BANGALORE

Report on
“Staffing Industry: Trends and Challenges”

Prepared by
Harkirt Kaur
Registration No:
08PG306

Under the Guidance of Prof. Captain Nagaraj

In partial fulfillment of the Course-Industry Internship

Programme (IIP) in Term – IV of the Post Graduate
Programme in Management (Batch: Aug. 2008 – 2010)

1
 Post Graduate Programme

Post Graduate Diploma in Management: Aug. 2008 – 2010

Term – IV: Industry Internship Programme (IIP)

Declaration

This is to declare that the Report entitled “Staffing Industry: Trends and
Challenges” has been made for the partial fulfillment of the Course: Industry
Internship Programme (IIP) in Term – IV (Batch: Aug. 2008-2010) by me at
Kelly Services, Bangalore, under the guidance of Prof. Captain Nagaraj.

I confirm that this Report truly represents my work undertaken as a part of

my Industry Internship Programme (IIP). This work is not a replication of
work done previously by any other person. I also confirm that the contents of
the report and the views contained therein have been discussed and
deliberated with the Faculty Guide.

Signature of the Student :

Name of the Student (in Capital Letters) :

Registration No :

2
 Post Graduate Programme in Management

Certificate

This is to certify that Ms. Harkirt Kaur Regn. No. 08PG306 has completed the
Report entitled “Staffing Industry: Trends and Challenges” under my
guidance for the partial fulfillment of the Course: Industry Internship
Programme (IIP) in Term – IV of the Post Graduate Programme in
Management (Batch: Aug. 2008 – 2010).

Signature of Faculty Guide:

Name of the Faculty Guide: Prof. Captain Nagaraj

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4
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This project required a deep understanding of the various components of the staffing
solutions and the dynamics of the industry altogether. Developing a complete
understanding of these details would not have been possible without the guidance of
certain people. The factor that accompanies the successful completion of this project would
be incomplete without the mention of the people who made it possible.

I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Ms PAYAL, the branch manager at Kelly
services, Bangalore for constantly guiding me and providing me with invaluable inputs. I
would also like to thank the staff at Kelly services, for providing cooperation, guidance and
support throughout the study. Working along with them has contributed immensely to my
overall learning experience.

I take this opportunity to thank my Faculty Guide, Captain Nagaraj, for being my constant
source of encouragement and also keeping me motivated throughout the course of
internship.

I would also like to thank my friends whose constant support and timely advice enabled the
successful completion of this project report.

5
 INDEX

CHAPTER No. CHAPTER NAME PAGE No.

Executive Summary 9
Literature Review 11
1. Industry Profile 16
1.1 Industry Overview 17
1.1.1 Global View 17
1.2 Major Players in the Industry- A Snapshot 18

2. Company Profile 22

2.1 Kelly Services: An Overview 23

2.1.1 Company History 23
2.2 Four Principal Segments 24
2.3 Structure at Glance 27
2.4 Human Capital Expertise: Summarization 28

3. Project Design 30

3.1 Objectives 31
3.2 Research Methodology 31
3.3 Scope of Study 32

4. Analysis 33

6
 4.1 Interview with SUDHAKAR BALAKRISHNAN 35
Managing Director and CEO at Adecco India.
4.2 Interview with PAYAL MALHOTRA 39
Branch Manager, Kelly Services, Bangalore.
4.3 Interview with APARNA SINGH 44
Business Manager, Manpower Services India
Private ltd

4.4 48
Interview with SRIPAD KN
Client Manager-High Circle at ABC Consultants
Private Limited.

4.5 Interview with SIBY KUTTIMON 50

Business Development Officer for ICT Practice,
Mafoi.

5. Findings 53

5.1 Reasons behind growing popularity for 54

staffing solutions
5.2 Model showing pillars on which a successful 56
staffing company stands
5.3 Major trends in Staffing Industry 57
5.4 Challenges Faced by Staffing Companies 60

6. Recommendations 61

Learning Outcomes 63
7
Annexure 64
Bibliography 66

8
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

9
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Human resource continues to remain the most precious resource with any organization.
Having the right person on the board is indispensable for the success of any organization.
STAFFING SERVICES INDUSTRY is dedicated to providing the organizations with the right
workforce solutions to help organizations better manage their human resource
requirements.

The staffing industry is a highly fragmented industry, with tremendous potential for
growth. The industry has played a vital role in the economic development of the countries
worldwide and some even call it a ‘trend.’

The staffing industry is important to the economy in general because it affects, positively,
the efficiency of any company's activities. The improvement of a company’s efficiency
through staffing industry is possible, thanks to its understanding of how competitiveness
works.

This mainly has to do with identifying talent in itself and its usefulness for a company’s
well-being. The special knowledge of talented people can and should be transformed by a
company’s management team into its secret key to achieve the competitive advantage in
the market. This means finding the right people, for the right positions, for the right time.
And with the landscape becoming more competitive, the importance of this industry has
increased manifold.

No industry is immune to the changes taking place in its environment and staffing industry
is no exception to this. This highly competitive and rapidly growing industry is undergoing
a phase of transformation and this phase is likely to give birth to new dynamics in this
industry. What could be the staffing trends, what factors are likely to shape the dynamics
of this industry and what factors are likely to turn into challenges for the players in this
industry are some of the aspects that have drawn the interest of everyone who is
associated with the function called- staffing.

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LITERATURE REVIEW

11
The staffing industry has its own jargon and acronyms which can be confusing to those
who don't work in the field every day. To help demystify these terms and services, here is
an overview, of the list of services that staffing firms offer.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE SERVICES PROVIDED:

TEMPORARY STAFFING SERVICE

This is what comes to mind of most people at the mention of staffing firms. With this type
of service, a staffing firm recruits, screens, and hires employees in order to build up a large
pool of qualified employees. These employees are assigned to the staffing firm's clients for
temporary periods of time and for duties as varied as mailroom coverage to executive level
tasks.

By the name itself it suggests that, temporary staffing is nothing but to meet short-term
needs of employing organizations. It helps business firms fill in for positions made vacant
by their absent employees or helps in appending the existing staff during times of heavy
work pressure. It also enables companies to reach their working challenges with minimum
use of human resource overheads and avoiding lengthy recruiting and assessment
processes. The immense cost savings involved in temporary staffing makes it an attractive
substitute to permanent employment.

TEMPORARY-TO-PERMANENT / CONTRACT-TO-HIRE STAFFING SERVICE

This type of staffing service is a mixture of both temporary staffing and permanent staffing.
The temporary-to-permanent staffing service allows a client company to take an employee
on a temporary basis for purpose of evaluation and should the employee meet their
satisfactory requirements, the company may then take the employee onto their payrolls.
Temporary-to-Permanent staffing service provides company a safe substitute to

12
permanent hiring and also helps the company to severely judge the potentialities and
managerial skills of the employee in concern.

