Staffing, Rpo & Executive Search Update
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H UMAN C APITAL M ANAGEMENT STAFFING, RPO & EXECUTIVE SEARCH UPDATE Your Single Source For “All Things Human Capital®” Mergers & Acquisitions Public and Private Financings Strategic Advisory & Growth Capital December 2018 Staffing, RPO & Executive Search Update www.delanceystreetpartners.com Five Tower Bridge | Suite 420 | 300 Barr Harbor Drive | West Conshohocken | PA| 19428 Staffing, RPO & Executive Search Update As part of our Human Capital Management sub-sector research, Delancey Street Partners is pleased to present this Staffing, RPO & Executive Search Update. This HCM Sector Review provides an overview of the various HCM Talent Acquisition “Service” models in the current public and private markets as well as a look into recent and historic related M&A transactions and Private Equity financings. Delancey Street Partners Delancey Street Partners is an independent, industry-focused investment bank. We serve CEOs, Entrepreneurs, Shareholders and Boards of Directors of high growth and middle market private and public companies. Our services include strategic advisory, capital raising and independent board advice. We advise on sell-side and buy-side M&A, growth capital financings and recapitalizations. Bill Filip leads Delancey’s Business and Technology Services efforts, which includes a strong focus on the Human Capital Management marketplace. Additional Delancey sectors include: Business & Technology Services, Healthcare, Industrial & Industrial Technology and Infrastructure. We form long-term partnerships with our clients and commit to managing each engagement with senior professionals who bring years of experience and insight. William J. Filip Patrick E. Dolan B. Andrew Schmucker Steven D. Higgins David K. Allebach Managing Director Managing Director Managing Partner Managing Director Director (484) 533-6312 (484) 533-6311 (484) 533-6313 (484) 533-6308 (484) 533-6315 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] HCM: STAFFING, RPO & EXECUTIVE SEARCH UPDATE 1 Contents DSP’s Human Capital Management: “All Things Human Capital®” Staffing, RPO & Executive Search Update Volume: December 2018 Big Ideas: Q&A with Sue Marks, CEO Cielo Departments Page 24 3 Opening Remarks HCM thought leader, RPO 4 Delancey Observations Entrepreneur and Cielo 7 Market Performance and Valuation Founder, and CEO, Sue Marks sits down with DSP 31 Industry News to give us her thoughts on 48 Select M&A Transactions important topics and trends in the world of human 52 Notes & Disclosures capital and Recruitment 54 About Delancey Street Partners & Process Outsourcing (RPO). Delancey Street Capital Partners How to Subscribe This was prepared by Delancey Street Partners and is for informational purposes only (see important disclosures). If you would like a free subscription (or reprints of prior editions) please e-mail your name and contact info to Ryne Dudley at [email protected]. HCM: STAFFING, RPO & EXECUTIVE SEARCH UPDATE 2 Opening Remarks This DSP HCM sector report focuses on the “Big Three” talent acquisition service models: Staffing, Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) and Executive Search. These bedrock service components of the HCM Talent Acquisition Universe can be sold on a stand-alone basis or, increasingly, as part of an integrated total talent strategy wrapped with various talent advisory consulting services. At a high level, many of these services appear similar from vendor to vendor, but beneath the surface, important differences exist (e.g., capability, technology, solution delivery, vertical, etc.). This is definitely not a “one size fits all” space, which makes it critical for companies selecting vendors, investors in the space and general students of HR to spend time identifying these important differences. Some of the most enduring brands in HR are in the staffing and executive search space (RPO is much newer). There are many well-known, large providers with proven, successful models - strong “incumbents” abound. But remember that universal truths are universal truths. Just like the astrological truth that our physical universe is continually expanding (see “Hubble’s Law”), the HCM Services Universe is in a constant state of change. How management teams address this changing environment, viewing it either as an opportunity or threat, can make the difference between success and failure. Andy Grove, the founder of Intel, provides a succinct warning to all industry incumbents: “Success breeds complacency. Complacency breeds failure. Only the paranoid survive.” Hopefully “paranoia” isn’t the only source of enduring success, but Mr. Grove’s quote is a good reminder that few things are as dangerous as a “status quo” mindset. Few business