How do you “jump start” culture change? At French pharmaceutical company Sanofi, three years into a tricky global integration of multiple businesses, we needed that spark.
Everyone knew the “One Sanofi” story by now. But to begin truly seeing ourselves as one company – instinctive identification with the Sanofi brand, and a sense we were all Sanofians – now required something bold; a signal; action.
So, we made the unique decision to invest in a major external sponsorship to ignite our internal transformation: We would leverage the unique potential of the Olympic and Paralympic Games – and their values of unity and global citizenship – to connect our employees to a common purpose.
It worked. Our spin-off internal Olympiad, “The Sanofi Cup,” sparked the largest voluntary participation in company history – 26,000 employees – with the Finals (featuring Sanofians representing 26 countries) watched live by 10,000 colleagues and family members worldwide. It was a company sensation. Our uniquely employee-centred sponsorship agreement with Paris 2024 then allowed 2,024 Sanofians to come to France to help run the Games as volunteers. Thousands more participated in the Torch Relays, and 300 had the life-changing experience of carrying the flame as official Torch Bearers.
Six weeks after the Games, participant feedback has been ecstatic (“life-changing,” “the best experience of my life so far”). Employee advocacy for Sanofi as an employer has ballooned (+191% in six months). And several initiatives have proven so successful that – unexpectedly – they have now been given the green light to continue long beyond the Games’ conclusion.
