Video interview

Q: Ms. Vendat, you are the Deputy Assistant Secretary General at NATO for Human and Financial Resources. Thank you very much for taking the time to do this interview for us today.

From the outside NATO seems like a huge organization. How many people are actually on the NATO payroll?

Vendat: Well, when you think NATO you have actually several bodies that constitute the organization. Here in Brussels at the HQ we have around 1200 civilian staff who are on our payroll.

Now if you look across the world at NATO civilians, among different agencies and strategic commands and regional commands, we have around 5500 civilians, and of course much more military personnel who are on loan from the different nations.

Q: And you have recently had a big transformation at NATO, including matters such as recruitment policy, contract policy, working conditions. What are the main objectives of these reforms?

Vendat: These reforms were aiming essentially as bringing this organization in line with its objectives. Having a staff which would be more focused on what the objectives of the organization are, and who also would be treated probably in a more modern way as regards management. It was about improving management, improving the structure and having everyone looking in the same direction at the same time, and hopefully at the same pace.

So it has meant a major restructuring of the international staff here in the NATO HQ, and of course, also improving the contract policy to make sure that we can better attract persons and keep them onboard and giving them proper working conditions in order for them to be the most efficient possibly.

Q: The international staff at NATO is a mixture of people directly employed by the organization, and those seconded by their government to work here at NATO. And yet, despite this, they're all supposed to owe their loyalty to NATO itself, not to their governments. Does this not cause problems?

Vendat: Well it shouldn't. If you think about it, all these people come from all the countries who constitute the Alliance. I don't see how someone can be loyal to the Alliance without being loyal to ones government at the same time. The Alliance is the combination of the wills of all these governments, so to me there is no risk of mixed or split loyalties in this case at all.

Q: Speaking about working at NATO, what do you feel are the most important qualities needed to be a member of the NATO staff? Can anyone apply?

Vendat: Well, not anyone can apply. Only members... nationals, excuse me, of member nations can apply. We are not allowed to hire persons who are not a national from one of our currently 19, soon to be 26, member nations.

I would say the main qualities are an open mind; you have to have an open mind. And you also need to be devoid of prejudice. You have to be comfortable working with persons from different horizons, different backgrounds, different nationalities. And this is something which is extremely precious in this organization. So I would say that's the most important quality, is to have no prejudice.

Q: And NATO, of course, is now enlarging. Taking on new member countries, and more importantly, new missions. Will there be a corresponding increase in the size of the staff at NATO?

Vendat: Well, if you look at the number of nations, seven new members out of 19, it would mean something like a one-fourth increase, and this is absolutely out of the question. Of course, we will have some reinforcement, because we already have new tasks. There will be new tasks also in the future, and we have to cater for the needs of more delegations. So obviously we'll need to increase. But we all know about the budget constraints in all of the member nations who contribute to the budget of this organization. So I expect that there will be some increase, but probably not a major increase.

I think we'll need to be... and we will probably be asked to be, even more efficient than we've been so far.

Q: It seems to be fashionable these days to talk about human resources instead of the old terms, personnel or staff. Does this new terminology actually change anything in terms of how managers view employees?

Vendat: Well, it should. When you speak about personnel services you have a view, which is in some ways early 20th Century, where, you know, people sign a contract, they are assigned to a desk, they get a pen, they get a notebook and they're supposed to start working and they work until they retire and no one is very much interested in what goes in between.

Now human resources encompasses the full human being, and it is a notion which is not that modern, actually. It's been already in the air for quite some time. And it means that you are interested in the human beings who are working with you, around you--of course your colleagues, and your subordinates. You are interested in the way to make them be happy at work, feel comfortable, feel like they want to stay and work for a good output for the organization, and for that you have to be interested not only in the contract they have signed, but also in what makes their work being interesting and being good for the family as well.

So it means that you are interested in onboarding them, in training them, in trying to provide them with a proper work-life balance. All things that were not completely in, I would say, encompassed with the term personnel.

But it also has the word resources in it, and it means that yes, staff, human beings, are resources for any organization and meaning resources means that we have to be very careful. They are very precious. We don't have many of them and we have to be as considerate as possible to the needs of the staff.

So human resources, you see it's much wider, and I would say much more thorough when it looks at the needs of the staff, but also at the needs of the organization. It's about... a little bit the old saying, you know, don't ask what the organization can do for you, ask yourself what you can do for the organization. Well, it has to go both ways in all matters.

It also covers social needs. Social coverage. All these things are included in a human resources policy and view to employment.

Q: Pour conclure, je vous poserai, si vous me le permettez, une question plus personnelle. Alors que bien de gens l'ignorent, même que la France un pays même d'Alliance, vous, une femme française, est à la tête du département de l'OTAN. Quel a été votre réaction lorsque vous avez appris que vous étiez sélectionnés pour le poste?

Vendat: Je vous remercie de poser la question. C'est vrai que certains ont tendance à oublier que la France est un membre de cette Alliance, et un membre extrêmement actif. Je dirais que la France est un allié d'une très grande fidélité, d'une grand loyauté. Et on a l'impression que peu de gens savent que des troupes françaises sont actuellement en Afghanistan, que les troupes françaises sont actuellement au Kosovo, et que certaines ont été blessées la semaine dernière lorsque des incidents très graves ont eu lieu au Kosovo.

La France est un membre fondateur de l'OTAN, et elle n'a jamais quitté l'organisation, elle en fait toujours partie.

Je dois dire qu'en ce qui concerne mon poste et ma sélection sur ce poste, j'ai posé ma candidature, le poste a été ouvert. J'ai posé ma candidature, j'ai été sélectionnée. Je suis extrêmement honorée d'avoir été sélectionnée.

Je n'oublie pas ma nationalité en travaillant ici. Mais j'ai bien conscience que je travaille pour une alliance de 19 nations. Et travaillant pour une alliance de 19 nations, ma loyauté va d'abord à l'Alliance, à l'ensemble du personnel, puisque je suis là pour faire en sorte que le personnel qui travaille ici ait les moyens de le faire dans de bonnes conditions.

Voilà, je crois que c'est ce qu'on peut dire au sujet du fait d'être française. D'être une femme c'est aussi une nouveauté. Il y a des femmes à l'OTAN, et il y en a peu, et il y en a peu au niveau supérieur de la chaîne de commandement. Je crois que c'est quelque chose qui va arriver petit à petit.

Cela reflète un petit peu ce qui s'est passé dans les forces armées des différents pays. Les femmes sont arrivées depuis relativement peu de temps, et elles grimpent petit à petit tous les échelons. Que ce soit dans la société civile, d'ailleurs, également, puisqu'on voit la même chose dans la société civile. Donc, je ne crois pas que l'OTAN ait à rougir actuellement de ce qu'elle fait en faveur des femmes. On peut toujours faire un peu plus, et j'avoue que j'essaie de faire un peu plus. (Rires) Voilà.

Q: Merci.

Vendat: Je vous en prie.