LONG-TERM STAFFING/PROJECT STAFFING SERVICE

Long-term staffing services cover directing employees in long-term appointment, where

there's no specific period of time involved. Long-term staffing services requirement is
commonly observed in the professional and technical fields, where candidates are required
depending on a project-to-project. It makes more sense and more profit to companies who
hire their candidates on a project basis than on a permanent basis

CONTINGENCY SEARCH

If a company is seeking to hire someone for an open position, it may choose to perform a
contingency search with a staffing firm. Staffing firms are paid only for successful searches;
payment is typically a percentage of the candidate's starting salary. The company can
expect a refund of the fee or a replacement if the candidate does not last for a specified
period of time at your company

CONTRACT RECRUITING

A company needing to hire a large volume of employees may choose a contract recruiter.
Under this arrangement, a human resources professional is hired from a staffing firm to
recruit for a client company. The contract recruiter will work at the client company, under
the direction of the client company. Typically the staffing firm and contract recruiter are

13
paid based on an agreed hourly rate regardless of the number of candidates sourced and
hired for the client company. Contract recruiting is often used as an alternative to
contingency searches and it is also useful if the company is short-staffed in human
resources and can benefit from having a recruiter on board quickly.

ON-SITE MANAGEMENT

This refers to an arrangement where one or more of the staffing firm's internal employees
will work at the client's office. The staffing firm may provide temporary staffing,
contingency search, or any number of other services. This type of arrangement is desirable
in situations where the client company has a high volume of recurring staffing needs and in
situations where a large amount of coordination with company hiring managers is desired.

OUTPLACEMENT

A company will hire a staffing firm to help manage employment separations and/or to
provide assistance to former employees whose employment has been terminated.
Companies care about how separations are handled because separations impact how the
company is viewed by former employees, current employees, and the wider community in
which the company operates.

PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYER ORGANIZATION (PEO)

This is also referred to as "employee leasing" because the client company leases its
employees from the PEO rather than having them on their own payroll. The PEO assumes
responsibility for payroll, benefits, and other human resource functions. This service works

14
well for companies that don't want to manage administrative functions internally or that
could benefit from pooling insurance or other benefits.

THE STAFFING INDUSTRY IS MADE UP OF THE FOLLOWING TYPES OF FIRMS:

Temporary Help Services

Direct Placement Firms
Blended Services (Temporary Help Services/Direct Placement Firms)
Executive Search Firms
Professional Employer Organizations

These staffing organizations may be generalists or can specialize in a specific placement

niche such as: Office, Industrial, Trades, Legal, Technical, Medical, Home Care, Specialized
Executive Search Within those specific placement niches, firms may handle many types of
placements or be highly specialized.

15
 CHAPTER: 1
INDUSTRY PROFILE

16
1.1 INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

In the last few years, the staffing industry has acted as one the major elements in the
economical developments of countries worldwide. Some could even say it has turned into a
trend and is acting as the leading agent of the social and political phenomenon called
globalization.

1.1.1 THE GLOBAL VIEW

While in the early 1970s the industry was only really visible in the US, and the European
markets of the UK, France and the Netherlands, the industry has now become truly ‘global’.
Consolidation of the industry in its core markets of North America and Western Europe has
been accompanied by substantial growth in the remainder of Western Europe, and most
recently, in the emerging markets of Eastern Europe, Latin America and East Asia. At the
global level, the industry is heavily concentrated, with an elite group of American, and to a
lesser extent Western European, agencies dominating international investment in the
sector.

Staffing companies assure full responsibility for their services and in order to assure the
highest quality of the consultancy provided to their customers, they had to specialize. This
is how, nowadays there are staffing companies specialized in fields such as health care,
information technology, administration and secretariat, management, engineering and
research.

In the developed countries, nowadays there are not only specialized staffing companies,
but also specialized publications in both printed and electronic format, there are laws
especially designed so to regulate all aspects related to this field of activity, there are
associations and affiliated members dedicating their time to the existence of this industry.
Little by little, the concept of staffing industry is also spreading into those areas of the

17
world with a lower economical development and which follow in most situations the
example of their "big brother."

1.2 MAJOR PLAYERS IN INDUSTRY: A SNAPSHOT

 ADECCO S.A.

Adecco SA is the largest human resources company in the world, based in Glattbrugg,
Switzerland. Adecco employs 700,000 temporary workers and contracters who are
supplied to business clients, and has 36,500 employees (FTEs) and 6,700 offices in 60
countries and territories around the world. The company was formed in 1996 as a result of
the merger of the French company Ecco and the Swiss company Adia Interim.

Adecco India

Adecco India, headquartered in Bangalore, is a leading end-to-end HR solutions company

with a focus on Executive Search, Recruitment, Learning and Temporary Staffing services
to client organizations. With a national presence in 40 branches across India and the
Middle East, Adecco is the fastest growing HR company in India.

Services provided by Adecco India:

Contingency Recruitment
Transition Management
Turnkey Staffing
Cross- border Recruitment
Just- in- time recruitment
Temporary to permanent recruitment
Complete Outplacement

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ADECCO INDIA EXPANDS ITS PORTFOLIO OF SERVICES, LAUNCHES ASSESSMENT
SOLUTIONS

Adecco India, arm of Adecco S.A., a Fortune Global 500 and the world’s Largest HR
Solutions Company, has forayed into “Assessment Solutions” as part of its Corporate
strategy to expand its portfolio of value-added services to its 2000 odd Customer base.
Leveraging on their end-to-end HR Solutions model of “Assess-Prepare-Deploy”, the
company has devised a series of assessment tools that will allow Companies to manage
time, cost & quality concurrently by “developing predictable people management”
.Adecco’s Assessment Solutions will essentially aid customers to hire the right person for
the right job; provide right on boarding for employees; build and lead effective teams;
Enhance performance, develop leadership skills and most importantly, effectively manage
talent.

 RANDSTAD HOLDING NV

Randstad Holding NV is a company specializing in solutions in the field of flexible work

and human resources (HR) services with group companies in over 50 countries. The
Randstad Group is the second largest temporary and permanent employment HR services
provider in the world and has major positions in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France,
Germany, India, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland,
Poland, and the southeastern United States. Randstad's services range from regular
temporary staffing and permanent placement to inhouse, professionals, search & selection,
and HR solutions.

RANDSTAD-VEDIOR MERGER CREATES SECOND-LARGEST STAFFING FIRM

19
Randstad ranks as the world's third-largest staffing company, while Vedior ranks as fourth
largest. The Combined companies rank as the second-largest staffing firm. Historically,
Randstad's Services were composed of 69% of mass-customized/traditional staffing, 20%
of in-house services, 7% Professional staffing and 4% HR solutions. With the addition of
Vedior, the new Randstad will beef up its Professional staffing to 21%. Mass-
customized/traditional staffing will constitute 66% of its revenue, in-house 11% and HR
solutions 2%.

