Adecco AG

Well, who would have thought Adecco, the world's largest temporary employment agency with $18 billion in revenues and 30,000 employees, would have a temporary head office? That's the case here though as the company plans to move from these rented quarters to another a few miles away.

Built in the mid-1990's, the four-story building stands less than 100 feet from busy train tracks. I'm in suburban Wallisellen, five miles from Zurich's city center and five miles from Zurich's Airport.

CEO Jerome Caille is out of the office and try as she could Michele Grueniger, the friendly receptionist, isn't able to find anyone to meet with me. I'm told to return next week. As I'm outside getting ready to hop on the bike, out step several employees including Nadya Wick from Adecco's Corporate Communications department. Grueniger had called corporate communications earlier to see if they had received my letter of introduction sent a month ago to CEO Caille, they hadn't but were intrigued by what Grueniger said I was doing. I'm in luck as they agree to answer questions and walk me around.

Adecco moved here in 2001 and are moving again in October of 2002. The company occupies the first and second floors with between 50 and 60 working here. Meeting rooms are named after cities, smoking isn't allowed in offices, there's no corporate art collection and plenty of parking in the underground garage. The nearest freeway is a block away, the trains stop a block away and with Zurich city center and Zurich Airport both five miles away it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out this is a central location.

CEO Caille's second floor corner office looks pretty barren. I'm told it's partially due to the fact he's always traveling and that they'll be moving to new digs. There're no plants and his view? The courtyard and of other buildings. The boardroom décor includes fake plants and a table seating 16.