Express Employment Professionals

What Express Employment Professionals does

Express Employment Professionals, legally Express Services, Inc., is a privately held, Oklahoma City-headquartered staffing and workforce solutions company operating through a franchise network of nearly 900 locations across the United States, Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Founded in 1983 by Bob Funk and Bill Stoller following the bankruptcy of Acme Personnel Services, the company began franchising in 1985 and is today ranked the 4th largest U.S. staffing firm overall, 2nd in office/clerical staffing, and 3rd in industrial staffing by Staffing Industry Analysts. The company generated $3.67 billion in revenue in FY2025 and placed 406,000 individuals through its franchise network, with 54 new franchise agreements signed in the same year.

The company's core offerings span temporary/contract staffing, direct-hire placement, evaluation hire (temp-to-hire), and professional/executive search, serving businesses across manufacturing, supply chain, logistics, healthcare, finance, IT, construction, and administrative sectors. Its proprietary platform includes an ISO 9001:2015-certified multi-step candidate selection process, a cloud-based Vendor Management System (VMS) for contingent workforce procurement, and the ExpressLearn training portal with over 100 mobile-friendly courses. Sub-brands include Specialized Recruiting Group (professional placements, launched 2020), Express Healthcare Staffing (launched 2024), and Frontline Recruitment Group (acquired 2020 for Australia/New Zealand). Revenue is generated primarily through hourly bill rates on temporary placements — combining associate pay rate with markup for payroll burden (FICA, FUTA/SUTA, Workers' Comp) and service costs — and one-time placement fees for direct-hire services.

The business is structured around a franchise model in which locally owned offices serve as the primary customer interface while Express Employment International (the rebranded headquarters) provides brand, technology, training, and operational support. Following the 2025 passing of co-founders Funk and Stoller, Bob Funk Jr. assumed the roles of CEO, President, and Chairman, continuing family-led ownership with no institutional or PE backing. Customer acquisition is driven by a multi-channel approach that includes content marketing (The Express Blog, Job Insights Reports with Harris Poll), events (annual International Leadership Conference), ClearlyRated client ratings, and localized franchise outreach.

Name

Express Employment Professionals

Legal name

Express Services, Inc.

Website

https://expresspros.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Staffing and Workforce Solutions

NAICS

Temporary Help Services (56132), Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Help Supply Services (7363)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Generalist Staffing Agencies (BPACACAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Healthcare Clinical Direct Hire (Nursing/Allied/Physicians) (BPACAFAH), Skilled Trades & Industrial Direct Hire (BPACAFAG), Professional & Technical Direct Hire (IT, Engineering, Finance, Healthcare) (BPACAFAC)

Keywords

• Temporary staffing services
• Direct hire placement
• Workforce solutions
• Temp to hire
• Executive search recruiting

Headquarters

HQ city

Orem

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Temporary/Contract Staffing: Hourly bill rate for temporary or evaluation-hire employees. Clients pay for hours worked under the agreed bill rate, which includes the associate's hourly pay rate plus markup for payroll burden (FICA, FUTA/SUTA, Workers' Comp) and service costs.
2. Direct Hire Placement: One-time fee for placing candidates directly with client companies in full-time positions. Fee structures are determined by the local office based on role complexity, urgency, and market conditions.
3. Evaluation Hire (Temp-to-Hire): Workforce solution allowing evaluation period to assess a potential new employee's skills, expertise, and personality before making a hiring decision, billed at hourly rates during the evaluation period.
4. Professional and Executive Search: Recruiters find the best candidates for higher-level, specialized needs including both career placement and contract solutions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Express Employment Professionals provides temporary, contract, evaluation-hire (temp-to-hire), direct-hire, and professional/executive search staffing services through more than 870 locally owned and operated franchise offices in the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. The firm recruits, screens, and places workers across Office Services, Light Industrial, Skilled Trades, Professional, Healthcare, and other sectors for client businesses, and offers job seekers access to openings and benefits such as medical, dental, 401(k), and training via ExpressLearn.

Product overview

Express Employment Professionals operates as a franchise-based staffing and workforce solutions platform with a portfolio of interconnected brands and services. The core offering is Express Employment Professionals, providing temporary, contract, evaluation-hire, and direct-hire staffing across Office Services, Light Industrial, Skilled Trades, Professional, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Logistics, and Call Center roles through over 870 franchise locations in the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Supporting the flagship brand are specialized sub-brands: Specialized Recruiting Group for professional placements, Express Healthcare Staffing for medical facility staffing, and Frontline Recruitment Group (acquired 2020) for Australian/New Zealand operations. The platform includes VMS staffing technology for workforce management and a client portal for timesheet and invoice management. Additional offerings include ExpressLearn (online learning), Workplace Pro (certifications), Job Genius (video training), Business Office Technology and Career Preparedness certifications, associate benefits packages, and research publications (Job Insights Report, Job Seeker Report, Compensation Trends Report) generated through Harris Poll surveys.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Express Employment Professionals: Flagship staffing and recruiting franchise offering temporary, contract, and direct hire placement services across office services, light industrial, skilled trades, professional, healthcare, and logistics sectors.
• Express Healthcare Staffing
• Specialized Recruiting Group
• Specialized Recruiting Group

