La Bonne Brosse: a long-lasting and a close-knit team. The challenge: to grow without losing ourselves.
How would you describe your commitment to La Bonne Brosse?
Flore des Robert: What makes it work is that our employees are committed. It's not just a question of skills. Sometimes we recruit without the person ticking all the boxes, but if they have the desire, we know it's going to work. That's what we've always looked at first.
Pauline Laurent: And when we started out, people also joined us because of us. There was a very direct form of support for what we were doing. That personal bond plays a big part in a small business. It's also what makes people want to stay, not just come.
As the team has grown, have you seen this link evolve?
P. L. : Yes. A year ago there were 7 of us, now there are 25. And inevitably, we're no longer in the same close-knit relationship. We can't be there for everyone, all the time. You have to structure things and pass them on. We talk a lot about this with other incarnated brands. It's a key moment.
F. d. R. : We feel that the baton needs to be passed. That the energy we brought to bear at the outset needs to circulate in a different way. And to do that, we need tools, methods, and probably a management committee capable of carrying this culture with us.
What do you think fuels this attachment to the brand?
F. d. R. : We offer a product that makes sense. Our hairbrushes are made in France, by craftsmen, using sustainable materials. And our teams see this in action. They know the partners, they see the choices we make, even when they are less attractive economically.
P. L.: We share everything. The strategy, the figures, the questions. Even the trainees understand how the company works. And a lot of people join us because they want to set up their own business one day. They want to learn. We try to show them the reality, without any filter.
How does this culture play out on a day-to-day basis in the company?
F. d. R. : We have a plenary meeting every Monday. Everyone has a say, and shares their priorities and bottlenecks. This allows everyone to see where they stand. We also organise two team days a year, where we take a step back and share our results and vision. It's structuring. We're very accessible. Our office is always busy, we travel a lot, we go and see people at their workstations. But we feel that this model has its limits. We need to keep this culture alive, even when we're not there.
In concrete terms, what are you banking on?
P. L.: Freedom, clearly. It's more than autonomy. People take a subject and work on it. Even the senior people we're recruiting today are looking for that. And we try to pay well. We prefer a small, well-paid team, rather than the opposite.
Does the work environment play an important role in this collective bond?
P. L. : Yes, clearly. Right from the start, we wanted a pleasant, well-located place. But it's funny: some people miss our very first offices, on the other side of the corridor, which we called «the cave». There were 7 of us, in a single dark room, with a single window overlooking the courtyard. It was small, but everyone worked side by side.
F. d. R. : Today, we're in beautiful offices, we regularly improve them, we take great care, but above all we try to preserve this closeness, this spontaneous flow of ideas. We're thinking about creating more small spaces to continue to encourage this.
What have you kept - or deliberately left out - from the big groups?
P. L. : What we've left behind is hyperhierarchy. We want a company where everyone can contribute, make suggestions and take decisions. We don't want to recreate a lengthy approval system.
