Generations: a wealth of experience to share
At SNCF we know it’s our experienced employees who foster the next generation, so we work to help older workers maintain their skills and learn new ones. We adjust working conditions to fit their needs, making sure they aren’t overtaxed and helping them plan for life after employment.
Older workers have experience and professional knowledge that make them a real asset, so we do our best to recruit them and keep them on the job in ways that benefit everyone.
Our goals
- help experienced employees maintain and sharpen their skills by offering suitable working conditions
- encourage intergenerational learning to capitalize on older workers’ know-how—a precious resource for everyone
- help older workers make the transition to retirement with Optim’Services - Action Sociale
I’ll teach you, you teach me
Seniors know what makes SNCF tick and instill that knowledge in younger employees, bringing them on board and helping them feel at home. By passing on their experience, they ensure we don’t lose the know-how that keeps the business running.
Reverse mentoring
Younger hires, Millennials and Gen Z1, teach older employees about new technologies and social media during short training sessions, which helps make seniors more employable.
Career and exchange days
The goal of these sessions is to help experienced employees pinpoint their strengths and weaknesses with a view to possibly retraining for a different position. We also offer ad hoc training sessions.
Talking about retirement
After age 50, employees can ask their manager for an enhanced performance review to start getting ready for the final phase of their career. Depending on their own situation, employees may want to stay in their current job, transfer to a less taxing one, adjust their schedule, or retire early.
Action Sociale SNCF holds workshops for employees age 54 and older who are thinking about retirement. As a decision that impacts income, daily life, family, and social life, it’s one that requires planning and reflection.
Banking leave for the end of your career
The cap on the amount of paid leave employees can build up and set aside has been raised: they can now save up to 410 PTO days, which they can use all at once to retire early. Through an employer match, SNCF contributes additional PTO days.
Pick your pace—shifting to part-time work
At SNCF, employees can taper off and finish their career working part-time. Our end-of-career part-time arrangement lets employees work between 50% and 80% of full time while benefiting from a 10% wage increase for a period of 12 to 24 months (or even 36 months for those in demonstrably taxing posts).
Early retirement
Employees can also ease into retirement with a two-phase part-time arrangement. This is possible with our new early retirement scheme, which lets employees ride into the sunset sooner while keeping their pay constant. In phase one, employees work full time for a period of up to 18 months. In phase two, they stay home for the same period of time at full pay.
44%
of our employees are age 45 or older
50%
of the employees we recruit are under age 30
For the first time ever,
5
generations are working alongside each other: Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z, and Alphas born in the 2000s