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KPIs

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KPIs

Our aim is to be the global leader in recruitment and workforce solutions, and to execute on our focused strategy. We use a combination of five financial and three non-financial alternative performance measures to track our performance, in line with our strategic priorities.

Measured against our strategy
We clearly link each of our KPIs to our four strategic priorities:

Profitable growth

Focus

Develop networks

Enhance

Enable

1. Like-for-like(1) net fee growth (%)

Measure

Net fees represent turnover less remuneration costs of Temporary & Contracting workers, and remuneration of other recruitment agencies. Growth is on a constant-currency basis.

 

Progress made in FY25

Net fees decreased by 11%, with increasingly challenging conditions in most markets. Economic and political uncertainty weighed on client and candidate confidence driving lower placement volumes and a material lengthening of our ‘time-to-hire’. However, net fees within Enterprise Solutions grew by 8%.

 

2. Basic earnings per share(2) growth (%)

Measure

The underlying profitability of the Group, measured by the pre-exceptional earnings per share(2) of the Group’s operations.

 

Progress made in FY25

Basic earnings per share(2) down 67% to 1.31 pence. This was driven by 56% lower pre-exceptional PBT year-on-year and 270 bps higher Group tax rate.

 

3. Like-for-like(1) net fees per consultant (£000s)

Measure

The productivity of the Group’s fee earners. Calculated as total Group net fees (on a constant-currency basis) divided by the average number of consultants.

 

Progress made in FY25

Like-for-like fees per consultant increased by 5% year-on-year to £145.6k, and despite a 11% LFL net fee decrease, was at record levels. Placements per consultant fell significantly as market conditions toughened through the year, notably in Permanent. However, this was offset by our actions to drive higher average fees per placement including positive mix effects and wage inflation benefitting fees.

4. Conversion rate(3) (%)

Measure

Calculated as pre-exceptional operating profit(2) divided by net fees. Measures the Group’s effectiveness in managing our level of investment for future growth and controlling costs.

 

Progress made in FY25

Conversion rate(3) decreased by 470 bps to 4.7%. Challenging market conditions and longer average time-to-hire negatively impacted our average number of placements per consultant. However, our decisive actions and operational rigour have reduced costs by an annualised c.£65 million since the start of FY24. Our longer-term aspiration for conversion rate remains 22-25%.

 

5. Cash conversion(5) (%)

Measure

The Group’s ability to convert profit into cash. Calculated as cash generated by operations(4) as a percentage of pre-exceptional operating profit(2).

 

Progress made in FY25

We delivered 281% conversion, a strong result due to a working capital inflow of £58.1 million in FY25 as Temporary & Contracting net fees and placements reduced partially offset by an increase in debtor days to 37 days (FY24: 36 days), although debtor days remain below pre-pandemic levels. The increase in debtor days is largely due to greater resilience in our Enterprise business, which typically has longer payment terms.

 

6. Employee engagement(6) (%)

Measure

We work with Culture Amp to deliver our annual employee engagement survey, delivering actionable insights into our employees’ experiences of working at Hays. We run two surveys annually, a shorter ‘Pulse’ engagement in November and a more detailed exercise in May.

 

Progress made in FY25

77% of all staff completed the survey (FY24: 81%), providing a strong representation of employee opinion. Our engagement score decreased to 70% (FY24: 71%). While we are not satisfied with this, it also reflects challenging economic conditions and the impact of the restructuring of our operations in FY25.

 

7. Percentage of female senior leaders (%)

Measure

We believe in equality in all forms across our business. This KPI was introduced in FY21, with a target of reaching 50% by 2030. We define our senior leadership cohort as the three management levels below our Executive Leadership Team, which in FY25 represented the top c.635 managers in Hays.

Progress made in FY25

Female senior leaders increased by 1.9% to 44.9%. We retain our ambitious target of parity by 2030. In FY26, we will undertake a review of job categories globally to ensure we have the most representative sample of senior leaders.

 

8. Greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 tonnes)

Measure

Hays is committed to reducing GHG emissions, in line with the Paris Agreement, and has validated science-based targets (SBTs). We report GHG emissions for scope 1, scope 2 and the relevant scope 3 categories.

 

Progress made in FY25

Total emissions directly controlled by Hays (scope1, scope2, scope 3 Fuel and Energy-related activities and scope 3 Business travel) decreased by 11% to 17,174 tonnes, due to reductions in energy consumption and car fleet, and sit 30% lower than the base year. Overall, Group GHG emissions declined by 10% YoY and are 28% below base year.

 

 

(1) Like-for-like growth represents organic growth at constant currency.

(2) FY24 and FY20 operating profit and basic earnings per share are stated before exceptional charges. FY24 operating profit and basic EPS are presented before exceptional costs of £80.0 million, of which £42.2 million relates to restructuring of Group operations. The remaining £37.8 million is non-cash and comprises £15.3 million relating to the impairment of goodwill in the USA and £22.5 million relating to the impairment of intangible assets. There were no exceptional charges in FY21, 22 or 23.

(3) Conversion rate is the proportion of net fees converted into pre-exceptional operating profit (2).

(4) Cash generated by operations is stated after IFRS 16 lease payments, as we view leases (mainly on property) as an operating cost. FY21 cash generated by operations of £130.8 million is also adjusted for £118.3 million of FY20 payroll tax and VAT deferred which was paid in FY21.

(5) Cash conversion represents the conversion of pre-exceptional operating profit(2) to cash generated from operations.

(6) The significant disruption of the pandemic meant we postponed the FY20 survey until November 2020, i.e. in FY21. Given employee engagement is so important, we ran two surveys in FY21, with one in May 2021.