Eco-Rénovation and Success Story, from 80 to 1800 Employees with a smile!

This article is a summary of episode 17 of the podcast Les Bâtisseurs. An exchange between Richad Mitha and Philippe Benquet, President of the Acorus Group. In the podcast Les Bâtisseurs, Richad Mitha, serial-entrepreneur and CEO of Synaxe, interviews industry visionaries to inspire your own environmental, digital and managerial transformation.

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In this episode, we invite Philippe Benquet, President of the Acorus Group. He shares with us his three guiding principles for his company. The first is to focus on service rather than construction, by specializing in renovation. The second is to create jobs and work with teams to deliver quality service over the long term. The third principle is to gradually expand the company's skills to include other areas needed for building maintenance and renovation.

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Philippe Benquet, President of the Acorus Group, discusses his company's growth and recruitment strategy. He emphasizes that their market offers constant recruitment opportunities and that they are open to hiring good candidates. They have also worked with an external management recruiter and set up an in-house recruitment agency. This has enabled them to recruit a high percentage of female managers. Philippe Benquet explains that these acquisitions were made to extend their area of action and add new businesses, customer types and geographies.

This episode highlights Acorus and its evolution from its beginnings as a plumber to its current growth as an eco-renovation specialist. Acorus positions itself as a company that improves people's lives in their buildings through eco-friendly renovations. They offer a full range of services, from study and design to maintenance and management of a building's equipment. This episode also looks at the reuse of materials, a real hot topic these days, to avoid waste and promote the circular economy. Hervé de Maistre, President of Valobat, is part of this approach to reuse and utilize materials. In our interview, he confided in us that he trusts the players in the sector to adopt these so-called responsible best practices. He encourages manufacturers, distributors and construction sites to sort waste more efficiently and reuse recycled materials in their manufacturing processes.

Philippe Benquet and Richad Mitha discuss the introduction of lean in the construction sector. Philippe explains that he contacted Patrick Dupin, a consultant specializing in the application of lean to construction, after reading a book on the subject. He explains that lean consists in identifying waste and resolving it. Philippe Benquet points out the waste associated with the managerial posture of site supervisors, who are often in command-and-control mode. Site supervisors are constantly on the phone, which leads to stress and wasted time. Philippe and Patrick worked with their company's best foremen to find solutions to this problem.

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It's an episode that highlights the experience of Philippe Benquet, who shares his experience of transforming his company, Acorus, by adopting an approach of trust and employee empowerment. By eliminating unnecessary calls and promoting direct communication between technicians and customers, the company experienced significant growth. Technicians gained in confidence and autonomy, enabling them to broaden their skills and provide higher value-added services, such as quotations and advice.

CEO Philippe Benquet discusses the company's brand and culture. He stresses the need to further formalize Acorus' identity in order to reassure new employees and customers. The company focuses on customer service, communication, information and advice. The Acorus brand is based on the principle of a "shared smile", symbolizing the satisfaction of employees, customers and the company itself. Acorus is also committed to a low-carbon approach. Nicolas Cruaud, co-founder and CEO of Neolithe, confided a similar opinion in episode 8 of Les Bâtisseurs. For Nicolas, like Philippe, maintaining a culture of collaboration is a key to success.

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Click here to listen to Les Bâtisseurs podcast 👉 Philippe Benquet - President and Founder of Acorus: Eco-Renovation and Success Story, from 80 to 1800 Collaborators with a smile! | Les Bâtisseurs (ausha.co)

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