Adecco Group

Adecco Group

Type	Aktiengesellschaft
Traded as	SIX: ADEN
Industry	Professional services
Founded	1996
Headquarters	Glattbrugg, Switzerland
Number of locations	5,100 branches in over 60 countries and territories
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Rolf Dörig (Chairman) Alain Dehaze (CEO)
Services	Employment agencies, recruitments, human resource consulting and outsourcing
Revenue	€22 billion (2015)[1]
Operating income	€300 million (2015)[1]
Profit	€8 million (2015)[1]
Total assets	€9.726 billion (2015)[1]
Total equity	€3.346 billion (2015)[1]
Number of employees	more than 32,000 (2015)[1]
Website	www.adecco.com

Adecco Group headquarters in Glattbrugg, Switzerland

The Adecco Group, based near Zurich, Switzerland, is the largest staffing firm in the world,^[2] and a Fortune Global 500 company.^[3]

With more than 32,000 FTE employees and around 5,100 branches in over 60 countries and territories around the world, Adecco Group offers a wide variety of services through its key markets in France, North America, UK & Ireland, Japan, Germany, Austria, Italy, Benelux, Nordics, Iberia, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland.

The company was formed in 1996 as a result of the merger of the French company Ecco and the Swiss company Adia Interim,^[4] and is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (symbol ADEN, security number 1213860; ISIN CH0012138605).

Adecco Group is the parent company of a large array of brands including Adecco Staffing, Modis, Spring Professional, Badenoch & Clark, XPE Pharma and Science, Beeline, Pontoon and Lee Hecht Harrison.

Services

Through its brand portfolio, Adecco Group provides services and solutions covering temporary staffing, permanent placement, career transition and talent development as well as business process outsourcing and consulting.

As for staffing, Adecco Group covers many sectors, including office, industrial, technical, financial and legal, amongst others.

History

• 1996: Personnel services firms Ecco and Adia Interim merge to form a global company with annualised revenues of €5.4 billion.^[5] Operations are combined to form a network of 2,500 branches. The core staffing business consists of 250,000 staff situated with various companies.
• 2000: Adecco Group acquires Olsten Staffing, becoming the largest recruitment company in the U.S. The merged company generates combined revenues of €11.6 billion.
• 2002: Adecco Group consolidates its businesses and creates divisions to manage its business.
• 2005: Adecco Group expands across six professional business lines defined by occupational fields and now provides all services under one name.
• 2006: Following the acquisition of DIS AG, Germany, Dieter Scheiff assumes the position of Chief Executive Officer of Adecco Group. Dominik de Daniel becomes Chief Financial Officer.^[6]
• 2007: The annual shareholders' meeting approves the nomination of Jürgen Dormann, former Vice Chairman, as Chairman of the Board. Rolf Dörig becomes Vice-Chairman. Klaus J. Jacobs, the co-founder of Adecco, hands back his mandate, having reached the statutory retirement age.
• 2008: On September 11, Klaus J. Jacobs, founder and Honorary President of Adecco Group, dies.^[7] Jürgen Dormann steps down at year end, as Chairman of the Board of Directors.
• 2009: Rolf Dörig starts as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Adecco Group. On June 1, Patrick De Maeseneire takes over as Chief Executive Officer of the Adecco Group from Dieter Scheiff. Adecco Group acquires Spring Group in the UK,^[8] and tables an offer for MPS Group.
• 2010: The acquisition of MPS Group officially closes.^[9] Adecco Group sets up a joint venture in Shanghai with Chinese HR services company Fesco.^[10]
• 2011: FESCO Adecco begin operations on January 1. Adecco Group announces the acquisition of US-based Drake Beam Morin, Inc.^[11]
• 2012: Adecco Group acquires VSN Inc., a provider of professional staffing services in Japan.^[12] Henri-Ferdinand Lavanchy, the founder of Adia, passes away.^[13]
• 2014: Adecco Group acquires OnForce to expand its Beeline service offering, creating a unique integrated solution for managing contingent workforces.^[14] The Jacobs Group sells the vast majority of its 18% stake in the Adecco Group.^[15]
• 2015: On March 11, Adecco Group acquires Knightsbridge Human Capital Solutions, a market leader in Canada in career transition, talent and leadership development and recruitment services.^[16] On September 1, Alain Dehaze takes over as Chief Executive Officer of the Adecco Group from Patrick De Maeseneire.^[17] The Adecco Group announces a new composition of the Executive Committee.
• 2016: On May 10, the Adecco Group closes the acquisition of Penna Consulting Plc, a UK company providing career transition and talent development services as well as recruitment solutions.^[18] The acquisition complements the activities of Lee Hecht Harrison.

