The company opened 120 agencies in France

Household, it is usually a chore, it is also a very old profession, but is this industry More than ten years, the authorities scratch head and open their wallets to attempt to create a real chain of services to the person. With the idea, blown by brilliant economists, that this odd addition eventually well into a great industry jobs harder to outsource overseas and accessible to non-graduates creatures. Michèle Debonneuil, author of a visionary book on the subject (1), sees the first stone of a new civilization, that of the Quaternary, which involved production of goods and services, only way to sustainable and peaceful coexistence between the Western economies and new emerging nations. It is she who advised the Minister Jean-Louis Borloo for launch in 2005 an ambitious plan to help with very generous tax and financial aid. With, of course, the objective to bring back into the legal work much of which was black.

But it is not the craft, or even of the in-house industry in a slamming of fingers. And as with any new industry, it followed the learning curve: euphoria, bubble, disappointment and finally more moderate but sustainable growth. In launching his plan, Jean-Louis Borloo talking about 500,000 new jobs in three years. It was the phase euphoria. The return to Earth was rude. According to the Observatory of the human services, nearly 100,000 equivalent jobs full time have been created since 2005, including 16,000 in 2009, which is already not bad given the conditions, but some distance from the 100,000 expected annually at the start.

The gestation of the sector is therefore in its infancy. The essence of the profession remains artisan. According to the COE-Rexecode Institute (2), the market represented in 2007 a total of more than 20 billion euros of turnover. On this, work in black and direct employment by the employers is insufferable together almost 80, almost in equal shares. Therefore the associations, with around 20, and finally the private companies, which, with 550 million turnover, is only 2.5 of the total. It is still the large industry.

And as in most of the new activities to profitability uncertain, this leaves paradoxically a beautiful place to new entrants, more flexible and ready to take risks (many were sunk). Thus were born Acadomia in school support, Adhap Services in assisting the elderly or sick, or O2 in the household at home. Leaders in their sector whose turnover does not exceed a few tens of millions of euros at best. It is yet on their shoulders rests the success or failure of the emergence of this new industry.

Take the example of O2. Created at the threshold of the years 2000, like most of his colleagues, he did took off only from 2004. Since 2007, its sales almost double every year: in 2007, 26 EUR 13 million in 2008, 43 in 2009 and 70 expected for this year. Its results are in the balance since September 2008 and the first net profits are expected for 2010. It therefore perfect profile of the fast-growing start-up. How to continue on this path With proof of the added value of its offer to the use of an independent, declared or not constantly to its customers. To do this, it faces three challenges intimately bound to each other: human resources, productivity and expansion.

Confidence and competence are key for clients. Employees of O2 as all employees, and non-independent, the first difficulty is in the recruitment, given to the heads of local agencies. Last year, the firm has hired more than 4,000 people. It plans to recruit as much this year. Almost 95 of them are unemployed and two-thirds come from the black work.

Once employees recruited, must retain them. First because the recruitment is difficult, but also because the interest of the company is to have customers familiar personal and most working possible, two half cost more expensive than a full time. According to Guillaume Richard, the pattern of O2, its employees work at least part-time. To keep them, it must both meet their wishes in terms of working time and manage their progression in time while they are paid at the SMIC.

To do this, the company has two levers. The first is the ability to evolve the framework, at Headquarters, or, especially, in the management of one of the local agencies. The second is the rise in the level of benefits. The company created to do this three levels in the household: Classic, comfort and prestige, according to the requirements requested by the client. Guillaume Richard does not lose an opportunity to clarify that if, on the classic provision, employees returned 6 shirts at the time, performance goes up 10 shirts in the prestige, or even 15 for class some! At each level, the tariff increases of 2 euros. The company shares 50 - 50 that gain with the employee. However, statistically, when it offers three levels of tariff, 80 of customers opt for the workplace...

The second challenge is that of productivity. It is expressed in terms of quantity (more revenue for the same cost) or quality (a better benefit that can justify a higher price). Computer use is widespread, each speaker is connected to the central office with his mobile phone. The support of a child out of school is thus embodied by the reading of a barcode. Qualitatively, it is training that plays this role.

The final challenge is that of expansion. Very quickly, O2 realized that there were many more synergies to replicate an activity or two on the whole rather than providing a range of services in a single city. The human service professions are too diverse, school support carried out by mandated teachers has nothing to do in terms of management with the household or child care. Cape therefore on geographic expansion. The company opened 120 agencies in France. In this profession of proximity, it is the key element to enlarge its clientele and the main position of investment. A head of agency costs 6500 euros per month and manages 70 employees at half-time. Suddenly, it takes three to four years to return an agency. The goal is to have 500 agencies in France in five years. Then work on a phased deployment in the international.

According to the study of COE-Rexecode, are companies which should recover the bulk of the growth of the profession of the individual services in the coming years, with a turnover from slightly more than 1 billion euros in 2010 to nearly 8 by 2015 and more than 17 in 2020. But by then, the central issue remains: that happens when the State débranchera the help system which allows companies in the sector of rates of the same order as the black work, is two times less (after tax deduction) than the normal price (10 euros per hour for a typical household instead of 20). The risk is high then clients orchestrate a return to the black and crafts. The State is somehow sentenced himself to the success of his plan, and this is perhaps the best protection for this nascent industry.