Holistic approach in hr, helped Ranstad Holdings record growth

Sanjeevi JAYASURIYA

The holistic approach in the field of human resources had enabled Randstad Holding to record growth. There is a 10 percent per annum growth globally whereas this part of the world record high growth prospects, Randstad Holding's nv Executive Board Member Brian Wilkinson told the Daily News Business.

“We are not looking for promotion, but focusing on creating an awareness in the Sri Lankan market. Randstad is the only multi national HR company to operate in Sri Lanka and we envisage a better performance in the years to come,” he said, visiting Sri Lanka for the first time.

Randstad Holding is a company specialized in staffing, professionals, search and selection, HR solutions and in-house services, which has been in operation in Sri Lanka for the past eight years.

The second quarter results show negative growth in Europe, while higher growth is achieved in the Asian markets. Asian and Sri Lankan businesses are the top performers. The sectors that contribute to the growth are telecommunication, hospitality, infrastructure, retail, FMCG and electronics. “We see retail space moving and more hospitality projects coming in, where certain sectors and industries have been conducive.

There are job opportunities been created and the demand in specialized sectors such as banking is growing. When new jobs are created while expanding the sectors, this would have an opening for bigger global players to come in,” he said.

Sri Lanka was globalizing and the hotel sector too was thriving with excellent hotels. There needs to be high value assignments to attract talent outside and bring back the Sri Lankans working abroad. Our focus was in Sri Lankan companies and looking out for talent. It is 95 percent local placement. However, the global market for managerial expatriates was small, Wilkinson said.

There was a demand for consultancy services which are high value adding and sophisticated service pillars. Among the services provided by us are specific recruitments, HR outsource operations and HR consultancy and advisory services.

There is special emphasis on skills development to meet the current demand. The scope for training is high where all the fields in an operational process are involved. There are qualified people, but they select different fields and job shifting is high. It is important to position the company in the mind of the job seekers to contain the labour turnover, he said.

There are ample talent to be found here. It need to be spread out. Attracting outside talent in order to get this eco system together is necessary, as the country needs to be developed fast, in all regions, Wilkinson said.