Aspire to Be ‘CEO for One Month’

Accessing the world of work and finding a pathway to fulfill their personal potential is a major challenge for anyone out of – and seeking – work. This is especially so for the 73 million youths under the age of 25, fueling fears of a “jobless generation.” Skills mismatch and a lack of experience, even among the most highly educated, can almost be perceived as a discriminatory barrier to employment, which is central to Global Compact Principle 6. It dashes dreams, wastes human capital, and damages productivity.
Adecco – the world’s leading provider of HR solutions – has not stood by idly.

Showing young people the Adecco Way to Work 

In the last three years, more than 2.2 million people have accessed a range of Adecco Way to Work™ initiatives. They are designed to provide practical support and work experience opportunities for young people – of various ages and abilities – to help them make breakthroughs and fulfill their potential. These include “Street Days,” in which Adecco employees offer practical job hunting and career advice in cities worldwide; internship opportunities; an online career center; and an innovative scheme called “CEO for One Month” – an initiative first launched by Adecco Norway in 2011 and piloted by the Group in 2014. An astonishing 18,000 applied for the “CEO for One Month” opportunity in 2015, starting with an online application. In 34 countries, candidates went through thorough selection processes, with the very best applicant in each country being offered the chance to become an Adecco “CEO for One Month.” From that group of 34 – equipped with their local experiences as CEO – 10 were shortlisted to run for Adecco’s Global CEO position. Those 10 participated in a final selection “boot camp,” with the successful candidate working alongside the Adecco Group CEO, Alain Dehaze, for one month.

“CEO for One Month” and Adecco Way to Work™ are practical expressions of Adecco’s corporate social responsibility, over and above the company’s day-to-day business of helping people find work and companies access the talent they need. Alain Dehaze, CEO of the Adecco Group, states: “Our future depends on the skills, confidence, and experience of today’s young people. It’s a shared responsibility to help them build their careers through training, guidance, and opportunities. This is what ‘CEO for One Month’ is all about. It raises aspirations and allows youngsters to challenge themselves, gain hands-on experience alongside Adecco’s top management, and get a taste of how to run a global company.”

Shadowing the top management provides the young “CEOs” with unique insight into the real-life challenges and responsibilities such a position brings. It is about much more than learning about the nuts and bolts of sales meetings and finance: They deep-dive into HR and leadership issues, as well as industry trends and CSR. As part of Adecco’s overall efforts to help people of all abilities and educational backgrounds fulfill their potentials, the “CEO for One Month” initiative focuses upon helping build responsible and successful leaders for the future.

Transformational opportunities

It has been a unique experience for participants, especially for the 2015 Global “CEO,” Ayumi Kunori, an undergraduate from Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, Japan: “Looking at the journey I made, I think I came very far, learning many new things. It was a turning point in my life, helping me set my goals higher, to become a CEO one day. I think a good CEO needs to be passionate about work, but you also have to be humble and recognize the colleagues who support you.” 

She traveled with Adecco’s full-time global CEO around Europe, Asia, and the United States. Her toughest and yet most rewarding challenge was addressing 1,000 young people at a career conference in Belgium about her experiences. Her message to them and to all young aspiring people: “If you dream big, you can do it.” While completing her studies, Ayumi took up a part-time position at Adecco Japan.

Ernesto Lamaina, Adecco Italy’s “CEO for One Month” and one of the boot camp finalists, did not regret leaving an internship in Slovakia to experience the “CEO” role. “It’s been life-changing. It’s like an MBA but in real life. One thing I learned is that as a CEO, it’s important you listen to everyone’s input, even if they are the most junior member of a team.”

The Romanian “CEO for One Month,” Alexandra Tirziu, studied languages, PR, and HR. She found the “CEO” experience enriching, even attending the World Economic Forum at Davos, where Adecco presented its Global Talent Competitiveness Index to business leaders. At that event, she was tasked with writing an article for the Wall Street business daily in Romania, one of the many challenges she rose to in her month. “I was struck by how even a global organization like Adecco is open to new ideas from people outside the organization with relatively little experience.”

The US “CEO for One Month,” Savannah Graybill, brought a new dimension to the initiative about the different challenges people face when striving to get a career going. She is, in fact, an elite athlete and Olympic Hopeful as a member of the US National Skeleton Team. To help her transition from sports to a mainstream career, she had already been accessing career advice and guidance from Adecco via the US Olympic Committee’s Athlete Career and Education Program, which is run in cooperation with Adecco. She was selected from 2,000 applicants, saying: “I took a leap and I haven’t looked back. My advice to other young people is: The more opportunities you embrace, the more you will learn, and the more doors you will open. Get out of your comfort zone and give your all.”

Many of the 34 “CEOs for One Month” took part in the company’s Win4Youth employee engagement program. Win4Youth involves employees clocking up kilometers they achieve in various sports, with cumulative totals leading to a corporate donation from the Adecco Group to charitable foundations supporting youth development and families from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Dutch “CEO for One Month,” Dick Boreel helped to organize and also took part in a 24-hour bike relay race on the famous motor racing track, the Nürburgring. “It really showed me the importance of creating engaging opportunities that make corporate social responsibility meaningful for employees. To be part of a group of people you have never seen before and feel so attached to, is fantastic.” The company’s employees recorded more than 3.4 million kilometers in 2015 to raise funds for eight foundations.

The “CEO for One Month” initiative has proven to be an enabler for youngsters’ employability and job opportunities. Paola Ospina from Colombia, Adecco Group “CEO for One Month” 2014, progressed to a career in marketing at Adecco headquarters in the United States. Ayumi Kunori works part-time for Adecco in Japan while completing her studies, and Ernesto Lamaina and Dick Boreel were both hired at Adecco headquarters in Switzerland. In 2016, the “CEO for One Month” initiative has sparked even more interest: by April 15, more than 53,400 ambitious candidates from 50 countries had applied to take on the challenge.

Work-based training: A win-win situation for youngsters and companies

The “CEO for One Month” initiative is now firmly embedded in the Adecco Way to Work™ initiative. The company is always looking for new and innovative ways to help young people succeed in the working world in ways that reflect their needs and experiences. For example, in June 2015, Adecco joined the European Alliance for Apprenticeships, pledging to offer 5,000 apprenticeships in Europe by the end of 2017. “Joining the European Alliance for Apprenticeships represents a further confirmation of Adecco’s commitment to tackle youth unemployment,” says Mark De Smedt, former Chief HR Officer. “In 2015, within the Adecco Way to WorkTM project, Adecco has already placed over 3,000 youngsters in internships and work-based training opportunities. With this pledge, we go a step further and commit on apprenticeships. We strongly believe that concrete solutions to boost economic development and employment are only possible through public-private partnerships and initiatives such as the European Alliance for Apprenticeships. Together we can make a difference.”

In France, Adecco has developed the most comprehensive offering of “agency apprenticeship contracts” in the country. Belgium has also recently launched a new solution with “the beginners’ contract,” which offers youth an internship at partner companies, followed by a temporary or permanent contract. All of these innovative approaches help bridge the gap between skills mismatch, youth unemployment, and the corporate world’s need for talent.

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