Establishing procedures, monitoring projects and employees, listening to concerns… It can be tempting to put organization and internal matters on the back burner when your to-do list seems endless. In reality, better structure streamlines the production chain, saves time, and contributes to the well-being of your entire team (leaders and employees).
How do we empower everyone while ensuring work gets done (well)? What's the right attitude toward mistakes? How do we prevent burnout and get the team invested in the project? Transparency, rigor, trust, method, tools… We're sharing our management approach at Médianes.
The vision
For independence? Trust
« The power to decide belongs by default to the person doing the work » : at Médianes, we come together around the principle of subsidiarity, which is also at the heart of the Contexte media's culture. The aim is to create the conditions for trust to take hold, and on both sides. Since recruited individuals have been carefully selected, we believe that from day one, trust must be given freely. The empowerment process is then set in motion, though within a framework.
The idea? To provide the keys for everyone to understand the project, the stakes, grasp how things work, make progress, and gain legitimacy. Each person is thus empowered within an organization where everyone's voice matters.
In practice? Whether when they first arrive or as they progress within the company, employees are placed in positions of responsibility on identified projects: they become responsible for a project over a given period, always with their mentor as lead. From the moment they're hired, this allows us to integrate the employee as close to the action as possible — as opposed to simply delegating. Once this initial phase is complete, they are progressively assigned other similar missions, tasks and projects — a way of building confidence and gradually developing their skills.
The founding team also occasionally offers thematic training sessions (learning how to present Médianes, building presentations for clients, gaining a better understanding of press subsidies, design and typography…). These internal training sessions can involve external speakers.
For rigor? Details matter.
Rigor, meticulousness… these words can sound intimidating. At Médianes, trust is a condition for rigor, and rigor is a condition for trust. One cannot exist without the other: if trust is given, trust is returned, or rather, if trust is not given, it has no chance of being returned. Far from micromanagement (characterized by excessive control), we pay particular attention to detail — we work every day to ensure that this vigilant oversight of project management and production is adopted by the entire team. We are young, and vulnerable to a lack of credibility: if we have confidence in our seriousness, this context calls on us more than ever to demonstrate it and embody it in the way we interact with our colleagues and clients.
For expertise? Humility and transparency.
We say this without apology: we are not "media oracles". We always start by saying that we don't have all the answers (and that's perfectly normal), and above all, that it's through testing that we learn and find the most suitable solution. Nobody joined Médianes with 30 years of media experience. We therefore don't expect team members to be immediately comfortable with every task they take on. Whether it's the subject areas (marketing, design, management, technology) or personality traits (public speaking ability, communication), everyone has their own interests and areas in which they are more or less comfortable. We take these into account.
For organization? Method and cooperation.
We value everyone's unique path because we're convinced there's no single right answer or one correct way to do things. Besides, being a manager doesn't mean you have the right idea. Building Médianes is a collective effort. Beyond just the scope of assignments, we work together daily to build Médianes as a shared project. Employees are invited to share their ideas (in meetings, or through dedicated forms and time slots). At the same time, the founding team is committed to transparency and shares information monthly and weekly about finances, signed projects, invoiced work, and so on.
Médianes was conceived during Covid, when video calls and remote work were the norm. Our desire to collaborate and exchange with as many people as possible, without geographical limits, reinforced our approach: to work easily at a distance from each other, while still allowing moments when we can meet in person. Our workspaces are primarily online (Slack, Notion, Google Suite, Spark, etc.), and we have offices in Paris and Rennes in particular.
If you follow us, you've probably noticed it: Rennes, Biarritz, Dinan, Paris, La Rochelle… Our team members are spread across France (with something of an obsession for the West, we'll admit). The organization is structured so that operations don't suffer from the geographic spread or from personal constraints (medical appointments, travel, stays abroad…).
For our organization, we have defined what a day, a week, a month, a year looks like (projects, meetings, content) by integrating the asynchronous parameter. We work to systematize as much as possible and prioritize written communication. The goal? Preserve as much uninterrupted work time as possible and prevent spontaneity from destabilizing our organization too much. This also gives everyone full control over managing their schedule.
The mechanics
Information sharing
With team members scattered across the territory, it's essential to ensure that information is available at all times and for everyone. Each person must be able to find a date, a visual, a piece of content, a figure, on their own. The goal? Gain autonomy, establish method, and limit requests. At Médianes, documents are centralized in a Drive, meetings are recorded and shared via Notion, Slack channels are open to relevant team members: a way to save time and avoid overload. Guides, kits, and video tutorials are also accessible—a way in particular to avoid "wild briefs." This way of working enables everyone to integrate well: because knowing a company, a media outlet, being familiar with its activities and editorial line (external project, perception) is not the same as knowing the practices, methods, procedures that underpin it (internal organization). We believe it's key to build an organizational matrix where rules replace intuition, thereby leaving room for creativity.
A priority: the team
The studio team collaborates with media outlets that are our clients. If we are committed to working alongside them, the well-being of our team is a priority. We do not tolerate abusive requests (excessive demands, unrealistic deadlines, inappropriate remarks). This approach to client relationships helps preserve the mental health of team members while supporting media outlets in adopting best practices. It also benefits Médianes as a collective project: people feel more invested in a project when they are heard. Protecting your team also means nurturing the best ambassadors for your project.
A structured framework
The serious work we commit to providing our clients and in managing our media requires reciprocity. We want to build a structured framework internally, to maintain this professionalism, set an example, improve wellbeing and efficiency. Our activities and organization are therefore governed by charters (code of ethics, editorial, remote work), and the entire team has tools available to streamline the management of HR and administrative matters: software to submit leave requests, forms to complete to prepare for meetings and internal events (monthly HR meeting, seminar…) The goal is to agree on common rules to prevent misunderstandings. Soft skills, hard skills: not everyone has the same standards after all.
Personalized tracking
At Médianes, new recruits are supported through weekly check-ins where projects and priorities are discussed. It's also an opportunity to address any questions and make adjustments if necessary. Each team member then has a monthly one-on-one with both co-founders Marine Doux and Baptiste Thevelein. The goal? To review the work completed during the month, discuss any difficulties and concerns encountered, and explore what's next… In general, Baptiste Thevelein is the go-to person for HR matters (particularly administrative issues).
What next?
While we continue to work on improving our practices, we are also aware of certain limitations of our management model and the constant need for evolution. Today, we identify areas for improvement in our procedures, which we need to clarify. Since its creation three years ago, Médianes has indeed evolved considerably, and so has the team: we need to adjust the new organization to allow everyone to find their place in a balanced environment. Marine Doux, co-founder of Médianes, is currently working on a methodological note to structure the production and distribution chain within Médianes, for example. Médianes' management is also reviewing the evolution of individual job descriptions at the end of this year, in direct discussion with each team member.
We also want to develop further knowledge on management challenges, regardless of hierarchical level, to supplement our reading and discussions. Have ideas? We'd love to hear them! Send us a message at [email protected] to share your best recommendations.
To go further
- What does a typical day, week, month, or year look like at Médianes? Here are some answers.
- Whether it's planning our year, organizing our meetings or sharing our tools, discover the experience insights from the Médianes team.
