Inside the Returnship Program with Community leaders

In February 2022, Criteo launched a Returnship Program for talent that has taken a career break due to parental or other caregiving responsibilities. It is a program crafted to ensure a seamless and enjoyable back-to-work experience.

Tell us a bit about yourself! What does a normal day look like for you and what do you do at Criteo?

Adeline: I joined Criteo 2 years ago and I’m a Product Training Specialist within the Sales Strategy, Enablement & Operations (SSEO) team. With my teammates we help define a training strategy and create impactful trainings for our Commercials & Ops teams, starting from their onboarding to all their Criteo’s journey. Every day can be quite different as we are trying to be agile and adapt to Criteo’s products evolution. This is quite exciting, and we never get bored!

Carole: I joined Criteo almost 3 years ago and I lead the Employer Brand efforts. We support Criteo in attracting and retaining the best talents to support growth and business objectives while maintaining this caring and inclusive culture that makes us Criteo. My normal day is made of a wide variety of topics always with the objective of creating the best environment for the people to join and stay; it’s pretty fun and great things to be working on.

You are both active within Criteo's Employee Resource Groups - Carole as a leader for the Parents Community and Adeline as an ambassador for women@criteo – what made you take on these roles?

A: When I joined Criteo I’ve been amazed by the variety of Resource Groups we have and the space that is given to act and have an impact. I joined women@criteo because its mission to be a catalyst for the advancement of women in the workplace at Criteo and in our industry, really talked to me. It’s a great honor to be part of an open and attentive community that acts toward gender equality by providing a supportive and safe environment where we can take action, speak up, share ideas and help one another.

C: We actually created the Parents Community along with my amazing co-lead Roberta in 2020. We both became moms in 2020, and we faced different challenges from pregnancy to being back to work, which both led us to identifying this strong need there was for this ERG. We joined forces to create the Parents Community to represent parents and all types of families. We aim to create a safe work environment where each individual at work is supportive of parents. We strive to engage, support, and empower employee parents, caregivers, and allies.

How does a Returnship Program contribute to the work that you are doing within your communities?

A: Women@criteo aims to transform and promote gender equality at Criteo. I think the Returnship Program is helping to lean towards more equality and equity by giving genuine opportunities for all, by promoting different backgrounds, and offering crafted programs to smoothly reconnect with your career.

C: The Returnship Program is definitely an amazing proof of how ERGs and Criteo collaborate together. We’ve identified a strong need in supporting parents in moments where they needed it the most like returning to work after a long break period and the People team transformed that into something even stronger, proposing the program to the outside Criteo world. My Employer Brand hat will tell you that it's pretty cool, something that you do not often see in companies, that shows that Criteo is a truly caring company.

What do you see as the main strength of the Returnship Program at Criteo?

A: In my opinion the main strength is the dedicated teams allocated to support members of Criteo’s Returnship program all along their journey so that they can be successful in their new roles. I believe that the teams’ commitment brings a sustainable and powerful environment for the members of Criteo’s Returnship program, allowing them to be comfortable exploring and learning new skills but also share their own uniqueness.

C: I would that it puts the person, her needs, and challenges at the core of everything. The company adapts to the reality of her situation and makes it easier for her. Returning to work after a long period of being disconnected from the professional world is tough, the caregiver needs to entirely relearn, reorganize and rethink their entire personal and professional life. It’s a change for them but as well for their entire family, therefore proposing a evolutive back to work will make it easier for both parties.

Any words of encouragement for a person who is thinking about applying for the Returnship Program?

A: If you’re thinking about applying, please dare to do it! I believe that if we want to create a more equitable and sustainable working environment we need people from different horizons, bringing their differences and their unique experiences. Criteo’s Returnship Program is a great opportunity to break the bias and act toward more diversity thanks to its crafted and dedicated program for you.

C: If you’re thinking about it, it probably means that you need it! Do not stop yourself from an opportunity you’d like just because you haven’t been in the game for a while. We are here to support you along the process, tailor this for you, so at the end we are all successful in having you join us.