RANDSTAD COMPLETES RESTRUCTURING INDIAN OPERATIONS

The Netherlands-based 17-billion-euro ($23-billion) global staffing solutions company

Randstad Holding has completed restructuring its Indian operations. The company, which
has seven outfits in India, will now offer flexi-staffing or temporary staffing solutions under
the Randstad brand and the recruitment placement solutions under Ma Foi.

Beresford Blake Thomas (BBT), EmmayHR Services Ltd, Team HR Services (popularly
known as Team4U), Ma Foi Consulting Solutions, Ma Foi Global Search Services and Ma Foi
Management Consultants are the seven Randstad companies operating in India.

While BBT, EmmayHR and Team4U were part of Randstad, the Ma Foi group came under
its fold when it acquired another Netherlands-based staffing solutions company Vedior last
year.

 MANPOWER Inc:

Manpower Inc. operates within the employment services industry. The Company’s global
network of nearly 4,500 offices in 80 countries and. Manpower Inc.’s five brands, which
include Manpower, Manpower Professional, Elan, Jefferson Wells and Right Management
provides a range of services for the employment and business cycle including: permanent,
temporary and contract recruitment, employee assessment and selection, training,

20
outplacement, outsourcing, consulting, professional services. During the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2007, it found permanent and temporary jobs for nearly five million people.

It operates under the Manpower and Manpower Professional brands through 542 branch
offices and 23 franchise offices in the other markets of the world.

In March 2008, Manpower Inc. acquired Vitae, a professional placement firm based in the
Netherlands. In October 2008, the Company acquired a 26% stake in its Indian subsidiary
Manpower Services India, from ABC Consultants.

 KELLY SERVICES INC

Kelly Services, Inc. (Kelly) is a global temporary staffing provider operating in 36 countries
and territories throughout the world. The Company provides scientific staffing for
information technology (IT), engineering and financial services. Kelly assigns professional
and technical employees in the fields of finance and accounting, education, engineering,
information technology, law, science, healthcare, and home care. Kelly also offers staff
management solutions for its customers, including staff leasing, outsourcing, consulting,
and recruitment and vendor management services. Its operations are divided into four
principal segments: Americas-Commercial; Americas-Professional, Technical and Staffing
Alternatives; International-Commercial, and International-Professional, Technical and
Staffing Alternatives. In September 2008, Kelly announced that it has completed the
acquisition of Toner Graham, a specialized accountancy and finance recruitment service
company.

21
 CHAPTER: 2

COMPANY PROFILE

22
2.1 KELLY SERVICES-AN OVERVIEW:

Kelly Services, Inc. (Kelly), the global temporary staffing provider operates in 36 countries
and territories throughout the world. The Company provides scientific staffing for
information technology (IT), engineering and financial services. Kelly assigns professional
and technical employees in the fields of finance and accounting, education, engineering,
information technology, law, science, healthcare, and home care. Kelly also offers staff
management solutions for its customers, including staff leasing, outsourcing, consulting,
and recruitment and vendor management services.

2.1.1 KELLY SERVICES INC - COMPANY HISTORY

Since the 1960s, Kelly Girls has been synonymous with female temporary office workers.
Originally a groundbreaking temporary employment service, the name has expanded to a
generic, describing all temporary workers, including those who are neither female nor
employees of Kelly Services. Kelly Girls describes not only a company and a type of work,
but a cultural and economic phenomenon, the shift from the permanent career employee to
the flexible "temp." Even Forbes Magazine headlined its July 16, 1986, article about the
practice of hiring nuclear scientists and technicians on a temporary basis, "Sophisticated
Kelly Girls.”

In 1946, William Russell Kelly opened Russell Kelly Office Services in Detroit to provide
inventory, calculating, typing, and copying services to local businesses. When his clients
began to ask if Kelly's employees could come to their places of business to work, Kelly was
happy to oblige. He began to offer workers who could fill in when needed in a variety of
situations due to employee illness or vacations, busy seasons, or special projects. His hiring
base was largely female, many of them housewives and students.

23
Kelly had tapped into a genuine employer need, and his business grew. In 1954, he opened
his second office in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1956 Russell Kelly Office Services was changed
to Kelly Girls, and by 1964 there were 169 offices in 44 states. The Kelly Girl became the
perfect pre-feminist icon of the working woman—brisk, efficient, and unthreatening. After
all, she was not a woman but a girl, and only temporary, just filling in.

In 1966, Kelly Girls became Kelly Services, and the company continued to expand the field
of temporary employment. Living up to its motto "Tested, Bonded, Insured and
guaranteed," Kelly created specialized computer software for training workers with
amazing rapidity to use a wide variety of word processing equipment. With many awards
for business achievement and sales of over three billion dollars in 1996, Kelly Services is
one of the leaders in the industry, along with employment giant Manpower, Inc., the Olsten
Group, and newcomers like MacTemps.

The profit-driven economy of the 1990s dramatically increased the role of the temp
worker. When Kelly Girls first began, there were three classifications of workers: clerk,
typist, and secretary. By the 1990s Kelly Services had over 120 classifications. Besides the
"pink collar" jobs, such as secretary and teacher, and the industrial jobs, temps are hired in
management, technical, professional, and even executive positions.

2.2 FOUR PRINCIPAL SEGMENTS

AMERICAS-COMMERCIAL

The Company’s Americas Commercial segment includes:

 Kelly Office Services, offering trained employees who work in word processing and
data entry and as administrative support staff;

24
  Kelly Connect, providing staff for contact centers, technical support hotlines and
telemarketing units;
 Kelly Educational Staffing, a nationwide program supplying qualified substitute
teachers;
 Kelly Marketing Services, including support staff for seminars, sales and trade
shows;
 Kelly Electronic Assembly Services, providing technicians to serve the technology,
aerospace and pharmaceutical industries;
 Kelly Light Industrial Services, placing maintenance workers, material handlers,
assemblers and more;
 Kelly Select, a temporary to full-time service that provides both customers and
temporary staff the opportunity to evaluate the relationship before making a full-
time employment decision, and
 Kelly Direct, a permanent placement service used across all business units.

AMERICAS-PTSA

The Americas-PTSA segment includes industry-specific services:

 CGR/seven places employees in creative services positions.

 Kelly Automotive Services Group places employees in a range of technical, non-
technical and administrative positions in major automotive manufacturers and
their suppliers.
 Kelly Engineering Resources supplies engineering professionals across all
disciplines, including aeronautical, chemical, civil/structural, and
electrical/instrumentation, environmental, industrial, mechanical, petroleum,
pharmaceutical, quality and telecommunications.

