ManpowerGroup 2012 Annual Report Download - page 19

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2012 was filled with several hand-to-hand
combat battles, and I suspect 2013 will have
just as many. Regardless, we have to deliver
better financial performance. We are committed.
Therefore, we have doubled our efforts to ensure
we reset our cost base, build our business mix
and drive value through our strong and con-
nected brands. We are determined to continue
to grow our business in the face of difficult
environments and create a more sustainable
organization for the future. Because in the end,
we recognize better financial performance
means more flexibility, opportunity and returns
to our shareholders.
Our strategy is right; but, we are re-prioritizing
our focus. We have built strong durable assets,
connected brands and world-leading offerings.
We are focused on driving value from those
investments. At the same time, we are focused
on recalibrating our cost base through simplifi-
cation. We will simplify in four areas: programs,
organization, delivery and technology, so we can
drive value from the assets that we have created
and deliver solutions with speed to our clients.
We are leveraging the strengths of our leaders,
creating broader leadership roles and making
prudent decisions in our organizational structure.
This is our collaborative organization model in
action. We are flexing resources around the
organization to drive performance and results.
I made the difficult decision to reduce my
executive management team, but it was the
right one. I promoted two of our most successful
executive operators, Darryl Green and Jonas
Prising, to the president role. We have increased
the span of control of certain key leaders to pro-
vide tighter focus and facilitate quicker decisions,
while realigning and removing non-critical roles
and functions, and consolidating back office
functions across brands and regions.
We are simplifying our processes and transitioned
into run mode, strategic initiatives and pilot pro-
grams that have demonstrated return, and have
dramatically reduced the need for support per-
sonnel. The efficiency and effectiveness of our
delivery model and technology is critical to our
Letter to Shareholders ManpowerGroup 2012 Annual Report 17