ManpowerGroup

ManpowerGroup, one of the world's largest staffing and workforce solutions companies, reported revenue of approximately $19.9 billion in 2022, operating across three primary brands: Manpower (contingent staffing), Experis (professional/IT staffing), and Talent Solutions (RPO, MSP, Right Management, TAPFIN). The staffing industry is cyclically sensitive and highly competitive on price, with gross margins typically ranging from 15-18%. ManpowerGroup's strategic challenge was that its core Manpower staffing business — the largest segment by revenue — faced commoditization pressure, while higher-margin services like Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) and Managed Service Programs (MSP) within Talent Solutions offered stronger economics but represented a smaller share of total revenue. The company had invested in workforce analytics and labor market intelligence capabilities to differentiate its Talent Solutions offering from commodity staffing competitors.

ManpowerGroup pursued a Diversification, Digitization, and Innovation strategy to shift its revenue mix toward higher-value workforce solutions:

• Talent Solutions expansion: Invested in growing the Talent Solutions segment, which combines RPO (managing the entire recruitment function for clients), MSP (managing contingent workforce programs), and Right Management (outplacement and career development). Talent Solutions leverages workforce analytics and labor market data to provide strategic hiring insights that pure staffing firms cannot offer.
• Workforce analytics platform: Developed proprietary labor market analytics tools that analyze hiring trends, salary benchmarks, skill availability, and demand patterns across geographies and industries. These tools supported both Talent Solutions client engagements and Manpower/Experis placement optimization.
• Experis digital positioning: Positioned Experis as a specialized IT and digital talent brand, targeting higher-bill-rate technology placements rather than competing in generalist contingent staffing. Experis focuses on cybersecurity, cloud, and digital transformation talent.
• Geographic diversification: Maintained operations in approximately 75 countries, with strong demand continuing across Latin America and Asia Pacific Middle East even as North America and Europe softened in 2023.
• Efficiency actions: In response to the 2023 downturn, took significant cost management actions to protect margins during the revenue decline.