Top 10 HR Companies in the World

Published on January 5, 2023 at 2:09 pm by Insider Monkey Team in Lists, News

In this article, we take a look at the top 10 HR companies in the world. If you want to see more of the top HR companies in the world, go directly to Top 5 HR Companies in the World.

A company’s employee base is very important. With the right employees, a company can be more productive and produce more goods and services. It can potentially have higher growth, higher margin, and higher value.

Given that projects for companies change all the time as the market develops, not every company has the necessary expertise among its employee base all the time. Sometimes companies need outside talent to temporarily help with a project. Sometimes a company’s management lacks the necessary expertise to fully evaluate an opportunity when entering a new market or when taking on a new project.

As a result, companies often seek human resources companies to help them find the necessary talent they need.

Consulting Companies

When it comes to human resources companies, many large corporations turn to consulting companies to help them find the necessary expertise.

In terms of management consulting, some consultants provide management information such as through feasibility studies, market surveys and analysis of an industry. Sometimes consultants also help management determine whether they should acquire or divest a business, restrucuture, or whether the company should change a marketing strategy.

Some human resources companies also offer employee staffing as well in addition to management consulting.

Companies like Accenture, for example, offer “innovative and comprehensive services and solutions that span cloud; systems integration and application management; security; intelligent platform services; infrastructure services; software engineering services; data and artificial intelligence; and global delivery through our Advanced Technology Centers.” Accenture also has an operations business that “operates business processes on behalf of clients for specific enterprise functions, including finance and accounting, sourcing and procurement, supply chain, marketing and sales, as well as industry-specific services, such as platform trust and safety, banking, insurance and health services.”

Growth

Given the growth in the global economy and also the need for companies to be as competitive and flexible as possible to potentially take advantage of value creating opportunities, the top HR companies have grown substantially over the last three decades. Boston Consulting Group, for example, has tripled sales over the last decade with the majority of the growth being organic.

As a result, some of the biggest HR companies have tens of billions in annual revenue and hundreds of thousands of employees.

Given high inflation, the Federal Reserve has increased interest rates substantially over the past year and many analysts think the U.S. central bank will raise rates further.

As a result of the higher interest rates, aggregate demand has decreased and many economists think there could be a recession in 2023. Given the headwinds, some HR companies may not be as in demand as they used to be in the near term. In the long term, however, there will likely still be substantial demand.

For those of you interested, check out 15 Countries with Lowest Interest Rates.

The Largest HR Companies

In terms of the largest HR companies, many of the world’s biggest consulting companies are privately owned by their senior partners and employees.

One reason for the large concentration of private ownership in the industry could be that consulting companies traditionally do not need much capital to start off since consulting is more about the consultants and their expertise rather than about physical assets that need large up front investments to build. Growing consulting businesses also do not require as much capital if done correctly.

As a result of the less up front capital needed, the four biggest HR companies in the world are all private.

Because consultancies can also sell their clients other services as well, many of the world’s top consultancies offer other services such as tax services.

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Methodology

For our list of Top 10 HR Companies in the World, we include the ‘big three’ consulting firms such as McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, and Boston Consulting Group.

We also include the ‘big four’ consulting firms, which are known for their scale which include Deloitte, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), and Ernst & Young (EY).

Finally, we include publicly listed companies with large market capitalizations that also offer consulting services such as Accenture Plc (NYSE:ACN), International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM), and Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH).

We ranked each company based on its consulting revenue in 2021.

Top 10 HR Companies in the World

10. Bain & Company

2021 Revenue: Unavailable

Since it’s a private company, Bain & Company doesn’t have to disclose its revenues. As such, the company ranks #10 on our list of Top 10 HR Companies in the World given the uncertainty. While it doesn’t disclose its annual sales, it is likely Bain & Company has annual sales in the billions given the consultancy is commonly mentioned along with other firms such as McKinsey & Company and Boston Consulting Group as part of the prestigious ‘big three’ in the industry.

Founded in 1973, Bain & Company has thousands of employees spread across 64 offices in 39 countries to work as a global team to help clients improve their strategy, marketing, organization, operations, information technology, and more. Given its scale, Bain & Company has worked with 63% of the Global 500 which are the largest companies in the world in terms of annual revenue.

9. Boston Consulting Group

2021 Revenue: $11 billion

Boston Consulting Group ranks #9 on our list of Top 10 HR Companies in the World given its 2021 revenue of $11 billion. According to the company, its underlying sales rose 25% at constant exchange rates in 2021 driven by strong demand from clients relating to climate & sustainability as well as digital & artificial intelligence. With the growth, Boston Consulting Group’s sales has more than tripled over the last decade and expanded almost 10 fold over the past two decades. Of the growth, over 98% is organic.

As of the end of 2021, the company has around 25,000 employees globally, up 10% year over year. As part of the big three, Boston Consulting Group consultants have a goal to help leaders in business and society grow their companies and improve society. Many of the company’s clients rank among the world’s 500 largest companies and Boston Consulting Group has substantial industry and functional expertise in a variety of sectors.

8. McKinsey & Company

2021 Revenue: $15 billion+

McKinsey & Company is one of the most prestigious consulting firms in the world along with Bain & Company and Boston Consulting Group. Given its history and reputation, McKinsey & Company serves 90 of the world’s 100 biggest companies in addition to many other companies. Although the leading consultancy doesn’t disclose exact financial data because it is privately owned, McKinsey & Company did disclose it has over $15 billion in revenues in its 2021 ESG report.

McKinsey & Company also has over 2,700 partners and over 38,000 employees worldwide across more than 65 countries. The company has a mission to help its clients make improvements in their financial performance, growth, organization health, and capabilities.

7. International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM)

2021 Consulting Revenue: $17.84 billion

In addition to being a leading tech company, International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) is one of the leading consulting companies in the world. For 2021, the company had consulting revenue of $17.84 billion and total revenues of $57.4 billion. For the year, International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM)’s consulting sales rose 8% at constant currency, driven by strong demand from companies to help their digital transformations. Given International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM)’s expertise in technology, software, and infrastructure, the company has a different value proposition from many other companies as a result.

For the third quarter of 2022, International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM)’s sales rose 6% year over year to $14.1 billion with software revenues up 7% year over year, consulting revenues up 5% year over year, and infrastructure sales rising 15% year over year. Given the strong U.S. dollar, growth for the period was even higher in terms of constant currency. In terms of total revenue, sales rose 15% year over year in constant currency, with software sales rising 14% year over year in constant currency, consulting sales rising 16% year over year in constant currency, and infrastructure revenue rising 23% year over year in constant currency.

6. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH)

2021 Revenue: $18.5 billion

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) is a leading professional service company that helps its clients modernize technology, reimagine processes, and transform experiences. For full year 2021, Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) had revenue of $18.5 billion, full year operating cash flow of $2.5 billion, and free cash flow of $2.2 billion. Given its sales for 2021, Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) ranks #6 on our list of Top 10 HR Companies in the World.

In terms of more recent financial data, Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) reported third quarter 2022 sales of $4.9 billion, up 2.4% year over year and 5.6% year over year in constant currency. Adjusted operating margin rose 60 basis points year over year to 16.4%, operating cash flow was $1.032 billion and free cash flow was $953 million. The company’s board of directors approved an increase of $2 billion in the share repurchase authorization and the company raised its full year 2022 revenue growth guidance to 4.5% or 7% in constant currency.

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