ManpowerGroup

Through 2019, ManpowerGroup's Experis division (approximately $4.5 billion, or 22% of group revenue) operated primarily as a generalist IT staffing business, placing individual contractors — help desk technicians, network administrators, and junior developers — at a wide range of clients. Approximately 60% of Experis placements were in roles requiring less than 3 years of experience, with average bill rates of $45-55 per hour. Gross margins on these placements averaged 16-17%, below the group average, and the business was highly cyclical, losing volume rapidly in downturns as clients cut contingent IT headcount first.

Beginning in 2020, ManpowerGroup restructured Experis around three strategic priorities under its "Diversification, Digitization, and Innovation" agenda:

• Enterprise digital talent focus: Repositioned Experis away from generalist IT staffing toward specialized digital talent — cloud architects, cybersecurity engineers, data scientists, and AI/ML specialists. Invested in upskilling programs to convert existing contractor pools toward higher-value digital skills.
• Experis Academy: Launched technology training programs to build pipelines of certified cloud (AWS, Azure) and cybersecurity professionals, reducing dependence on external talent markets for scarce digital skills.
• Solution-based selling: Shifted from placing individual contractors to selling managed teams and project-based digital solutions to enterprise clients. This moved Experis from a staffing vendor to a technology solutions provider in client procurement conversations.
• Enterprise account concentration: Focused sales investment on Fortune 500 technology buyers rather than mid-market generalist IT departments, pursuing larger, longer-duration digital transformation engagements.

• Organic revenue surge: Experis US revenue (approximately 90% technology-related) grew 35% year-over-year organically in early 2022, significantly outpacing the broader staffing market.
• Bill rate improvement: Average Experis bill rates in North America increased from approximately $50/hour to $72/hour as the mix shifted toward specialized digital talent, a 44% improvement.
• Gross margin expansion: Experis gross margins improved by approximately 200 basis points as higher-skill placements commanded better spreads.
• Client quality: Experis enterprise accounts (>$5M annual spend) grew from approximately 35 to 55 between 2019 and 2022.
• Resilience: While the overall staffing market softened in 2023 (Experis revenue declined with the broader market), the enterprise digital segment retained better than generalist IT, with top-25 enterprise accounts showing 90%+ retention versus 75% for SMB accounts.
• Timeframe: 2020-2023 (3-year transformation).

• COVID-19 accelerated enterprise digital transformation spending, creating structural demand for the exact skills Experis was pivoting toward
• ManpowerGroup's global scale (75+ countries) enabled serving enterprise clients with consistent digital talent across geographies
• Experis Academy created a proprietary talent pipeline that competitors relying solely on external recruiting could not match
• Group-level investment in the "Diversification, Digitization, and Innovation" strategy provided sustained funding through the transition period