Adecco
A global human-resources brand providing staffing, recruitment, workforce outsourcing and talent-development services.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Adecco is the principal staffing and workforce-solutions brand of Adecco Group AG, a Swiss-French human-resources company headquartered in Zürich and listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The brand connects employers with workers and provides services spanning temporary and flexible staffing, permanent recruitment, career transition, talent development, workforce outsourcing and related consulting. Its market coverage extends across office, industrial, technical, financial and legal employment categories, with the precise service mix varying by country and operating entity. The modern Adecco business was created through the combination of two established staffing companies: France’s Ecco and Switzerland’s Adia Interim. Ecco originated in Lyon in 1964 under the name Interecco, while Adia was established in Lausanne in 1957. Their merger created the Adecco Group on 1 January 1997 and provided the basis for an international staffing network. The group then expanded through acquisitions, joint ventures and the development of specialist businesses in recruitment, career services, technology consulting and education. Adecco’s growth has included major entries into the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, China and other markets. Acquisitions such as TAD Resources International, Olsten Staffing, Spring Group, MPS Group, Vettery, General Assembly and AKKA Technologies broadened the group’s geographic reach and service capabilities. The group also developed or acquired businesses serving specialist recruitment, engineering and technology consulting, professional development and digital talent marketplaces. Within the wider group, Adecco is one of three global business units, alongside Akkodis and LHH. Other operating brands have included DIS AG, General Assembly, Innovation Foundation, Adia, Pontoon and Hired. Adecco itself remains most strongly associated with high-volume staffing, recruitment and workforce management, while the wider group addresses specialist talent, career mobility, technical consulting and learning. The company is a large international employer and staffing intermediary rather than a consumer product brand. Its customers include businesses, public-sector organizations and other institutions seeking workers or outsourced workforce support; its individual users include temporary workers, permanent job candidates and people receiving career or skills services. In January 2025, Adecco Group announced an expanded partnership with Bullhorn to introduce artificial intelligence into digital operations, reflecting the sector’s shift toward automated recruitment and workforce platforms. Because legal entities, employment regulations and service portfolios differ substantially between countries, local Adecco operations should be distinguished from the parent group when assessing specific offerings.
History
Adecco’s origins lie in two European staffing businesses. Adia Interim was founded in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1957. Ecco originated in Lyon, France, in 1964 under the name Interecco. Both companies built businesses around supplying labor and recruitment services to employers, operating in a sector shaped by economic cycles, changing employment regulation and the growing use of flexible workforces. The two companies merged on 1 January 1997, creating the Adecco Group and the foundation of the Adecco brand. The combination joined Swiss and French operating histories and gave the enlarged company a platform for international expansion. Its initial core remained temporary staffing and recruitment, but the group progressively added permanent placement, specialist search, career transition, talent development, outsourcing and consulting. Expansion in the United States became a major part of the group’s development. In 1997, Adecco acquired TAD Resources International. It later acquired Olsten Staffing in 1999, a transaction that made Adecco the largest recruitment company in the U.S. at the time. The group continued to broaden its geographic and sector coverage through the acquisition of the UK’s Spring Group in 2009 and U.S.-based MPS Group in 2010. During the early 2010s, Adecco pursued both geographic expansion and specialization. It formed a joint venture with Chinese human-resources company FESCO in Shanghai in 2011, acquired career-transition provider Drake Beam Morin later that year, and announced the acquisition of Japanese staffing company VSN in 2012. The acquisition of OnForce in 2014 added a U.S. marketplace for freelance and on-demand workers. In 2015, the group acquired Canadian career and leadership-services company Knightsbridge, the same year Alain Dehaze became chief executive. Penna Consulting, a UK recruitment and career-services company, joined the group in 2016. The group then invested in digital recruitment and skills businesses. Vettery, a U.S. recruitment-marketplace startup, was acquired in 2018, followed that year by General Assembly, a U.S. education-technology and professional-skills provider. Vettery later acquired Hired, and their products were brought together under the Hired brand. In 2019, Adecco Group sold its U.S. healthcare staffing business Soliant Health to Olympus Partners, illustrating a continuing effort to reshape its portfolio. In 2021, the group acquired French engineering and technology-consulting company AKKA Technologies, reported at approximately €2 billion. This supported the group’s technical and consulting capabilities and contributed to the business later organized around the Akkodis unit. Alain Dehaze was succeeded by Denis Machuel as chief executive in 2022. As of 2025, Adecco Group described its global structure as three principal business units: Adecco, Akkodis and LHH. The Adecco brand remains focused primarily on staffing and recruitment, while the wider group also operates specialist brands and businesses such as DIS AG, General Assembly, Innovation Foundation, Adia, Pontoon and Hired. In January 2025, the group announced an expanded partnership with Bullhorn to implement artificial intelligence in its digital operations. This initiative reflects the industry’s movement toward technology-enabled sourcing, matching, workforce administration and talent management.
- 2025
Expanded Bullhorn artificial-intelligence partnership
[1]Adecco Group announces an expanded partnership with Bullhorn to apply artificial intelligence in digital operations.
