our history

Once upon a time...
In 1972 Pieter Borgstein, Frans Platteel and Alex Mulder established the temping agency PBM Nederland B.V. To obtain a temping permit, they immediately took over a fellow-temping agency and ask their flex workers to think along about a suitable name for this new agency. Fully democratically the name Unique Uitzendburo is chosen. This new player in the temping market was well noticed right from the start. Especially because they didn't put profits first, but people. Particularly what every person can do, and wants to do.

Growth and expansion
In 1979, after seven years of growth, Unique Uitzendburo decided to move their head office to the new town of Almere as one of the first companies to do so. Ten years later in 1989, the Dutch borders were crossed to open Unique branches in Belgium. In 1994 these Belgian and Dutch activities are legally combined under the name of Unique International B.V. This is followed by years of continuous growth, autonomously as well as by acquiring fellow-temping agencies, with which the multibrand strategy is shaped.

To the stock exchange
9 September 1997 saw the introduction of a new share on the Amsterdam stock exchange. This was Unique International N.V., the result of a merger between Goudsmit N.V. (already listed) and Unique International B.V. Behind that new share was a rich history stretching back decades, with a combined 13 operating companies.

Goudsmit
The name Goudsmit dates from 1917 and until the 1990s was best known as producer and marketer of jewellers' products. During the 1990s the management decided to focus on activities with high growth potential. In 1993 this resulted in the acquisition of Polec and Techno Time, both active in the flexible employment market. Two years later Luzac College was acquired, and the next year Kontek, Edes/Seagull, Multiplan and others. Goudsmit was increasingly becoming a flex work organisation.

Formula for success
To quote bank analysts, the 1997 merger, which gave Unique International the initial access it sought to the public capital market, was a 'perfect fit, with benefits and synergies'. These expectations were no overstatement. The merger partners complemented each other seamlessly in terms of market approach and philosophy. Both kept a distance from price wars in the big-volume markets and around generic service, preferring to specialize in niches where quality is imperative. The turnover target of NLG 1 billion (€ 455 million) in 2000, as set in the merger year, was even almost fully realized in the financial year 1999, in comparison to a turnover of around € 268 million in 1997.

In 2001, Unique International changed name. To further emphasize its wide service offering, the organization continued as United Services Group N.V. from that moment on.

Acquisition of Start
The Start temporary employment organization was acquired in 2002. Start was originally created by the Dutch government, employers' organizations and the trade unions, to supplement the official employment bureaux, by helping people into regular work via temporary employment. Start was privatized in 1996. It was active in the field of flexible employment in the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, and Italy. In her existence, Start had grown to the number two position in the Dutch market with a strong position in areas including technology, transport, logistic and governmental.

Further strategic development
With this acquisition the service offering to customers in the Netherlands was further widened, which enabled the one-stop-shopping strategy more. The acquisition reinforced United Services Group's international position in countries including Spain (where Start ranked third), and Italy. Helped by expertise accrued in the Netherlands and Belgium, the reinforced market position in the European markets could be used to accelerate the build-up of specialist service provisions.

In May of 2005 United Services Group announced its new strategic objectives for the following three to five years, during which period turnover must increase to around € 2 billion. A substantial part of this extra growth would have to be generated in the four non-Dutch markets in which United Services Group was active. Moreover, the specialities are to make up a larger share of the activity portfolio.

Brand portfolio adjustments
Measures to enable these objectives included a more stringent strategic brand policy for United Services Group. It was determined that the identity of the group brand United Services Group was not yet sufficiently clear. Studies showed insufficient name awareness, and that, particularly in relation to the size of the company, the "umbrella" brand name yielded suboptimal authority. To this end it was decided to reduce the number of United Services Group brands and to link these.

Acquisition of Solvus
Moreover, on 14 June 2005 United Services Group announced its intention to acquire its Belgian peer Solvus Resource Group. To this end a friendly public offer was made for all outstanding shares, options and warrants of Solvus. Comprising brands such as Creyf's, Content and StarJob, Solvus was a supplier of innovative human resources, services and solutions. With the acquisition of Solvus, the previously announced turnover objective of € 2 billion had already been amply surpassed. The new combination of United Services Group and Solvus Resource Group from then on continued under the name USG People N.V.

Streamline
Following the chosen strategy - putting people first and approaching segments specifically - the multibrand strategy is further implemented and integration actually takes place. A process of rebranding is launched in this period to further streamline the brand portfolio and to group the brands conveniently and logically. The segmentation of general, specialist, professional and other services is introduced.

In 2006 and 2007, a number of (smaller) companies are acquired (Dutch Utrechtse Juristen Groep, French MultiCompta, German Geko and Allgeier and Spanish Professionalia). Furthermore, internal initiatives are developed to approach the market in new ways. For example, ‘de wereld van IKKI' is launched as a part of the internet strategy.

Plans to eventually reduce the brand portfolio to ten main brands, are announced in October 2009. Consequently, several mergers and expansions take place during the course of 2010. In Spain the Start People and Unique brands are merged and continue operations under the name Unique. In The Netherlands Content and Unique merge and continue under the name Unique, and the StarJob operations are combined with Secretary Plus. In Germany all existing local brands were transferred to Unique and Technicum. ‘De wereld van IKKI’ crosses the Dutch borders to Belgium, and Secretary Plus opens the doors to their first branch in Switzerland.

The story continues
From September 2008 until March 2009, the shares of USG People were included in the AEX Index – the index of best-traded stocks on the Amsterdam exchange. Currently, the shares are included in the Amsterdam Midcap Index (AMX) - Amsterdam’s index of medium-sized stocks.

In the same year, USG People enters into a partnership agreement with Jark Recruitment in order to get hold of the UK market.

Plans to form an Executive Board consisting of five members are announced in June 2010. In December of that year, all executive positions are filled and the Executive Board is officially installed.

Social responsibility
A Corporate Director for Social Responsibility (SR) is appointed in October 2010. A first SR report, including a plan of action for 2010-2013, is planned to be published in the course of 2011.

New initiatives are born
Starting March 2009, efficiency in the procedure of processing working hours is increased for all parties when USG People introduces the paperless processing of working hours in the Netherlands.
In October 2010, USG People launches www.gus.nl, a new job website in the Netherlands which contains all job vacancies of the Dutch operating companies. The web site’s name stands for “google us” and refers to the site’s search engine optimised functionality.
In the same month, USG People launches a new platform for freelancers in the Netherlands: IKKI Freelance. Soon after, this start-up is successfully launched in Belgium where they then generate a lot of media coverage for the platform, partly for the so-called ‘crying invoice’.

Strategic restructuring
In response to market demand for ever greater specialisation, USG People is set to adopt a new organisational structure from 1 January 2012. The current governance by country will be switched to international governance by brand, with the organisation being structured into three product / market combinations: General Staffing, Specialist Staffing and Professional Solutions. Each will focus on a specific market segment and will operate with a business model which is best suited to that segment. The brand portfolio will be reduced from almost 20 brands to five international brands: Start People, Unique, Secretary Plus, Technicum and USG Professional Solutions, complemented with a number of local brands.