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Summary
The global recruitment and human resources market has seen significant growth of 37% between 2012 and 2021, despite a 7.6% drop during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. In France, the recruitment market is mainly served by companies' in-house HR departments, but recruitment agencies continue to play a crucial role, particularly in the hiring of executives. The executive recruitment market in France faced a 19% drop in 2020 due to the pandemic, but should see an 8% increase in 2021 with 247,000 hires, while remaining 12% below 2019 levels. Recruitment firms, falling under NAF codes 78.10Z and 70.22Z, have seen their number of establishments and headcount increase, a sign of market expansion. Large international companies dominate the French market, offering diversified services, including human resources consulting, in addition to traditional recruitment services. Faced with challenges such as the impact of Covid-19 and the talent shortage, the function of recruitment agencies is evolving, focusing on candidate sourcing and customer acquisition, as well as offering digital services and long-term human resources management. Typically, recruitment agencies charge a percentage of the recruited person's annual salary, ranging from 15% to 30%.
Regulatory changes, such as the 2005 Borloo law, have opened up competition with temporary employment agencies (ETT) for the recruitment of permanent and fixed-term contracts. The market must also comply with strict non-discrimination laws during the recruitment process. Recruitment difficulties have been highlighted by French business leaders, with industrial sectors facing the greatest challenges. The emergence of specialized firms such as Teaminside, targeting digital job profiles, illustrates the market's adaptation to new candidate profiles and skills requirements.
Trends and dynamics in the executive search sector
In the French executive search market, we are observing sustained interest in executive positions against a backdrop of fluctuating unemployment rates. The data show a remarkable resilience to job security among executives - they have experienced a significantly lower unemployment rate than the general working population. This trend points to the existence of a distinct demand cohort in the recruitment market, focused on middle management profiles. Executive recruitment figures showed solid growth, with hiring rising from around 220,000 to over 280,000 filled positions.
A regional overview of executive demand shows that Île-de-France is a nerve center, accounting for more than half of all executive recruitment. The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Hauts-de-France regions follow closely behind. It is interesting to note that, despite the economic slowdown linked to the health crisis of 2020, Brittany not only resisted the downward trend, but also posted a higher level of recruitment than two years earlier.
If we look at the analysis by business sector, the service sector led the way in executive recruitment, with the overwhelming majority of hires - over 200,000. Although all sectors experienced a decline during the health crisis, a recovery is expected in the following years. In terms of functional areas within organizations, IT, sales and marketing, and research and development reigned supreme, attracting more than half of all executive hires.
Furthermore, it appears that young executives with between one and ten years' experience are the most sought-after, indicating a preference for moderately experienced professionals. On the other hand, executives with more than twenty years' experience accounted for a smaller fraction of hires. The dynamism of the market gives the image of a diversified and extensible executive recruitment scene in France. Despite temporary setbacks due to external events such as the health crisis, the market is showing inherent strength and resilience.
Market players should continue to adapt to changing trends, seeking to capitalize on regional advantages, industry-specific demands and evolving roles and functions. The figures cited, ranging from a few hundred thousand to over 200,000 for hires in various sectors and function categories, underline the significant scale and potential of this recruitment segment.
Key players in the recruitment market
The recruitment market is teeming with a myriad of players, each vying to dominate this competitive field. The landscape is populated by companies ranging from international giants with a vast global presence to innovative start-ups carving out a niche for themselves with specialized services. Understanding these key players helps us to grasp the dynamics of the market and the different offerings they provide.
International recruitment firms with a foothold in France
Several major international firms have consolidated their position in the French market. These companies generally bring a wealth of global resources, expertise in many sectors and extensive networks of candidates and customers:
- - PageGroup: Operating through four distinct brands - Page Executive for executive recruitment, Michael Page for senior and middle management, Page Personnel for entry-level managers and skilled workers, and Page Outsourcing for recruitment process outsourcing - PageGroup offers a comprehensive range of recruitment services.
- - Hays: Renowned for its comprehensive recruitment solutions, Hays has established a formidable presence in France, serving a variety of industries with its recruitment expertise for permanent, contract and temporary positions.
- Robert Half International: A pioneer in professional recruitment services, Robert Half International is synonymous with excellence in helping companies find the right talent for their specific needs.
- - Robert Walters: Serving a broad client base, Robert Walters is renowned for recruiting top talent in all professional fields, from finance to technology.
- - Hudson Global: With a focus on talent management, Hudson Global offers recruitment services combined with comprehensive human resources consulting.
Pioneers in executive search
Executive search firms, or headhunters, specializing in the recruitment of high-level executives, form a distinct category in the recruitment landscape:
- Korn Ferry: As a global leader in executive search, Korn Ferry is respected for its in-depth knowledge of organizational strategy and talent acquisition.
