Paris HR consultancy: supporting local leadership teams

When choosing a part-time HR consultant, start with the subsidiary’s needs and distinguish day-to-day work from targeted projects. The scope should also include advice on strategy, pay policy and culture, and how to adapt them locally.

My answer in brief

The right HR scope addresses a defined need and distinguishes day-to-day management, advice and awareness work. For a French subsidiary, it connects group decisions with local realities and gives employees an identifiable HR contact.

Start by naming the need: handling day-to-day management, getting advice on strategy or organising an awareness activity. The distinction matters. If group decisions need to be adapted for the subsidiary, advice should cover the implementation of the strategy, pay policy, remuneration and company culture. Local adaptation, both legal and cultural, is part of this support. A strategy developed at headquarters or for another market cannot simply be applied as is.

The need for a local presence calls for a different decision. An outsourced or part-time HR representative can take on this role without creating a new position, providing an identifiable contact who is present and available in French. This model does not meet the same need as strategic advice or an awareness activity: choose the scope according to the priority, rather than conflating them. For specific employment law cases, specialist advice remains the prudent choice.

What scope should you assign to a part-time HR consultant?

Give a part-time consultant a scope defined by management’s priorities, rather than a standard list. In my work at Human Déclic, I cover day-to-day HR management, from employees joining to leaving the company.

To frame the topics, the INRS, France’s national institute for research and safety at work, lists recruitment, training, skills management and employee relations among HR responsibilities. Use this list as a starting point, not a checklist: select the topics that match the company’s priorities.

The format matters too. At Human Déclic, I offer project-based or ongoing collaboration, with part-time support defined according to the required hours or days. For a one-off need, set the project’s boundaries; for ongoing support, specify which day-to-day topics are included.

In the brief, distinguish routine topics from one-off projects, name the people involved and indicate, for each selected topic, which decisions remain with company management. Specify what the assignment covers in each area: a list of topics alone does not define the limits of the mandate. Include advice on strategy, pay policy, remuneration and culture, as well as their local adaptation so they remain legally and culturally viable. Set out these areas separately.

Which group decisions should be adapted to the reality of the French subsidiary?

Adapt group decisions for France by separating shared principles from local arrangements: working hours, collective bargaining agreements, remuneration, contracts and employee consultation.

For a full-time employee in the private sector in France, the statutory working week is 35 hours, according to the official Service-Public.fr page, the French government’s public information service, on statutory working hours. Compare the group’s working hours with this framework before applying them in the subsidiary.

In France, in companies with 50 or more employees, the CSE, the French Social and Economic Committee and employee representative body, must be informed and consulted about the organisation, management and general running of the company, according to the rule on informing and consulting the CSE. Build this into the preparation of local decisions.

The applicable collective bargaining agreement depends on the company’s main business activity, according to the rule for determining which collective bargaining agreement applies. Pay is negotiated between employer and employee in line with legal and collective agreement provisions, as explained on the page on setting pay.

Contracts follow the same logic. A written open-ended employment contract (CDI) must be drafted in French, according to the rule for written CDI contracts. The group’s template should therefore be adapted before it is used in the subsidiary. I also give advice a central place: strategy, pay policy, remuneration and culture need to be adapted locally so they remain legally and culturally viable.

How can you turn analysis into recommendations for a French subsidiary?

To turn analysis into recommendations, state the finding, the option proposed and the conditions for applying it, then specify what decision is expected from headquarters.

Apec, the French association for executive employment, analyses and anticipates changes and major trends in the executive job market through its labour market observatory. This information can inform the discussion, but it does not automatically determine the subsidiary’s choice. A general trend alone is not enough to justify a specific decision: the link between the finding and the proposed option should be clear.

Compare two options: adopt a group practice as it stands, or adapt it locally. Do not confuse uniformity with consistency. The best approach is to specify what remains shared and what needs to be adapted, particularly when the group’s strategy, pay policy or culture must remain legally and culturally viable in the French context. This distinction makes the decision more concrete without turning a trend into a rule that applies everywhere.

A useful recommendation therefore distinguishes the finding, the proposed option and the conditions for implementation. Add the rationale, the decision expected from headquarters and the questions that need to be resolved. Headquarters can then discuss a specific option rather than an isolated finding.

What does a local HR presence bring compared with remote management?

A local HR presence provides an identifiable contact; the link with headquarters keeps group decisions in the conversation, as described in my bilingual HR support at Human Déclic, which connects headquarters and subsidiaries.

