Valerie Beaulieu-James’ Post

What a rich discussion on AI and how it’s transforming the way we work! Grateful for the opportunity to participate in the #AIDays conference in Brest, the « West Coast of Europe », alongside insightful panelists ⚡ Frédéric Bardeau 🚀 and Cyril de Sousa Cardoso . Special thanks to Mikaël Cabon for an excellent moderation. We delved into AI impact in the world of work, emphasizing the importance of investing in people and skills and reinventing the role of managers as enablers and coaches. This French Tech event was also the opportunity to highlight the local community perspective, stressing the imperative to be deliberate and foster inclusion in the journey to embrace AI. AI is a tool, not an end goal. By prioritizing safeguards and putting our humanity back in the center, it can bridge skill gaps and drive positive societal impact. Huge thanks to John (Jean-Eudes) Queffélec 🌍 and Frederic NICOLAS for having me and fostering such inspiring dialogues. #MakingtheFutureWorkforEveryone #AIDays #womenintech The Adecco Group

Of course, being an #ally doesn’t start or end in June: for me, each year, #Pride Month is a moment of reflection and hope. And a chance to celebrate all the heroes around us, celebrate my colleagues, my friends and their loving same-sex partners: dads, mums, amazing professionals and business leaders. I am in awe of them and the progress we have made as a society. It also makes me reflect on what we can learn from these couples who are tracing a new path outside of pre-conceived social models on who should take care of the kids or do more chore work….      But while their example is full of hope, many people are still struggling to just be themselves. It took courage to stand up for the rights of the marginalized and spark the LGBTQ+ movement 55 years ago. And it still takes all we’ve got to empower those who most need it 55 years later.   At The Adecco Group, I am reminded every day of the power of simple acts of courage and the amazing creativity that comes from embracing ‘difference’ and inclusion in everything we do: our allyship and advocacy can go a long way in driving workplace inclusion and beyond- in building a culture where everyone can thrive.   #PrideMonth, #ExpressYourPride, #LGBTQ, #ReflectEmpowerUnite

Last week I was at #Vivatech- THE leading tech event in France, full of encounters with some of the most innovative start-ups & so many learning moments. You won’t be surprised when I say that all the booths were about #AI, #GenAI and their practical applications in all kind of industries. And as I walked the alleys of #vivatech, I could not help thinking about the amazing opportunities in play and how we can empower everyone to make the most of these incredible innovations. And that reminded me of a recent podcast - hosted by Sinead Keenan, Chief Innovation Officer at The Adecco Group coaching solution - EZRA Coaching. Her guest was Simon Lambert, Chief Learning Officer at #Microsoft UK and as it happens, a brilliant good friend of mine from my early days at Microsoft 😉. The discussion was around the impact of AI and the fundamental question: are humans at risk of being left behind in the AI boom? Simon’s & Sinead's answer? No, as long as we build a culture that put learning as a continuous part of work, to mitigate skills obsolescence & ensure we leverage AI to unlock human creativity and capitalize on the power of thinking. What’s your answer?   Listen to the podcast here 🎧 https://lnkd.in/e3ht3cWc Bruno J. Fiorentini Vijay Jonnalagadda Christian Lortz #lifelonglearner, #womenintech, #AItoUnlockHumanCreativity

What an inspiration to see the impact Adecco Group US Foundation and their amazing leader Joyce Russell are driving in partnership with great organizations such as Dress for Success Charlotte. It was truly moving to hear the stories of the women who have been helped to get back to work in their own words. We were honored to be able to contribute and give back to such a worthy cause. #AdeccoGroup #DressForSuccess #GivingBack #InspiringWomen

I believe - like many of you - that #AI is and, will be a gamechanger for pretty much any industry you operate in. At The Adecco Group, we just surveyed 2,000 C-Suite executives to understand how they see AI changing the world of work. One for the main learnings is that understanding Gen AI and having the capabilities inside your business is the Number One priority. ⚡ 57% of the leaders lack confidence in their very own C-Suite's ability to understand the “risks and opportunities” from AI ⚙ 66% are looking to recruit externally for AI-skilled talent (66%), In the long run, this ‘buy’ versus ‘build’ approach is unsustainable. Having a responsible talent strategy in place and urgently deploying AI upskilling internally should be one of the key bets for companies to be successful in an AI-enhanced world. And I am convinced that it’s that steadfast focus on people that will allow us to leverage Gen AI as a tool to drive our businesses forward and augment our humanity!   You can dive into our research below https://lnkd.in/eR5B4rXF #AdeccoGroup #BusinessLeaders2024 #FutureOfWork  

