Personnel Staffing Agencies
Buy This Industry Report
Get more in-depth industry information with a First Research industry report containing business challenges, trends, executive insight, call prep questions, and so much more!
Increase Appointments
Engage Prospects
Build Your Confidence
Industry Overview
The US personnel staffing industry includes about 23,000 companies with combined annual revenue of about $120 billion. Major companies include Adecco, Kelly Services, and Manpower. The industry is fragmented: the 50 largest firms generate about 40 percent of industry revenue.
Competitive Landscape
Job growth drives demand for the personnel staffing industry. The profitability of individual companies depends on good marketing and availability of qualified employees. Large companies enjoy economies of scale in marketing and back-office operations. Small companies can compete successfully by specializing in an industry or a job function. The industry is labor-intensive: average annual revenue per worker is about $40,000.
Products, Operations & Technology
The industry is divided into three major segments: placement agencies, temporary help services, and professional employer organizations (PEOs). Placement agencies, sometimes referred to as executive recruiters or headhunters, find workers to fill permanent positions at customer companies. These agencies may specialize in placing senior managers, midlevel managers, technical workers, or clerical and other support workers. Temporary help services provide workers for customers for limited periods, often to substitute for absent permanent workers or to help during periods of peak demand. These workers, who are employees of the temporary help agency, will generally fill clerical, technical, or industrial positions. PEOs, sometimes known as employee leasing agencies, contract to provide workers to customers for specific functions, often related to human resource management. In many cases, a customers' employees are hired by a PEO and then leased back to the customer.
Staffing companies identify potential employees through advertising and referrals, and the companies interview, test, and counsel workers before sending them to the customer for approval. Pre-employment screening can include skills assessment, drug tests, and criminal background checks. Most staffing agencies provide some sort of training, often involving data entry and basic computer skills.
The personnel staffing industry has been radically changed by the Internet. Many employers list available positions with one or several Internet personnel sites like monster.com or jobs.com, and on their own site. Personnel agencies operate their own sites and often still work as intermediaries by helping employers accurately describe job openings and screening candidates who submit applications.