25
  Kelly Fed Secure places professionals across all skills in jobs requiring security
clearances.
 Kelly Financial Resources serves the needs of corporate finance departments,
accounting firms and financial institutions with professional personnel.
 Kelly Healthcare Resources provides all levels of healthcare specialists and
professionals to work in hospitals, ambulatory care centers, and health
maintenance organizations (HMOs) and other health insurance companies.
 Kelly IT Resources places information technology specialists across all IT
disciplines.
 Kelly Law Registry places legal professionals, including attorneys, paralegals,
contract administrators, compliance specialists and legal administrators.
 Kelly Scientific Resources provides entry-level to doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.)
professionals to scientific and clinical research industries.

INTERNATIONAL-COMMERCIAL

The Company’s International-Commercial segment provides a range of commercial staffing

services that are offered in the Americas.

INTERNATIONAL-PTSA

Kelly’s International-PTSA segment provides engineering, financial, health care, IT, legal
and scientific staffing. Recruitment process outsourcing, consulting, outsourcing and
vendor management are also included in this segment. Kelly is also placing increased
emphasis on cross-border recruitment opportunities.

26
2.3 STRUCTURE AT A GLANCE

CARL
CAMDEN, CEO

NA & SA EPEC APAC

DHIREN
SHANTILAL,
CGM- INDIA

AREA
MANAGER,
TN&K

BRANCH
MANAGER,
BANGALORE

27
2.4 THE HUMAN CAPITAL EXPERTISE CAN BE SUMMARIZED AS

COMMERCIAL&LIGHT MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONAL & OUTSOURCING &

INDUSTRIAL TECHNICAL CONSULTING
Recruitment and Focused on mid to Industry specialists Kelly Outsourcing &
management of senior level search place high quality Consulting produces
temporary and and selection to professionals into global and local
permanent roles address the needs of temporary, project thought leadership
within office, call organizations in and full time reports and case
centre and light their most critical positions within IT, studies including:
industrial areas of growth- Scientific, Financial ‘Making the
environments. management and Engineering contingent work
Includes high volume strength. environments. force strategic’,
staffing right through ‘Talent at best
to single placements. price’, ‘Framework
for outsourcing
Decisions’ and
more.

India's Trusted Staffing Partner -Kelly Services India

Kelly Services India provides expert and innovative staffing solutions to leading global and
Indian organizations through its network of offices in major cities across India. The
corporate office is located in Gurgaon. And the branch offices are spread across 8 locations.

With locations across the country, Kelly Services works with India's leading companies to
recruit the finest temporary and permanent talent available.

28
KELLY’S KEY STRENGTHS AND VALUES INCLUDE

Respected global company

Dedicated branch network that is 100% company owned
Solid history and legacy within the staffing industry
Strong financial stability
Exemplary reputation for integrity
Broad spectrum of employment and management solutions
Proven quality system
Innovative recruiting and retention strategies

SPECIALTY DIVISIONS
Kelly Banking & Finance
Kelly Information Technology
Kelly Call Centre
Kelly Engineering Resources
Kelly Marketing & Retail
Kelly Office Services
Kelly Healthcare
Kelly Scientific Resources

STAFFING SOLUTIONS

The staffing solutions provided by the company can be broadly summarized under
following categories:

 Permanent Recruitment
 Temporary Staffing
 Contract Administration
 Payroll Administration

29
 CHAPTER: 3
PROJECT DESIGN

30
TITLE: STAFFING INDUSTRY: TRENDS & CHALLENGES

3.1 OBJECTIVES:

Understanding what are the emerging trends in the Staffing industry.

Understanding how the management of any company may benefit by utilizing the
services of the staffing solutions provider.

Understanding what components make a staffing organization – successful.

3.2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

The research work done for this report can be divided into following parts:

In depth interviews and observation technique: The major source of

information has been the information derived using in-depth interview
technique. The professionals from the leading staffing companies were
interviewed and their expert opinion and viewpoints have been used as the
basis of this report.

Secondary data: The information available on the internet has been other
major source. Online articles, blogs and reports have been particularly made
use of.

31
3.3 SCOPE OF STUDY:

The expert opinion of the professionals associated with the staffing industry
forms the basis of this report. Various emerging trends and challenges have
been analyzed and by assimilating the viewpoints of the professionals from the
industry, a model has been created to understand the pillars on which a
successful staffing organization stands.

32
CHAPTER: 4
ANALYSIS

33
As mentioned in the project profile, the research methodology involved speaking to the
professionals from the industry. The purpose was to understand the industry dynamics
from the perspective of the people, who are part of it and are in a position to comment on
the present scenario and future trends and possibilities. The following pages capture the in
depth interview with the professionals from top staffing companies.

 SUDHAKAR BALAKRISHNAN

Managing Director and CEO at Adecco India.

 PAYAL MALHOTRA

Branch Manager, Kelly Services, Bangalore.

 SRIPAD KN

Client Manager-High Circle at ABC Consultants Private Limited.

 APARNA SINGH

Business Manager, Manpower Services India Private ltd.

 SIBY KUTTIMON

Business Development for ICT Practice, Mafoi.

34
4.1 INTERVIEW WITH SUDHAKAR BALAKRISHNAN, MANAGING
DIRECTOR AND CEO AT ADECCO INDIA.

Q) How would you define staffing? What dimensions does it include?

“Staffing is defining the future of work. Staffing is shaping the way things get done. It
has changed the way people do the work. A business organization may have
seasonal requirement for manpower. Another organization may require resources
which could be specific to any project that it is planning to undertake. Look at the
people seeking opportunities every six months. Or, somebody who is looking out for
his first job!

Staffing can help a first timer get his first break quickly. It may provide flexibility
not only to the job seeker but also to the job provider. Staffing has changed the way
people do the work.”

Q) How do you think an organization benefits by using the services of a staffing company?

“Just in time workforce or seasonal workforce requirements can be met anytime by

utilizing what a staffing company has to offer. A company may want to undertake a
project. The project will require resources. And acquiring resources would mean
having a hiring manager, a hiring team and undertaking all the elaborate steps to
have people on board. But it is a simple thing to understand that hiring may not be
the core business of the company! The seasonal requirement of manpower is
another aspect. Staffing benefits the company by providing flexibility and an option
to focus on its core competencies. Cost effectiveness and controlling of attrition are
other benefits.”

35
Q) What are the pillars on which a successful staffing company stands?

“Quality of hiring
Speed of delivering resources
Following the statutory compliances

These are the pillars on which a successful staffing company stands. I would say that
taking care of your associates even after placing them is also an important aspect.
You may place a person with one organization today. But when his tenure with that
company is over, you help him find another job. So this aspect of taking care of your
associate and handling the complete cycle is another factor worth considering.”

Q) There has been a lot of talk about the shift in concentration of market for the Staffing
organizations. How does the market look in the Staffing Industry?

