Quess Corp

Quess Corp Limited (Quess) is one of the fastest-growing global business services providers, headquartered in Bengaluru, India. Founded in 2007, Quess Corp has acquired more than 23 businesses since inception, making it a leader in the staffing and business services industry. From end-to-end workforce management to integrated facility management services to omnichannel customer life cycle management to technology and digital IT solutions; Quess Corp is India’s largest business services platform across processes. Quess Corp provides tech-led solutions such as HR & F&A operations, IT & mobility services, facilities and security management, back-office operations, manufacturing operations, sales & marketing, after-sales service, and customer care to organizations across the world. Quess Corp became the youngest organization in India, to cross 2,50,000+ headcounts in the staffing industry in September 2021. Currently, the company has more than ~4,22,000 (as of 31st December 2021) employees working across verticals, businesses, and locations in India, Southeast Asia, and North America. ^{[1] [2] [3]} .^{[ citation needed ] [4]}

Quess Corp Limited

Type	Public
Founded	September 2007;14 years ago (September 2007)
Headquarters	Bengaluru, India
Area served	North America, South America, Middle East and South East Asia
Key people	Ajit Isaac (Non-Executive Chairman)
Services	Workforce Management, Operating Asset Management, Global Technology Solutions
Website	www.quesscorp.com

History

Incorporated then as IRIS Human Capital Solutions Pvt. Ltd., on September 19, 2007, in Bengaluru, India. The company’s name changed from IRIS Human Capital Solutions Pvt. Ltd to IKYA Human Capital Solutions Pvt. Ltd and a fresh certificate was issued by RoC on October 15, 2007. Thus, the Quess Corp we know of today celebrates its anniversary on October 15.

IKYA Human Capital Solutions Pvt. Ltd started as a manpower outsourcing company in 2007. In 2008, the company became the youngest player in the market to acquire Avon Facilities Management Services (now Quess Integrated Facilities Management Services) and expand the line of business. Soon after the takeover of Avon Facilities Management Services, the company saw a substantial investment coming in from Park Equity Holdings Limited to further the business line and expand capabilities. Thus, the investment helped Quess Corp acquire 2 key organizations from the Staffing & IT Staffing industry between 2009 & 2010 – Coachieve and Magna Infotech to form a syndicate of success for the coming years.

In 2013, Quess Corp saw yet another overseas organization – Fairfax Financial Holdings, led by Prem Watsa make an investment in the business. ^{[1] [4]}

IKYA Human Capital Solution Pvt Ltd – IKYA Human Capital Solutions Ltd

Under a special resolution of the Shareholders dated May 14, 2013, the Company was converted into a public limited company and the name of the Company was changed to IKYA Human Capital Solutions Limited. ^[1]

IKYA Human Capital Solutions Ltd – Quess Corp Ltd

On 19 January 2015, announcement was made to indicate ambition and explore new shores and opportunities, IKYA Human Capital Solutions Ltd rebranded and repositioned itself as Quess Corp Ltd. The term ‘Quess’ symbolizes perseverance, the drive for progress and discovery of new frontiers. ^{[1] [5] [6] [7]}

Leadership

Quess is steered by the vision and experience these industry veterans bring to the table. A look at the leadership team that drives the vision and mission of Quess. From seasoned professionals to industry veterans, these are the leaders that steer Quess to success.

Non-executive Chairman

Ajit Isaac is the founder and presently non-executive chairman of Quess Corp. A gold medalist and British Chevening Scholar from Leeds University, he has spent over 10 years in leadership roles in the private sector. As the CEO & MD of Quess Corp (then IKYA), he was actively involved in partnering with Fairfax in 2013. Under his leadership, the company went public in 2016, with a record-breaking IPO oversubscription of 144x. He was nominated for the 'India Forbes Leadership Award' in 2011 and was voted the finalist in the 2016 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer

Guruprasad Srinivasan is the Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer of Quess Corp. He has been associated with Quess since its inception in 2007. He has over 20 years of experience in the service industry in Strategy, Sales, Planning & Operations and Business Development. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Bangalore University and a Master's degree in Business Administration from Karnataka State Open University. He also has a Stanford Ignite Certification from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Chief Financial Officer

