La ferme du vinage: Above all, a human adventure!

For ten generations, the Ferme du Vinage, in the Nord department of France, has been run by the same family. Today comprising 70 cows, the establishment has made dairy processing its core business. Géraldine Capelle, representative of the tenth generation, has just taken over the reins of the farm. A new organization based on the deployment of expert skills and shared human values. Meet:

Need more information? Contact laura@alphea-conseil.fr

How do you structure your business?

We are a dairy farm and process all our production into cheese. 70% is reserved for wholesale, such as at Halles de Rungis, for example. The remaining 30% is distributed in our store in Roncq. There, our Carré du Vinage rubs shoulders with galet boisé, Saint Paulin fermier, Petit Vinageois... and other regional specialties. With my parents retiring, I needednew skills to help me. This was particularly the case for breeding, but also for sales in the store.

How long have you been using Alphéa Conseil for recruitment?

Over the past two years, change has begun to take hold. I had already conducted recruitments on my own. But I was aware that, for theseintermediate management positions, I needed help. Of course, I was looking for competence and motivation. I was also looking foremployees invested with a "start-up" spirit, i.e. eager to evolve in a structure in perpetual motion.

But, perhaps most of all, I was looking for people who shared the same values as me. Human values, which take on their full meaning in a family business. And as much as assessing professionalism is something I know how to do.

But assessing a person's more human qualities is trickier. That's why I decided to turn to recruitment professionals. I was aware of the turning point I was taking the farm in, and I didn't want it to miss it.

To date, Alphéa Conseil has therefore accompanied us in the recruitmentt of five employees. And for profiles as varied as an accountant, an administrative and financial manager, a store manager, a breeding manager, but also a saleswoman, ambassador of our values.

What did you appreciate about Alphéa Conseil's support?

While I appreciated their availability and responsiveness,their methods surprised me at first.

For the recruitment of the saleswoman, they told me: "To enable us to fully understand the position and your expectations, we need to immerse ourselves totally in your daily life. So, would you mind if we followed a typical day?"
Of course, I said no... I was a little taken aback, I admit... They were there from shelving to closing.

With their fresh eyes, they made a number of observations that enabled us to optimize our store organization. A form of audit, in short. For example, up until then, a single sales assistant was responsible for following the customer from order to payment. A process that we thought was well established, but which actually wasted time. Today, two people share this task. This saves time, which translates into optimized sales! Thanks to Alphéa Conseil's support, we found employees exactly as we wanted. But we also benefited from free advice on how to optimize our organization.

Will you use the firm again for your next recruitments?

Without a doubt! Especially for intermediate management positions, which require adherence to specific values that are impossible to test in-house. Alphéa Conseil develops specific tests that enable us to select also on subjective criteria, so important to us.

By the way, I also appreciate the new training offer proposed. I've already subscribed to it. Our livestock manager and cheese dairy manager each have several employees to manage. However, they haven't had the opportunity, during their training or professional experience, to develop these skills. Monsieur Fromont has therefore already organized several training sessions at the Farm. And more are already planned for 2021.

Alphéa has now established itself as a partner in our evolution. A team effort to build the one we have every day!

Alphéa Conseil is recruiting:

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