climate change best practice guides and awareness campaigns.
Environmental performance, including climate change, is also published annually in the Teleperformance Universal Registration Document and integrated report.
2.6.2.1
Risk mitigation strategy
Teleperformance's commitment to the environment is guided by a comprehensive environmental policy that was updated in May 2020. It focuses on reducing its environmental impact and raising employee and business partner awareness, while making efforts to support the circular economy, responsible procurement, etc.
In 2019 and 2020, Teleperformance continued its risk mapping exercise by conducting a specific analysis of climate-related risks based on the location of commercial operations. To develop scenarios for commercial activities, the Group used the TCFD's recommendations, the 2019/2020
Global Climate Risk Index and the COFACE country risk analysis.
Based on this analysis, it has been determined that operations in India, Mexico and the Philippines are more sensitive to extreme weather conditions such as floods, cyclones and sea level rises. Over 40% of Teleperformance employees work in these countries where the frequency of extreme weather events has increased. India and the Philippines are also among the ten most affected countries according to the Global Climate Risk Index 2020.
This increased likelihood of extreme weather phenomena requires the Group to put rigorous mitigation measures and a business continuity plan in place, as well as asset insurance mechanisms. The detailed mitigation strategy, as well as the potential financial impact related to physical risks, is presented in the table below.
Mitigation strategy
●
Teleperformance has identified a number of geographical areas that are more prone to extreme climate conditions, such as the Philippines, Mexico and India, which account for 40% of the Group's workforce.
These subsidiaries all have solid business continuity plans in place.
●
The impact of these events, which may result in the interruption of services, is mitigated by the Group's geographical diversification, which allows emergency solutions to be implemented at other sites or in other countries whenever possible.
●
Contractual business continuity plans are also signed with clients for this purpose. These plans include the roll-out of emergency solutions and alternative means of production.
Teleperformance applies energy efficiency and energy supply criteria upon the acquisition of any new building. Teleperformance's Global Premises Standard complies with LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards and favors green buildings wherever possible.
●
The Group also makes efforts to acquire STAR- and EPEAT-certified electrical and IT equipment for its activities, in accordance with the requirements of Teleperformance's global environmental policy, which contributes to reducing costs related to the heating and cooling needs of buildings.
Attachments
- Original document
- Permalink
Disclaimer
Teleperformance SE published this content on 05 March 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 05 March 2021 20:52:13 UTC.