“Other than IT, sectors like Banking, Insurance, Logistics, Retail, Tele com have seen
a lot of growth in recent years. And the sunrise industries are increasingly using
Temping as a mode to connect and reach out to masses. Temping offers immense
flexibility to the industries when they manage the manpower requirements. Also,
the small and medium sized companies are constantly looking at opportunity to
expand geographically. So, small and medium sized companies have also come up in
a big way in terms of bringing business for staffing companies.”

Q) There has been a lot of talk about the value proposition offered by staffing companies.
What all can be served on platter? Have clients become more demanding?

“At Adecco, we have APD Model, which stands for Assess- Prepare-Deploy. The
company has devised a series of tools that help our clients manage time, cost and
quality, by developing predictable people management. Making a value proposition
36
 to the clients is obviously an important aspect. A company may offer what the client
wants, if the client is ready to pay for it.”

Q) There has been some talk about the change in the pricing equation. What kind of change
are experts referring to?

“Managed services are the future of the business. At present, companies are paying
peanuts for the services that they get from the staffing companies. It is very
important for a staffing company to have disciplined pricing. This industry is
extremely price sensitive. Lack of discipline in pricing would mean declining cash
flows. And that forces a company to cut corners with services that it has to offer to
the clients. When sustaining costs becomes difficult, the companies end up cutting
corners with service quality.”

Q) Experts opine that what the companies want today is not just a service provider to take
care of their short term needs but also someone who could act as – Strategic Partner in the
long run. Please comment.

“Yes, that is true. Lots of organizations today, small or big, have started focusing on
not just their current needs but also long term needs. And we are always happy to
work with such organizations. Strategic relationships are built only over a long
period of time. We like to offer our services to companies which share their long
term business plans with us.”

Q) What are the challenges faced by the players in this industry?

“India is a populous country. With 1.2 billion people, there is no shortage of any sort.
This industry has immense potential to grow. I would say sky is the limit. I am an

37
 extremely positive person. My whole organization is very positive. We are growing
every year. This industry is full of opportunities.”

Q) How do you see the staffing industry in India? What future do you envisage for the Indian
staffing industry?

“We contribute to the employment levels of the country. We can reduce

unemployment. The government is benefitted as we pay tax. We also contribute to
the employee social security. We contribute to the GDP of the economy as a whole.
In simple words, we define the future of work. The industry has immense growth
potential and has a great future.”

38
4.2 INTERVIEW WITH PAYAL MALHOTRA BRANCH MANAGER, KELLY
SERVICES, BANGALORE.

Q) How would you define the role of a staffing company?

“Finding the right solution at the right time for the client is how I would define the
role of a staffing organization.”

Q) How do you think staffing solutions by a staffing company benefit an organization?

“Any company which partners with a staffing organization is provided with

expertise. A staffing company specializing in certain areas can offer depth to the
client. Another major benefit would be offering – value for money to the client.
Staffing solutions offered to the company can take away the headache of non-core
piece of business of the company. So that again helps the client focus on the core
competencies. “

Q) What are the pillars on which a successful staffing company stands?

“I would say that the pillars on which a successful staffing organization stands are:
a) Ethics or Integrity

b) Continuity

c) Information Security

d) Client Relationship Management

e) Responsiveness/ Credibility”

39
Q) What are the challenges faced by a staffing organization?

“One of the biggest challenges for the players in this industry is the challenge to deal
with attrition. The expert recruiters may switch companies at any point of time. So
retaining the experts for the health of a company is important. In addition to this,
having deep pockets to run the business is important. You might have observed that
in the past of few months a lot of Mom n Pop Shops disappeared. An upswing
brought the mom n pop shops into business and the downswing in the market has
made them disappear! Giants with deep pockets are the only ones that have
survived the slowdown. In addition to this, the unorganized nature of the industry
disturbs the pie. So operating in an unorganized staffing market is a challenge in
itself.”

Q) Which companies can hire the services of a staffing company?

“Broadly speaking, any company that would not want to waste its time and energy
on the non core areas of the business would prefer to go for the services provided
by a staffing organization. Recruitment is one of the important aspects but this does
not form the core area of business for a company. A company that opts to focus on
the core piece of its business would prefer to hire our services. Other than this, there
could be other factors that may make a company partner with a staffing company,
such as, the need for manpower in huge numbers or absence of an in-house team to
manage the scalability.”

Q) There has been a lot of talk about the shift in concentration of market for the Staffing
organizations. How does the market look in the Staffing Industry?

40
 “If you observe, the sectors like IT & ITES have seen tremendous growth so far and
the growth of the Indian economy was based on the growth in these sectors. Staffing
Industry has seen a lot of clients from these sectors. Now, other than IT&ITES, Retail
and Pharmaceuticals are also coming up big way. As a sector or an industry scales
up, staffing also scales up. So Non IT clients are expected to be the next big market.”

Q) There has been a lot of talk about the value proposition offered by staffing companies.
What all can be served on platter? Have clients become more demanding?

“Every customer wants value for money. And every customer would want a wide
range of services to change to choose from. If ten people offer ten roses, you may
choose any of those. But if ten people offered you ten varieties of roses, you would
definitely be served better. In fact offering of specialized expert services can be
attributed to the coming of global players into the Indian staffing industry. Post
2000, the Indian staffing industry saw MNCs coming to the country, which brought
along their expertise in making value proposition to the clients. “

Q) There has been some talk about the change in the pricing equation. What kind of change
are experts referring to?

“Things depend upon the offering that a staffing organization has to make. If the non
core areas of the client’s business are handled efficiently and with expertise, the
client would obviously not mind paying the premium.”

Q) Experts opine that what the companies want today is not just a service provider to take
care of their short term needs but also someone who could act as – Strategic Partner in the
long run. Please comment.

41
 “Yes, that is true. Many global companies have now entered the Indian staffing
industry. There has been knowledge transfer and knowledge sharing. The ability of
the staffing companies to replicate a service across the globe or forming SLAs across
different locations is also important. No doubt a strategic partnership becomes
important down the line. “

Q) Do you think that current meltdown has affected the Staffing industry in India?

“Yes, I would say that the current meltdown has had an effect on the Indian staffing
industry. If the bowl is big then you can lay hands on everything that the bowl has
and have your hands full. But if the bowl itself becomes smaller, the available
options also become less. The slowdown has had some effect, but things look
promising again.”

Q) What kind of trends do you see in the Staffing Industry in India?

“There are some strong trends that can become more evident in the near future.
Firstly, so far as Mom n Pop shops are concerned, they are not going anywhere.
This is the simplest business to start. All you need is a laptop and you can start
making money once you start using your network properly and go on to build a
strong data base. So though some consolidation has been seen in the staffing
industry, the strong presence of Mom n Pop Shops cannot be ruled out.