- Egon Zehnder: Renowned for its bespoke approach to executive search, Egon Zehnder brings a nuanced understanding of leadership needs across different sectors.
- Spencer Stuart: With a long-standing reputation, Spencer Stuart excels in finding and developing leaders capable of meeting the challenges of a rapidly changing business environment.
Agile, specialized firms
Innovation in the recruitment market is often driven by smaller, more agile firms specializing in emerging or niche areas:
- - Eric Salmon & Partners: A reputable player that caters to those who need tailor-made executive search services.
to understand this market
Detailed content
Inforamtion
- Number of pages : 30 pages
- Format : Digital and PDF versions
- Last update : 15/05/2023
Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1. Market overview and definition
The recruitment support market, in which recruitment agencies operate, is only a sub-segment of the overall recruitment market, whose main players in France are still companies' in-house human resources departments. This study focuses in particular on the recruitment agency market.
A recruitment agency is a company whose purpose is to help and support its customers (private companies, the public sector, associations, etc.) in the recruitment (mainly on fixed-term or open-ended contracts) of new employees, managers or administrators. To this end, customers delegate to the recruitment firm all or part of the recruitment process: publication of the offer, identification of candidates, selection, negotiation, signature of contracts, induction and training of the new employee.
In France, these operations primarily concern middle management profiles. The role of these agencies is particularly important in a context where recruitment is difficult for companies, taking on average two and a half months in 2021 compared to two months in 2020.
The scope of recruitment per se excludeshiring operations aimed at filling positions under temporary employment contracts (temping, temporary employment agencies).
In contrast to the situation in Anglo-Saxon countries, the French recruitment market is not outsourced to any great extent. Human resources departments handle the majority of their recruitment, via recruitment campaigns, the career pages of their corporate websites, advertising websites, professional social networks and internal promotion.
1.2 A growing global recruitment and human resources market
The graph below shows the strong growth of the global recruitment and human resources market. Between **** and ****, the market grew by **%. The only year in which the market declined was ****, during the Covid-** pandemic. In that year, the market declined by *.*%.
By ****, the global recruitment and human resources market will be ...
1.3 A growing but polarized French market
The graph below shows the sales of employment agency activities (***), but will see a decline in **** with the Covid-** crisis. By ****, sales in this French market will be close to *.* billion euros. It will then surpass its pre-pandemic level. **% of recruitment takes place via specialized agencies. [***]
Employment agency sales France, **** - ...
1.4 A market impacted by covid-19
Less difficult executive recruitment
In ****, the number of executive recruitments fell by **% compared to ****. Against this backdrop, **% of companies felt that their recruitment processes were easier in **** than in **** (***). However, recruitment difficulties are set to rise again in ****, according to an APEC survey.
Percentage of companies considering that their executive recruitments ...
2 Demand analysis
2.1. The dynamics of executive recruitment in France
The graph below shows changes in the unemployment rate in mainland France.
Unemployment rate France, **** - ****, IN Source: ****
for ****, the unemployment rate is stable and rather low compared to previous years: around *.*% versus *.*% in ****.
However, managers are much less affected by unemployment than other professional categories. In ****, for example, their unemployment ...
2.2 Recruitment processes
In ****, the main recruitment channels used by business owners are above all their personal network (***). Only **% of business owners said they had used a private intermediary, such as a recruitment agency or temporary employment agency.
Main recruitment channels used by company managers France, ****, in
Yet many business owners report having encountered ...
3 Market structure
3.1. The employment-related activities sector in France
In the case of recruitment agencies, this activity can be classified under two NAF codes:
**.**Z "Activities of employment agencies" **.**Z "Business and other management consultancy services"
Activities of labor placement agencies (***)
The NAF **.**Z category includes, according to details provided by INSEE[***] :
personnel search, selection, orientation and placement, including ...
3.2. The main players in the recruitment market
Typology of players
The recruitment support market, in which recruitment agencies play a key role, is only a sub-segment of the overall recruitment market, whose main players in France are still companies' in-house human resources departments.
Recruitment agencies dominate the recruitment support market, which they share with four other categories of ...
3.3 New candidate profiles reshape market structure
The emergence of new candidate profiles and new skills is encouraging the emergence and growth of more specialized players.
The example of Teaminside, a firm specializing in digital professions
Teaminside was set up in **** to specialize in digital professions for companies not looking to recruit permanent staff. The firm was thus ...
4 Offer analysis
4.1. How recruitment agencies work
The challenge for a recruitment agency, when providing services to a client, is to respond as quickly as possible to the client's request, not only to meet the negotiated deadline, but also to be able to allocate its resources to other services. The recruitment process used by recruitment agencies generally consists ...