Ravi Vishwanath is the Chief Financial Officer of Quess Corp. An industry veteran, he has over 30 years of experience in Finance, Taxation, Corporate Law, and M&A. Ravi is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Bangalore University. ^{[8] [9]}

Business Platforms

Workforce Management

Quess Corp is a globally recognized workforce management services provider, offering end-to-end HRO services, staffing solutions, talent acquisition, payroll compliance, skill development and training, and managed workforce solutions. The workforce management vertical of Quess Corp further branches out into five key services that drive growth:

• Staffing solutions – Also referred to as Quess Staffing Solutions (QSS), is a core service provided by Quess Corp under workforce management. It enables recruitment, employee management, training, and skill development through proprietary tech-solutions and platforms.

• IT staffing - From comprehensive IT staffing solutions to Managed IT services, Quess IT Staffing provides a host of professional staffing services to meet business requirements.

• Healthcare services – Quess Corp offers distinctive recruitment and training services to the healthcare sector under this arm of workforce management. Quess Healthcare caters to immigration and migration, end-to-end hospital management, corporate healthcare solutions, medical tourism, and other services.

• Skilling & learning solutions - Quess Learning aims to bridge the gap between supply and demand for skilled resources by providing a wide range of training and skill development programmes for graduates, professionals, and corporates. It also offers corporate training services designed to upskill senior, mid-level management, and entry-level employees.

• Digital compliance solutions - Launched in 2015, Simpliance, a Quess subsidiary, is an intelligent digital compliance platform that enables organizations to assess their governance, risk and compliance tasks in a one-place setting. Enterprise risk management, regulatory compliance management, and labour law compliance are few of the services offered by Simpliance. ^[10]

Operating asset management

This business vertical of Quess Corp focuses on longevity and competency of a company’s assets for seamless functioning. The vertical offers services ranging from integrated facilities management, technology-enabled manned guarding, e-surveillance, command center-led business solutions, food and corporate catering, after-sales and industrial maintenance, asset & data management, cellular services, pest control, and hospitality services. The operating asset management vertical of Quess Corp offers four key services to stand tall on its promise:

• Integrated facilities management services - India's premier integrated facility management and food solutions provider, Quess FMS encompasses multiple disciplines to ensure functionality, comfort, safety, and efficiency of the built environment by integrating people, place, process, and technology. The facility management services includes soft services, technical services, landscaping, and pest control services, in addition to catering and hospitality services.

• Security services – Terrier, a Quess Corp subsidiary offers integrated security solutions for corporate enterprises. It enables businesses to keep an eye on their systems on-the-go through services such as intelligent protection, security automation, e-surveillance, and more.

• Industrial services – Quess Industrial services provides operational assistance as well as maintenance to both private and state-owned enterprises. ERP and EPC support, telecom network optimization, solar plant EPC, and data management are some of the services offered by this arm of the operating asset management platform.

• Telco network solutions - Quess' Vedang Cellular Services ranks among the leaders of India’s Telecom Network Operations & Maintenance space. Vedang’s solutions are geared towards empowering operators and OEMs across the country through turnkey solutions for passive infrastructure, towers, DG, and shelter foundations. Some of Vedang's services include telecom network optimization, project management, and build services. ^[11]

Global technology solutions

Also known as Quess GTS, this business vertical focuses on building modern-age technology solutions to solve complex business problems, and achieve optimal efficiency in enterprise processes. Quess GTS is highly customer-centric, and offers a range of solutions such as digital transformation and automation, cybersecurity, insurance processing life-cycle management, BPO, and more to a global audience. The key services branch out as below:

• BPO & CLM – The Quess GTS CLM platform captures data through customer interaction and analysis, helping businesses maintain robust customer relationships and retention. Its BPO services, on the other hand, are designed to scale up businesses, making them agile and resilient. Both these services are rendered to clients present in India and abroad.

• Tech services – Quess GTS offers tech services that boost business and employee productivity by 2X. It is the fastest-growing service provider of integrated services through Infrastructure, Application, BPO, Testing, and Digital Services as well as enablers in the domains of Cloud, Analytics, DevOps, RPA, and Cyber Security.

