RGF Staffing’s CEO Challenge has returned this year for its highly anticipated second edition. This internal talent development program targets senior key talents and focuses on developing innovative business ideas. At RGF Staffing, leadership development is key to achieving our company’s strategy ‘Simplify Hiring’. It’s how we increase the value of our core business. This is part of our ambition to be the world’s most innovative staffing platform.
Addressing a real business challenge
The goal of the CEO Challenge 2024 was for each team to create a solution that addresses a real business challenge. The competitors had to address at least one of the following criteria: product innovation, customer experience enhancement, pricing and revenue optimization, leveraging existing technology and driving growth. The teams were required to create a compelling, game-changing solution.
Exceptional solutions
Angela Ashwell, Global Head of Talent, Executive Coaching, Performance and Inclusion led the initiative: “From a small seed of an idea, the CEO Challenge has now completed its second cycle, 3 years after our first competition. The winning idea of 2021, CSI Connect evolved into the global initiative RGF Connect. So, I’m excited to see the results of our two winning teams’ ideas! Ultimately, this is a talent development program for our senior leaders and future executives. While not everyone could win, the purpose of the program was to support and observe our senior key talents outside of their regular roles. They were supported with coaching, design workshops and mentoring to help bring their ideas to life. While this undoubtedly created pressure at times, the fun and a sense of satisfaction were present.”
Each team created exceptional solutions and I am hopeful that we will see all of them come to fruition in the future!
A judging panel of RGF Staffing executives selected the joint winners, Staff Service Group and Staffmark Group, from an exceptional array of ideas:
- a training app designed to help immigrant temporary workers become role-ready quickly;
- an engagement platform for contract workers to access benefits and build communities;
- a referral program to enable our multi-brand businesses to support our clients across all staffing needs;
- a proposal to outsource key operational elements to enhance the customer experience;
- a talent development program for emerging leaders new to the staffing industry;
- a pricing platform to deliver fit-for-purpose pricing for our clients;
- a career guidance program to support individuals transitioning from administrative roles into technical IT roles, preparing them for the evolving job market.
IT RE-SKILLING
Ryo Yamasaki (Executive Manager, Staff Service Engineering) and Arisaka (Ari) Misato (General Manager, Chugoku Block, Staff Service Clerical in Provinces) from Staff Service Group created the IT RE-SKILLING program to address the shortage of STEM talent in Japan. According to data from a Japanese think tank, the country is projected to face a shortage of 1.7 million engineers and a surplus of 900,000 clerical workers in the country by 2030. “With 60% of the approximately 100,000 staff employed by Staff Service Group in clerical positions, we chose to focus on this group,” Ryo and Ari explain the motivation behind their product innovation program. “We created the IT RE-SKILLING program to help our temporary clerical workers transition into IT engineering roles. Through this program, they gain the relevant skills to perform in IT engineering roles. By offering career counselling through our Opportunity Seeker initiative, our staff’s motivation for re-skilling has been boosted. Clarifying their career goals and identifying the skills needed to reach them has resulted in a significant increase in the number of people actually studying in the IT RE-SKILLING learning program.” Ryo and Ari are confident that their award-winning program will provide better employment opportunities for individuals eager to grow, increase their income, eliminate job insecurity and lead a more fulfilling life through their work. “Ultimately, Staff Service Group will also benefit significantly from this program,” they conclude.
Ryo explains that the CEO Challenge gave him the opportunity to rethink Staff Service Group’s business and social values. “Winning this award has made me more accountable to our stakeholders, including society, job seekers and clients. It has also inspired me to pursue a role in which I can meet more of society's expectations.” For Ari, the chance to work with Ryo from another business unit was an invaluable learning experience: “Although we had to overcome difficulties in decision-making and implementation across different business units, it was exciting to see what we could achieve together as Staff Service Group, without being confined to the boundaries of our individual business units. It’s especially meaningful to me to develop a business idea aimed at addressing the serious labor shortage in Japan, which I encounter on a daily basis.”
Price Pilot
Barbara Simmer, Executive Vice President at Staffmark, represents the joint winning team of Staffmark Group. In the US market, the challenge is to address industry-wide margin pressure caused by growing customer demand for higher speed and quality at lower cost. The Staffmark Group team developed the Price Pilot – a tool to enable their field sales teams to offer bespoke pricing based on specific client needs. This tool will help reduce the cost of sales while boosting the confidence and capabilities of their recruiters who support clients. It ensures that clients receive the most appropriate pricing based on their needs, while Staffmark Group drives profitable revenue growth by offering a value-based solution to their clients. The Price Pilot is embodying Staffmark Group’s ‘Winning Principles’ (Core values): ‘Winning Culture Driven by Heart’, ‘Driving Client Success’ and ‘Transform Data Insights and Innovation’. Barbara believes that, while the tool was initially built for the Staffmark brand with a focus on the US market, it can be adapted for various client groups and across multiple RGF Staffing operating companies worldwide for pricing and revenue optimization. “Some of the best elements of the Price Pilot include its ease of use for new or less experienced sales representatives, the ability to price new customers based on their specific service requirements, and data-backed rebuttals for customer negotiations. A preliminary roll-out to Staffmark’s commercial group is planned for early 2025 and we specifically expect margin growth as a result of implementing this tool.”
For Barbara, the CEO Challenge journey was full of learning and development opportunities. “Winning the award was an added benefit. I am incredibly proud that we were able to work together, leveraging our different strengths, to bring this award home to all of Staffmark Group. Winning has also provided us with the financial resources to implement the tool at Staffmark, which we believe will drive margin growth. It also gives the Price Pilot more credibility to our staff as we roll it out, knowing that the concept has been successfully vetted by senior executives at RGF Staffing.”
Mentoring and funding
The winning teams will each be supported by Executive Sponsors, who will mentor them throughout the development of their solutions. Additionally, their business idea will be funded to enable them to bring it to life! The winning teams were also awarded €30,000 each to donate to a charity of their choice, aligned with one of our global RGF Connect initiatives.
Ryo and Ari are still deciding on their preferred charity: “An organization that supports learning and re-skilling would be the best fit. We believe that RGF Staffing the Netherlands’ RGF Connect initiative aligns with our vision.” Barbara has a connection with, and is passionate about, supporting foster youth organizations: “We plan to make a donation in support of this group, who are also often underserved in terms of their future employment opportunities.”
Improve our proposition
Rob Zandbergen, CEO of RGF Staffing and a member of the judging panel is impressed by the proposals: “What struck me immediately is that all the proposals offer solutions to real business problems or social challenges that exist or are emerging. The participants made a direct commitment to improve our proposition to our clients and temporary workers. Faster, simpler and closer to you. As panel members, we saw many ideas that can be implemented quickly and practically. It is great to see the creativity and solution-oriented nature of our company and our colleagues. That makes the difference and explains our success over the years!”