leaders understand “the opportunity that is change” better than our special “Big Ideas” guest, Sue Marks, Founder and CEO of Cielo. Sue Marks moves fast, really fast! You see her “need for speed” in her personal life (check out Sue’s Fun Facts on page 30) and even more so in Cielo’s meteoric ascent in the RPO world and the firm’s rapid deployment of new technology. DSP was lucky enough to temporarily slow Sue down long enough to get her insightful views on important TA trends, RPO’s evolution, and life in general. A must read (see page 24). We hope you find this report both informative and fun. Please contact your DSP representative for further discussion on the Staffing, RPO and Executive Search industries and to talk about ways we can be of assistance to you. 3 Delancey Observations There has never been a more exciting time to be part of the HCM Services Universe. Staffing and executive search are the oldest players on the scene while RPO is much newer, and has come into its own over the last decade. Surrounding the three core HCM TA Service models, is a literal “world of change,” moving at high velocity. As highlighted in the diagram below, many new technologies, such as AI, programmatic job advertising, and “new to the world” business models such as the Gig/Freelance space and community-based recruitment and staffing models, are reinventing the HR service space. The Changing HCM Services Universe Talent Communities & Job Boards Traditional Executive v.2.0 Assessment Staffing Search (Psychometric, Video, Referrals) Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) Programmatic AI/Chat Bots Job Advertising Source: Delancey Street Partners HCM: STAFFING, RPO & EXECUTIVE SEARCH UPDATE 4 Delancey Observations – Key Trends Below, please find our select observations and M&A trends for The Staffing, RPO and Executive Search industries. The #1 Issue: The Cycle. This is the “big” question on the minds of most HCM service company executives and investors alike. Anyone that has enough gray hair to remember (and successfully lived through) the economic downturns of the post 2000 bubble and the 2008-2009 economic calamity, knows what a scary, white knuckle experience a serious downturn is for the HCM space. Please refer to pages 20-23 for a macro analysis of the employment and economic cycle and in particular, a study of the historic DSP Staffing Index TEV/EBITDA multiples from 1998 to YTD 2018. The current DSP Staffing TEV/EBITDA multiple is 10.1x. By comparison, the trough multiple post the 2000 bubble period and the 2008-2009 downturn was 7.5x and 3.5x, respectively. Whether you are a CEO running a HCM service company, or an investor in the space, it’s critical to know where you are (directionally) relative to the cycle. Please contact your DSP representative for further discussion on this important topic. Other DSP Top Trends & Observations (in no particular order): 1. Enterprise Class vs. Mid-Market Provider Divide. The big providers have gotten big by serving large clients; the largest RPO providers for example, have increasingly evolved their solutions to specifically serve the largest global clients. Those clients have complex labor needs and want a comprehensive talent strategy that includes services from all three buckets. As a result, the vendor divide between firms focusing on enterprise class versus the “mid-market” has never been more distinct. The mid-market opportunity is real, but the large providers can’t easily scale down their solutions, leaving a big opportunity for the next wave of providers to build strong businesses in the vast “mid-market.” 2. It’s Back to Basics (“Transactional vs. Partnership”). As more providers added more of the service offerings, and as clients gained more experience with RPO, buyers became increasingly transactionally focused. And guess what? In many cases, clients got exactly what they paid for – less than optimal results. When the rebid cycles rolled around many clients switched vendors. This is partially a natural product learning/adoption curve. But here is the good news: many clients have gotten smarter, and we believe (and hope) they are now taking a longer-term view and understand they need a true talent “partner.” Providers have facilitated this partnership mindset through better education, better reporting and the addition of TA consulting and strategy capabilities. 3. Yes There is Hype, But Buyers Are Listening. Yes, we agree the AI hand has been overplayed and chatbots have not taken over the recruitment world (yet), and now “Blockchain-hcm” has arrived, but… here is the reality: buyers are listening (and this stuff actually works). All service providers must have greater technology perspective or risk being excluded from the conversation and not making the down selection cut. There