• Insurance platform services – This platform developed by Quess GTS is an on-demand comprehensive suite of solutions that enables organizations manage the insurance processing cycle efficiently.

• Digital business services – Quess GTS is known for developing digitally sound tech-led services that optimize business processes. It provides extensive customer lifecycle management that manage costs, and enhance customer experience.

• HR outsourcing – The digital HRO services offered by Quess GTS help organizations better employee experience across industries. It builds scalable integrated solutions such as ERP systems to leverage technological advantages.

Emerging business – Digital transformation and automation are at the core of Quess Corp, and to further this idea, the organization has developed new-age technology that makes life at work, easy. Whether it is finding a job or candidate, after-sale services, or employee management, the suite of emerging business solutions from Quess Corp are compelling.

• Digital Career management – Quess Corp enables digital solutions to job seekers and  employers via auto-hiring engines through Monster India (a Quess subsidiary) and QJobs.

• Tech-led employee engagement platform – Currently used by the internal teams of Quess Corp, worQ is a platform equipped with productivity tools, robust employee self service modules like attendance, leave, claims, HR documents, policies, etc., and state of the art employee engagement features with a dedicated employee benefits module.

• Product installation and Aftersales service – QUESSCare is one of India’s leading after sales service providers offering on-site and in-home installation and troubleshooting services for smartphones, consumer electronics and consumer durables ^{[12] [13]}

Financials

The financial outlook of Quess Corp from 2015-2021.

Year	Revenue	PAT
FY 2014-15	INR 2574.80 Cr	INR 68.89 Cr
FY 2015-16	INR 3435.01 Cr	INR 81.18 Cr
FY 2016-17	INR 4157.36 Cr	113.44 Cr
FY 2017-18	INR 6167.26 Cr	INR 309.76 Cr
FY 2018-19	INR 8526.99 Cr	INR 256.55 Cr
FY 2019-20	INR 10991.5 Cr	INR 283.5 Cr
FY 2020-21	INR 10836.9 Cr	INR 245.1 CR

^{[14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19]}

IPO Details

• IPO Date 4 July 2016 - Date of Prospectus

• Issue Type 100% Book Built Issue

• Listing Date 12 July 2016

• Issue Size 12,618,297 Equity Shares

• Face Value INR 10 per Equity Share

• IPO Price INR 317 per Equity Share

• IPO Listing Open Price INR 499 per Equity Share on BSE ^[20]
• IPO Listing Open Price INR 500 per Equity Share on NSE ^[20]

Listing At Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE) ^{[21] [22]}

Acquisitions

Quess has made 23 acquisitions and investments since its inception in 2007 ^[23] . Key ones are given below:

Year Acquisition Details ^{[4] [1]}

Year of Acquisition	Business Acquired
2008	Avon, a facility management company
2009	Coachieve, a human resources solutions company
2010	Magna Infotech, an IT staffing company
2014	Hofincons, a consulting and asset management services company Brainhunter, an IT solutions company Acquired 49% stake in MFX, an IT infrastructure company
2015	Aravon, an integrated facilities management company
2016	Randstand Lanka, a staffing and human resources solutions company Acquired balance 51% stake in MFX, an IT infrastructure company Acquired 49% stake in Terrier, entering Manned Guarding and Security Solutions Business Acquired majority stake in Inticore, entering into advanced engineering solutions
2017	Greenpiece Landscapes Acquired 64% stake in Comtel, largest IT Staffing player in Singapore Acquired 70% stakes in Vedang Cellular Services Private Limited [24] Acquired TATA Business Support Services Limited (TBSS), now called ConneQt Business Solutions
2018	Monster (APAC & Gulf) HCL’s care unit, Touch
2019	61.35% stake in Allsec Technologies Acquired additional 18.71% stake in Vedang Cellular Services Private Limited [25]
2021	49% equity shares in Taskmo [26] Acquired additional 3.76% stake, total holding stands at 92.47% in Vedang Cellular Services Private Limited

Offices and Locations

A list of Quess locations across the globe ^[27] :