- 2022
Denis Machuel becomes CEO
[1]Denis Machuel succeeds Alain Dehaze as chief executive.
- 2021
AKKA Technologies is acquired
[1]The group acquires French engineering and technology-consulting company AKKA Technologies.
- 2019
Soliant Health is sold
[1]Adecco Group sells its U.S. healthcare staffing business to Olympus Partners.
- 2018
Vettery and General Assembly join the group
[1]Adecco acquires recruitment marketplace Vettery and education-technology provider General Assembly.
- 2016
Penna Consulting is acquired
[1]The group expands UK recruitment, career-transition and talent-services capabilities.
- 2015
Alain Dehaze becomes CEO
[1]Alain Dehaze assumes leadership of Adecco Group.
- 2014
OnForce is acquired
[1]The group adds a U.S. freelance and on-demand worker marketplace.
- 2012
VSN is acquired
[1]Adecco expands its Japanese staffing-services operations through the acquisition of VSN.
- 2011
FESCO joint venture and Drake Beam Morin acquisition
[1]Adecco starts a Shanghai joint venture with FESCO and acquires U.S. career-transition provider Drake Beam Morin.
Products and positioning
An international, full-service workforce and talent-solutions provider serving employers and workers across generalist and specialist employment markets.
Human-resources services
Temporary and flexible staffing
Adecco supplies temporary, short-term and flexible workers for employers with variable, seasonal or project-based staffing requirements. Services can include candidate sourcing, screening, placement, employment administration and assignment management. Offerings and employment structures depend on local law and the relevant Adecco entity.
Recruitment
Permanent recruitment
Permanent recruitment services help employers identify and hire candidates for continuing positions. Adecco’s activities may cover vacancy intake, search, candidate assessment, matching and recruitment-process support across office, industrial, technical, financial and legal roles.
Career services
Career transition
Career-transition and outplacement support assists employees moving between roles or leaving an organization. Services may include career assessment, job-search guidance, employability support and coaching, generally delivered through specialist businesses within the wider Adecco Group.
Learning and development
Talent development
Talent-development services support skills acquisition, professional growth and leadership development. The group’s portfolio has included training and education businesses such as General Assembly, as well as career and leadership-development services supplied through other group brands.
Outsourcing
Outsourcing and managed workforce solutions
Adecco provides outsourced, managed-service and business-process support connected with workforce operations. Depending on the market, this can involve administration, recruitment-process support, contingent-workforce management or broader operational delivery for business customers.
Consulting
Recruitment consulting
Consulting activities address workforce planning, recruitment processes, talent needs and related organizational questions. Specialist group businesses also extend the portfolio into technical, engineering and technology consulting.
Brand decisions
2025
Expand artificial-intelligence collaboration with BullhornStrategyBackground
Recruitment and staffing businesses are increasingly digitizing candidate sourcing, matching, administration and customer workflows.
Action taken
Adecco Group announced an expanded partnership with Bullhorn to implement artificial intelligence in its digital operations.
Aftermath
The announcement positioned AI-enabled operating processes as part of the group’s continuing digital-transformation agenda; the available reference does not specify quantified results.
2021
Acquire AKKA TechnologiesM&ABackground
The group sought to strengthen engineering and technology-consulting capabilities alongside its established staffing and talent businesses.
Action taken
Adecco Group acquired French engineering and technology-consulting company AKKA Technologies.
Aftermath
The transaction expanded the group’s technical-services portfolio and supported the development of the Akkodis business unit.
Reported transaction value. Approximately €2.0 billion (2021)
2019
Sell Soliant HealthM&ABackground
Adecco Group reviewed and reshaped its portfolio of specialist staffing businesses.
Action taken
The group sold its U.S. healthcare staffing business Soliant Health to Olympus Partners.
Aftermath
The divestment removed Soliant Health from the group’s portfolio. The reported cash consideration was $612 million.
Cash consideration. $612 million (2019)
2018
Acquire VetteryM&ABackground
Digital recruitment marketplaces offered a way to supplement traditional staffing and recruitment models.
Action taken
Adecco Group acquired U.S. recruitment-marketplace startup Vettery.
Aftermath
Vettery was subsequently combined with Hired under the Hired brand.
Reported acquisition price. $100 million (2018)
Recent events
Reported
Adecco Group and FESCO establish LHH FESCO joint venture[3]
The Adecco Group and FESCO signed an execution confirmation for their joint venture agreement and officially announced the establishment of LHH FESCO at the China-Europe Talent Forum in Beijing. The venture will focus on career transition and talent development services in China.
Reported
Adecco Group completes financing for AKKA Technologies acquisition[4]
Adecco Group completed the placement of two EUR 500 million senior note tranches and a EUR 500 million inaugural hybrid bond to finance its planned acquisition of AKKA Technologies.
Reported
Adecco appoints Corinne Ripoche as CEO for the Americas[5]
The Adecco Group announced Corinne Ripoche's appointment as CEO of Adecco in the U.S., Canada and Latin America, effective July 1, 2020. She will retain executive oversight of Pontoon and join the Group's Executive Committee.
Sources5 sources
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