For Grégory, who has been in charge of customer services and contacts for several years, listening is second nature. “My job is to listen carefully to KIABI’s customers to better understand their expectations and pass them on to the relevant departments.
In the twenty years he has been working for the company, Grégory has multiplied his actions with the Foundation in the field of inclusion. “A few years ago, I accompanied schoolchildren in their project to create a company. It was an impressive experience that he wanted to repeat. “Young people sometimes have a false idea of the business world. Our role is to listen to their concerns and reassure them.
On the advice of Olivier, who runs the Kiabi Life endowment fund, Grégory contacted ARELI. “A representative of the association told me about the Émergences scheme and the possibility of sponsoring a young person in his or her studies. At the time, Grégory felt that the selection of candidates was too elitist. “At the time, candidates for the programme had to pass their baccalaureate exams with honours. He did not give up, however, and contacted the association again, which had relaxed its selection criteria in the meantime. That was enough to convince him. He met Aménis, a young winner of the programme, who was studying business. “We quickly got to know each other,” jokes Grégory, who takes his mission as a mentor very seriously. “I introduced her to my job and helped her find an internship. The relationship is such that he invites her to meet his wife and children. “Aménis is rather independent, but we regularly exchange messages…”.
“My commitment, like that of the other sponsors in the Emergences programme, is to listen to these young people and help them gain confidence in themselves. ARELI, which had heard about fashion coaching, asked me to organise a workshop in which six young people took part on 24 March in Villeneuve d’Ascq, thanks to the involvement of a dozen colleagues from Kiabi”.
