M&A Activity Driving But Not Defining the RPO Service Provider Landscape | Press Release

Fragmentation remains due to highly specialized providers’ continued success

DALLAS, May 13, 2013 ─ Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the recruitment process outsourcing space is at odds with the ongoing success of smaller, niche players, according to a new research study by Everest Group, an advisory and research firm on global services.

Recent mergers — including Aon and Hewitt, Allegis Group and Talent2, Randstad and SFN Group, ADP and The RightThing, and most recently, IBM and Kenexa — are setting the stage for continued consolidation and economic scale in the industry. At the same time, providers focused on delivering specialized services rather than a comprehensive solution continue to win deals and market share.

“The market continues to sort itself out,” observed Rajesh Ranjan, vice president at Everest Group. “The economic scale made possible through M&A activity will clearly benefit a segment of buyers, but there remains significant value among niche players, as evidenced by the number of deals they’re winning.”

The report, RPO Service Provider Landscape with PEAK Matrix Assessment 2013, looks at how a significant slowdown in hiring volume led to lower than expected growth over the past year. On the back of improving hiring volume, Everest Group expects the 2013 market to grow by 12-17 percent.

To succeed in the US$1.5 billion RPO market, service providers differentiate their offerings by specializing across geographies, industry verticals, job families, and buyer segments. Service providers also offer strategic value-added services and technology-based services, such as analytics and mobile recruiting, in addition to managing their internal recruiter talent to attract new buyers and retain existing ones. Buyers need to understand the service provider’s value proposition in its entirety, while taking a holistic view of their own requirements, to create an effective and successful engagement.

In the report, Everest Group analyzes the global RPO service provider landscape across the following dimensions:

  • Market overview and service provider landscape
  • 2013 RPO PEAK Matrix and Star Performers
  • Key insights into PEAK Matrix dimensions
  • Key areas of differentiation and specialization

Findings revealed in the report include:

  • RPO market continued its growth in 2012 with record new deal signings
  • However, due to a decrease in hiring volumes in North America and Europe, the growth rate moderated to 12 percent
  • Everest Group selected RPO Star Performers for 2013 based on the relative year-on-year movement of each service provider on the PEAK Matrix
  • Key insights on comparing the top quartile performers and other performers on delivery capability dimensions:
  • Market success: Top quartile performers have not experienced runaway success due to the difficulty in creating a “one-stop-shop” for different buyer segments
  • Buyer satisfaction: Top quartile performers are significantly better in relationship management
  • RPO providers differentiate themselves along multiple dimensions – geographic coverage, industry and buyer size, strategic value-added services, type and source of hires, technology strategy, global sourcing, and internal talent management

The PEAK Matrix scores service providers on criteria that include market success, scale, scope of capabilities, technology capabilities, delivery footprint and buyer satisfaction. Based on the PEAK Matrix evaluation framework, the 25 established RPO service providers evaluated are segmented into three categories – Leaders, Major Contenders, and Emerging Players.

Leaders identified in the PEAK Matrix including Alexander Mann Solutions (AMS), Kenexa, an IBM Company (Kenexa), ManpowerGroup, Pinstripe, Pontoon Solutions, Randstad Sourceright, and The RightThing.

Major Contenders include: Accenture, Advantage xPO, Allegis Group Services, AON Hewitt, Capita Resourcing, Futurestep, Hays, Hudson RPO, KellyOCG, Ochre House, Peoplescout, Resource Solutions, Talent2, and Wilson HCG.

Emerging Players include: Neeyamo, Peoplestrong, Seven Step RPO, and Yoh.

Everest Group also identified the following providers as Star Performers based on their year-on-year movement on the PEAK Matrix (in alphabetical order): AMS, Allegis Group Services, Capita Resourcing, Futurestep, Kenexa, Pinstripe, and Randstad Sourceright.

For more information about the report, RPO Service Provider Landscape with PEAK Matrix Assessment 2013, other RPO or Human Resources Outsourcing reports, or other research services, please visit research.everestgrp.com, e-mail [email protected] or call +1-214-451-3110.

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