Finding and Serving Top Talent and Organizations

Today marked the first-ever virtual CEO for One Month Bootcamp with the Adecco Group North America. COVID-19 has demonstrated challenges and presented an unchartered territory with businesses operating almost completely online and remote. While the current situation demonstrates how a global event can impact businesses around the world, how do other changes we see every day like technology, generational differences, language barriers impact a company? More importantly, how do companies keep up and adapt to constant changes in the workplace?

I had the opportunity today to hear from the different branch leaders at Adecco, and while all operate and successfully lead their own divisions, the strategy behind adapting to change is similar. Below I have highlighted my key takeaways of how a Fortune 500 company, like Adecco, prepares, and adapts to constant changes in the workplace.

1. Being flexible and confident during times of uncertainty. How? Preparation. One method is to "cover all the bases". For the staffing industry this might be delegating branches of the business to understand and truly specialize in a career field. With constant changes in technology, career fields, trends, and preferences, it can be overwhelming to view the workforce as one big picture. However, forming smaller niche branches of field specializations can assist in understanding, predicting and preparing for those changes.
2. Listen and understand those around you. Adecco is able to successfully listen and understand other people and their needs. Understanding what clients, potential employers, or even the marketplace as a broad system prefers, believes and needs, allows for better planning, setting up success.
3. Give back to those around you. Business is not just a 9-5 job, sure it is on paper, but it's all about forming and maintaining relationships. Especially in hard times, relying on and supporting others builds a relationship founded that is trust and an emotional bond. At Adecco, current examples include offering free Friday educational courses, providing pro bono services to smaller businesses, and fundraising.
4. Soft skills matter and are just as important. As said before, relationships are the foundation of businesses, and part of that is developing and having a strong emotional intelligence. Effectively and correctly understanding those around us matters, especially when it comes to working. Knowing who we are, how we function is great, but knowing how others want to be treated, and supporting that is golden.

Hearing how Adecco emulates all of these key takeaways that I learned from top business leaders today, demonstrates to me how the corporate culture at Adecco is deeply routed. Things that are normally viewed as challenges or negatives such as uncertainty are tackled by bringing the best of the best together, like a huge puzzle that has no full picture to be based on. These "puzzle pieces" formulate a thriving ecosystem of a culture, that finds, brings out and serves the best of the best people.