Post by : Rameen Ariff

The chief executive of Adecco, Denis Machuel, spoke on Wednesday about the company’s new joint venture with Salesforce called r.Potential. This platform is designed to help businesses use artificial intelligence (AI) more effectively and reduce the risk of an AI bubble in the market. The goal is to push companies towards practical and clear applications of AI technology.

Machuel said that Adecco has already talked to 300 large clients interested in r.Potential. He explained that many companies are confused by the overwhelming supply of AI products and services and struggle to integrate them properly into their everyday work. According to him, there is a gap between the many AI solutions available and how businesses actually use AI in their core processes.

He also mentioned that some AI companies have very high valuations, which may not always be justified. Machuel emphasized that AI needs to produce concrete and measurable results to avoid becoming just a hype or bubble. The r.Potential platform aims to guide companies in making practical use of AI to achieve real business outcomes.

Machuel acknowledged the problem of AI “hallucinations,” where AI systems sometimes provide false or made-up information. However, he said that with better training of AI models, these mistakes can be reduced over time.

Adecco is focusing its future strategy on AI and digital platforms, aiming to help clients use technology to improve their workforce and business performance. Despite this, Machuel said that so far, AI has had only a limited impact on the jobs market.

On the financial side, Adecco’s shares dropped more than 7 percent on Wednesday. Some analysts believe investors are worried about the risks that AI and automation pose to Adecco’s business. There is also concern about a possible cut in the company’s dividend as it works towards reducing its debt.

Adecco has set a target to bring its net debt down to 1.5 times its core earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) by the end of 2027. The company also confirmed its longer-term goal of maintaining an EBITA margin between 3 percent and 6 percent through different business cycles.

In specific divisions, Adecco raised the margin target for its career development segment, LHH, to between 8 percent and 11 percent. It kept the margin targets the same for its main Adecco business at 3 percent to 6 percent and for its digital engineering unit, Akkodis, at 7 percent to 10 percent.

Overall, Adecco’s CEO remains confident that AI and the r.Potential platform will help the company and its clients to navigate the future of work with better and more practical AI solutions.

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