Randstad NV, the world’s largest staffing firm set out a ‘partner for talent’ strategy to be the world’s most equitable and specialized talent company.

In its Capital Markets Day today, Sander van ‘t Noordende, CEO of Randstad, said, “The world of work is being transformed by three fundamental trends; structural talent scarcity and changing talent expectations, clients seeking deeper partnerships to manage their talent needs, and the deployment of digital technologies, including AI in the workplace.”

He added that talent is looking for advice on how to ensure they have contemporary skills and relevant experiences, as well as the assurance they will be given a fair chance for employment, supporting them to secure their next jobs and ultimately empowering them to have rewarding careers.

“Our clients, which range from local SMEs to the world’s largest enterprises, are all looking for the same thing – specialized skills. That’s why we’ve set ourselves the aspiration to become the world’s most equitable and specialized talent company,” van ‘t Noordende said.

Randstad said it is now focusing its offering around four core specialisations: (i) Randstad Operational Talent Solutions, (ii) Randstad Professional Talent Solutions, (iii) Randstad Digital Talent Solutions and (iv) Randstad Enterprise Talent Solutions.

This new specialisation approach ensures that talent receive the focused support that they require and clients receive the specialized skills and expertise that their business needs, it added.

According to Randstad, the group will realise its ambition by executing on five strategic pillars: 1. Growth through specialization, 2. Talent and equity, 3. Delivery excellence, 4. Enhancing its Randstad Talent Platform, and 5. Best team in the industry, which will see Randstad continue to invest in its employee value proposition.

Randstad has also identified the following ambitions to drive future value creation for stakeholders:

-        Accelerate growth. Through specializsation, targeting high growth segments and expanding its services portfolio to accelerate growth. Continued investments in organic growth opportunities and the Randstad Talent Platform. M&A to complement organic growth in each of the four specializations.

-        Expand margins. Increased field productivity and scale to drive gradual margin expansion towards underlying EBITA margin of 5%-6% over time.

-        Capital allocation. A strong focus on return on invested capital, optimizing Economic Value Add (EVA) by applying a disciplined capital allocation framework whilst maintaining a sound financial position. Attractive returns to shareholders in the form of ordinary cash dividend, with a payout ratio of 40%-50% of adjusted net income. Optional additional returns if leverage ratio is below 1.0, (excluding lease liabilities) through either a special cash dividend or share buyback.