Roole, a strong company culture with a personal touch
Boulogne-Billancourt, France
In 2022, Roole’s teams moved into an impressive black building topped with a golden structure in the outskirts of Boulogne-Billancourt.
This family business created in 1982 was originally known as Club Identicar before changing its name when it moved into its new premises. As well as being renowned for its window marking and anti-theft activities, Roole is now France’s leading automotive club, whose aim is to be useful to its members on a daily basis and to improve the image of cars in France by making them simpler, cheaper and more inclusive. It does so by offering a wide range of services, such as insurance and theft-protection systems, a selection of new services, such as toll badges and parking solutions, etc., not to mention a whole host of customised offers relating to mobility and leisure activities.
But what stands out immediately when entering this building – whose reception area features bodywork elements and parts of an old Airstream caravan – is the careful consideration given to the design of the premises. A bold choice made by the managing director, who was personally involved in the design process.
The vintage furniture unearthed by a specialist antique dealer features alongside modern workstations, giving the interior plenty of character. Yellow items of USM furniture are interspersed throughout almost all of the areas in numerous configurations, offering a personal and identified storage space for each of the 270 employees, who are then free to sit wherever they like. A perfect and scalable solution that can adapt to new working methods, changes in organisation and individual employee requirements.
If by any chance visitors fail to notice the automotive culture of this company with its tech start-up feel, they are given a constant reminder with various decorative details from the head of the company’s personal collection: art photos, iconic film posters, an old petrol pump and even a splendid Norton Manx motorcycle at the entrance to the canteen! Another detail for automotive aficionados is that each meeting room is named after an international motor race.
This attention to the ambiance and to employee comfort in the workplace is by no means a coincidence. It’s actually a key aspect of Roole’s company culture, which places people – employees, partners and customers – at the heart of its strategy. It’s therefore only natural that in 2022 the company received the “Happy Team, Happy Customers” label awarded by Académie du Service, a consulting and training firm which rewards a company’s commitment and the alignment of three pillars: the strategic choices implemented, the teams’ commitment and the customers’ perception. Yet another award to add to the company’s long list of accolades received in previous years!
