We asked Viviane Vignes, Head of the Regional Training Center within the National Police, her opinion on the Meeriad solution, deployed at the CRF since September 2022
The Regional Training Center conducts two types of training for police officers. On the one hand, we carry out the initial training for the assistant police officers who are incorporated into the National Police. This represents a promotion of 90 trainees every four months. On the other hand, we carry out the continuous training of police officers, active or administrative already in post, during internships of variable duration.
We are about 80. The first half of the workforce is made up of trainers. The second half ensures the overall proper functioning of the center: budget, human resources, logistics, maintenance, reprography, vehicle maintenance, etc. Also, we have a catering service that serves 260 people every day. It is intended for trainees, RTC teams and police officers who work on the same site as us.
Indeed, within the institution, the fight against psychosocial risks is an important subject. We are strongly mobilized to prevent the suicide of police officers. Overall, my goal with Meeriad is to improve the quality of life at work. We also attach particular importance to the promotion of the practice of sport, in particular with the creation of the "sport mission", implemented within the National Police in 2022.
I had the opportunity to discover the application in a personal setting. I liked the interface and immediately thought that it would be an interesting tool for the RTC. I discussed it with my superiors who agreed to a trial. Meeriad makes it possible to act on many areas that we want to work on internally: promotion of sport, team cohesion and mental health (fight against suicide).
When I took up my job three years ago, I wrote a roadmap. One of the objectives was to recreate the link between the agents. When I questioned the agents on my arrival, they noted that the exchanges between the services were too rare. Indeed, people officiating in different buildings do not have the opportunity to interact. With Meeriad, we have the opportunity to develop team spirit.
In parallel with the collaboration with Meeriad, we are going to create a sports and cultural association for all agents. Today, depending on your profession within the Police, you can have two hours a week to play sports. This concerns active police officers, but not civilians. Only 4 activities are authorized in this context: running, cycling, swimming and muscle building.
With this associative format, everyone will be able to benefit from a weekly sports session, whatever their profession. Yoga, pilates, fitness… We have installed large screens and we will follow the Meeriad modules. We will spend some time together and this will allow us to break down the barriers between the teams.
The introduction of the tool is too recent to answer this question. A colleague told me recently that he was going to call on a professional to quit smoking. Another explained to me that he had used it with his family. It is a tool that arouses curiosity. Access to the Meeriad platform is a real advantage for the teams. They can use it at home, alone or with their family. Everyone is free to enjoy the content that interests them.
We set up a first challenge around walking for 15 days in November. The idea was to form pairs made up of trainers and civilians who must take as many steps as possible. The Meeriad application made it possible to carry out all the follow-up of the challenge, that is to say the accounting and the recording of the steps of each one.
To make people want to participate, we communicated by email about this event and offered a launch breakfast. We marked the end of the challenge with a prize giveaway for the winners.
Thanks to this unique challenge, I heard people discussing topics other than professional ones. People were like, "So how many steps are you on your side?". Some have changed their habits by going for a walk together during their lunch break.
Connections were stronger during the walking challenge.
I regularly discuss with the Meeriad team about the next challenges to organize. I share my ideas with them and we study how the solution can enable their execution.
For example, I would like to organize a new challenge around walking that would benefit an association close to the Police. I want to launch a “Live my life” format so that volunteers can discover the profession of their colleagues. For this new animation, Meeriad proposed the creation of a survey via the platform to estimate the number of interested parties.
In addition to the application, we communicate by email to announce and unite around events. We also have internal ambassadors to relay the messages.
The team is very responsive. When I have a new idea, I turn to my contact at Meeriad and we discuss the feasibility of it. He also gives me practical help with the creation of visuals for communication.
I would like to set up many challenges to surf on the dynamics of November. We will soon be offering a face-to-face yoga class to encourage agents who are not familiar with this practice to discover it with a teacher. This is another way to enhance the content present on the application and to encourage regular sports practice.
