In a context of continuous transformation, the question facing managers and HR directors is how to ensure that change is not just conceived at the top, but is truly lived, embodied and carried out at all levels of the organization.

At Club Med and PayFit, two companies with very different cultures and rhythms, this commitment is based on a common foundation: giving meaning, involving teams, and relying on managers as the driving force behind the collective.

Don't pit business transformation against cultural transformation

At Club Med, the transformation is both structural and strategic: a gradual move upmarket over more than 20 years, the goal of doubling the company's size in 7 years, the integration of CSR issues, and so on. But at the heart of this dynamic is one imperative: preserving the Club Med soul, that unique culture founded on conviviality, sharing and kindness.

For its part, PayFit has undergone meteoric hypergrowth, a shift to remote working with"work from anywhere", and a new post-bubble tech phase where efficiency and clarity have become priorities. However, the company's mission and founding values have not changed. It's the managerial and behavioral framework that has been reworked to keep pace with the new reality.

Back to basics before tooling up

As Majid Kiani clearly points out:"We wanted to train managers before we'd even explained why." The result: a discrepancy between the intentions of top management and the perception of teams in the field.

The real tipping point? Start with values, rewrite them, clarify them, and make them operational at all levels (individual, customer, company). Then translate these values into expected behaviors, and finally, deploy a coherent leadership model.

At PayFit, the approach was similar: co-construction of key behaviors with teams, structuring of a clear framework, then large-scale dissemination via Culture Days (events combining conferences and workshops in three countries). The aim was to create a common frame of reference to guide day-to-day decisions, rituals and interactions.

Don't pit business transformation against cultural transformation

At Club Med, as at Payfit, leadership can no longer rely solely on top management. Support for change comes from managers, who are the real relays in the field.

• Club Med has structured its model around three key managerial roles: talent developer, strategist and culture carrier.
• PayFit is investing in a new generation of leaders by supporting 90 top managers via a dedicated offsite, strengthening the Comex and animating a managerial community to encourage sharing, transversality and collective impact.

In both cases, the aim is to give managers the reference points, posture and tools they need to embody the transformation in concrete terms on a day-to-day basis.

Creating reference points, giving meaning and making action possible

Membership cannot be decreed. It is based on a triptych that both companies share:

• Clarify: what's expected of everyone, why we're doing it, and how it fits into a broader strategy.
• Involve: from the outset, by co-constructing reference systems, behaviors and tools.
• Provide the means: tools, support, forums for exchange and skills development.

As Marie-Alice Tantardini sums up:

"You can't say everything all the time, but you can avoid grey areas. The important thing is embodied, explicit communication, to set a framework and reinforce trust."

A culture can't be changed, it has to be embodied

The main lesson to be learned from these two trajectories is that successful transformation is that which links strategy to culture. Not by smoothing out messages, but by making them concrete, accessible and embodied for everyone.

It's only at this price that buy-in becomes possible and that change, far from being undergone, is collectively supported.

Would you like to delve deeper into these topics and provide food for thought? Discover the FORWARD 2025 replays and retrospective.