Staffing Industry Analysts recently published the 2016 Staffing Firm Market Share Landscape and Book of Lists - North America Edition, an invaluable resource that consolidates 25 distinct market share landscape and opportunity list reports into a single Excel workbook. Having already covered the largest IT staffing firms ranking in the August issue of IT Staffing Report, this month we will discuss the prominence of IT staffing among firms featured on some of the other lists included in this year’s update.
IT staffing led all other segments by representing 30% of firms on our “fastest-growing” list, based on compound annual growth rate in revenue from 2011 through 2015, just ahead of healthcare at 29%. The performance is particularly notable as the healthcare staffing market as a whole grew at a faster pace than IT in 2014 and 2015 by our estimates — at a comparative rate of 19% versus 7% in the latter year. This is further evidence of the divergence that continues to manifest in IT staffing as more traditional and generalist staffing firms lose market share to those firms that have become increasingly specialized, and supports our assertion that the demand environment is sufficient to support a firm’s growth well in excess of our overall IT segment forecast.
Another useful list identifies firms that hold one or more diversity certifications, such as women-, minority- or veteran-owned. Diversity ownership can be advantageous when bidding on certain state or federal government staffing contracts, as well as attracting business from large organizations that have targets for allocating a portion of their spend to such suppliers. Of the 133 firms included on this list, 43 identified IT staffing as their primary area of focus, more than twice as many as any other segment.
If your firm has an interest in staffing to the federal government, it may behoove you to look into the US Small Business Administration’s Mentor-Protégé program. This initiative pairs a company that has experience selling to the federal government with a small business partner that is seeking to learn the ropes of what can be a daunting process to navigate effectively. Bidding together can give the allied firms a better chance of winning than either would have on its own, or qualify them to bid on contracts that would be inaccessible individually. Our 2016 list features 16 businesses interested in acting as a mentor and 86 looking to play the protégé role, with both groups including a number of IT-focused firms.
The pace of merger and acquisition activity has been brisk recently. By our count, 2015 had the greatest number of transactions involving US staffing firms since 2007, and this year is shaping up to be another robust one for deal making. In this report, we include a list of companies that have expressed a desire to make acquisitions in the staffing industry, including information such as the occupational segment and geographic region of interest, as well as contact information for those interested in pursuing a discussion. Of the 209 potential acquirers on the list, more than a third said that either IT staffing or IT statement of work is their top target.
Whether you’re looking to partner, to sell, or simply to see where your firm ranks versus the competition, there is something for you in the 2016 Book of Lists. If you feel that your firm should have been included on one or more of these lists, or to become a corporate member and gain access to this report and our other staffing research resources, please contact our member services team.