Inspiring few days in Manila, where I met the amazing Pontoon Solutions team. Too often customer hubs are taken for granted and they often fail to receive the recognition they deserve! And there are so many reasons to be impressed when you land in Manila: 🎨 First, the incredible breadth of impact for the business in Pontoon but also across all The Adecco Group businesses- Adecco, LHH, Akkodis - covering back office functions across finance, audit & compliance, legal, HR, IT, etc. and supporting clients around the world: sourcing, screening, validation, on-boarding, reporting, compliance, DEI and so much more. 🌏 Second, the unique strength of the team in language proficiencies, with the ability to scale program support in English, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Korean and many more. 📚 Third, the impressive sum of experience and expertise across businesses, functions, geographies for talent acquisition and supporting functions. 💕 Fourth, the admirable “How”: with heartfelt care for our clients and candidates, passion to deliver with excellence, engrained agility (supported by a unique 24/7 set up to cover all time zones for example), constant curiosity to drive innovation in process and technology alike. 🌈Last and certainly not least, the unmatched role modeling of diversity and inclusion from relentless focus on learning and development, to DEI, remarkably walking the talk in every aspect of the worklife to make sure every single person feels seen, respected and included. Thank you for a great visit. I am confident that the Philippines operations can serve many more of our clients around the world and lead the way in operational excellence and execution. Onwards & upwards! @Kat Nebriaga, Rea Dacara, CPA , Lyca Mallari , Abbie D. Jay Eardly, Chris Benson, CCWP , Lee Baldwin , Karin Selfors-Thomann Sapna Sood , Ian Lee

Coming to Singapore has something of a homecoming and it is always wonderful to reconnect with both people and places. Needless to say, Singapore never disappoint and I am grateful for all the rich conversations with our clients about their plans for the region and the exciting opportunities they need help to capture today or in the near future. It was also an amazing opportunity to connect with teams of The Adecco Group at regional and local level. A special mention to: ✨the young Talents of Adecco, LHH & Akkodis : our conversation on #DEI, #GenAI, #collaboration, #passion, #customerattheheart left me energized and excited to see how much you’ve made the Adecco Group values uniquely yours! 🍾 the sales and marketing teams who sacrificed their Friday night wind-down to spend an inspiring time discussing how to come together beyond boundaries and shift the conversation to solve clients problems. 🏆 the Pontoon Team - and in particular Adam Faulkner - who are not only doing a great job in the region but orchestrated a great visit agenda. Singapore & APAC: you rock! Betul Genc Rémi Szymkowiak Tim MacCartney Sinead Keenan Jayita Roy Tim Neuhaus Carlos Estrada Elly Dwijana Charles Disneur Tenere Hatendi Bhawna Gandhi Natalie Tait Vinod Kumar M Charu Malik Sapna Sood Ian Lee Laurent Hulin

What an exciting time in India! In just a couple of days I was able to meet so many amazing teams across Adecco , Akkodis LHH and Pontoon Solutions and some of our most prominent clients. I also had a chance to celebrate the #iwd2024 with the young women leaders of The Adecco Group in Bangalore: what an incredible group of strong women 💪 I left energized by the growth opportunity in India and the infectious enthusiasm of our teams: your professionalism, your care for our clients, your appetite for growth & innovation is so inspiring! To our clients, thank you for your generous comments on the way you’re evolving your offshoring strategy and how we can continue to support your operations in India for India and for the rest of the world. And to our teams, my heartfelt gratitude for your hospitality and looking forward to further strengthening our presence in wonderful India. And this would not be complete without a special mention the unique #pontoon crew: Jai, Kedar and Supriya who’ve been preparing this powerful visit: THANK YOU! Rajganesh Ramachandran , Himanshu Agrawal , Cauvery Uthappa (She/Her) , Manu Saigal and all the young women leaders of the #adeccogroup in Bangalore: you rock! Praveen Kamath Kumbla, Sujith Nair, Aiyappa Eswara Sonal Singh Jayanthi Perumal Sapna Sood Ian Lee

All along my professional journey, I've committed to mentoring and empowering women (and men) as a way of giving back for all that I've learnt. One piece of advice I have always given women is not to be afraid to apply for roles- even when they believe they may not be qualified enough.   I remember, back in my career, one such situation when a new role opened, a level up from my job at the time. Back then, my first reaction was to feel that I did not have enough experience *yet* to apply for it. Thankfully, my manager came to me and convinced me I was "enough" and that I should just apply for the job. I did and I got it.   Think about the irony of the situation: I was falling for the very bias I was fighting against with my mentees. 😊   On the eve of the #internationalwomensday , I wanted to share that story because no matter where you are in your career journey, allies and sponsors always have a critical role to play- they give you the confidence to aim higher in those moments when you hesitate and doubt yourself. So to all my professional sisters, don’t be afraid to ask for a bigger project or apply for a bigger role. Just DARE! There is so much to learn when you raise your hand, and the reality is that there is no such thing as being perfectly ready to take the next step.   And to all allies, let’s empower women at work, be an active advocate and support them to get the confidence to DARE! This is inclusion in action and every small act can lead to a big impact.   #internationalwomensday , #inspireinclusion , #theadeccogroup