Manpower Advises Companies to Adjust Their Contingent and Permanent Workforce Mix to Ensure Agility in Uncertain Economy

Fluctuating Demand Requires Companies to Have a Flexible Staffing Model

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Jan 25, 2012, 06:36 ET

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Manpower (NYSE: MAN), the global leader in contingent and permanent recruitment workforce solutions from ManpowerGroup today called for organizations to adjust their workforce strategy to incorporate a more flexible, agile approach if they hope to successfully navigate the Human Age in a new insight paper published at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Davos. The paper, Increasing Demand for Better Skills Assessment and Match for Better Results is part of a series published by ManpowerGroup, the world leader in innovative workforce solutions, advising companies How to Navigate the Human Age through the company's annual analysis of the macro-economic forces evolving the world of work.

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Companies in the Human Age are lean organizations with tight margins. As growth continues in emerging markets and softens in much of the developed world, businesses are demanding new and increasingly specific skills and capabilities from their workers to take advantage of every opportunity and do more with less. Demand is the key driver of hiring activity in the Human Age. Companies are looking to hire "just-in-time" with fast time-to-value, depending on the economic climate and their ability to predict fluctuating demand. According to a recent McKinsey study, nearly 60 percent of companies surveyed see temporary / contract workers as the largest growing percentage of their workforce.

"Clients are telling us they need to be more flexible and agile to react to this environment. Manpower is seeing the global contingent workforce grow as a result," said Joerres. "Companies are evolving their approach to manage their talent as carefully and strategically as they would any other scarce resource, flexing their workforce in response to demand and changes in their markets."

However, converging macro-economic forces and demographic shifts mean skilled individuals are in short supply, meanwhile under-qualified workers remain abundant. In 2011, over one third (34 percent) of employers surveyed by ManpowerGroup's Annual Talent Shortage Survey said they were having trouble finding the talent they need, yet unemployment remains relatively high. This conundrum of high unemployment and talent shortage is hampering economic growth, challenging employers' ability to respond quickly to demand.

Manpower specialists find, assess and match the right talent, accurately and rapidly moving people in and out of a business as the demand for products and services shift. Leveraging more than 60 years of experience in providing innovative workforce solutions, an unrivaled global footprint across 80 countries and in-depth understanding of local labor market trends, Manpower partners with companies and candidates to provide the right match, with the right skills, in the right timeframe for better results.

About ManpowerGroup

ManpowerGroup™ (NYSE: MAN), the world leader in innovative workforce solutions, creates and delivers high-impact solutions that enable our clients to achieve their business goals and enhance their competitiveness. With over 60 years of experience, our $22 billion company creates unique time to value through a comprehensive suite of innovative solutions that help clients win in the Human Age. These solutions cover an entire range of talent-driven needs from recruitment and assessment, training and development, and career management, to outsourcing and workforce consulting. ManpowerGroup maintains the world's largest and industry-leading network of nearly 3,900 offices in over 80 countries and territories, generating a dynamic mix of an unmatched global footprint with valuable insight and local expertise to meet the needs of its 400,000 clients per year, across all industry sectors, small and medium-sized enterprises, local, multinational and global companies. By connecting our deep understanding of human potential to the ambitions of clients, ManpowerGroup helps the organizations and individuals we serve achieve more than they imagined – because their success leads to our success. And by creating these powerful connections, we create power that drives organizations forward, accelerates personal success and builds more sustainable communities. We help power the world of work. The ManpowerGroup suite of solutions is offered through ManpowerGroup™ Solutions, Manpower®, Experis™ and Right Management®. Learn more about how the ManpowerGroup can help you win in the Human Age at www.manpowergroup.com.

ManpowerGroup is the most trusted brand in the industry, being the only company in our industry to be named to the Ethisphere Institute's 2011 World's Most Ethical Companies list for our proven commitment to ethical business practices, including an outstanding commitment to ethical leadership, compliance practices and corporate social responsibility. In addition, ManpowerGroup has also been recognized as the industry leader by Fortune magazine, who named the company in first place on its 2011 list of the Most Admired Companies in the temporary help sector.

In January 2011, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, ManpowerGroup announced the world has entered the Human Age, where talent has replaced capital as the key competitive differentiator. Learn more about this new age at www.manpowergroup.com/humanage

Gain access to ManpowerGroup's extensive thought leadership papers, annual Talent Shortage surveys and the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, one of the most trusted indices of employment activity in the world, via the ManpowerGroup World of Work Insight iPad application. This thought leadership app explores the challenges faced by employers navigating the changing world of work and provides in-depth commentary, analysis, insight and advice on strategies for success.

Follow ManpowerGroup Chairman and CEO Jeff Joerres on Twitter: twitter.com/manpowergroupjj. Joerres is one of only six Fortune 500 CEOs who leverages a Twitter account to get his message out.

SOURCE ManpowerGroup