Our Global CEO Alain Dehaze about to announce the Global CEO for One Month 2016 in Tokyo: Camille Clément, Jan Hupkens and Sera Kazmi (second from right).

Photo: Adecco Group

The Adecco Group’s 'CEO for One Month' enables young people from across the globe to experience the responsibilities, challenges, and excitement of helping to lead a major multinational business for one month. More than simply an opportunity to gain valuable experience, it aims to forge a generation of responsible leaders imbued with the values that underpin the UN Global Compact Principles.

Youth unemployment is a problem that just will not go away. Worldwide, more than 200 million people are without work, and almost 40 percent of them are 25 or younger. Issues such as skills mismatches and a lack of experience combined, create a virtual discriminatory barrier to employment. 

Recognizing the scale of the problem, The Adecco Group – the world’s leading provider of workforce solutions – established the Way to Work initiative to tackle youth unemployment and indirect discrimination against young people in the job market. The initiative involves a range of activities and opportunities for young people of all levels of ability, education, and experience.

Overcoming barriers to employment

While trying to address some of the entry- level barriers that hamper access to employment for young people through its Street Day (pop-up career workshops), the 2017 Experience Work Day, and internship opportunities, Way to Work is helping to shape a new generation of young, educated talent through ‘CEO for One Month’ in an innovative manner. The goal is to equip participants with the insights, understanding, and first-hand experiences of how to become principled, responsible business leaders.

“A lack of skills and experience are often the main barrier to entry or career progress for young people. Through Way to Work, we help break down those barriers. It’s heartening to see how ‘CEO for One Month’ – now entering its fourth year – is helping to forge responsible leaders of the future,” says Alain Dehaze, CEO of The Adecco Group. 

‘CEO for One Month’ attracted more than 54,000 applications in 2016, with 50 becoming an Adecco ‘CEO for One Month’ in their countries. From this group, ten were then shortlisted to run for the global ‘CEO for One Month,’ with the successful candidate – 22-year-old Camille Clément from France – working alongside Alain Dehaze in October 2016. 

“Before applying for ‘CEO for One Month,’ I thought it was only charities and NGOs that were interested in making a difference and operating sustainably,” says Camille. “But being part of this initiative helped me understand the opportunity you can give – and – the duty you have as a corporate leader to act responsibly and make a difference.” 

Camille is now putting this understanding to good use, working for Humando, an Adecco Group subsidiary in France, on a pilot project called 'Horizon', helping 48 refugees in the Paris area to access employment opportunities. “Seeing major global businesses like The Adecco Group commit to doing something to improve the lives of thousands of young people had a big impact on me. It was so inspiring to see that leaders can run successful businesses, while also acting responsibly by focusing on people, not only profit,” says Camille.

Making a positive impact

It is a sentiment that Jan Hupkens, ‘CEO for One Month’ at DIS AG in Germany, shares, too. Each ‘CEO for One Month’ has to develop an innovation project. Jan’s idea was a refugee integration project in Düsseldorf, Germany. Since his ‘CEO for One Month’ assignment, he has been hired by The Adecco Group Germany and is continuing to work on the project, which is called 'RefugeesWork.' 

“I saw first-hand that The Adecco Group was striving to play a leading role in progressing the Global Compact goals in the workplace. I have seen the empowerment of minority groups. I have seen a strong focus on responsibility, equality, and diversity, and policies that can be traced back to the UN Global Compact goals. Professionally, I want to keep engaging with projects like this that have a positive impact on people’s lives,” says Jan. 

Sera Kazmi, ‘CEO for One Month’ in the United Arab Emirates and now doing her Masters Degree at TATA University, says the experience helped redefine her concept of responsible leadership, and acted as a “bridge” between her interest in business and her passion for positive social action. “It’s where my whole definition of responsible leadership comes from. Don’t only look at profitability, but also focus on the wider perspective – the impact on all stakeholders: your customers, your employees, and most importantly, society as a whole,” she says. 

“Being a ‘CEO for One Month’ really developed me as a leader. You see that change rests in your hands. It teaches you to think about the kind of statement you are making, and about what kind of leader and organization you want to be. It sharpened my desire to work in an ethical organization that is contributing to the future of work,” says Sera.

Combining responsibility with flexibility

The US ‘CEO for One Month,’ Savannah Graybill, managed to fit her month as ‘CEO’ into her training schedule as a member of the US national skeleton and bobsled team, aiming for a place at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. She was also working on her MBA, which she finished earlier this year.

Since completing her stint as CEO, Savannah has been working part-time on the marketing team at The Adecco Group USA. Perhaps not surprisingly for someone who is simultaneously developing careers as both an elite athlete and a successful professional, she says one of the biggest responsible leadership lessons the program taught her was about flexibility.

“It taught me that being a responsible leader can differ depending on your specific circumstances. It's not responsible to give people things they don’t need, or services they won’t use. You need to understand how those needs are different and act accordingly. It’s about being flexible to best respond to different environments,” says Savannah. 

Over the past three years, ‘CEO for One Month’ has been growing continuously, with a record of close to 120,000 applicants in 2017. As part of The Adecco Group’s Way to Work, ‘CEO for One Month’ is helping to ensure that tomorrow’s business leaders share the same passion, ambition, and commitment that make the UN Global Compact Principles such a powerful framework for progress.