4.2. Towards diversification
Two different approaches are mainly used to deliver recruitment support services:
Advertising
The use of advertisements presupposes an exchange between the firm and the customer to define the job description and draft a job offer. The advertisement is then published on job sites (***). It may also be published in the press ...
4.3. Pricing methods used
In general, recruitment agencies are paid a percentage of the recruit's annual salary. This percentage usually varies between **% and **%. It can be as high as **% if the recruitment is carried out by a prestigious consultancy. This cost covers the entire recruitment process, from the client's needs to the final candidate.
In ...
5 Regulations
5.1. Consequences of the Borloo law (2005)
Changes in the regulatory framework are crucial to understanding the dynamics of recruitment agency business.
Following the Borloo law in ****, their sector of activity was opened up to competition from ETTs (***)
Temporary employment agencies can now recruit on both permanent and fixed-term contracts, opening up the placement business to the private ...
5.2 Recruitment subject to fairness laws
For any recruitment action, the selection of a candidate must be based solely on criteria linked to the specific needs of the job in question, or to the professional qualities of the person concerned. From reading the CV to the recruitment decision, selection choices must be objective, factual and comply with ...
6 Positioning the players
6.1. Segmentation
(***).
Major international players, mainly foreign, well established in France
PageGroup Hays Robert Half International Robert Walters Hudson Global
Small players with an innovative approach
Euromedica(***) Auvial Mosaïk RH Orientation Durable
Competitors in the recruitment support market include :
Headhunters
Korn Ferry, Egon Zehnder International, Spencer Stuart
Smaller players, such as the ...
- PageGroup (Michael Page)
- Hays
- Adecco Group
- Anywhr
- CRIT Groupe
- Ergalis (Actual Groupe)
- Kelly Services France
- ManpowerGroup France
- MeetYourjob
- Proman
- Robert Walters
- Light Consultants
- Skeelz
- Start People
- Supplay
- Synergie
- Talent Management Groupe
- Walters People
- Slash Interim
- Iziwork
- Aladom
- Scutum
- Actual Groupe
- Gojob
- Mistertemp'group
- Brigad
- Hellowork
- La Varappe
List of charts
- Size of the global recruitment and human resources market
- Annual executive recruitment
- Main regions recruiting executives
- Executive recruitment by business sector
- Unemployment rate
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Latest news
Hellowork president dies at 53, mowed down by drunk driver - 22/01/2024
Sudden death of Jérôme Armbruster, co-founder and Chairman of HelloWork - 20/01/2024
- Jérôme Armbruster founded his start-up, Régionjob.com, in 2000.
- Régionjob.com was renamed HelloWork.
- HelloWork has become the French leader in online recruitment and career guidance.
- In 2023, the company's sales topped the 100 million euro mark for the first time.
- Every year, HelloWork invests between 15 and 20 million euros in the improvement and development of its platforms.
- The company employs 530 people in Rennes, Bordeaux, Lyon and Lille. HelloWork has completed several acquisitions, including Seekube, Diplomeo and Basile.
French Tech : Brigad forced to lay off 20% of its workforce | Brigad : 20% workforce reduction in French Tech - 19/01/2024
- Brigad plans to cut 40 positions, representing a 20% reduction in its current workforce of 190.
- Brigad successfully raised €33 million in early 2023.
- Mediflash is another platform affected by legal ambiguities. Created in 2020, the majority of its users (70-80%) are unregulated professions, which poses the most problems.
Home - Envergure (Actual groupe) becomes a major player in the back-to-work market - 18/12/2023
- Envergure, a subsidiary of the Actual temporary employment group, has taken over the Retravailler EGP network.
- The new entity has 1,063 employees and 264 centers in France, making it one of France's Top 3 players in career guidance, support and development.
- The new group's consolidated sales are around 60 million euros.
- The Actual Group will have total sales of 1.6 billion euros by 2022, with 3,650 employees
- the fifth-largest player in this market in France.
- The Actual group is also France's leading player in the field of work-integration, with the Ergos brand, which has 100 agencies.
- Envergure works 90% for the public sector (government departments and local authorities) on call for tender, but also in the private sector, on outplacement assignments.
Slash Intérim acquires Guillaume Sarkozy and Marc Bimeux as shareholders - 11/09/2023
- Slash Intérim was founded in 2021.
- The company is based in La Roche-sur-Yon, Vendée.
- Slash Intérim has deployed around 50 self-employed recruiters in France.
- They are responsible for prospecting companies offering positions, as well as job applicants capable of carrying out these assignments
- The company's sales are set to double this year to €5 million.
- The company employs 10 permanent staff.
- Donor Marc Capron has created a network of 6 temporary employment agencies called Polygone, which employs around 50 people in the Pays de la Loire region.
- Commissions at Slash Intérim are shared 50/50 between recruiters and the company.
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