Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Recruiters muscle in on acquisition activity

by Personnel Today 20 Aug 2002
by Personnel Today 20 Aug 2002

Recruitment consultancies are embarking on mergers and acquisitions in a bid
to compete for business at the top of the corporate pyramid.

One of the drivers for the current buoyant level of activity in this market
is the expansion of services offered for human capital management (HCM), as
providers strive to forge lasting relationships at board level. With HR
departments continuing to use outsourcing as a way of reducing administration
costs, HCM firms are using acquisitions to add value as well as scale.

M&A activity within the HCM sector has exceeded $11bn (£7.18bn) since
1999, with more than 270 deals completed. This year has seen less activity, but
there have still been 29 deals worth $490m since January.

The strategic imperative for providers is clear: large-scale corporate
restructuring across the globe has cemented the trend towards companies hiring
increasing numbers of temporary staff. The ultimate aim of an outsourcing
company, is to develop board relationships in order to win the most valuable
business process outsourcing contracts, of which pure recruitment is only one
element.

Recruitment consultants are moving beyond pure recruitment and are seeking
to manage the retention, development and management of a firm’s HR.

Examples of recruitment consultancies expanding their service offering
through deal- making, include Adecco’s purchase of Job Pilot, Manpower’s launch
of Empower, and the acquisition by Capita RAS of a spread of recruitment,
training and HR outsourcing businesses.

The natural entrepreneurship of smaller recruitment firms is also generating
deals, as existing management teams buy businesses from their owners. In March
and April, both Right4staff and Technology Teaching systems secured private
equity backing for management buyouts.

Another driver of mergers and acquisitions activity in the sector relates to
HR contracts coming from central government for key public sector services.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

The healthcare sector has entered into three to five year contracts with
suppliers creating a closed list of providers. This particular barrier to entry
has been one of the reasons why companies such as Nestor have purchased
healthcare recruitment providers with ongoing contracts.

As more deals are sealed in the sector, HR executives will be able to buy
more services from a single, trusted source. But recruitment consultants must
ensure they can deliver at the very top of the pyramid, where successful
applicants only need apply.

Personnel Today

Personnel Today articles are written by an expert team of award-winning journalists who have been covering HR and L&D for many years. Some of our content is attributed to "Personnel Today" for a number of reasons, including: when numerous authors are associated with writing or editing a piece; or when the author is unknown (particularly for older articles).

previous post
Civil Service braces itself for further strike action
next post
Firms at risk from equal pay claims

You may also like

Why we need to rethink soft skills in...

1 Jul 2025

Five misconceptions about hiring refugees

20 Jun 2025

Forward features list 2025 – submitting content to...

23 Nov 2024

Features list 2021 – submitting content to Personnel...

1 Sep 2020

Large firms have no plans to bring all...

26 Aug 2020

A typical work-from-home lunch: crisps

24 Aug 2020

Occupational health on the coronavirus frontline – ‘I...

21 Aug 2020

Occupational Health & Wellbeing research round-up: August 2020

7 Aug 2020

Acas: Redundancy related enquiries surge 160%

5 Aug 2020

Coronavirus: lockdown ‘phase two’ may bring added headaches...

17 Jul 2020

  • Empowering working parents and productivity during the summer holidays SPONSORED | Businesses play a...Read more
  • AI is here. Your workforce should be ready. SPONSORED | From content creation...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+