Looking past the numbers

Top HR group's boss lives up to his company's motto of 'better work, better life'

Alain Dehaze, the new chief executive of the world's biggest job recruitment and human resources company, Adecco Group, says his driving ambition does not simply lie in numbers.

With nearly two decades of experience in the HR sector, he always looks beyond numbers says he to live up to the company's motto of "better work, better life".

And the Swiss group's partnership with state-owned Foreign Enterprise Human Resources Service, one of the most successful Chinese HR businesses, is a case in point.

"FESCO's knowledge of the local market and Adecco's worldwide practices have been translated into the joint venture," he says. "As Adecco has a lot of international customers, they're also willing to receive the services in China provided by our joint venture."

The venture, formed six years ago, provides clients and individuals with outsourcing, dispatching, recruitment, employee welfare and related HR solutions.

Dehaze spoke to China Daily about business opportunities in China, trends in the HR sector, and his management philosophy and style. The following are edited excerpts from the interview.

What is your understanding of China's economic slowdown and the possible impact it will have on your company?

China's GDP growth will slow to a lower level, but not significantly for an economy of this size. Recent figures have shown the economy is picking up. It means the government is making the right decisions.

For us, the joint venture here in Shanghai continues to grow very fast. We have 500,000 associates and 10,000 clients here in China. Since 2010, FESCO Adecco had been given the Fastest Growth Award or the best emerging market in Adecco Group. As a significant player in China, we believe FESCO Adecco will outperform the market.

What do you think about the change from business tax to value-added tax?

VAT is the common practice among most countries. I understand the Chinese government plans to give relief to companies, so there is more competitiveness and attractiveness for them. For us, the major challenge lies in an experience and learning curve.

Our customers are used to paying business tax. But now they will have to pay VAT and invoice in VAT. They will only pay the difference between what they have invoiced and what they have paid. We have to explain that to our customers.

You said in your 2015 fiscal report that you will devote more effort to developing the permanent placement sector this year. Will China follow it?

Yes. Last week, we acquired a company called Person. This will help us to accelerate permanent recruitment activities in China. Reasons vary. It corresponds to the need of our customers who would like to outsource this recruitment process. It represents an opportunity for us to go into new markets, not specifically in China, but also in many other markets.

For general staffing, this sector in many markets mainly concentrates on the blue-collar workers, who are relatively lower-qualified candidates. For permanent placement, we are tapping a new market that targets higher-skilled candidates.

What do you think about the prospect of flexible staffing?

We have seen different kinds of flexible solutions. It can be temporary staffing. We are also sending people with competencies to our customers, in IT, engineering and also the medical sector. There is a global trend for flexible staffing. All work is becoming more volatile and more uncertain. Various economies in the world are developing rapidly, and so are technologies. The life cycles of products are becoming shorter. It means that everything and everyone has to be flexible and agile.

You have built up a strong career transition business with the acquisition of Penna Consulting Plc and Knightsbridge Human Capital Management Inc, together with the group's Lee Hecht Harrison. What is your outlook of this business in China?

Having done these things, we've consolidated our global leadership. It means now we can serve our customers in 64 markets in the world. The second market player in career transition is 50 percent smaller than we are. In the short term, Chinese candidates will find such consulting services less necessary, for the market is vibrant enough for them to land a new job easily. But China is now confronting new competitors such as Vietnam or Indonesia. Candidates must have new skills to deliver better products and more sophisticated services. This will require services such as talent development or career transition.

This business definitely has a promising future in China. Companies are looking for transformation. Therefore, they need us to help them transition, outplace, train people or provide internal mobility and external mobility. That's why we are changing the term "outplacement" into "career transition".

You were appointed the chairman of the Global Apprenticeship Network and have placed a lot of stress on youth unemployment. How is the network going to work in China?

It's very relevant for China. In every country in the world, youth unemployment is double the rate of average unemployment. One of the problems the world now faces is that education is currently producing students with competencies that are proving less relevant for the business community, which results in high youth unemployment.

The only three exceptions are Germany, Switzerland and Austria. It is because for decades they have adopted an apprentice model. The majority of the youth there become apprentices from 15 to 18 years old. They are doing combined training. Around 20 percent of the time is spent at school and the rest is being trained in companies. Within three years, they build up specific competencies and functions. After that, they have the possibility of either going to universities to earn a degree, or going out to regular work.

China has a very good educational system. It ranks ninth globally in terms of the quality of its formal education system. But what it lacks is vocational education. As you are moving from a low-skilled manufacturing country to a service economy, you will need to secure the talent and competencies of the workforce. Lifelong learning is important.

What are your criteria for choosing the right people for your organization?

I'm always looking for people who reflect our values and management behavior, have entrepreneurship, passion, a sense of responsibility, a cool head and a curious mind, smile a lot and are hands-on.

What is your life and business philosophy?

The four Ps: people times purpose times performance equal profit. With this I mean getting the right people working with a purpose in a well-performed way, then profit will come.

What book are reading?

Start with Why by Simon Sinek.

Use three words to describe Chinese businesspeople?

Driven, relationship-based, long-term.

shijing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 07/02/2016 page31)