Burnett Specialists

What Burnett Specialists does

Burnett Specialists is a Texas-based, 100% employee-owned staffing and professional recruiting firm founded in 1974 by Sue Burnett in Houston. The company delivers temporary/contract staffing, direct-hire placement, temp-to-hire, payrolling (employer-of-record), and convention/event staffing services across 16 industry specializations including accounting & finance, IT, engineering, legal, healthcare, light industrial, supply chain, and construction. It operates nine offices across six major Texas metros (Houston, Austin, Dallas as Choice Specialists, San Antonio, El Paso, and The Woodlands) and is recognized as the second-largest employee-owned staffing firm in the United States.

The company makes money through two primary revenue streams: (1) contingency-based direct-hire placement fees, typically calculated as a percentage of placed candidates' annual salary, and (2) margin-based temporary staffing revenue derived from markups on bill rates for temp workers, for whom Burnett manages payroll, benefits, and compliance. Additional revenue flows from payrolling services, cooperative purchasing contracts (notably HGACBuy for public sector clients), and event/special-project staffing. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed.

The go-to-market model is sales-led, with field sales targeting enterprise clients and inside sales supporting mid-market employers across Texas. In October 2024, Burnett layered in a self-serve digital recruitment platform through a technology partnership with Wolf, enabling candidates and clients to access a talent marketplace. AI/ML capabilities are embedded in recruiter workflows for resume screening, candidate sourcing, job description analysis, and predictive hiring analytics. The company is certified as a Women's Business Enterprise through WBENC since 1997 and is BBB accredited.

Name

Burnett Specialists

Legal name

Burnett Specialists

Website

https://burnettspecialists.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Burnett Specialists is a 100% employee-owned Texas staffing and recruiting firm founded in 1974, offering temporary, direct-hire, temp-to-hire, and payrolling services across 16 industries from nine offices statewide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Staffing & Recruiting Services

NAICS

Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Administrative, Clerical & Office Support Direct Hire (BPACAFAF)

Keywords

• Staffing services
• Permanent placement
• Temporary staffing
• Recruiting agency
• Talent acquisition

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Direct-Hire Placement Fees: Contingency-based placement fees charged when a candidate is successfully placed on a permanent basis. Fee typically calculated as percentage of annual salary.
2. Temporary Staffing Services: Margin-based revenue from providing temporary workers to client organizations. Revenue generated through markup on hourly rates.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Burnett Specialists is a Texas-based staffing and recruiting firm that provides direct-hire placement, temporary/contract staffing, temp-to-hire, payrolling, and convention/event staffing services. The company operates across 16 industry verticals including accounting, IT, engineering, legal, healthcare, construction, and supply chain, serving B2B employers primarily in Texas through nine physical offices and a self-serve digital recruitment platform launched in partnership with Wolf.

Product overview

Burnett Specialists operates as a staffing and professional recruiting firm offering a portfolio of hiring solutions across 16 industry specializations in Texas. The core service model consists of five staffing formats: Direct-Hire Placement (permanent recruiting), Temporary/Contract Staffing, Temp-to-Hire (evaluation period before conversion), Payrolling Services (employer-of-record), and Convention/Events/Special Projects staffing. The company also offers Cooperative Purchasing Partnerships for government procurement. Their service delivery spans 9 offices across 6 major Texas cities (Houston, Austin, San Antonio, El Paso, The Woodlands, and Dallas operating as Choice Specialists). In 2024, Burnett launched a Wolf-powered self-service digital platform enabling candidates and clients to access a talent marketplace for streamlined job matching.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Direct-Hire Placement Permanent placement service where candidates are hired directly by the employer, with Burnett Specialists handling recruitment, screening, and placement across all 16 specialty divisions.
• Temporary/Contract Staffing Provides temporary workers to fill short-term staffing needs, with Burnett Specialists managing payroll, benefits, and compliance for placed employees.
• Temp-To-Hire Hybrid staffing model allowing employers to evaluate temporary workers before converting them to permanent employees.
• Payrolling Services Employer-of-record services where Burnett Specialists handles payroll processing, tax withholding, and benefits administration for contingent workers.
• Convention, Events & Special Projects Staffing Specialized staffing for conventions, events, and time-limited projects requiring additional personnel support.
• Cooperative Purchasing Partnerships Government and cooperative purchasing contract services allowing public sector clients to access Burnett's staffing services through pre-established procurement agreements, such as the HGACBuy 4-year contract.
• Wolf Self-Service Digital Platform Digital talent marketplace platform launched in partnership with Wolf, enabling self-service recruitment capabilities for candidates and clients in October 2024.
• Choice Specialists (Dallas) Dallas-area staffing and recruiting brand operated under the Burnett Specialists umbrella, serving the Dallas-Fort Worth market with the same staffing and recruitment services.

Named customers6 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

Integration1 record

AI capability3 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• WolfcoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partnership providing self-serve recruitment platform. Wolf's talent marketplace technology enables Burnett Specialists to offer streamlined digital recruitment capabilities to employers.
• HGACBuycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNationwide cooperative purchasing program partnership. Burnett Specialists participates as approved vendor through 4-year contract, enabling government and public sector entities to access staffing services through pre-negotiated purchasing agreements.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Adecco Group: One of the world's largest staffing companies with broad generalist and specialty offerings — competes for the same Texas employer clients but at global scale and with broader service portfolio.
• Randstad North America: Global staffing giant with significant Texas presence (including acquired Toptal/other brands) — competes directly for enterprise and mid-market staffing contracts across Burnett's verticals.

Direct peers

• Kelly Services: Long-standing U.S. staffing firm offering temporary, direct-hire, and outsourced workforce solutions across multiple verticals — directly comparable business model and customer segments.
• Kforce Inc. Professional staffing firm specializing in technology, finance/accounting, and clinical/healthcare placements — overlapping directly with Burnett's specialty divisions and permanent + contract delivery model.
• Insight Global: Large U.S. staffing firm offering temporary, permanent, and managed services across IT, engineering, finance, and creative — comparable multi-vertical staffing model and Fortune 500 client focus.
• PrideStaff: National staffing firm offering temporary, temp-to-hire, and direct-hire across administrative, industrial, and professional verticals — comparable service mix and SMB/mid-market positioning.
• Spherion Staffing: U.S. staffing franchise network offering temporary, temp-to-hire, and direct-hire across office, industrial, and professional roles — directly overlapping service model and customer profile.
• AppleOne Employment Services: U.S. staffing company providing temporary, temp-to-hire, and direct-hire across administrative, accounting, and professional roles — comparable service breadth and SMB/mid-market employer focus.
• Robert Half International: Global leader in temporary staffing and permanent placement across accounting/finance, IT, legal, and administrative roles — directly comparable service lines and customer base to Burnett's specialty divisions, but at vastly larger scale.

Regional players

• The HT Group: Texas-based staffing and recruiting firm headquartered in The Woodlands — operates in the same Houston-area market with overlapping vertical specializations and similar mid-market employer customer base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/workwithburnett
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@burnettspecialists3136/featured
• Facebookfacebook.com/burnettspecialistsstaffing
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/burnettspecialists
• Instagraminstagram.com/burnettspecialists

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Burnett Specialists