FHM Solutions and sport as a tool for cohesion

A growing ESN specializing in emerging technologies

Founded in 2005 by Francis Hachem, FHM Solutions is an ESN dedicated to providing its customers with optimal human and technical solutions, thanks to qualified consultants who are passionate about their work. To keep pace with the strong growth of the Internet sector within companies, FHM Solutions has positioned itself today as a specialist in emerging technologies, PHP and mobile in particular. The FHM Solutions team comprises 46 employees, including 38 on site. Francis Hachem recruits 2 to 3 people every month, and is aiming for 75 employees by the end of the year.

Human resources, a challenge for ESNs

Like many ESNs and SMEs, FHM Solutions suffers from a poor image of its business and recruitment difficulties, due to the lack of qualified manpower in digital professions. Attracting new talent and retaining the best employees are real challenges for the company, at a time when the ESN professions, relocated to external sites, are exacerbating personal strategies.

Sport as a team-building tool

Beyond the usual convivial practices (after work…), to counteract this terrible equation Francis Hachem, out of personal taste, decided to put sport at the heart of his team cohesion strategy. As a result, FHM Solutions employees have many opportunities to get involved in sporting activities:

• Registration for the Paris half-marathon and 20 km
• An 8-person indoor soccer team
• Organization of one-off events such as an in-house ping pong tournament scheduled for late April, with former world champion Jean Philippe Gatien in attendance.

According to Mr. Hachem, these activities have enhanced the well-being of employees, helping them to decompress. What’s more, sport has had a real impact on the bonds and solidarity between employees. It has reinforced cohesion, knowledge of others and their needs, and created a favorable working environment. Through these sporting activities, the very values of the company are brought to the fore, and employees’ performance is enhanced.

Finally, this involvement in sport, relayed by a monthly newsletter, has become a real differentiating asset in terms of human resources. FHM Solutions is known and recognized for this dimension, and attracts employees with a passion for sport.