Hays plc
Hays plc is a London-based global specialist recruitment firm placing qualified professionals in permanent, contract and temporary roles for employers across 31 countries and 21 specialisms. It monetises via employer-paid placement fees and contractor mark-ups, supported by a c.9,500-consultant global network and proprietary labour-market intelligence products.
- Company typePublic
- Founded1968
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Hays plc does
Hays plc is a London-headquartered global specialist recruitment and workforce solutions firm operating from offices in 31 countries with c.9,500 expert consultants across 21 areas of specialism. The company places qualified professionals in permanent, temporary and contract roles for employers spanning enterprise, mid-market and SMB clients, and serves jobseekers through a network of country-specific websites and the Hays brand. In FY25, Hays placed over 255,000 white-collar candidates, approximately 43,000 in permanent roles and approximately 212,000 in temp and contracting assignments, earning fees from employers (placement fees as a percentage of first-year salary, typically 15–25%) and contractor mark-ups.
The underlying service combines what Hays describes as the "science" of recruitment — an "engaged data" approach supported by proprietary intelligence products including the Hays Global Talent Tracker (co-developed with Oxford Economics, covering 35 countries), the Tech Talent Explorer (34 countries, including AI Impact Scores), the Global Skills Index and Salary Guides — with the "art" of consultant-led recruitment. The product portfolio extends beyond traditional placement into Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), Managed Service Provider (MSP) services, and a dedicated Executive Search practice, plus a specialist technology-recruitment division. Distribution is overwhelmingly direct: enterprise and mid-market clients are served by consultants in regional offices (London for EMEA, Singapore for APAC, Sydney for ANZ), while jobseekers engage via local Hays websites.
Revenue mechanics are transactional and employer-paid: one-off placement fees for permanent roles (historically ~42% of net fees) and recurring contractor mark-ups for temporary and contracting roles (historically ~58%). The company is publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange (LON:HAYS, FTSE 250 constituent) and is currently undergoing a significant portfolio rationalisation under interim CEO Mark Dearnley, having exited Russia (2022), sold six European operations to Meraki Capital (2026), and exploring divestiture of a further seven markets while narrowing focus to 16 core markets.
Hays plc firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Hays plc
- Legal name
- Hays plc
- Website
- https://haysplc.com
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 1968
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- Hays plc is a London-based global specialist recruitment firm placing qualified professionals in permanent, contract and temporary roles for employers across 31 countries and 21 specialisms. It monetises via employer-paid placement fees and contractor mark-ups, supported by a c.9,500-consultant global network and proprietary labour-market intelligence products.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Hays plc industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Recruitment and Workforce Solutions
- NAICS
- Temporary Help Services (561320), Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131), Employment Services (5613)
- SIC
- Services-Employment Agencies (7361)
- akta.pro primary industry
- General Permanent Placement (Multi-Industry) (BPACAFAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Recruiting Administration Outsourcing (Recruitment Support, Scheduling, Onboarding Ops) (BPACAKAG), Agent of Record (AOR) / Contractor Engagement Services (BPACAGAB)
Keywords
Where Hays plc is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices5 records
Markets served
Hays plc business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Permanent Placement Services: Fees charged to employers for placing candidates in permanent roles. The company placed approximately 43,000 candidates in permanent jobs in FY25. Represents approximately 42% of net fees historically.
- Temporary and Contracting Services: Markup fees on contractor rates charged to employers. The company placed approximately 212,000 candidates in temporary/contracting roles in FY25. Represents approximately 58% of net fees historically.
- Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO): Comprehensive outsourcing of recruitment processes for clients, representing a growing breadth of HR services.
- Managed Service Provider (MSP): Management of contingent workforce programs for enterprise clients.
- Executive Search: Specialized senior-level recruitment services for executive positions.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | One time/ perpetual license | Employer-paid permanent placement fees |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Contractor margin/markup |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
Hays plc product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Hays plc is a global specialist recruitment and workforce solutions company that places qualified professionals into permanent, temporary, and contract roles across 21 areas of specialism in 31 countries. Its services span permanent placement, temporary and contracting staffing, Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), Managed Service Provider (MSP) programs, and executive search. In FY25, the company placed over 255,000 candidates, including approximately 212,000 temporary/contracting roles and 43,000 permanent jobs.
Product overview
Hays plc operates as a global specialist recruitment and workforce solutions company offering a unified platform of services centered on connecting qualified professionals with employment opportunities. The core offering comprises permanent placement and temporary/contracting recruitment across 21 areas of specialism in 31 countries. The product portfolio includes complementary service offerings: Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), Managed Service Provider (MSP) solutions, Executive Search for senior-level roles, Business Solutions, Enterprise Solutions, and a dedicated Experts in Technology division. Supporting these core recruitment services are research and intelligence products including the Tech Talent Explorer (comparing tech salaries and AI impact across 34 countries), the Hays Global Talent Tracker (in partnership with Oxford Economics covering 35 countries), and regional Salary Guides providing market compensation data.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Permanent Placement Recruitment Fee-based recruitment service in which Hays matches employers with candidates for permanent professional roles across 21 areas of specialism in 31 countries. Employers are charged a placement fee, typically a percentage of the placed candidate's first-year salary.
- Temporary and Contracting Recruitment Provides employers with temporary and contract professionals across 21 specialisms, with revenue generated through markups on contractor daily or hourly rates. Approximately 212,000 temp and contracting candidates were placed in FY25.
- Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) End-to-end outsourcing of recruitment processes where Hays manages the full hiring lifecycle on behalf of client organisations, including sourcing, screening, and onboarding.
- Managed Service Provider (MSP) Programme management of clients' contingent labour populations, including vendor management, rate card governance, and reporting for large organisations.
- Executive Search Specialist senior-level recruitment service targeting executive and board-level positions, operated under the Hays Executive brand at hays-executive.com.
- Business Solutions HR and workforce solutions package for businesses, delivered via the dedicated Hays Business Solutions portal in India.
- Enterprise Solutions Enterprise-level talent solutions delivered through the Hays Talent Solutions portal, bundling recruitment, RPO, MSP, and workforce consulting for large clients.
- Experts in Technology (IT Recruitment) Dedicated IT and technology recruitment division placing tech professionals across permanent, contract, and project roles via the hays.co.uk/it portal.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 255,000 candidates placed in FY25, including 212,000 temp/contracting and 43,000 permanent roles
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Hays plc
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Hays plc technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Hays plc partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- AXI IMMOminorAXI IMMO collaborated with Hays Poland on the 'FOCUS ON Łódź' report, a knowledge platform identifying Łódź as a versatile investment market combining manufacturing, logistics, and business services capabilities.
- Oxford EconomicscoreHays developed its 2024 Global Talent Tracker in partnership with Oxford Economics. The tracker assesses labour market dynamics across 35 countries based on innovation capacity and talent market flexibility, evaluating hundreds of indicators including workforce participation, skills development, legislative flexibility, and tech talent availability.
- LinkedIncoreHays is recognized as the #1 Recruiter on LinkedIn globally with over 2 million followers. Partnership involves talent sourcing, employer branding, and content distribution on the platform.
Scale indicators11 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Hays plc competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Randstad NV: One of the world's largest staffing and HR solutions providers, with broad permanent, temp, RPO, and MSP offerings. Comparable as a global, multi-specialism recruitment competitor operating in many of the same geographies as Hays.
- Adecco Group: Global staffing leader offering general staffing, professional staffing, and talent solutions across permanent, temp, and managed services. Direct competitor with overlapping geographies and service mix.
- PageGroup (Michael Page): UK-listed specialist recruiter operating across permanent, temp, and executive search in similar white-collar disciplines and a comparable international footprint. Direct competitor to Hays in mid-to-senior professional hiring.
- SThree plc: Specialist STEM staffing firm placing contract and permanent professionals in technology, engineering, and life sciences. Highly comparable specialist recruitment model with similar cyclical exposure to Hays's tech and engineering verticals.
- ManpowerGroup: Global workforce solutions company providing permanent, temporary, and RPO/MSP services across multiple specialisms. Comparable business model and global footprint, though with greater weighting toward industrial staffing.
- Hudson Global: Smaller specialist recruiter focused on professional and talent management solutions, including RPO. Comparable as a niche white-collar recruitment and workforce solutions peer, with overlapping service lines.
- Robert Half International: Global specialist staffing firm focused on white-collar, finance, accounting, technology, and administrative placements. Closely comparable to Hays in target customer, specialism mix, and transactional permanent-plus-temp business model.
Emerging players
- Cielo: Leading pure-play RPO provider serving enterprise clients with outsourced talent acquisition. Comparable on the RPO service line that Hays offers, representing both a competitor and a partner in the enterprise segment.
Regional players
- Morgan McKinley: Specialist professional services recruiter operating across Ireland, UK, Asia, and other markets with a focus on financial services, technology, and professional disciplines. Comparable specialism mix, particularly relevant in Ireland and APAC where Hays also operates.
Broad incumbents
- Recruit Holdings (Indeed, Glassdoor): Global HR technology and staffing conglomerate including Indeed and Glassdoor. Operates broadly across the same recruitment market as Hays, with platform-based matching that increasingly competes with traditional agency models.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Hays plc social profiles
Digital presenceHays plc financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Hays plc leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Hays plc funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Hays plc M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A4 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Hays plc
What does Hays plc do?
Hays plc is a global specialist recruitment and workforce solutions company that places qualified professionals into permanent, temporary, and contract roles across 21 areas of specialism in 31 countries. Its services span permanent placement, temporary and contracting staffing, Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), Managed Service Provider (MSP) programs, and executive search. In FY25, the company placed over 255,000 candidates, including approximately 212,000 temporary/contracting roles and 43,000 permanent jobs.
Is Hays plc a public or private company?
Hays plc is a public company. It is classified as public and is currently operating.
When was Hays plc founded?
Hays plc was founded in 1968. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is Hays plc based?
Hays plc is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Hays plc make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Permanent Placement Services are the primary driver. The others are temporary and Contracting Services, recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), managed Service Provider (MSP) and executive Search.
Who are Hays plc's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Randstad NV, Adecco Group, PageGroup (Michael Page), SThree plc, ManpowerGroup, Hudson Global and Robert Half International. Cielo is listed as an emerging player. Morgan McKinley is listed as a regional player. Recruit Holdings (Indeed, Glassdoor) is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Hays plc have an API?
No public API is recorded for Hays plc.
What industry is Hays plc in?
Hays plc's product category is Recruitment and Workforce Solutions. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPACAFAA, General Permanent Placement (Multi-Industry), with a secondary code of BPACAKAG, Recruiting Administration Outsourcing (Recruitment Support, Scheduling, Onboarding Ops). Its NAICS code is 561320 and its SIC code is 7361.