Other than this, if you look at the employment trends, you would notice that
contract staffing has come up in a big way. This trend has been observed in IT &
ITES sectors. But few years down the line this form of staffing will become much
more evident even amongst the white collar job holders. Once the acceptance

42
towards contract staffing becomes wider, this trend will be seen even more
prominently.

In addition to this, some change in the way the staffing companies operate can also
be seen as an emerging trend. I would say specialized staffing is going to gain more
ground. Niche skill hiring, wherein, expert teams understand a particular sector or
industry inside out, and offer specialized staffing solutions for that sector, is also
likely to emerge as a more prominent trend.”

43
4.3 INTERVIEW WITH APARNA SINGH, BUSINESS MANAGER, MANPOWER
SERVICES INDIA PRIVATE LTD

Q) How would you define the role of a staffing company?

“I would say that when we speak of staffing, we refer to it as –“Extension” of

business. Coming up with a specific definition would be difficult because the
definition may change – depending upon the requirements of the client
organization. There could be different dimensions of staffing, which may refer to
handling of the “End-to-End Recruitment process” for a client or may be providing
services which could be Project- based or handling functions like sourcing for the
client. There may or may not be a complete involvement of the service provider.

A way to describe it could be- “Catering to the pain- areas of client in the
recruitment process and providing the client with specific solutions.”

Q) How do you think staffing solutions by a staffing company benefit an organization?

“I would say the biggest advantage that a staffing company provides is the – Cost-
Effectiveness. It is important to understand that any kind of off shoring has cost as a
very important element. This model helps our clients cut cost. In addition to this the
management may save time by outsourcing functions like on boarding, background
verification etc. So an organization may enjoy quality while saving cost and time.”

44
Q) What are the pillars on which a successful staffing company stands?

“A good staffing company will always work around three pillars. First, understand
the cost of hiring for the organization. Second, focus on the TAT (turnaround time).
Third, complete emphasis on quality. Everything is critical to a business. Simply
offering least cost to a client won’t work. Delivering quality and thereby establishing
credibility over a long period of time is what differentiates a good staffing
organization. And, in addition to this, something that goes without saying is – a
dedicated service team. Understanding the psyche of the client is again something
very important. So combining these major factors would give us the essential
characteristics of successful staffing company.”

Q) What are the challenges faced by a staffing organization?

“It is important to understand that it requires a constant ground work to

understand different industries, domains and verticals. A thorough research on any
sector - be it Retail or FMCG or manufacturing adds to the knowledge base of the
service provider. Doing research on-an ongoing basis and constantly broadening the
knowledge base so as to ensure that any client from any industry gets the quality
work – poses a challenge. Understanding an industry or market inside out is always
an asset. “

Q) Which companies can hire the services of a staffing company?

“Anyone and everyone! If you have a requirement, we have services to offer.

Typically, companies not having a separate HR team or not having a recruitment
team are more likely to outsource their recruitment processes. It’s not just the big

45
 names but also small and midsized companies that are increasingly exploring this
model. “

Q) There has been a lot of talk about the shift in concentration of market for the Staffing
organizations. How does the market look in the Staffing Industry?

“I would say we have seen a considerable amount of market expansion over the last
few years. The market is no longer limited to the IT/ITES sector. Non IT companies
have come up in a big way. We have been handling the requirements of clients
coming from different sectors. Also, as I said earlier, the companies are not just the
big names. Small and midsized companies have brought in a lot of business.”

Q) You earlier spoke about catering to the pain areas of the client and providing specific
solutions to the client. What kind of value proposition are you referring to here? Please
elaborate.

“Stating very simply, value proposition takes place only when you understand the
needs of the clients. The clients have always been demanding. And today, when the
market has become – Employers Market, the challenge to deliver value has become
even more pronounced. Sometimes, the client organization may state that it does
not have even a single lady in the L&D team. We identify this as the pain area of the
client and work accordingly. Sometimes, the client may expect us to handle end to
end recruitment process and sometimes only certain processes of recruitment are
outsourced. Putting it simply, a value proposition is nothing but providing a
solution that has value to the client and helps the organization achieve its goals.”

46
Q) There has been some talk about the change in the pricing equation. What kind of change
are experts referring to?

“I understand that the parameter of performance has become an important part of

the pricing equation. There are many staffing companies which may claim that they
offer the solutions at lowest cost. But over the years, the quality of service has
become an important criterion for the companies. You could be delivering at a
higher cost, but there needs to some value. “

Q) Experts opine that what the companies want today is not just a service provider to take
care of their short term needs but also someone who could act as – Strategic Partner in the
long run. Please comment.

“Very true! If you look at Manpower, we have developed strategic relationship with
giants like HP, IBM, Motorola, Honeywell. We help them with talent planning and
over the years have acted as their strategic partners. A strategic relationship that
allows us to work as their partners and part of the organization holds immense
importance for us.”

Q) What kind of trends do you see in the Staffing Industry in India?

“I would say that mergers are soon going to be more common in this industry. I see
giants acquiring small firms and see a more organized Staffing Industry. This is not to
say that the Mom n Pop shops will close down. But a more structured staffing Industry
is what I see in the near future. I would also say that is still at very nascent stage in
India. The maturity factor is still missing. Many companies still do not understand the
benefits of staffing solutions. There is still lack of clarity. Indian Staffing industry still
has a long way to go.”

47
4.4 INTERVIEW WITH SRIPAD KN, CLIENT MANAGER-HIGH CIRCLE AT
ABC CONSULTANTS PRIVATE LIMITED.

Q) How would you define the role of a staffing company?

“I would say a staffing organization helps the client company manage and plan its
temporary and permanent workforce requirements. The primary task is to
understand what the company needs and provide the staffing solutions that match
those needs of the company.”

Q) How do you think staffing solutions provided by a staffing company benefit an

organization?

“I believe the primary benefits that an organization may derive by using the services
provided by a staffing company are: Controlled costs and improved productivity.
Costs automatically come down when the management understands that a function
could be outsourced and expertise can be drawn while not straining the resources of
the company. And an outsourced function handled by an expert thereby helps
improve the overall productivity of the organization.”

Q) What are the pillars on which a successful staffing company stands?

“Understanding the expectations of the client is of utmost importance. The

expectations and requirements of every client company vary. A client may be happy
with sourcing/screening. Another client may want you to handle critical positions.
Recruitment is an elaborate process. And a client may outsource certain activities of
recruitment that it may find fit to be outsourced. So understanding the client’s

48
 expectations and giving exactly what the client wants is the basis on which a
successful staffing company operates.”

Q) There has been a lot of talk about the shift in concentration of market for the Staffing
organizations. How does the market look in the Staffing Industry?

