The Adecco Group has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Microsoft focused on enabling worker preparedness as Generative AI (GenAI) reshapes the workforce. The MOU marks a concrete further step in the journey between the two organisations, combining the Adecco Group’s global leadership in talent development and employment with Microsoft’s deep expertise and innovation in GenAI.
An immediate focus is on the development of a career-platform, powered by GenAI to support people in maintaining their skills, currency and employability in a dynamic labour market. The platform uses GenAI to assess individuals’ current skills, strengths and gaps and map those against evolving labour market needs. It will deliver customised career advice and services in coaching, micro-learning and upskilling, preparing people for emerging job opportunities and ensuring continued employability.
“Enterprise adoption of GenAI in the workforce is one of the highest priorities for companies everywhere, but without an equally urgent and deliberate focus on individuals, millions could be left behind,” notes Denis Machuel, Chief Executive Officer, of the Adecco Group. “Our research shows that 70% of workers now use GenAI at work, but access to training and guidance remains a barrier. Our vision is to enable all individuals to maintain their skills currency and employability in the era of GenAI. We are pleased to form a collaboration with Microsoft and bring together our respective industry-leading and complementary strengths to achieve this vision.”
Hayete Gallot, Corporate Vice President, Commercial Solution Areas at Microsoft said: “Microsoft is investing in GenAI with the vision to create a new interaction model between humans and computers, turning natural language into the most powerful productivity tool on the planet. Our objective is to build next-generation AI-powered copilots that work alongside people to unlock their productivity, unleash their creativity, and empower them to thrive.
With our shared vision of harnessing the power of GenAI to transform the world of work, we are excited about the opportunity to collaborate with the Adecco Group to help augment human skilling and ingenuity, while supporting inclusive access to GenAI for all people around the world.”
Within the MOU, the Adecco Group and Microsoft have defined four key areas of collaboration, with execution plans to be finalised by the end of 2023:
- Support responsible and ethical GenAI adoption across the workforce – Constructively support GenAI-related policy-making and workforce planning that considers fairness, inclusiveness, safety, transparency, privacy and accountability.
- Inclusive use of GenAI in the workforce – Work toward the elimination of geographical, generational, race, gender, socioeconomic or other barriers in work using GenAI.
- Accelerate organisational adoption of GenAI – Enable organizations to unlock economic opportunity, bridge skill gaps and create inclusive work through the integration of GenAI.
- Develop joint go-to-market solutions – Co-develop products to support individuals and organizations in navigating new job creation, job augmentations, and job transitions in GenAI-enabled work.
This collaboration will further accelerate the Adecco Group’s work with GenAI, which has already been integrated into products to better serve candidates and clients, from advanced skills matching to hiring and onboarding, to our global Data Analytics & Artificial Intelligence tech practice within Akkodis. The Adecco Group will deepen its relationship with Microsoft to further integrate GenAI into its systems, processes and products to achieve faster time-to-market and deliver enhanced value to its clients, candidates and associates around the world.
