Published on 21st March 2025
On 1st January 2025, Hays became the twelfth corporate member of the World Employment Confederation. We sat down with Carlos Frischmuth, Managing Director and Head of Public Affairs at Hays, to learn more about his company and how joining WEC will help Hays respond to the challenges and seize the opportunities of today’s world of work.
Can you tell us a bit about Hays and what makes it stand out in the HR services industry?
Hays is a global leader in recruitment and workforce solutions, operating in 33 countries around the world. We specialize in a range of services, including permanent and temporary staffing, contracting or freelance staffing, MSP, RPO, and selected HR advisory services. In 2024 alone, we assisted over 280,000 candidates in finding their next career opportunities.
Our unique selling proposition (USP) is our focus on highly skilled and primarily academic professionals. Some of the staffing sectors we focus on are technology, engineering, finance, life sciences, education, sales, and HR. Our company’s mission is to serve as lifelong partners to both talents and clients. It’s not just about single placements or immediate deals, even in challenging times; we consider that we have a responsibility to our communities – which are our candidates, clients, and own staff alike.
We aspire to be the most sustainable staffing company in our markets, with a goal of achieving zero emissions in the coming years. Hays is committed to maximizing digitalization while ensuring that our services remain distinctly human. Despite new narratives suggesting that diversity and inclusion (D&I) are overrated, we firmly believe that a diverse workforce is essential for long-term success.
What are the current main challenges and opportunities for the HR services industry moving forward?
One of the biggest challenges currently facing the HR services industry is the economic and geopolitical uncertainty in many countries. This uncertainty is causing companies to delay investment and hiring decisions. On top of that, various regulations are making it increasingly difficult for HR services companies to operate, such as limitations on the duration of temporary services or legal hurdles for freelance staffing. Many staffing companies are also hesitant to fully embrace digital transformation. We have to expect more disruptive changes with AI being more present in our business landscape. All of these factors are limiting growth prospects for the sector.
Anyhow, as an optimist, I see some exciting opportunities ahead! The demand for skilled workers is growing, especially with the digital and green transitions. Companies, our clients, struggle to find the talent they need and one solution that is frequently overlooked is labour mobility. Well-supported migration can effectively address labour shortages, particularly in countries experiencing demographic challenges.
Work remains a crucial part of people’s lives, often ranking just after family and health but candidates are also having a hard time keeping up with rapidly changing and specialized skill requirements. No surprise that upskilling and reskilling are the buzzwords these days! HR services companies and staffing providers like us can play a vital role in both helping companies and candidates navigate this complexity and thrive in uncertain times. Our mission is to optimize talent acquisition and allocation around the world!
How will WEC membership help Hays address those challenges and embrace those opportunities?
As I touched upon, regulation is a major driver – and sometimes a real hurdle – for our industry. It is important to us to closely monitor regulatory changes in every country where we operate. By joining WEC, we’ll gain access to a wealth of knowledge about global regulatory changes through their network of corporate members and national federations.
Becoming a WEC member will also enable us to actively engage in regulatory discussions and share the expertise we’ve gained from our unique position in the labour market. We need strong presence of our industry in all relevant business models of the staffing industry. Therefore, we are committed to raise the importance and visibility of flex work models like temporary work and freelancing.
We are eager to better understand the world around us, and joining WEC is a great way to stay informed about the trends affecting labour markets. We are very happy and impressed with WEC’s 2024 research, ‘The Work We Want.’ I firmly believe that having more data will help us anticipate labour market dynamics even better and stay ahead of the curve. A strong community like the WEC is the right place to be in these dynamic times!
