Redeployment and its use in the reform of the French Post Office

The transformation of the French Post Office into a public company has led to a thorough reorganisation accompanied by a number of personnel redeployments. Paul Léger was given this task, and asked to minimise social unrest. Faced with the impossible alternatives of either making personnel redundant or forcing them to relocate, the only solution to avoid conflict was to get their agreement. Apart from traditional financial aids and re-training, various measures were put into place. These included support from 'mobility consultants' (helping the personnel define new professional projects), defining what is an 'acceptable' position, and the preservation of a wide choice of jobs for the future. The agreement and motivation of the future employer were also encouraged. Finally, original solutions for the development of part-time work, employment exchange with other public companies and making it easy to take early retirement, were put into place.