Govt. must focus on edu: HR giant Adecco CEO

Presented By Manu Alias

About Adecco The Adecco Group is the world's leading provider of HR

solutions. With more than 32,000 FTE employees and around 5,100 branches, in over 60 countries and territories around the world, we offer a wide variety of services, connecting around 7,00,000 associates with our clients every day.

The services we offer fall into the broad categories of temporary staffing, permanent placement, career transition and talent development, as well as outsourcing and consulting. The Adecco Group is based in Switzerland and we are a Fortune Global 500 company listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange.

VISION

We inspire individuals and organizations to work more effectively and efficiently, and create greater choice in the domain of work, for the benefit of all concerned. As the world's leading provider of HR solutions – a business that has a positive impact on millions of people every day – we are conscious of our global role. Helping people to better work, better life is our common purpose and the way in which we contribute to society.

Services provided by Adecco

Strategy

The world of work is constantly changing and Adecco is one of the leading forces shaping that change. With a growing demand for both flexible and skilled workforces we have two distinct approaches to the market.For positions that require general skills, we offer our clients tailored solutions, focusing on industry know-how and cost leadership. This also means ensuring continuity and nurturing long-term relationships with associates.To fill positions requiring specialized professional skills, we have experts who can find the right candidates. Our aim is to provide consecutive assignments, ensuring talent retention and skill enhancement for our associates.In both approaches to the market, it is our goal to focus on operational excellence, specialization and efficient delivery models.As the global leader in HR services, we are aware that traditional patterns of employment will continue to evolve in the years to come. We therefore encourage present and future generations to see change as opportunity in its multiple forms. We invite people to accept tomorrow’s challenges with confidence and to join us in shaping the future of the workplace.

Alain Dehaze, global CEO of the 20-billion-euro Adecco Group, sees India as a major market for the HR solutions provider. India contributes 10% of employees and associates placed by Adecco globally .With growing urbanization, the Zurich-based company believes its growth in India is directly proportionate to its expansion in tier II and tier III cities. During his first visit to India recently, Dehaze listed out five emerging trends in the HR landscape.

We understand Adecco wants to invest a lot in its strategic plan for the Indian market. Could you

please elaborate on the plan?

India is a major market with significant opportunities. Our core activities in the country are the supply of temporary work contracts in general staffing, and in permanent placement. But we also offer outsourcing services and services in recruitment process outsourcing. We act as a partner to global companies active in India, as well as with Indian companies that are developing abroad. We are strongly positioned in India, with about 1,00,000 employees and associates placed on assignment every day , out of about 1 million all over the world. This footprint gives us a good platform to grow further.

Why is Adecco India expanding into tier II and III towns here?

As urbanization is growing, in India too an increasing number of people are moving from rural areas to cities. We need to be where people are and business is growing. Today , we are present in 56 geographical locations in India. Our growth in India is directly proportionate to our expansion in tier II and tier III cities.

What kind of changes do you expect in the entire HR landscape?

We can identify five interconnected key drivers that shape the labor market and therefore our business. A volatile environment is the first driver: Today's globalized economy faces continuous and unpredictable change. Flexibility is a must to remain competitive. The second is regulation. An effective regulatory framework can improve the market landscape and increase the ease of doing business, which lead to fostering entrepreneurship, attracting investment and eventually creating jobs. Technology is another crucial driver.

How do you see HR budgets of organizations changing?

It is very difficult to speak about the human resource budget for customers as it really depends on the industry. Today in India, the temporary staffing market penetration is 1.5%. In other countries this can reach 4-5%, while global companies can have up to 40% flexibility in their workforce. Clearly, the trend is to wards more flexibility in the workplaces.