Hays plc

Hays is one of the world's largest specialist recruitment firms, operating in 33 countries with approximately 12,500 fee-earning consultants (FY2019). The company's primary cost is its consultant workforce — SG&A (primarily consultant compensation and office costs) represented approximately 85% of net fee income. Consultant productivity, measured as net fee income per consultant, had plateaued at approximately £47,000-£49,000 per annum from FY2017-2019. With wage inflation for experienced recruiters running at 4-6% annually, flat productivity meant margin compression. Operating margin had stagnated at approximately 6.5-7.0% of net fees.

Starting in FY2020, Hays implemented a multi-year consultant productivity program:

• Digital sourcing tools: Deployed AI-powered candidate matching across all markets, reducing the time consultants spent on sourcing (LinkedIn searching, database mining) from approximately 40% of their day to approximately 25%. The freed time was redirected to client-facing activities: business development calls, client meetings, and requirement qualification.
• CRM and pipeline analytics: Rolled out a global CRM platform with embedded analytics that scored both job orders and candidates on fill probability. Consultants received daily "hot lists" ranking their pipeline by likelihood to convert, enabling focus on highest-value activities. Low-probability requisitions were flagged for deprioritization or client renegotiation.
• Performance tiering and coaching: Implemented granular productivity tracking at the individual consultant level, benchmarking against market-specific cohorts. Bottom-quartile performers received structured 90-day improvement plans with weekly coaching. Top-quartile performers were studied for replicable practices that were codified into training programs.
• Office footprint rationalization: COVID-accelerated shift to hybrid working enabled reduction of approximately 15% of office space globally between FY2020-2023, saving approximately £30M annually in occupancy costs while maintaining consultant headcount.

• Net fee income per consultant: Increased from approximately £48,000 in FY2019 to approximately £56,000 in FY2023, a 17% improvement.
• Conversion rate improvement: Ratio of placements to job orders taken improved from approximately 22% to 27% over the period, reflecting better job qualification and candidate matching.
• SG&A ratio decline: SG&A as a percentage of net fee income declined from approximately 85% to 81% between FY2019-2023, a 400 basis point improvement.
• Operating margin expansion: Operating profit margin on net fees improved from approximately 6.8% in FY2019 to approximately 10.2% in FY2023 (peak year), driven by the combination of consultant productivity gains and office cost savings.
• Office cost savings: Approximately £30M annual run-rate savings from footprint rationalization, representing ~1.5% of net fees.
• Timeframe: FY2020-FY2023 (3-year program, partially accelerated by COVID).

• Specialist recruitment model (not generalist) meant consultant expertise could be leveraged more effectively with better tools
• Global scale enabled centralized technology investment with local deployment
• COVID-19 created a forcing function for digital tool adoption and office rationalization that would have taken years under normal conditions
• Strong management data culture — Hays has historically reported detailed productivity metrics, enabling performance benchmarking