Adecco banks on digital technology for growth

ZURICH: Adecco Group is investing in digital technology to make it more attractive to employers seeking flexible workers, the world’s largest staffing company said yesterday, as it targets faster growth as the global economy recovers.

The Swiss company said it wanted to grow four times faster than global gross domestic product by 2020, up from a previous goal of three times. It also unveiled a raft of cost savings and digital investments ahead of its investor day in London.

Among its innovations is a mobile platform that enables employers to request temporary staff for hourly or daily assignments, which was developed together with Indian information technology company Infosys.

Zurich-based Adecco said its investment in digital ventures along with a costsaving programme would delay improvements to its operating margin this year and next year, but would pay off from 2019 onwards.

The company said it would be spending €245 million (RM1.2 trillion) on restructuring, which aimed at eventually delivering productivity savings of €250 million per year by 2020. The cost savings are slated to improve its operating profit margin by one percentage point by 2021, Adecco said.

Previously the company had targeted an operating profit margin of 4.5 to 5.0 per cent, which it has achieved this year. In its new targets, it said only that it wants “sustained ebita profit margin improvement”.

“By strengthening the core of our business and leading in digital innovation, we will accelerate growth, enhance our margin and deliver increased total shareholder returns,” chief executive Alain Dehaze said in a statement.

In an update about its thirdquarter trading, Adecco said its organic revenue increased by six per cent in July and August, when adjusted for trading days and currency swings, with September continuing at the same pace.