Mediabrands HR Director Clio Bellon joined the company 10 years ago. “I initially joined Mediabrands as a consultant when the company was looking to take its HR policy in a different direction. My advice, ultimately, was to recruit someone who could take care of such matters internally. Then they put the ball back in my court. Even though I had never planned on joining them, I thought, ‘Let’s give it a try’.”
The fact that Clio is ‘still trying’ after 10 years says everything about the culture at Mediabrands. ‘It‘s the people that make the culture at Mediabrands. We try to live by what we stand for, to ‘lead by example’, thereby fostering an environment of trust, respect and what the French call ‘bienveillance’. These are all values that people have brought in with them and passed on to us. “For me, this was very important, as I could personally identify with these values. It reassured me that I could provide added value to the company.”
”Whatever is meant for you, will come your way.
Clio Bellon
Putting the pieces together
With these values as her guide, Clio tackles fascinating puzzles on a daily basis. “We check to make sure people are a good fit in terms of personality and that they hold the same values, as with us everything hinges on internal cooperation. It’s very much a team effort. While I am well placed to connect the dots from my inter-departmental position, this would not work without a certain level of faith. We want to give people freedom and confidence, to provide greater autonomy in their work. We ensure this through constant cooperation. In that regard, I am also very grateful to our middle management team. They are the ones who make it happen every day. While we may all be pulling towards the same goal, they are the ones who make a real difference.”
Clio also credits the HR department’s successes to teamwork. “I could come up with the best of ideas, but if my colleagues don’t support them, we’d never succeed. Over the years, we have formed a real team. We all understand and respect each other’s role. While we might not always agree on everything, we support each other, and we have a way of making decisions that everyone can get behind. I also think I’m very lucky that everything has turned out well so far, and I believe that I owe such happiness to my surroundings. I have amazing colleagues with whom I talk a lot. You won’t often find me sitting in my corner by myself. As a result, we can overcome almost anything, and I may even have been spared the odd potential embarrassment!”
The best of intentions
Nevertheless, Clio believes that, in some respects, she is not necessarily the best example. “My time management is very poor. My schedule is basically determined by other people. I advise everyone to organize their work into more manageable blocks as much as possible. It’s something I try to do, until someone asks me something I really should be saying no to… that’s when being in charge of my own schedule can prove quite a challenge. I often start things with the best of intentions, only to realize that we don’t really have the time to do it and that it was too ambitious to begin with. I’m also not a good example when it comes to healthy habits. You will often find me with a can of Red Bull in the conference room, even at ten in the morning. The funny thing is that I seem to be in pretty good shape. While I don’t exercise as often as I should, I recently went hiking in Corsica with a group of friends. I really thought I was going to die down there. But to everyone’s surprise, especially my own, I never experienced any muscle pain or felt the need to stop. No, in fact, I could have kept on going!”
People who know Clio see her as an approachable people person, or so they think. “I’m generally perceived as a diplomatic and approachable person. I try not to judge, rather grasp what is going on and deal with it in such a way that I don’t betray anyone’s trust. I also think that I am there for people and that I leave room for others to take on responsibilities. I don’t necessarily need to lead. My job is to guide and to coach, to try and bring people further. When things are going well, you will see me less. However, when things get tough, I’ll always be there. I don’t give up easily. I try not to be pushy, but I make sure that steps are taken towards finding a workaround.”
One of these workarounds was needed when the pandemic caught Mediabrands slightly off-guard. With one COO also stepping down, this was not exactly the easiest of times. “I’m very proud of how we came through this as a company, particularly when it came to our coronavirus policy, how we helped people, how we anticipated and accommodated any issues, along with people’s overall level of resilience. It was quite crazy!”