In recent years, QVCT has become one of the priority subjects for HR functions and team managers. Accentuated by the health crisis and massive teleworking, discussions and agreements around the quality of life and working conditions are multiplying in organizations.

However, while many actions are easily applicable in office life, what about commercial functions that sometimes find themselves under significant stress outside the premises?

In this article, we will come back to the foundations of QVCT and its applications within your sales departments.

QVCT, a new name for major challenges

The Last March 31, the QVT changed its name to become the QVCT. While this may seem anecdotal at first glance, this new name reflects a real awareness of the excesses of QWL.

Today, many companies promote QWL as the core values of their employer brand without having built solid foundations in this area. Babyfoot, sofa, snacks, brand new coffee machine or other well-marketed actions are not the values of QVT.

What could be akin to greenwashing in HR and management is already beginning to backfire, especially with the account scandal.”Balance your start-up” appeared on Instagram in 2021.

What are the challenges of QVCT?

Often designed to meet needs that are peripheral to the work itself, QVCT does not always meet fundamental challenges. As a reminder, here is the definition of QWL proposed by the ANACT at the ANI in 2013: “The conditions in which employees carry out their work and their ability to express themselves and to act on the content of their work determine the resulting perception of the quality of life at work.” To go further in the reflection, here are the various issues covered by this approach:

• the improvement of working conditions: the tools made available, the physical, technical and organizational environment, training, internal mobility, equality, internal communication, life balance, transport time, health...
• allow everyone to act and express themselves: right to make mistakes, autonomy, collective intelligence, recognition, recognition, precise definitions of objectives, feedback, social dialogue, problem solving, teamwork, exchange groups...
• the nature and essence of work: autonomy, control and management of one's work, mobilization of skills, personal development, management and monitoring of performance, distribution of work, meaning...

However, it is also possible to extend applications to wider issues such as social issues (disability, age, diversity...) or even market issues (technological developments, customer needs, competition, etc.) by giving importance to innovation.

The state of affairs of the health of commercial functions

Before focusing on the actions to be implemented, it is essential to draw up a diagnosis in order to act in a realistic and objective manner. Working conditions, pressure, stress, goals, what is the status of commercial functions?
In fact, commercial jobs are subject to numerous stress factors:

• customer relationships and social interactions
• goals and performance
• The confrontation with refusals
• workplace competitiveness
• travel and organization

According to a study conducted by the Federation of Commercial Managers of France and Malakoff Humanis, 48% of sales managers work more than 45 hours a week. A demanding job in terms of working hours that greatly increases the psychosocial risks for these functions.

According to the same study, 84% of salespeople surveyed believe that their work is nervously exhausting and requires working quickly and intensively. 70% of them say they check their professional email boxes in the evening and at the weekend.

13% said they consumed alcoholic drinks every day, twice as much as in the other sectors surveyed.

These risk factors largely explain the number of stoppages for psychological reasons. +14% in 2021 in the retail sector, according to The annual Barometer Absenteeism Illness directed by Malakoff Humanis. With 22%, this sector takes the second step of the podium behind the health sector at 23%.

The QVCT to act sustainably

If ad hoc actions are implemented from time to time to relieve commercial functions, only a genuine desire for change will be effective over time. To ensure the sustainability of your QVCT approach, it is necessary to follow a few steps:

• Define the framework and the management of the project with strategic functions and raise the awareness of employees
• take stock of the issues to be addressed as well as the needs and difficulties of your sales teams
• highlight priority areas and project leaders
• think collectively about remediation solutions, process implementation and training needs
• integrate the approach into the operation of the company through tools, internal documentation and agreements.
• monitor and measure the impact of the actions taken in order to be able to adjust and maintain the approach.

Examples of actions applicable to business functions

Agreement and collaboration

Within sales teams, it is not uncommon for a bad atmosphere to reign. The cause? Individual goals that galvanize competitiveness between your sales representatives. Over time, this situation can become burdensome for the morale and well-being of some employees. To do this, it is possible to act on understanding and collaboration through various actions:

• a joint additional bonus based on collective performance
• create a new organization that makes it possible to capitalize on everyone's strengths to grow as a team
• achieve challenges by mixing teams. For example: a sedentary salesperson from team A with a field sales representative from team B
• offer sessions to exchange good practices
• Establish sponsors to support new salespeople

Listen and support:

As a manager, it is important to be present for your teams and even more so in itinerant jobs. While autonomy is an important need for salespeople, feeling supported and listening can reduce stress levels. It is therefore necessary to establish mutual trust between your teams and you in order to open a dialogue. This involves:

• an acceptance and an understanding of the difficulties of your salespeople
• be transparent and honest in your speech
• to be in regular contact with the teams and the reality of the job
• learn to trust and delegate
• take the time to explain and grant the right to make mistakes

Encourage disconnection:

Since the massive arrival of remote working, disconnecting has become more and more difficult, especially for commercial functions. The distinction between work time and personal life has been thin since the home also represents the office. For this, it is the manager's duty to support the teams in disconnecting. You can:

• have a charter signed that stipulates good practices concerning disconnection
• Set a time limit together for sending email, Slack, SMS, call or any other notification
• Establish a remote work routine as a message of encouragement in the morning and wish for a good end to the day in the evening. This makes it possible to fix a clear frame
• ensure that each employee plays the game and be the first to lead by example

As you will have understood, QVCT is not a superficial subject to be taken lightly. It should be a building block of your corporate culture and internal functioning. Beyond the essential employer brand for recruiting the best talent, it must also be at the service of a job well done. By combining the ideal working conditions, you offer your teams the opportunity to give the best of themselves.

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