CORPORATE PROFILE
2020/21
C
O N T E N T
04 | Joint interview with |
Pascal Imbert & Michel | |
Dancoisne | |
08 | Key figures and |
Wavestone on the | |
global stage | |
10 | Key data for 2020/21 |
fiscal year |
14 | A crisis |
that accelerated | |
transformations | |
16 | Supporting the most |
critical transformations | |
18 | Creadesk, an asset to |
meet the needs of our | |
clients remotely | |
20 | Wavestone GO, the |
application to stay in | |
touch | |
22 | Enhancing our |
collective knowledge | |
23 | Wavestone, a resilient |
player in a consulting | |
market affected by the | |
crisis | |
24 | The London office's |
response to | |
the crises | |
26 | Carve-out: |
what are the keys to | |
success? | |
28 | A sales force dedicated |
to the success of our | |
clients | |
30 | Wavestone supports |
the European |
Commission in its strategy to fight online abuse
36 | Smartworking@ |
Wavestone | |
38 | Setting the |
benchmark as an | |
employer | |
40 | Skills sponsorship, |
a strong social | |
commitment for | |
Wavestone | |
42 | Embodying and |
sharing our own | |
values | |
44 | Integrating CSR issues |
into the heart of our | |
business with the | |
Responsible Consulting | |
approach | |
46 | Client satisfaction, a |
key challenge for the | |
coming years | |
48 | Quality Assessment, a |
new tool for customer | |
satisfaction | |
50 | A new marketing |
function to support | |
Wavestone's | |
international | |
development | |
51 | Wavestone's |
expansion in the | |
United States |
56 | Artificial intelligence | 60 | The efficiency |
at the service of | of an integrated | ||
companies | organization |
32 Human resources in 2020/21: actions to meet the challenges of the crisis
2
54 Leveraging the |
strength of French cybersecurity expertise internationally
Focus on...
3
Joint interview with...
Pascal Imbert | Michel Dancoisne |
Chairman of Wavestone's | Chairman of Wavestone's |
Management Board | Supervisory Board |
The 2020/21 financial year took place against the backdrop of the health crisis. Nevertheless, the firm's results are excellent...
MD: It's true that with a decline in revenue of only 1%, Wavestone largely outperformed the market. Remember that in France, Syntec Conseil estimated the market decline at 11%, and on a global scale, Source Global Research reported a 13% decline. We can only salute the extraordinary commitment of all the firm's teams in implementing the Battle plan initiated at the beginning of the year.
PI: We are all the more pleased with this result because at the beginning of the crisis, we were far from imagining such an outcome. In the first few weeks of the exercise, we had completely frozen recruitment and we had implemented partial activity measures in all the countries where it was possible! However, throughout the year, thanks to a remarkable commercial mobilization, we gradually regained control of the situation and increased the utilization rate of our teams month after month.
Wavestone's profitability held up very well, with a current operating margin just 0.4 points below that recorded a year earlier. How do you explain this?
PI: At the beginning of the year, given the scale of the shock that was emerging, a performance plan has been implemented to lower the firm's breakeven point. This plan enabled us to make savings of nearly €20m, but without ever having to adjust our workforce. In addition to this plan, the rapid recovery in activity in the second half of the year enabled us to offset the drop in sales prices. This is more than enough to meet our objective of a double-digit annual EBIT margin.
MD: It should also be noted that this performance is all the more remarkable in that it also includes a provision for the reimbursement of monies received under furlough arrangements... In addition to profitability, the very strong cash generation during the year enabled Wavestone to reduce its debt and even post a net cash position of more than €30m at the end
of the year. This is a favorable situation to return to an offensive attitude and resume growth.
The very strong cash generation during the year enabled Wavestone to reduce its debt and even post a net cash position of more than €30m at the end of the year.
You mentioned the plan to reimburse monies received under furlough arrangements. Why do you propose this?
MD: In view of the very solid performance of the financial year, this proposal was obvious and in line in line with the corporate social responsibility values the firm promotes. The Management Board, in agreement with the Supervisory Board, will therefore submit this proposal to the shareholders for approval at the Annual General Meeting on 27 July 2021. I would like to point out that these indemnities, more than €3 million, were received in France, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Luxembourg.
4 | 5 |
You started a new financial year in April. Is the macroeconomic context more favorable?
