Dear stakeholder,
Adecco Group’s commitment to corporate responsibility springs from the conviction that business success today cannot be bought at the expense of future generations. It is central to the way we run our business, and its value to ourselves and our stakeholders will become more and more apparent in the current tough times. For the Adecco Group, corporate responsibility is about recognising the interdependence between our interests and those of our stakeholders.
What is good for us as a Group should also be good for employees, clients, shareholders, suppliers, governments and society at large.
The Adecco Group, at its core, has a multifaceted, positive role, the value of which is being brought into sharp focus in the challenging market environment. For example, the training we provide develops talent and enhances the re-employability of those who are out of work. We not only help people start their careers, our flexible work solutions offer them different experiences as well as opportunities to change their careers if the need arises, or simply because they want new challenges. Our speed and efficiency in connecting people to work opportunities not only benefits the individual, it also reduces welfare payments. Our flexible workforce strategies help companies respond to changes in demand and remain competitive. For our customers, this is a key benefit because flexibility and versatility are key in a challenging and constantly changing environment.
You will find many more examples in this report that demonstrate the broadbased relevance of what we do in this respect. It was therefore with confidence and conviction in the value of our role that we stepped up our management of corporate responsibility in 2008 by creating a dedicated CR organisation which is led by Group Communications and overseen by the Corporate Governance Committee of the Adecco Group’s Board of Directors.
We have identified three areas of social accountability as focal points. The first, ‘safety’, encompasses all our efforts to guarantee employees’ safety from threats and risks in the workplace.
Our second focus is ‘skills’. Our colleagues benefit from our experience in developing talent, not just finding people their next role, but providing expert career guidance and training.
Third is ‘integration’. We strive for fair access to the labour market and equal opportunities for all. Integration starts with training in non-discriminatory practices for our consultants and reaches out to our public-private partnerships with governmental organisations to help disadvantaged groups enter the labour market.
In short, it has been a year of notable progress in developing our respective corporate role, a role that is already well-defined by our long-standing participation in the UN Global Compact, the principles of which we regard as central to our day-to-day operations.
On these pages, you will find selected examples of activities at both local and international level. These range from the extension of our relationship with the International Olympic and Paralympic Committees (IOC/IPC), helping retiring athletes integrate into the working world, to programmes aimed at the unemployed in France and the USA, where the country organisation was awarded the Henry Viscardi Jr. Legacy Award in December 2008, in recognition of its achievements in employing and supporting individuals with disabilities.
I trust you will find in this report ample evidence of our commitment to better work, better life aiming to inspire individuals and organisations to work more effectively and efficiently, and create greater choice in the domain of work, for the benefit of all concerned.
Patrick De Maeseneire
Chief Executive Officer