The temporary employment specialist is reinventing its business by offering career paths to its temporary workers. The aim is to strengthen employability and build long-term relationships with its temporary workers to overcome talent shortages.

While 77% of Belgian employers are experiencing recruitment difficulties, employability for every worker is a major challenge, particularly amplified by the health crisis and the accelerating digitalization of jobs.  To meet the new HR challenges facing companies, and also meet candidates’ new expectations, Manpower has launched a vast transformation programme, at global level.  With MyPath®, Manpower’s recruitment consultants take on the role of coach, responsible for discovering candidates’ potential and developing their skills through recognized training. They become ‘Talent Agents’, producing added value in job markets where they are active.

“ Recruitment has changed significantly. So has our business model. With so many skills shortages, our activity on the labour market must now be based on anticipation of our clients’ needs” explains Philippe Lacroix, Managing Director of ManpowerGroup BeLux. “The MyPath programme aims to combine the great responsiveness of temporary work with the ability to drive skills over the long term. Launched in the United States, this new programme, which already brings together more than 129,000 talents in 14 countries, has been deployed in Belgium for several months and today involves nearly 2,000 talents. It is inspired by Manpower’s values, which have always placed the candidate at the heart of its approach, but it also marks an important development in the way we approach our business. One of our major initiatives has been to move from a transactional relationship with our temporary workers – meeting a client’s specific need by placing the right person, at the right time in the right place – to a long-term relationship that focuses on personal development and employability.”

The MyPath Programme: a strong commitment 

The aim of the programme is to deepen the relationship between candidates/temporary staff and their ‘Talent Agent’, who, like a coach, is committed to developing and boosting the careers of the Talents within their charge. “MyPath is a mindset,” confirms Musli Muslija, who has just completed the second level of the Talent Agent training course set up by the temporary work specialist.

“The priority is to listen to the needs of candidates and develop a relationship of trust as a basis for individual coaching.”  Manpower has already trained 70 consultants in Belgium through online training, which also allows new Talent Agents to learn the new, more direct communication style specific to MyPath. Three levels of expertise are assessed with a final test. At the first level, Talent Agents are trained in career interviewing. In the next stage, they learn how to position talent in a local market. The final objective is to manage 50 to 60 talents on a daily basis.

Recognised training paths for a win-win relationship

The programme is based on a thorough knowledge of local job markets and how they are developing, and of the sectors in demand and the profiles that could best match the needs. This expertise, together with a close relationship with clients and Talents, allows Manpower to anticipate market needs. MyPath agents are able to identify the best talents and anticipate where they can best fit: suitable professions, training, new temporary contracts in a sector or a company that will enhance their future prospects. “Today’s careers are no longer linear and our role is to accompany individuals by encouraging professional transitions and the acquisition of new skills based on the potential we have identified,” explains Philippe Lacroix.

Manpower has set up various skills development programmes to address talent shortages, particularly through its academies in the logistics sector, in technical professions and in the hotel and catering industry. These are online or practical, individual or group training courses.

These strong training paths are highly appreciated by Manpower’s clients, as Frank Van Roy, Logistic Operations Manager at Parbelux in charge of logistics operations in the distribution center of Ici Paris XL :  logistics manager at Parbelux in charge of logistics at Paris XL, explains: “The MyPath programme allows us to draw on a pool of candidates with the hard and soft skills we need. In partnership with Manpower, we can develop temporary workers in the logistics sector and offer permanent positions to the most committed.”

 This is the case for Cem Ide, who joined the temporary sector after running his own business. “I needed to make a new start and fortunately Manpower called me.  They really listened to me, they evaluated my skills through assessments  and understood what I was looking for. Above all, they continued to follow up with me after my first assignment so that I could relaunch my career. I started this career switch by starting as a logistics operator at Parbelux. Then I was offered a training course (with certificate) to drive a reach truck. At the same time, I was able to take various personality tests which highlighted my management skills. After 9 months, I signed a permanent contract as a junior team leader in a sector that I didn’t know anything about at first. I know I will be able to develop further. I am grateful to Manpower and of course to my new employer Parbelux, who have both placed their trust in me.” Through its MyPath programme, Manpower hopes to increase this type of good practice by channelling Talents to meet clients’ needs, whilst increasing the loyalty of its temporary workers at the same time.

Recognition of hard skills and soft skills

Beyond hard skills, it is the soft skills that count to become a MyPath Talent. Even more so today in a hybrid, complex, and rapidly changing world of work. A thirst for learning, team spirit, problem solving, a sense of achievement and communication are just some of the qualities that make the difference and that are highly sought after by employers.  New Manpower Talents are evaluated and receive client recommendations in the form of badges. These badges provide a true endorsement for each Talent and promote their employability for their next temporary assignment or their career in general, by enhancing their CV or their profile on social networks.

This system is particularly appreciated by Musli Muslija for providing the coaching dimension of her role as Talent Agent. “This recommendation system has a double benefit: on the one hand, it strengthens engagement and the feeling of recognition of temporary workers, while allowing us to accompany them as they acquire the six key competencies highlighted in the MyPath programme; and on the other hand, it guarantees the quality of the profiles we present to our clients based on feedback gathered during previous assignments.”

The MyPath programme will allow Manpower to strengthen its candidate supply policy in a job market where recruitment intermediaries becoming less and less driven by their clients’ orders and job offers, but more and more reliant on candidates and their potential. “MyPath’s candidate-first approach should inspire companies to address talent shortages,” concludes Philippe Lacroix.

“We have a mission to improve the skills of people, to talk to them, to consult with them, advise them and help them get the skills they need to get a job.

“Our company aims to be a tremendous instrument for good by helping people become more employable and growing to achieve their goals.”

 Elmer Winter

– Founder and first CEO at Manpower