Global Compact International Yearbook 2009

Best Practice
Labour Standards
Keeth Smart, Olympic Medalist 2008,
not only had a clear focus in sport.
Now he is studying for an MBA, being
guided and coached by the IOC Athlete
Career Programme to achieve his
future career plans.
Our “Disability and Skills” programme
is up and running in France, Italy, Spain,
Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Japan,
the US and Argentina. In France,
Adecco and an organization called Agefiph
help15,000 people with disabilities
find a suitable job each year.
Regarding the mature workforce, Adecco
USA has been an honoree since 2002
of the American Association of Retired
Persons (AARP) list of Best Employees for
workers over 50, reflecting the success of
initiatives such as Adecco’s Renaissance
programme offering benefits for older
people wanting to work.
company, my employer worked with
me, kept me on the team and enabled
me to have a balanced scheduled that
included working, training and competition."
Now having retired from sport,
Keeth is studying for an MBA with the
ACP Programme manager still assisting
with guidance and practical help on his
future career plans.
Over 3,000 athletes from more than 30
countries in ages ranging from under 20
to over 40 across five continents have taken
part in the Programme. Whilst Keeth
is an excellent example, perhaps the
Programme’s benefit can be most keenly
felt in the developing world, acting as a
shining light for positive change and the
relevant Global Compact principles.
An example of this is the three-day
programme that took place in Dakar,
Senegal, run in conjunction with the
IOC and the IOC Olympic Solidarity organization.
The event is helping athletes
from the African region prepare for the
transition to the labour market amongst
them Ibrahim Maiga, who represented
Mali in the 400 metre hurdles. Ibrahim
commented: “The coaching has an immediate
effect and changes a person right
away. It is training for the whole of life,
something we live everyday, everywhere
and with everybody.”
Even though the IOC Athlete Career
Programme aims to meet individual
athlete’s needs for a fair chance in labour
market, each participant becomes an
ambassador ‘carrying the torch’ for the
Global Compact principle of eliminating
discrimination in respect of employment
and occupation.
The IOC Athlete Career Programme is just
one of Adecco’s pro-active programmes
focused upon striving for fair access to
the labour market and equal opportunities
for all. Other activities are focused
towards the ageing population and mature
workforce, the disabled, unemployed
youth and the long-term unemployed.
In Germany, Adecco supports a publicprivate
initiative called Quadriga that
since 2007 has had a 70% success rate
in integrating young unemployed people
into the labour market. Similarly
in Argentina, Adecco is one of several
companies supporting an International
Labour Organization project aiming to
coach, train and find employment for
1,000 young men and women. France
is home to Adecco’s largest project to
support the re-integration of long-term
unemployed. The ‘Interim et insertion’
programme currently coaches 4,000
people each year to enhance their job
searching skills.
Supporting the integration of disadvantaged
groups is one aspect of Adecco’s
three-part Corporate Responsibility (CR)
strategy. The additional focal points of
skill development and safety at work
for colleagues strengthen Adecco’s commitment
to Global Compact principle 1
‘Businesses should support and respect
protection of internationally proclaimed
human rights; and principle 2 ‘Make sure
that they are not complicit in human
rights abuses’. The importance Adecco
places on CR as part of its sustainable
business model is reflected by the creation
of a dedicated CR organisation in
2008 led by Group Communications
and overseen by the Group CEO and the
Corporate Governance Committee of the
Adecco Group’s Board of Directors.
Global Compact International Yearbook 2009 3