The key is clear: an identified HR contact who is available in French and present. Having a familiar HR face matters. That does not mean every conversation has to take place on site: choose the format according to its purpose.

The setting matters too. During a psychosocial risk assessment, the presence of a line manager can make it harder for employees to speak freely and for assessors to understand their actual work, according to the INRS frequently asked questions on psychosocial risks. Plan opportunities to speak that suit the purpose, especially when employees need to talk about their work.

At Human Déclic, I can deliver HR support on site or remotely, with travel in France and internationally, and fees quoted on request. The best approach is to prioritise in-person meetings when meeting face to face matters, and remote working when that format suits the discussion.

Which criteria should guide adaptations to the group’s pay policy and culture?

To adapt the group’s pay policy and culture, distinguish shared principles from arrangements that need to fit the subsidiary. HR advice should connect these choices to the group’s strategy and local realities, rather than applying a central direction without examining it.

For remuneration, separate the group’s objectives from the choices that need to be considered in the subsidiary. This distinction makes decisions easier to understand and avoids presenting an internal pay scale as an answer that is sufficient for every situation.

For culture, identify the principles the group wants to share, then consider how to put them into practice locally. A recommendation can then explain what remains shared, what needs adapting and what still needs to be decided between local management and headquarters.

How should you choose between HR support and mental health awareness at work?

To improve working conditions, choose HR support; to build knowledge and reduce stigma, choose awareness work. The World Health Organization (WHO) distinguishes these two objectives in its recommendations on mental health at work.

Lack of time, skills, perspective or objectivity, or a highly tense situation: in these cases, prioritise external support for assessing psychosocial risks, as described by the INRS in its guidance on bringing in an external specialist. This support should be occasional and accompanied by a transfer of skills.

For awareness work, at Human Déclic I offer the workshop, “a mural for talking about mental health at work”, for groups of 6 to 16 people, lasting 3 hours, from €1,000. This is the option to choose when the goal is to build knowledge and address stigma, rather than assess psychosocial risks.

The deciding factor is the need. If the issue concerns work organisation, choose HR support; if it concerns knowledge, choose awareness work. The two approaches can complement each other, but they do not address the same question.

What role should HR directors, CSE representatives and managers play in this awareness work?

Give each a distinct role: according to INRS guidance on psychosocial risks, the HR director can take part in the process, CSE representatives can propose prevention measures and managers have a central role.

The difference lies in the preparation. The INRS states that the HR director can participate as a member of the management committee, CSE representatives can propose prevention measures, and managers’ central role is supported by information about the organisational causes of psychosocial risks, as explained in the INRS answers on preventing psychosocial risks.

To put this division of responsibilities into practice, give representatives space to put forward their proposals and make sure managers receive information about the organisational causes of psychosocial risks. The HR director can link the work to management decisions, without replacing the contributions of representatives or managers.

The best approach is to start with a shared question about work, then assign speaking roles according to these functions: representatives put forward proposals, managers receive information about organisational causes, and the HR director links the discussion to management decisions. This division clarifies each contribution without choosing the topic for you.

When is recruitment support a better choice than part-time HR support?

Choose recruitment support if you only need to make one hire. As soon as the company also needs work on other HR topics, part-time HR support is a better fit for the scope.

The key is the scope. For companies looking for executives, Apec offers job advertising, searches for qualified candidates, job fairs and networking events, as set out in its overview of services for businesses. France Travail, the French public employment service, presents recruitment as a process with 10 key steps, from defining the need to onboarding the employee, in its guide to a successful recruitment project, which can help define an assignment focused on hiring.

Part-time HR support is the better choice if the request goes beyond finding a candidate. The work then also covers company strategy, overall pay policy, remuneration or culture, and the local adaptation of these approaches so that they remain legally and culturally viable. Advice is then part of the scope, rather than limiting the assignment to a single hire.

Conversely, if other HR topics are already covered and only one hire remains, keep the support focused on recruitment. When several needs arise at once, distinguish them before choosing a format: a broader assignment can specify the expected HR work and the recruitment to be carried out. This breakdown makes the scope clearer for management and for the people involved in the assignment.

What I take away

Before choosing, set out the topics to be covered, the group decisions that need local adaptation and the decisions to be raised with headquarters. Distinguish day-to-day HR from targeted projects, then choose the way of working together that fits the need and gives employees an identifiable HR contact.