Arnaud Pelletier

HR Director, Pierre & Vacances France and Antilles

“To have happy customers, you need happy employees” is the credo of Arnaud Pelletier, former HR Manager at Villages Nature Paris, who was promoted to HR Manager at Pierre & Vacances France and Antilles following an internal opportunity. An expert in human resources for 25 years, 12 of them in tourism, Arnaud looks back on this inspiring promotion.

How I came to move internally and change jobs
It happened out of the blue. In December 2022, the Group HR Director contacted me to offer me the job. I’d been HR Manager at Villages Nature Paris for 4 years and, despite my attachment to Center Parcs and its teams, I thought “why not? It’s a real vote of confidence and it’s also very rewarding to be approached internally for a job you’d never thought of. So I applied, and after talking to members of the CODIR, I made my decision for three reasons.

Firstly, I met people who were caring, good listeners, passionate and constructive. Secondly, I was presented with a business project in which people were at the centre. Finally, it was a significant career move, and if you’re going to move up, you might as well do it in a Group that you know and whose values you share.

The challenges of this experience

I’d say getting out of my comfort zone. I was leaving a team that I worked with on a daily basis and that I had partly built up. With this new position, I had to work with new colleagues, find my place and adapt without upsetting their balance. What’s more, it was also a question of occupying a similar but different position, because it involved a wider geographical area.

I really wanted to be the HR Director for the head office but also for the operations, so I didn’t just want to stay in Paris. I wanted and needed to be out in the field. In 8 months, I visited around twenty different residences in mainland France and the West Indies.

What my years of experience have taught me about professional life and myself

Above all, it’s essential to have fun, and even if you take your work seriously, you shouldn’t take yourself too seriously. I also think that you have to test, dare and take risks. In 2023, we created the post of HR community manager, to create links and build loyalty among the many seasonal workers in our Group. Abigail then joined us and we created pages dedicated to recruitment on our networks. I can’t wait to see what happens!

To me, “getting back to basics” means… ?

Doing simple things, sharing time with my loved ones and making the most of the present moment.