International

• Canada
• Malaysia
• Philippines
• Singapore
• Sri Lanka
• UAE
• Vietnam
• USA
• India
• Bangladesh

India

• Assam
• Andhra Pradesh
• Bihar
• Chandigarh
• Chhattisgarh
• Goa
• Gujarat
• Haryana
• Jammu & Kashmir
• Jharkhand
• Karnataka
• Kerala
• Madhya Pradesh
• NCR
• Odissa
• Punjab
• Rajasthan
• Tamil Nadu
• Telangana
• Uttar Pradesh
• Uttarakhand
• West Bengal

Sports

In 2018, Quess Corp invested in one of the oldest and most popular football clubs in India, East Bengal FC to promote and support football as a sport in India. The then 98-year-old football club was renamed Quess East Bengal FC (QEBFC). The collaboration, however, ended in July 2020 due to irreconcilable differences. ^{[28] [29]}

Philanthropy

Quess actively contributes to the welfare of the community and creates a positive impact on the lives of people through Care Works Foundation (CWF). The foundation was established in 2014. Through its focus on healthcare and education, CWF aims to build a healthy and educated workforce and thus provide a sustainable livelihood for the marginalized sections of society.

In 2015, The Ministry of Education - Government of Karnataka, established a partnership with Quess to augment and enhance government-owned schools across the State. As of 2021, Quess is working with 75 government schools across Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, building infrastructure, including basic amenities such as toilets, labs, electricity, and clean drinking water, benefitting 13,500 students. ^{[30] [31]}

Sustainability

Through its ~4,22,000 (as on 31st December 2021) strong workforce, Quess Corp contributes to the cause of economic and social sustainability in India. The conglomerate has launched multiple initiatives in tandem with the cause. Here are some of the major projects that Quess Corp has managed and executed ^{[32] [33]} :

• Effectively managed 4.2 million sq.ft. Area through Greenpiece.

• Maintains 2 parks in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India with a cumulative coverage area of 97,000 sq.ft.

• Facilitates 100% paperless onboarding of employee across operative Quess offices and locations.

• Minimized e-waste through mobiles, laptops, chargers, old PCs, keyboards, and other hardware by refurbishing them.

Awards & Recognition

1. Ranked 2 amongst India’s largest employers by Burgundy Private Hurun India 500, 2021 ^[34]
2. Diversity Champion (Search & Staffing) LinkedIn Talent Awards 2021 ^[35]
3. Ranked 100 in BW real 500 ranking non financial sector
4. Amongst the top 5 leading Women Employers in India by Burgundy Private Hurun India 500, 2021 ^[34]
5. Quess was certified a Great Place to Work in 2022 for the third consecutive year. ^{[36] [37]}
6. Quess Staffing became the youngest organization to cross 250,000 headcounts in 2021 ^[38]
7. Quess was named amongst the Top 10 HR Tech solution providers in India by the Enterprise World magazine in 2021. ^[39]
8. Quess was ranked 48 in SIA’s top 100 largest global staffing firms in 2021. ·
9. Quess was ranked 137 in the Fortune India 500 list in 2021. ^[40]
10. Quess was recognized as one of the most promising brands by the Economic Times in 2021. ^[41]
11. Quess was certified as a Great Place to Work® for the year 2021 by Great Place to Work Institute, India.
12. Quess was Ranked 50 on SIA top global Staffing firms for 2020. ^[42]
13. Quess has been certified as a Great Place to Work® for the year 2020 by Great Place to Work Institute – India.
14. Quess Malaysia has won three prestigious awards at the Asia Recruitment Awards 2020 ^[43]
    1. Best Recruitment Portal by a Recruitment Solution Provider (Gold),
    2. Best Candidate Experience by a Recruitment Solution Provider (Silver),
    3. Most Innovative Recruitment Strategy – Solution Provider (Bronze).
15. Comtel Solutions, Singapore was recognized as Asia’s Best Employer Brand 2019.
16. Quess was ranked 177 on ET 500 companies list ^[44] and 69 on SIA top global Staffing firms for 2019.
17. Quess was recognized as the winner in the ‘Best IPO’ category of IR Awards, 2017 instituted by the Investor Relations Society of India in association with KPMG, Bloomberg and BSE. ^[45]
18. Quess Chairman Ajit Isaac was named a finalist at the 2016 EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award Program in India. ^{[46] [47]}
19. Quess was recognized as the ‘Best Partner’ two years in a row by Huawei Telecommunications for our staffing business, 2016.
20. ConneQt Business Solutions, Subsidiary of Quess, recognized for contribution towards society by Amity CSR awards.
21. Quess Industrials was awarded the Strategic Partner (Services) award by ZTE at its India Partners Meet, 2016.
22. Simpliance, an associate of Quess, was recognized as the Best Start-Up for its industry leading cloud-based compliance tool at NHRD Showcase, 2016.
23. Quess Lanka won the ‘Device Service Excellence Gold Partner Award’ from Huawei Sri Lanka for providing professional staffing services across the region, 2016.
24. Quess Staffing was recognized as the Star Partner at HCL Global Partner Meet, 2016.
    

