The Company
From one man - Jean-Claude Decaux - to 12,000 employees
From their offices in Boulogne, Jean-Claude and Jean-Pierre Decaux travelled all over France to promote the concept of advertising bus shelters to local authorities and to bring advertisers on board.
Lyon, France
In 1968, when the company had already begun its international expansion with contracts signed in Belgium, only 23 people worked for JCDecaux. Multi-tasking was the main skill required of the first staff members, who were recruited to develop the Group's sales potential and to manufacture, transport, install and maintain its street furniture and display advertisements.
Growth increased in the 1970s, with ever more contracts signed across an area spanning from Belgium to Portugal.
Paris, La Défense, 1972
From the 1980s, JCDecaux's headcount grew as more contracts were signed and the company expanded to new countries. Besides Jean-Charles, Jean-François and Jean-Sébastien Decaux, who travelled overseas to develop the family business around the world, the Group's expansion relied mainly on French staff expatriated to regions offering strong growth potential on the outdoor advertising market.
Once the first contracts are signed in a new country, the Group prefers to recruit local people. Based on Jean-Claude Decaux's "self-made man" philosophy, it encourages its staff to progress :
Today, fifty years after it was created, JCDecaux has over 12,000 employees in 61 countries and 5 continents.
Hong-Kong
The Group offers its employees a long-term career path, where internal, geographic and functional mobility provides staff with many opportunities, as confirmed by the average seniority, which is 13 years.
In 1968, when the company had already begun its international expansion with contracts signed in Belgium, only 23 people worked for JCDecaux. Multi-tasking was the main skill required of the first staff members, who were recruited to develop the Group's sales potential and to manufacture, transport, install and maintain its street furniture and display advertisements.
Growth increased in the 1970s, with ever more contracts signed across an area spanning from Belgium to Portugal.
When I came back after a 3-month assignment that took me to France, Belgium and Holland, I didn't recognise many people at our headquarters in Sainte Apolline. Someone even asked me if I'd just started, when I was, in fact, one of the first to join the company!Albert Pouseiro Manager of the Assembly Department until 2009
From the 1980s, JCDecaux's headcount grew as more contracts were signed and the company expanded to new countries. Besides Jean-Charles, Jean-François and Jean-Sébastien Decaux, who travelled overseas to develop the family business around the world, the Group's expansion relied mainly on French staff expatriated to regions offering strong growth potential on the outdoor advertising market.
Once the first contracts are signed in a new country, the Group prefers to recruit local people. Based on Jean-Claude Decaux's "self-made man" philosophy, it encourages its staff to progress :
As I hadn't been to university before joining AFA JCDecaux, the company paid for me to take a 6-month management training course. If you feel ready to take on new responsibilities, to change direction and if you have the skills required, JCDecaux will not hesitate to give you the opportunity to do so, regardless of your formal qualificationsMahmut Dogan Team Leader in the Technical Department of the Group's Danish subsidiary
Today, fifty years after it was created, JCDecaux has over 12,000 employees in 61 countries and 5 continents.