PI: Consulting spending remains under tight control with our clients. This is putting a strain on business as usual and routine assignments. On the other hand, major transformation projects are multiplying, and I would even say that they are accelerated by the crisis. For example, mergers and acquisitions, carve-outs, prelude to asset disposals, are continuing at a sustained pace. Or, every month, new large-scale digital transformation initiatives appear.
MD: Wavestone intends to return to growth in 2021/22. The year has begun with the acquisition of Everest Group's consulting practice in Dallas, USA. I hope that this merger will lead to other targeted transactions, primarily in the United States but also in other geographical areas, especially in France.
What are Wavestone's strengths to maintain good performance in 2021/22?
PI: We will capitalize on the strengths that have proven successful in 2020. First and foremost, we will invest heavily in sales.
This investment will enable us to ward off any possible rebound from the crisis, and of course will fuel the resumption of growth in our business. We will also continue the sectoral movements begun in 2020 by directing our efforts towards the most buoyant sectors of activity such as the pharmaceutical industry, utilities, the public sector, not forgetting banking and insurance.
MD: The firm's human resources expertise will also be put to good use in the new financial year. A more positive market and the resumption of growth will put recruitment and turnover back at the top
of our agenda. We have set ourselves an ambitious recruitment target this year; we plan to hire 800 people whilst also working to contain the rebound in staff turnover to around 15% after the historically low level of 11% recorded during the crisis.
In terms of human resources, you have announced the launch of the Smartworking@Wavestone project. What should we learn from this?
PI: The health crisis has led to a profound transformation in the way people work, and there is no doubt that some of these changes are irreversible. We believe that this is a great opportunity for the firm to reinvent the way we do business. This is the purpose of the Smartworking@Wavestone project.
MD: This project will be carried out in line with the strong «intrapreneurial» culture that drives our employees. As soon as the health constraints are lifted, an experiment will begin during which all the firm's teams will actively contribute to defining and testing our future work organization.
PI: The expected benefits are many: development of collaboration between teams, better use of our skills, improvement of the quality of life at work, strengthening of the firm's attractiveness, retention of our employees... not forgetting the reduction of our carbon footprint.
The health crisis has led to a profound transformation in the way people work, and there is no doubt that some of these changes are irreversible.
CSR seems to be taking on an increasingly important role at Wavestone, both for employees and for the firm's external stakeholders: clients, candidates, investors, etc.
PI: CSR is an essential lever for sustainable performance. Wavestone's policy in this area is expressed in five commitments to our stakeholders. Firstly, towards our clients: we want to improve their satisfaction and help them achieve sustainable performance. Secondly, to our employees: our ambition is to strengthen their commitment, their well‑being and their quality of life at work. Our third commitment is to act
for diversity and to create an inclusive working environment, one where everyone is free to be themselves and has the same opportunities to reveal their potential.
We want to improve the client satisfaction and help them achieve sustainable performance.
MD: In addition to these commitments, we are committed to being an ethical and responsible corporate citizen. This concerns the fight against corruption, business ethics, the transparency of our financial information and the quality of our governance. Finally, our last commitment concerns the environment. We wanted to give concrete expression to our desire to take our share of responsibility in the face of the climate challenge by committing to a significant reduction in our CO2 emissions, particularly by reducing our travel.
Before the crisis, Wavestone was
committed to implementing its Wavestone 2021 strategic plan. Is this plan still relevant?
PI: The Wavestone 2021 strategic plan was put on hold last year in order to focus all the teams on the Battle plan launched to deal with the crisis, which of course led us to question the objectives we had set ourselves.
MD: At the same time, the crisis has brought about a lot of changes. Today, new challenges and opportunities are beginning to emerge for our firm. So, we decided
to reflect on our future and to draw up a trajectory for the years to come.
PI: It is in this context that a strategic reflection has just been launched within the firm, aimed at defining Wavestone's orientations for the next 4 to 5 years. All of the firm's employees will contribute to this process. We will also be seeking the opinion of our external stakeholders. There will
be many exciting debates ahead. We look forward to seeing you in December 2021 to discover the results of this reflection and the new Wavestone strategic plan!
6 | 7 |
Key figures | Wavestone on the |
global stage |
3,453
employees worldwide
8
countries
€ 417.6 m
revenue
New York
Philadelphia
Dallas
Paris
Nantes
Lyon
Marseille
/ London / Hong Kong
Brussels
Luxembourg
Geneva
Casablanca
8 | 9 |
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Wavestone SA published this content on 30 September 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 30 September 2021 15:41:09 UTC.