Products and services

• Express Employment Professionals Staffing and Recruitment Services Flagship staffing and recruitment brand providing temporary, contract, evaluation-hire, direct-hire, and professional/executive search placement services across Office Services, Light Industrial, Skilled Trades, Professional, Healthcare, and other sectors through a franchise network of more than 870 locations in the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
• Temporary/Contract Staffing Job assignments lasting from a few days to several months, billed at an hourly rate covering the associate's pay plus payroll burden and service markup; designed to provide workforce flexibility for businesses facing fluctuating production, seasonal demand, or project-scope changes.
• Evaluation Hire (Temp-to-Hire) Temp-to-hire workforce solution billed at hourly rates that allows employers to assess a candidate's skills, expertise, and personality before making a permanent hiring decision; Express sources note an average assignment length of about 16 weeks.
• Direct Hire Placement Full-time permanent placement of candidates directly with client companies for a one-time fee, including salary negotiation support and resume assistance; fee determined by local office based on role complexity, urgency, and market conditions.
• Professional and Executive Search Recruiting service for higher-level, specialized, and leadership roles, including both career placement and contract solutions, delivered via the Specialized Recruiting Group sub-brand and the wider franchise network.
• Express Healthcare Staffing Specialized staffing sub-brand providing placement services of nurses, allied health professionals, and other healthcare workers to hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities, and medical offices across the U.S. and Canada.
• Specialized Recruiting Group (SRG) Professional placement sub-brand offering a tailored, personalized approach to matching the unique needs of companies with talented candidates in professional roles; named to Forbes America's Best Professional Recruiting Firms list for multiple consecutive years.
• Frontline Recruitment Group International recruitment and staffing brand acquired in 2020 that operates 31 locations in Australia and 3 in New Zealand, providing recruitment and staffing services in Oceania under Express ownership.
• VMS Staffing Technology Cloud-based Vendor Management System (VMS) platform that simplifies procurement and management of contingent labor for enterprise clients, offering cost savings, improved vendor performance, and centralized control of temporary staffing across multiple sites.
• Client Service Portal Online client portal enabling employers to manage associate timesheets, set up approvers, view timecard records, pay invoices, and access account information.
• Express Associate Benefits Package Comprehensive benefits package for eligible Express associates covering Fixed Indemnity Medical Plan, Major Medical with ICHRA, Dental, Vision, Term Life Insurance, Short-Term Disability, 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan through BOK Financial, and Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

Quantifiable outcome

• Employee turnover can cost employers as much as 150% of the employee's annual salary
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Robert Half International: Robert Half is a closely comparable direct peer: a diversified staffing firm with strong positions in office/clerical and professional placement, similar revenue scale, and overlapping customer segments (businesses seeking flexible workforce and direct-hire talent). Both compete in U.S. and Canadian markets for skilled administrative and professional roles.
• Aerotek: Aerotek is a leading industrial and professional staffing firm (subsidiary of Allegis Group) and a top competitor in the industrial staffing vertical where Express ranks #3 in the U.S. Both compete directly for light-industrial, manufacturing, and skilled-trades placements.
• ManpowerGroup: ManpowerGroup is a global staffing leader with U.S. operations spanning industrial, clerical, and professional placements. As a top-tier generalist staffing competitor, ManpowerGroup directly overlaps Express's core service lines and target customer base in North America.
• Randstad: Randstad is one of the largest global staffing firms with significant U.S. industrial, clerical, and professional staffing exposure. Express and Randstad compete head-to-head in industrial and office staffing, both ranking among the top U.S. staffing firms per Staffing Industry Analysts.
• Employbridge: Employbridge is a major U.S. industrial staffing specialist that competes directly with Express in light-industrial and clerical placements. Both rank among the top industrial staffing firms in the U.S. and serve similar manufacturing, logistics, and warehouse customer segments.
• TrueBlue: TrueBlue is a U.S. staffing provider whose brands (Staffmark, PeopleReady, PeopleScout) span industrial, clerical, and professional recruiting. TrueBlue is a direct competitor in the same staffing verticals where Express holds top-3 U.S. rankings.
• Kelly Services: Kelly Services is a global staffing and workforce solutions provider with overlapping industrial, clerical, and professional placement offerings. Comparable in revenue scale and customer segments, Kelly competes with Express across temporary, contract, and direct-hire placements in North America.
• Kforce: Kforce is a U.S. professional staffing firm focused on technology, finance, and accounting placements. It is a direct peer to Express's Specialized Recruiting Group sub-brand in the professional/executive search segment.

Broad incumbents

• Adecco Group: Adecco Group is one of the world's largest staffing conglomerates, offering industrial, clerical, and professional staffing plus broader workforce solutions. As a broad incumbent with much larger scale, Adecco competes with Express across multiple verticals and geographies but with a far wider portfolio.

Emerging players

• Insight Global: Insight Global is a fast-growing, privately held U.S. staffing firm specializing in IT, professional, and industrial placements. It is an emerging player that competes with Express in professional recruiting and select industrial staffing accounts, with similar privately-held growth trajectory.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ExpressPros
• Facebookfacebook.com/expressorem
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/express-employment-professionals_163746
• Instagraminstagram.com/expresspros

Compliance11 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Express Employment Professionals