Portrait: Raphaël H. Cohen on Engagement

Entrepreneur, investor and passionate about executive education, Raphaël H. Cohen has just published a book on the drivers of engagement. He sees it as an opportunity for the HR function to reposition itself.

Over the years, he has become a key figure in French-speaking Switzerland’s HR community. A prophet of benevolent leadership, a specialist in intrapreneurship and a regular columnist in the business press (including HR Today), Raphaël H Cohen has many strings to his bow. An entrepreneur at heart, investor and very active in executive education, he is also behind the MicroMBA, a streamlined version of the DAS in Entrepreneurial Leadership at the University of Geneva, which he teaches in several institutions (including Nestlé, BCV, CHUV and Romandie Formation). Passionate about leadership, he has just published a book (1) detailing the drivers of engagement. It is his bible. The founding text of a vast programme that should enable both private and public organisations to establish a benevolent and fair framework within their walls. A creed he would like to spread across the world, beginning in Geneva, where he welcomes us on an icy Wednesday in December, just before the Christmas holidays.

Chief Engagement Officer

Receiving HR Today at his family home in the municipality of Conches, he wants to send a strong message to HR. Right from the outset, he says: “For around ten years, the HR function has declined from a strategic role to that of a glorified head of personnel. By embracing the issue from the angle of engagement, they have a fine opportunity to reposition themselves!” In his book, he criticises the concept of “human resources”: “This view of work, where the issue is renting labour as one rents a machine, is alienating.” In a recent article published online (2), he proposes renaming the function Chief Engagement Officer, abbreviated to CEngO (CEO having already been taken). He continues: “A resource has no emotions and can be replaced without any state of mind. Today’s HR professionals are not clear about their purpose. When I ask them what their reason for being is, they generally answer: putting the right people in the right place. I call that staffing! To be truly respected, both by employees and by management, they should put in place and enforce the framework conditions that foster engagement. For higher engagement means more performance. As guardians of the temple of engagement and by reminding managers of the impact of their decisions on the level of engagement, HR would then have real power!” So here he is, the instigator.

No one-size-fits-all recipes

The problem, however, is not simple. For engagement is a complex matter. There is no miracle here, nor any ten commandments. In his book, Raphaël H Cohen sets out no fewer than 54 good practices. He says: “I have seen managers with a very directive style achieve enormous engagement. The opposite is also true. There is no one-size-fits-all recipe. Everyone must find their own cocktail. The only thing that matters is the result. Engagement levels can be measured. I suggest starting there and then carrying out the diagnosis afterwards.” (It should be noted that Raphaël H Cohen has launched a free website to measure team engagement, www.eazymirror.com).

Leadership is one of the cardinal drivers of engagement. According to one study, 65% of employees would prefer to change boss rather than be given a pay rise. On this point, his position is clear: “Not everyone is made to be a leader. It can be learned, but without the right predispositions it will be impossible.” The right predispositions? “Liking people and wanting others to succeed. The manager’s role is to give them the desire, the means to succeed.” He himself admits he has had to learn. “At the start of my career, I tended to forget that people have emotions. I also made the mistake of projecting my own view of the world on to others. So I had to develop my emotional intelligence.” He then trained with Daniel Goleman (author of the bestseller Emotional Intelligence, 2003) and John Grinder (co-founder of NLP). The result: today Raphaël H Cohen tries to put himself in the shoes of the person in front of him. “That requires genuine attention to the other person,” says the man who has been practising meditation for 44 years.

Arbitrate and sanction

Beyond leadership, he insists on the benevolent and fair framework that must be put in place. It may even be his trademark. Clarifying the rules of governance, arbitrating and sanctioning those who cross the red line. “These shared rules of living and working should be discussed and decided collectively. It is a demanding exercise and I advise being supported by a neutral, detached expert.” Among these rules, he cites the right to make mistakes and to be imperfect; the collective interest taking precedence over individual interest; ensuring that no one benefits from special treatment; and also “no sanction for those who tell the truth or report situations that pose a problem”.

He then recommends setting up an internal justice mechanism, in order to protect the team from toxic behaviour. The appointed arbiters would have the power to decide. To ensure everyone’s psychological safety, the collective should also clarify how these arbiters will make their decision (alone, by majority, unanimously) and provide avenues of appeal. Raphaël H Cohen refers here to The Art of War by Sun Tzu. In this Chinese general of the 6th century BC, he appreciates the concept of severity, which he translates into zero tolerance for “arseholes”, a reference to another of his bedside books (The No Asshole Rule by Robert Sutton, 2012). He says: “People suffer enormously from the lack of fairness, abuses of power and favouritism. Benevolence is often confused with kindness. Benevolence means doing things for the good of the other person, but which will not necessarily please them at the time.”

This framework and these rules seem rather rigid at a time when “liberated companies” are fashionable. “A liberated company can only work if it was created on that model. But it is very rare for traditional companies to make that shift successfully.” For him, liberation should begin with interpersonal relationships, without including decision-making. He explains: “Every company needs a clear framework. Today, things are fairly well regulated when it comes to decision-making and structure. By contrast, management can allow more autonomy in interpersonal relationships. For the smooth functioning of the team is indispensable to the success of the strategy. The role of the framework is precisely to foster these interactions. Hence the importance I attach to the system in which employees operate and to their involvement in defining the rules that concern them.”

From Calvin College to Walt Disney

He was born in Egypt in a rather traditional setting. His father worked in the international garment trade. “He taught me a sense of humour, a sense of business and an understanding of how people work.” His mother looked after the children. “She taught me to look at things lucidly, to question everything.” Arriving in Geneva at the age of 4, Raphaël H Cohen settled there for good. After a science baccalaureate at Calvin College (“I wanted to become a biologist”), he opted for business studies at the University of Geneva. During his studies, he worked with his father in the family business Getratex SA. Once his studies were completed, he cut the cord and set up a subcontracting company with a friend, then obtained the Swiss licence for Walt Disney clothing. Hard-working and gifted in business, he made a fortune and sold his textile activities a few years later. During this time, he completed his doctorate “clandestinely” to avoid falling out with his father. He also became an investor and put money into an amusement park in Israel and several start-ups (software publishing, construction, financial derivatives). He also sat for 27 years on the board of the Swiss subsidiary of the Israeli bank Hapoalim. In 2000, having reached a turning point in his life as a businessman, he accepted a request from EPFL and created the country’s first entrepreneurship course. He discovered a passion for teaching. From one thing leading to another, he set up several projects with the University of Geneva, wrote books and established himself as a key consultant-trainer in the field. On the cover of his latest book, he sums up his mission in three points: energise, inspire and succeed together.

(1) Raphaël H Cohen: The Drivers of Engagement, Eyrolles, 2019, 214 pages

(2) Harvard Business Review France, online version: www.hbrfrance.fr/chroniques-experts/2019/12/28885lengagement-des-collabo...de-pouvoir-des-rh/

Quick bio

- 1953 Born in Cairo - 1975 Launches his first business (fashion) on leaving university - 1982 Doctorate in Economics at the University of Geneva - 2000 Launches the first entrepreneurship course at EPFL - 2003 Creates the first MicroMBA at HUG