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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

How the Group’s business is performing over time, measured as net fee growth on a constant-currency basis.

Progress made in FY24

Net fees decreased by 12%, with increasingly challenging conditions in most markets. Lower volumes were the main driver of reduced fees, with average Perm fees increasing in line with wage inflation and benefiting positively from mix. Our average underlying Temp margin was stable YoY.

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 FY24

Basic earnings per share(2) down 53% to 4.03 pence. This was driven by 50% lower pre-exceptional PBT YoY and 440 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 FY24

Like-for-like fees per consultant increased by 1% YoY to £141.4k, and despite a 12% fee decrease, remained near record levels. Placements per consultant fell significantly as market conditions toughened through the year, notably in Perm. 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 FY24

Conversion rate(3) decreased by 580bps to 9.4%. 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 reduced costs by an annualised c.£60 million. 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 FY24

We delivered 107% conversion, a strong result. Cash inflow from a reduction in Temp volumes was partially offset by an increase in debtor days to 36 days (FY23: 33 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 FY24

81% of all staff completed the survey (FY23: 84%), providing a strong representation of employee opinion. Our engagement score decreased to 71% (FY23: 76%). While we are not satisfied with this, it also reflects challenging economic conditions and the impact of the restructuring of our operations in FY24.

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 Board, which in FY24 represented the top c.670 managers in Hays.

Progress made in FY24

Female senior leaders decreased by 1.3% to 43.0%, driven by a higher proportion of voluntary female leavers than male during the year. We retain our ambitious target of parity by 2030. In FY25, 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 halving its GHG emissions, in line with the Paris Agreement, and has validated science-based target (SBTs). Our GHG data-gathering exercise continues to improve and FY24 included some emissions not previously captured. Also, as reported in FY23, 2022 and 2020 GHG emissions were restated to reflect more comprehensive data gathering (more information on page 68).

Progress made in FY24

Total emissions directly controlled by Hays (scope 1, 2 and the selected scope 3 emissions outlined on page 68) increased by 9% to 18,246 CO2e tonnes, due to enhanced data capture, but sit 22% lower than our 2020 base year. Overall Group CO2e emissions declined by 1% YoY and are 12% below base year. We are broadly on track to deliver our ambitious SBTs.

(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.