“Well, I would like to share a statistic with you. ABC has partnered with more than
350 multinational companies to set up and staff their operations in India. So far as
the shift in the market is concerned, I would say start up firms have brought in a lot
of business. The reason could be limited resources or intention to use the expertise
of a well established staffing company before venturing into a new territory
altogether. Having right people on board is important to everyone. But no doubt,
startups may mean a chunk of business for the industry.”

Q) There has been a lot of talk about the value proposition offered by staffing companies.
What all can be served on platter? Have clients become more demanding?

“I would say everything boils down to one thing- giving what the client wants. We
recently handled the complete recruitment process outsourcing for a banking client,
based in Pune. Though, we have not handled a complete RPO for other clients, but
since this client had faith in our capability and wanted our services, we did what the
client wanted. Having said this, I would also like to mention that offering value while
keeping your delivery capability in mind is crucial. You cannot be everything to
everyone. Any staffing organization would consider its delivery capability and
accordingly offer value to the client organizations. The aspect of revenue while
making the value proposition is also considered.

49
Q) Few years down the line, what kind of trends do you see in the Indian staffing industry?”

“Temporary staffing can be the biggest trend. This kind of staffing will soon gain
ground in India and may gain wider acceptance in coming years. “

4.5 INTERVIEW WITH SIBY KUTTIMON, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

OFFICER FOR ICT PRACTICE, MAFOI.

Q) How would you define Recruitment Process Outsourcing?

“Recruitment is nothing, but the art of attracting people. And over the years,
Recruitment Process Outsourcing has become a polluted word. RPO involves a client
organization and a RPO service provider, which involves sitting with the client and
offering it with the solutions that it wants. A client, for example may be a 500 crore
company and may want to be 1000 crore company within a specific span of time.
Now the service provider would help the client in this ramping up or scaling up
through RPO. “

Q) How do you think staffing solutions by a staffing company benefit an organization?

“Well, cost is the top most priority for any client. A client may want to go in for the
solutions provided by a staffing organization due to various reasons. But I guess the
biggest benefit is the cost effectiveness. HR is a support function. And the while
managing the function like recruitment, the HR has to consider the budget
constraints.”

50
Q) What are the pillars on which a successful staffing company stands?

“Well, one of the most important aspects would be the Resource Utilization. Any
staffing company would consider how much business it gets from its resource on an
average. Ideally, an average resource should yield me 4 or 5 times the salary paid to
it. Efficient utilization of resource is of prime importance.

In addition to this, Ticket size is also an important consideration. Ticket size here
refers to the average amount that you would be making from any one position.
Fixing of ticket size also merits consideration. And then obviously, the strike rate is
also considered as the client may share the same requirement with other
consultants as well.”

Q) There has been a lot of talk about the shift in concentration of market for the Staffing
organizations. How does the market look in the Staffing Industry?

“I believe promising start ups have been bringing a lot of business. I would call a
company a new company if it has been the industry for less than 6 years. Start ups
have been using the services of the staffing companies in a big way. Also, if you look
at the sectors or different industries, you see that sectors like Pharmaceutical,
Consume, Retail etc have also come up in a big way.”

Q) There has been a lot of talk about the value proposition offered by staffing companies.
What all can be served on platter? Have clients become more demanding?

“Well I would say, throw everything at the client and let the client decide what it
wants. I would offer my client the range of services that we offer and give it plenty of
options to choose from. For example, Mafoi, the premier staffing company is
actually a one stop shop that can meet all HR Requirements like executive search,

51
 staffing solutions, consulting, outsourcing solutions, training etc. So let the clients
decide what all they want.”

Q) There has been some talk about the change in the pricing equation. What kind of change
are experts referring to?

“There may be some innovation but, the fundamentals remain the same. A company
may charge a flat rate or a percentage. It all boils down to what you have to offer and
what you can charge as per the market. A premium player may charge premium
rates for its service offerings.”

Q) What kind of trends do you see in the Staffing Industry in India?

“I would give you a statistic. There are about 2500 mom n pop shops in Bangalore
itself. The competition in the industry is at two levels. Firstly the small time players
are offering competition to the premium players. And secondly, there is stiff
competition amongst the small time players themselves. Also, you see companies
trying to maximize their market share through mergers and acquisitions.
Competition marks the staffing industry!”

52
CHAPTER: 5
FINDINGS

53
5.1 REASONS BEHIND GROWING POPULARITY FOR STAFFING
SOLUTIONS:

COST EFFECTIVESS: This is one of the biggest advantages that a company can derive by
using the services of a staffing organization. Recruitment process is an elaborate one and is
preceded by formulation of a detailed talent acquisition plan. Companies, generally appoint
a hiring manager and a hiring team so as to ensure that the process gets completed
smoothly. Undertaking the elaborate process demands resources. By using the services of
staffing organization, the companies may save cost and make better use of working capital.

FLEXIBILTY: This is another major reason that drives the company towards using the
services of a staffing organization. A project based requirement or seasonal requirement
requires manpower which is be available- just-in-time. Temporary staffing solutions give
the companies this desired flexibility and an option to utilize resources without
undertaking the staffing process directly. Flexibility, to scale up and down and acquire
resources to meet immediate demand is what temp staffing can offer. The companies may
want resources that generally hit the ground running and are ONLY there while there is work
to be done. All these requirements can be met by going in for the temporary staffing solutions.

FOCUS ON CORE COMPETENCIES: Recruitment is not the core business of a company. By

outsourcing this process or certain parts of this process, the companies can focus on what
is called the core business area. It ensures that the company does what it is supposed to
do and focus on its core competencies.

54
LACK OF IN-HOUSE COMPETENCY: A start up firm or a small company may not have the
internal resources to undertake the staffing process. Staffing solutions come as a boon for
such companies. The expert services of a staffing organization may be made use of when
the in-house team is either absent or lacks internal resources to handle the elaborate
processes.

55
5.2 MODEL SHOWING PILLARS ON WHICH A SUCCESSFUL STAFFING
COMPANY STANDS

CRM

Credibility &
Responsive
ness

Ethics &
Continuity
Integrity

PROVEN DELIVERY CAPABILITY

Speed of Information
delivering security
resources

Quality of Statutory Disciplined

hiring compliances Pricing

RESOURCE UTILIZATION

56
5.3 MAJOR TRENDS IN STAFFING INDUSTRY:

 PHASE OF CONSOLIDATION

Major global players in India Global

players
looking
Adecco (bought Peopleone)
Allegis
Group
Services
Vedior (bought Mafoi) Volt
Services
Group
Randstad (bought EmmayHR) TAC
Worldwide
Manpower (JV with ABC) Spherion
Kelly Services Michael
Page
International

The staffing industry has been seems to be undergoing a sort of consolidation phase. The
trends indicate that the global players are all geared up to open new markets and provide
broader occupational reach. After leading Indian players merged or tied up with global
companies, it’s the turn of smaller recruitment firms to now be wooed by foreign staffing
and recruitment agencies .Adding spice to the scenario is the fact that existing foreign
players like Adecco, Vedior (which bought Mafoi) and Randstad (which bought EmmayHR)

57
are looking for further acquisitions in India and these acquisitions could happen for vertical
or regional reach. This consolidation phase is expected to make the Indian staffing industry
more organized and structured.

