In our coverage universe are the executive search companies, the Internet recruiting sites, and the general and specialty staffing firms. 2000 was a fairly dismal year for most of the companies in this space. That is especially true on the staffing side. A lot of these companies were very flattish last year in their revenue and profits, and, on the Internet side, a lot of companies were brought back to earth with the rest of the Internet group. Contingent recruiters are saying that they are having to sell candidates harder on available job opportunities.
People are reluctant to change positions in an uncertain environment.
However, we re also hearing anecdotally at a few of the companies that their temporary staffing business, or their contract staffing business, is strengthening modestly. We think that uncertainty in the environment leads corporations that still have decent demand in their business to meet that demand through the use of contingent workers rather than permanent hiring. Let me offer three ideas. It is the leader in the high-end executive search business. Our thesis with Heidrick has been one of access and influence to the corner office.