You can tell the staffing industry is living some interesting times when one of the fastest-growing firms is thriving on a model that seems at odds with the dominant one in the competition, not to mention the very idea of temporary staffing.
This is the case in France, one of the oldest staffing markets in Europe and certainly one of the most established when it comes to procuring temporary workers for the booming logistical services industry.
Gel Groupe was launched in 2010 by Guilhem de Lajarte and partner Émilie Legoff. The company provides temporary staffing services to the logistical services industry, a segment with a lot of jobs on offer, but one where margins are typically low. In addition, staff turnover in the logistical services industry is known to be sky high. In fact, requisitions come steadily, but candidates don’t stick around.
In these conditions, is there any gap in the market to create some value for customers? Under the Gel Logistique brand, de Lajarte and Legoff offer a service that is both lauded and highly disruptive in the logistics niche. The twist is that the workers provided by Gel Logistique are its permanent employees. Not only do they offer job security in an industry where permanent employment seems unattainable for many workers, but more importantly, having their own roster means the brand is represented by workers who are trained to operate as a team and therefore deliver consistently high-quality service.
Gel Groupe was the fastest-growing company in the French staffing market in 2015, with a 37% revenue growth rate compared with 2014. After only a few years in operation, the group claims it owns as much as 25% of the logistics staffing market in France, and it is launching operations in Brazil to follow existing clients such as supermarket network Casino, ID Logistics and FM Logistic.
The Buzz
Gel Logistique has fashioned itself an attractive new hat from an old one. All it took was bringing permanent employment back into the flexible workforce solutions ecosystem.