Global Brands

Adecco Group operates in the market through many different brands. The main international ones are:

• Adecco Staffing
• Modis
• Spring Professional
• Badenoch & Clark
• XPE Pharma and Science
• Beeline
• Pontoon
• Lee Hecht Harrison

Initiatives and Partnerships

Adecco Group leads a number of different global programmes and initiatives:

Adecco Way to Work

Adecco Way to Work represents its commitment against youth unemployment and encompasses three areas:

1. Adecco Street Day: A global initiative providing career guidance and tips for a successful job search. In 2016, 6,700 colleagues from 53 countries participated, and 1 million people were helped. Since the launch in 2013, over 3.2 million job seekers have received assistance.^[19]
2. Internships Opportunities: Work experience opportunities are offered to enhance young people’s employability, with over 3,000 interns being placed in 2015.^[20]
3. CEO for One Month: Launched in 50 countries worldwide, one candidate is given a taste of running a multinational company.^[21]

Win4Youth

Win4Youth is a global CSR & sports initiative. Adecco Group turn all kilometres covered by colleagues, clients and associates (through swimming, cycling and running) into a group donation, while fostering healthy and active lifestyles for its employees.

Adecco Group donates to 9 foundations dedicated to giving young people a better start in work and life:

1. Brazil: ASSOCIAÇÃO SAÚDE CRIANÇA
2. Bulgaria: SOS Children’s Villages
3. Colombia: Fundacion Carlos Portela Valdiri
4. Greece: Make a Wish Foundation
5. Hungary: Bator Tabor
6. Indonesia: Sumba Foundation
7. Serbia: Novak Djokovic Foundation
8. Slovakia: TETIS s.r.o.
9. Global Refugee Foundation: Premiere Urgence International

In its 7th year, the 2016 edition aims to reach a goal of 3.5 million kilometres by swimming, cycling and running (the triathlon sports).

Adecco Athlete Career Program

Since 2005 and 2007 respectively, Adecco Group, in association with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athlete Career Programmes (ACP), has helped companies gain access to over 28,000 athletes from 185 countries and aid them to transition from sport to the world of work.

The IOC ACP supports athletes through three pillars: education, life skills and employment, and focuses on employment and workplace inclusion and accessibility.

Global Studies: GTCI (Global Talent Competiveness Index) & Work Trends Study

• Global Talent Competitiveness Index: Annual benchmarking study and practical tool ranking global economies based on their ability to grow, attract and retain talent.
• Work Trends Study: Investigates how job seekers and recruiters use social media, what they think about smart working and personal or employer branding.

Sponsorships

Following on from their sponsorship between 2002 and 2007; in September 2015, Adecco Group signed a three-year extension as an international sponsor and Official HR partner of the ITF’s two team competitions, Davis Cup by BNP Paribas and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas.

The agreement started with the 2015 Davis Cup World Group semifinals and play-offs and continues through to 2019.^[22]

Corporate Social Responsibility

Adecco Group manages and develops its corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy through a comprehensive approach, addressing global trends in our industry, stakeholder concerns and the three dimensions of CSR – social, economic and environmental. They report in-depth on six material strategic focus areas, which have a major impact and value for their Company and society at large.

Adecco Group was recognized as one of the top scoring companies in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index between 2011 and 2014.^[23] In addition, they respond to the Carbon Disclosure Project, and the FTSE4God Index Series. Since 2003, Adecco have submitted their Communication on Progress (CoP) to the UN Global Compact.

Controversy

On June 20, 2013, blogger Turner Barr went public on his blog, Around the World in 80 Jobs, with a dispute he was having with Adecco. Adecco had claimed a trademark on the term "Around the World in 80 Jobs," which they had used for a marketing campaign. Barr contended that his brand and likeness had been stolen. The story quickly went viral, particularly in the travel blogging community. On June 26, 2013, Adecco agreed to Turner's terms, issued a public apology, and changed the name of its contest to "Adecco Way to Work". ^[24][25][26]

Litigation

Adecco UK Ltd v. Adecco UK Recruitment Ltd

On 10 December 2008, Adecco UK Ltd applied to the Company Names Tribunal under s.69(1)(b) Companies Act 2006 for a change of name of Adecco UK Recruitment Ltd, which had been registered at Companies House since 14 October 2008.

The application went undefended by the respondent and the adjudicator ordered on 3 March 2009 that Adecco UK Recruitment Ltd must change their name within one month. Additionally the respondent was ordered not to cause or permit any steps to be taken to register another company with an offending name which could interfere, due to its similarity, with the goodwill of the applicant.

Adecco UK Recruitment Ltd was also ordered to pay a contribution towards Adecco UK Ltd's costs.^[27]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Adecco.

• Official website
• Twitter page

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