The Adecco Group 2018 Annual Report Our mission is to make the future work for everyone, ensuring that people across the globe are inspired, motivated, trained and developed to embrace the future of work. To be in environments where they are empowered to thrive, stimulated to succeed and given every chance to make their individual futures better and brighter than ever before. o 360service offering Our brand ecosystem Recruitment on demand Executive Recruitment Workforce Solutions Professional Freelancer Professional Marketplace Recruitment Talent Recruitment Total Talent Solutions Platform Up/Reskilling Professional Solutions Talent Development & Career Transition Our 360° brand ecosystem is a key differentiator in today’s changing world of work. Through our unique ecosystem, we combine the individual strengths, knowhow and services of our leading network of brands in a one-stop shop, with the workforce and career needs of our clients and candidates at the centre. Our connected approach provides customers with the convenience, simplicity and efficiency of working with one trusted HR solutions partner throughout the work-life and economic cycles. From staffing to outsourcing to upskilling and workforce transformation, the Adecco Group is making the future work for everyone. Perform The first step in our strategic agenda is Perform. It means continuing to deliver growth in the cost-disciplined and returns-focused way that we always have. It is intended to create a culture of outperformance across the organisation. It is about how we deliver results, not just the outcome. That means embedding proven formulas such as segmentation, pricing and our ‘PERFORM’ methodology, which applies a lean manufacturing approach to our operations. It also means acting with urgency to improve underperforming businesses. By Performing, we earn the right to invest in our transformation programme and in our New Ventures. Segmentation Pricing ‘PERFORM’ Read the detailed review on page 16 Transform Transform is about strengthening and future-proofing our core businesses, to drive accelerated growth and improved margins. Leveraging technology across our value chain, from sales to recruiting to middle- and back-office processes, we are increasing the efficiency of our operations while at the same time enhancing the client and the candidate experience. At the centre of Transform is our GrowTogether programme. Its various initiatives are establishing differentiation in our service offering and increasing economies of scale. In 2018, we achieved the first EUR 50 million productivity savings and increased our Net Promoter Score. GrowTogether Read the detailed review on page 20 Innovate With the final pillar of our strategy, Innovate, we are building businesses in attractive adjacent markets, to capture new opportunities in high-growth, high-margin segments. This includes online versions of our offline businesses, such as Adia (staffing) and Vettery (permanent recruitment), as well as businesses such as General Assembly (up/reskilling), which strongly complement our other brands and leverage workforce megatrends. We want to be the digital leader in our industry, disrupting it from the inside by bringing together the best of HR solutions with the best of tech, and leveraging our domain knowledge, data and B2B distribution. New Ventures Read the detailed review on page 24 Our strategic agenda is supported by our four strategic focus areas. Find out more on pages 38-43. Workplaces worldwide are changing, so it’s time to push against traditional ways of thinking. There’s no longer a norm to conform to. Whatever our business, whatever our sector, we must look to the future and be ready to rise to the challenges. We must familiarise ourselves with the workplace landscape ahead and start building the Company report foundations of the organisational changes it may Message from the Chair and CEO 2 demand, and the opportunities it will offer. 2018 highlights 4 The Adecco Group at a glance 6 CEO’s strategic review 8 Perform 16 Transform 20 We are making the Innovate 24 The Brand Ecosystem 28 future work... Global megatrends 31 Our business model 36 Our strategic focus areas 38 Risk management and principal risks 44 Our people 47 Material factors 50 The Foundation 54 Operating and financial review 58 Investor relations information 67 Corporate Governance Applicable Corporate Governance standards 71 Structure, shareholders and capital 72 Board of Directors and Executive Committee 75 Further information 87 Remuneration Introduction 91 Remuneration governance 93 ...for clients ...for candidates Remuneration philosophy and principles 94 page 15 page 30 Remuneration structure 94 Remuneration and shareholding of members of the Board and Executive Committee 99 Financial statements The Adecco Group Selected financial information 106 Consolidated financial statements 107 Report of the Statutory Auditor on the Consolidated Financial Statements 146 Adecco Group AG (Holding Company) Financial Statements 148 Major consolidated subsidiaries of the Adecco Group 158 Proposed appropriation of shareholders’ equity 159 Report of the Statutory Auditor on the Financial Statements 160 Additional Information ...for our people ...for society Non-US GAAP information and financial measures 163 page 46 page 56 History 164 Key figures 166 Addresses 167 The Adecco Group 1 2018 Annual Report MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Leveraging opportunities in a changing world of work 2 The Adecco Group 2018 Annual Report Dear Adecco Group shareholders 2018 was a year of significant strategic progress and also some With our deep understanding of complex labour markets, extensive challenges. On the one hand, our teams in the vast majority of data assets and global distribution capability, as well as our ability to countries delivered solid financial performance, and the Group’s digital invest and partner with the best players in tech, we are well positioned transformation gathered momentum, with the GrowTogether to capitalise on these industry trends. programme delivering its first tangible results. We also strengthened our innovation agenda with the acquisitions of General Assembly and Returning capital to shareholders Vettery, establishing a solutions portfolio with a breadth and depth The Adecco Group’s businesses generate substantial free cash flow that is unrivalled in the industry. On the other hand, it was a year in throughout the business cycle. Our clear capital allocation policy which the economic environment became increasingly difficult, and in determines how we deploy that cash; whether reinvesting, at an which our German business was disrupted by the merger of the attractive return on capital, or returning it to shareholders. Group’s general staffing operations there. While we invest in the transformation of our business, we remain Group organic revenue growth for the full year was 3% (trading days committed to a progressive dividend policy, with a payout ratio of adjusted); slowing from 5% in H1 to zero in H2, as a result of a material 40-50% of adjusted earnings per share. We also commit to holding slowdown in European economic growth. EBITA margin excluding our Swiss Franc dividend per share at least in line with the prior year, one-offs was impacted by a higher level of investment in our New even if earnings temporarily decline. And at the end of each year we Ventures, declining 40 basis points, to 4.5%. Nevertheless, the review our financial position and return excess capital to shareholders. underlying margin trend improved through the year, supported by At the AGM on 16 April 2019, the Board will propose a dividend of GrowTogether. We again generated good cash flow and ended the CHF 2.50, in line with the prior year and representing a payout ratio year with a strong balance sheet, even after making significant of 48%. investments and returning more than EUR 450 million to shareholders. Investing in our digital transformation Making the future work for everyone The nature of our work means that the impact of the Adecco Group The Adecco Group is the global leader in HR solutions, every year goes far beyond the financial. Every day, in our business and through helping more than 3.5 million people find employment opportunities, our social programmes, we help people across the globe to be supporting more than 100,000 organisations across 60 countries. inspired, motivated, prepared and developed to embrace the future of We have the most comprehensive portfolio of services in the industry, work. Our goal is to provide security and prospects for individuals and spanning flexible and permanent employment solutions to to provide companies with the critical talent and solutions they need apprenticeships and up/reskilling. And we are constantly striving to stay competitive. We are a vocal advocate of the need for a new to enhance our offering, as the industry evolves and the world of social contract, to reflect the changing nature of employment and work changes. guarantee appropriate protections for all. We are also leading the New ways of working are emerging and the concept of the ‘traditional’ debate on how companies should rethink workforce investment, to job (i.e. an open-ended contract with a single employer) is becoming address skills shortages and employability challenges. blurred, driven by the needs of both individuals and employers. At the Through the Adecco Group Foundation we extend our positive same time, talent scarcity is rising, as the gap widens between the