Controversies

IKEA, a furniture retail company from Sweden, lodged an affidavit with Chennai Registrar of Trade Marks against Quess, stating that IKYA, a division of Quess Corp Ltd, was using a brand name similar to theirs. IKYA Human Capital Solutions won the indictment. ^[48]

References

1. "Quess Corp History". 12 April 2022.
2. "Employee count" (PDF). 10 February 2022.
3. "Staffing milestone". 20 September 2021.
4. "Quess Corp History". 12 April 2022.
5. Shekhar, Divya (19 October 2015). "Good Samaritan: How Quess Corp CEO Ajit Isaac takes care of education and healthcare of the underprivileged". They Economic Times. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
6. "Press release".
7. "Annual Report" (PDF).
8. "Leadership".
9. "Quess Leadership". 13 April 2022.
10. "Workforce Management". 13 April 2022.
11. "Operating Asset Management". 13 Apr 22.{{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
12. "Global Technology Solutions". 13 April 2022.
13. "Corporate deck" (PDF). 13 April 2022.
14. "Annual report 2015-16" (PDF). 13 April 2022.
15. "Annual report 2016-17" (PDF). 13 April 2022.
16. "Annual report 2017-18" (PDF). 13 April 2022.
17. "Annual report 2018-19" (PDF). 13 April 2022.
18. "Annual report 2019-20" (PDF). 13 April 2022.
19. "Annual report 2020-21" (PDF). 13 April 2022.
20. "Quess IPO". 13 April 2022.
21. "Quess NSE and BSE Listing". 13 April 2022.
22. "Quess corp company stocks". 13 April 2022.
23. "Acquisition" (PDF). 13 April 2022.
24. "Vedang take over". 13 April 2022.
25. "Vendang stake increase". 13 April 2022.
26. "Taskmo". 13 April 2022.
27. "Office locations". 13 April 2022.
28. "QEBFC". 13 April 2014.
29. "QEBFC termination". 13 April 2022.
30. "CSR" (PDF). 13 April 2022.
31. "CWF". 13 April 2022.
32. "Sustainability". 13 April 2022.
33. "ESG" (PDF). 13 April 2022.
34. "Burgundy Private Hurun 500". 13 April 2022.
35. "Diversity Champion". 13 April 2022.
36. [www.greatplacetowork.in/ "Great Place to Work - India's Best Companies to Work For"]. Great Place to Work. Retrieved 13 April 2022.{{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
37. "GPTW certificate" (PDF). 13 April 2022.
38. "Staffing milestone 2.5L". 13 April 2022.
39. "The Enterprise World magazine". 13 April 2022.
40. "Fortune India" (PDF). 13 April 2022.
41. "Promising brand" (PDF). 13 April 2022.
42. "SIA 2020". 13 April 2022.
43. "Asia recruitment awards". 13 April 2022.
44. "ET500 2021". 13 April 2022.
45. "Best IPO". 13 April 2022.
46. "Entrepreneur of the year".
47. "Entrepreneur of the year". 13 April 2022.
48. "Quess Corp wins IKEA suit for using IKYA brand". timesofindia-economictimes. Retrieved 19 January 2016.