KELLY “STRONGER AND BETTER” WHEN ECONOMY IMPROVES

Johannesburg, 1 February 2010 - Staffing services provider the Kelly Group is well placed to resume its growth as its markets start to recover in response to the global economic improvement, says chairman Moss Ngoasheng in the company’s 2009 annual report, published today. Ngoasheng notes, however, that 2010 will be another challenging year for the company. Despite the opportunities presented by the World Cup and the cautiously optimistic outlook from many analysts, the employment sector traditionally lags the general economy by at least six months and trading conditions for Kelly will therefore remain depressed for most of the year.

“During this time, we will continue to take advantage of emerging trends in the workplace and to implement our strategic objectives so that the group will again emerge stronger and better when the economy improves,” he says.

In the same report, Kelly Group CEO Grenville Wilson said productivity improvement and cost saving initiatives had last year helped to support the company’s performance. In spite of a significant deterioration in trading conditions from April onwards, the group had still managed to grow its annual revenue slightly in rand terms while maintaining its gross margin. The development of new products and services had also helped to offset the decline.

He said the group had successfully rolled out a digital strategy geared to the emergence of a new generation, now entering the workplace, which is technologically proficient and focused on mobile connectivity, interactive media and social networking. In line with this strategy, it has already introduced its CVs Online and CV Warehouse applications, which among other things streamline the job application process while also offering job-seekers greater choice by integrating the group’s various candidate databases.

In addition, the group has been developing technology-driven, value added online services for both clients and candidates. These include the recently introduced K-log, an advanced time, attendance and productivity management tool, and Talent Ocean, which will provide revenue-generating online services to clients and candidates.