 BROADER VALUE PROPOSITION

One-stop-shop concept is likely to be more evident in near future. One stop shopping offers
one source for all the staffing needs- ranging from temp-to-hire and traditional staffing, to
project management, office and technical support and on-site management services. This
trend is leading staffing companies to look at diversifying and enhancing their service
offerings. In order to provide the clients with more options, some staffing companies are
partnering with other companies that complement their current staffing solutions.

 NICHE MARKET DEVELOPMENT:

Technological changes and the increased likelihood of rapid growth are driving firms to
either specialize or diversify enough to become a sole source. Many firms are choosing to
focus on niche market development, in areas like accounting and legal, as part of their
growth strategy. Particularly, within very specialized fields, there is an excellent
opportunity to become the market leader in that niche.

 TEMPORARY STAFFING TO BECOME PERMANENT:

Temporary staffing or ‘temping’ is likely to be the next big thing in India. Temping has
found greatest acceptance in banking, financial services, insurance, retail, telecom, and
information technology. It has also made some head way in moving consumer goods
companies, particularly in areas such as, sales, customer servicing and market research.

58
Though job security is still essential for many in India, an increasing number of young
people are opting for temporary jobs. The market for such jobs will grow exponentially in
coming years. Almost every sector, be it capital intensive or labor intensive, is showing
keen interest in temps. Moreover, those candidates who have a hunger for multiple skills,
are increasingly taking up these jobs. Permanent job assurance is now passé as downsizing
can happen any time. Temping will prove to be a viable option in such cases. The industry
watchers believe that this new HR trend is here to stay.

 STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS:

Another major trend could be development of strategic relationship between staffing

companies and their clients. What the companies want today is not just a staffing solution
to meet the short term needs but also a strategic relationship with the staffing services
companies which could partner with them and assist in the long term talent acquisition and
planning plans.

59
5.4 CHALLENGES FACED BY STAFFING COMPANIES

 PRICING EQUATION:

Though the industry has tremendous potential of growth, there are certain aspects that
merit consideration as these aspects could pose challenges for the players in this industry.
This industry is an extremely price sensitive industry. Many companies still differentiate
one staffing company from the other on the basis of the price at which it offers the services.
Maintaining strict price discipline is extremely important for the players in the industry.

 SERVICE DIFFERENTIATION:

Staffing is a highly fragmented and a highly competitive industry. Differentiating oneself on

the basis of customized and quality service offerings is another challenge. Operational
excellence, service/product innovation or developing niche on the basis of skills,
geographies or industries pose not only challenges but, put together become- key to
success!

 DETERIORATING GLOBAL ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT:

The deteriorating global economic environment would significantly impact the industry. In
US, the temporary employment declined by 76,000 jobs in January 2009, which happens to
be the 24th monthly reduction in temporary jobs over the last 25 months. In Canada,
employment fell by 129,000 in January 2009, driving the unemployment rate upto7.2%. In
France too, the macroeconomic environment is weakening faster than what was expected.

The publicly traded staffing companies have seen their share prices fall drastically. Global
staffing companies feel that they are in a better position than smaller companies to manage
the crisis. Smaller staffing companies are more vulnerable to economic recession as they
depend on high margins to ensure profitability

60
 CHAPTER: 6

RECOMMENDATIONS

61
RECOMMENDATIONS

 The current slowdown can be handled better by adopting certain techniques like
training consultants and targeting new businesses. This could also prove to the right
time to evaluate the business models and focus on cost cutting measures.

 Staffing companies with better geographical as well as sector diversification are in a

better position to handle the financial downturn. This could be an opportunity to
strengthen position in emerging markets such as Eastern Europe, Latin America and
Asia. The increasing penetration of temporary staffing can create potential
opportunities for staffing companies in these emerging economies.

 Service offerings can be made more strategic in nature by developing or specializing

in a niche market. The can be done by tapping into specific skills, or geographies
or industries.

 Constantly monitoring the proven delivery capability can ensure that the quality
solutions as per the client’s expectations are offered.

 Maintaining strict pricing discipline can also help companies better manage their
operational expenses and overall working capital requirements.

62
LEARNING OUTCOMES:

My brief stint as an intern with Kelly Services, Bangalore, has proved to be a great learning
experience. I would like to summarize learning outcomes in the following points.

 Assisting the Senior Consultants in filling the Job positions exposed me to the series
of systematic steps that are undertaken while rendering the services to the client
companies.

 Importance of “quality” was a major aspect that drew my attention. I got to learn
how a successful and a global player like Kelly Services is able distinguish itself from
other players on the basis of the quality offerings.

 During the course of work, I got an opportunity to interact with the professionals
working with leading staffing companies. It has helped me understand the dynamics
of staffing industry particularly in India.

 The dedicated team of employees at Kelly Services will be a source of inspiration for
me. Their commitment to quality, ability to manage work within time constraints,
and at the same time maintaining a congenial and positive atmosphere, is something
that contributes a lot towards my overall learning experience.

63
ANNEXURE

64
QUESTIONS ASKED IN THE IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS

 How would you define the role of a staffing company?

 How do you think staffing solutions provided by a staffing company benefit an

organization?

 What are the pillars on which a successful staffing company stands?

 There has been a lot of talk about the shift in concentration of market for the
Staffing organizations. How does the market look in the Staffing Industry?

 There has been a lot of talk about the value proposition offered by staffing
companies. What all can be served on platter? Have clients become more
demanding?

 There has been some talk about the change in the pricing equation. What kind of
change are experts referring to?

 Experts opine that what the companies want today is not just a service provider to
take care of their short term needs but also someone who could act as – Strategic
Partner in the long run. Please comment.

 What are the challenges faced by the players in this industry?

 How do you see the staffing industry in India? What future do you envisage for the
Indian staffing industry?

65
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. http://www.allbusiness.com/management/business-support-services/641611-
1.html
2. http://www.net-temps.com/employers/staffing.htm?op=faq
3. http://www.ibisworld.com/industry/retail.aspx?indid=1464&chid=1
4. http://www.scribd.com/doc/3147327/tem-staffing-in-Indiarevised
http://www.reuters.com
6. /finance/stocks/companyProfile?symbol=MAN.N
7. http://www.hoovers.com/personnel-staffing-agencies/-ID_83-/free-ind-fr-profile-
basic.xhtml
8. http://www.slideshare.net/beeshields/recruiting-trends-and-best-practices-whats-
hot-in-2008

66