Michelin x Malt

Hybrid employee-freelance teams: Michelin develops a successful model

Founded in 1889 in Clermont-Ferrand, Michelin is now the world's leading manufacturer of tyres for commercial and personal vehicles. But to make the tyres of tomorrow, the software that goes with them also needs to be designed. That led Michelin to kick-start its digital transformation in 2015 by launching the Digital Factory programme, a platform for deploying websites for the Group's various brands and subsidiaries.

Benoît Lamouche, CTO of Michelin's Digital Factory, explains how the French giant has relied heavily on Malt to put together six teams of developers, comprising 40% freelancers, who have been able to deploy over 400 websites for the group's various brands, all over the world, in just a few years.

Malt: the widest choice of freelancers

In 2015, Benoît Lamouche, CTO of Michelin's brand new Digital Factory, set himself the task of accelerating the French group's digital transformation by building high-performance, flexible teams of developers. From the outset, the young Tech Lead turned to freelancing: "The first developer I recruited was a freelancer."  

But there was no question of outsourcing all skills. Michelin's CTO is aware that it is more efficient to bring experts into internal teams to grow knowledge. A few years later, the Digital Factory has around a hundred developers, 40% of them freelancers, located between India and France, and forming six highly efficient Scrum teams. 

The international group needed a partner capable of offering high-end freelance profiles with innovative ideas and a range of skills. At the time, Michelin already had an initial contract with Malt. What's more, the Malt platform was the most extensive in terms of diversity and number of expert profiles. So it was only natural that Michelin would use Malt. The partnership has gone from strength to strength thanks to the support of dedicated project managers and the innovative features of the online platform.

Freelancers brought into the Michelin family

Michelin is known as a family business. Today, even with forms of employment as flexible as freelancing, the French group maintains this tradition: "We make no distinction between Michelin employees and external service providers, either in terms of integration or in terms of responsibilities," explains Benoît Lamouche. 

Onboarding is the same for everyone, in both France and India, for employees as well as freelancers:  "Everything is very process-driven. New developers have to learn our technologies and tools, and are then gradually integrated into projects. We give them a certain level of responsibility depending on their profile. This onboarding phase enables us to place the cursor in the right place to make the best possible use of their skills."

Both freelancers and employees are invited to the various events organised by the company, including visits to Michelin's factories and the museum in Clermont-Ferrand. This smooth, natural integration encourages freelancers to make a long-term commitment. What's more, Michelin only offers long-term assignments, usually extending over three years. Once this period has elapsed, the Group favours transferring skills or recruiting internally.

To select the best freelance talent, whether on Malt or via external IT consulting firms, the CTO of the Digital Factory relies on three main criteria:

• Technical skills: everyone who applies to work for Michelin undergoes a series of technical tests specific to the job in question.
• Autonomy: the Group is looking for people who can perform independently, while working seamlessly with the various teams.
• Flexibility: at Michelin, it's essential to have the soft skills needed to interact effectively with colleagues from all over the world.

In the early years, Malt project managers routinely worked with Michelin teams to find the most suitable profiles. Today, the French giant's team managers use the platform autonomously, although they can always call on Malt's Account Managers to find them a rare skill set. 

Hybrid teams: a win-win situation

Over time, Malt's freelancers have become a real asset to Michelin, and not just for their cutting-edge technical skills. "We particularly appreciate working with people who have been exposed to different contexts and corporate cultures," says CTO Benoît Lamouche. Each freelancer brings with them a wealth of professional experience, different ways of working and ideas that can give internal teams a boost in terms of innovation.

On the freelance side, the developers who have joined the Michelin teams via Malt are very enthusiastic. Aurélien Wolz, a Full Stack and ‘Supermalter’ web developer based in Lyon, has benefited from a full onboarding at the Digital Factory, where he joined the teams responsible for creating retail websites for both commercial and individual Michelin equipment. He is currently working as a Full Stack Lead Dev, and has been involved in changing the technical stack and the acquisition funnel for two B2C tools: Tire Selector and Dealer Locator. "These are very rewarding freelance assignments, with real business challenges, on sites that receive millions of visitors every year. [...] I love working with international colleagues, from Pune in India to Philadelphia in the United States, to Germany and Italy." 

The young freelancer is delighted with the opportunities for career development: "Most Michelin developers based in France are freelancers, either from consultancy firms or on Malt, yet we all belong to the Michelin family. [...] People who want to get involved can do so, Michelin offers the opportunity to gain greater responsibility within the teams. I'm developing my skills and challenging myself in a number of areas, in particular to improve the technical stack for the teams. It's exciting and rewarding to work on these issues." 

Despite the fragile economic climate, the use of hybrid teams of employees and freelancers is a tried and tested solution. The Malt platform really is the ideal partner for a major group looking for talent who are experts in their field. Using the skills of freelancers, with exemplary inclusion in Michelin's teams, the French group continues to accelerate its digital transformation and strengthen its leadership worldwide.