UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020

OR

Commission File No. 1-10686

MANPOWERGROUP INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (414) 961-1000

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes    ☒    No    ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.    Yes    ☐    No    ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes    ☒    No    ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (Section 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).    Yes    ☒    No    ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.    ☒ 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).  Yes    ☐    No    ☒

The aggregate market value of the voting stock held by nonaffiliates of the registrant was $3,991,124,225 as of June 30, 2020. As of February 17, 2021, there were 54,994,858 of the registrant’s shares of common stock outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

ManpowerGroup Inc.

Form 10-K

For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2020

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

The terms “we,” “our,” “us,” "ManpowerGroup," or “the Company” refer to ManpowerGroup Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.

Introduction and History

ManpowerGroup Inc. is a world leader in innovative workforce solutions and services. Through our global network of over 2,200 offices in 75 countries and territories, we put millions of people to work each year with our global, multinational and local clients across all major industry segments. Our strong and connected brands provide innovative solutions that drive organizations forward, accelerate individual success and help build more sustainable communities. We power the future of work.

By offering a comprehensive range of workforce solutions and services, we help companies at varying stages in their evolution increase productivity, improve strategy, quality and efficiency, and reduce costs across their workforce to achieve their business goals. ManpowerGroup’s suite of innovative workforce solutions and services includes:

Our family of brands and offerings includes:

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source, manage and develop talent at scale. Talent Solutions is designed to address client demand for expert offerings, integrated and data driven workforce solutions as well as seamless delivery across multiple countries.

Our leadership position enables us to be a pathway to quality employment opportunities for people at all points in their career paths. Whether it is seasoned professionals, skilled laborers, temporary to permanent, parents returning to work, seniors wanting to supplement pensions, previously unemployed or underemployed youth and disabled individuals, ManpowerGroup has been connecting people to meaningful work for over 70 years. Similarly, governments in the nations in which we operate look to us to help provide employment opportunities and training to assist the unemployed in gaining the skills they need to enter the workforce. We provide a bridge to experience and employment and help to build more sustainable communities.

We, and our predecessors, have been in business since 1948 when we were incorporated as a Wisconsin corporation, and have had our shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange since 1967.

Our Internet address is www.manpowergroup.com. We make available free of charge through our website our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, we also make available through our Internet website:

Documents available on the website are also available in print for any shareholder who requests them. Requests may be made by writing to Richard Buchband, Secretary, ManpowerGroup, 100 Manpower Place, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212. We are not including the information contained on or available through our website as a part of, or incorporating such information by reference into, this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Our Operations

Client demand for workforce solutions and services is dependent on the overall strength of the labor market and secular trends toward greater workforce flexibility within each of the segments where we operate. Improving economic growth typically results in increasing demand for labor, resulting in greater demand for our staffing services while demand for our outplacement services typically declines. During periods of increasing demand, we are generally able to improve our profitability and operating leverage as our cost base can support some increase in business without a similar increase in selling and administrative expenses.

Correspondingly, during periods of weak economic growth or economic contraction, the demand for our staffing services typically declines, while demand for our outplacement services typically accelerates. When demand drops, our operating profit is typically impacted unfavorably as we experience a deleveraging of our selling and administrative expense base as expenses may not decline at the same pace as revenues. In periods of economic contraction, we may have more significant expense deleveraging, as we believe it is prudent not to reduce selling and administrative expenses to levels that could negatively impact the long-term potential of our branch network and brands.

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The nature of our operations is such that our most significant current asset is accounts receivable, with a days sales outstanding of approximately 54 days as December 31, 2020. Our most significant current liabilities are payroll related costs, which are generally paid either weekly or monthly. As the demand for our services increases, we generally see an increase in our working capital needs, as we continue to pay our associates on a weekly or monthly basis while the related accounts receivable is outstanding for much longer, which may result in a decline in operating cash flows.

Conversely, as the demand for our services declines, as we saw starting in late March 2020 and continuing throughout 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, we generally see a decrease in our working capital needs, as the existing accounts receivable are collected and not replaced at the same level, resulting in a decline of our accounts receivable balance, with less of an effect on current liabilities due to the shorter cycle time of the payroll related items. This may result in an increase in our operating cash flows; however, any such increase would not be expected to be sustained in the event that an economic downturn continued for an extended period. During 2020, we were highly successful in receivable collections while incurring lower payroll costs on lower activity. Our improved cash flow also benefited from certain government payment deferral measures introduced as part of the COVID-19 crisis, largely in the United States, France, and Italy, with some of the benefits maturing in the second half of 2020. The impact of the remaining benefits is expected to mature in 2021, and we expect lower levels of operating cash flow during 2021.

Due to our industry’s sensitivity to economic factors, the inherent difficulty in forecasting the direction and strength of the economy and the short-term nature of staffing assignments, it is difficult to forecast future demand for our services with certainty. As a result, we monitor a number of economic indicators, as well as recent business trends, to predict future revenue trends for each of the countries and territories where we operate. Based upon these anticipated trends, we determine what level of personnel and office investments are necessary to take full advantage of growth opportunities.

During the last several years, secular trends toward greater workforce flexibility have helped drive demand for our innovative workforce solutions and services around the world. As companies attempt to increase the variability of their cost base, the workforce solutions we provide help them to effectively address the fluctuating demand for their products or services. As the global economy continues to grow and adapt with new technology, we are helping clients manage their workforce transformation and ensure they have the right skills now and in the future. Whether it is through workforce assessments, targeted training or by creating longer-term development paths, we help organizations and candidates adapt their skills to changing workforce needs.

Our portfolio of recruitment services includes permanent, temporary and contract recruitment of professionals, as well as administrative and industrial positions. These services are provided under our Manpower and Experis brands. We have provided services under our core Manpower brand for over 70 years with a primary focus on the areas of office and industrial services and solutions. Our Talent Based Outsourcing offering within our Manpower brand includes outcome-based solutions such as management of financial and administrative processes, including call center and customer service activities.

We provide services under our Experis brand, particularly in the areas of IT, Engineering, and Finance, that include high-impact solutions, and help accelerate organizations’ growth by attracting, assessing and placing candidates with specialized expertise to deliver in-demand skills for important positions. Our experience and expertise allow us to accurately assess candidates’ workplace potential and technical skills to match them to the needs of our clients. We plan to continue to build our Experis brand and attract the talent our clients need as skills shortages arise or continue. Our Proservia offering within the Experis brand includes outcome-based solutions specializing in infrastructure management and end-user support.

Our Talent Solutions brand specializes in the delivery of customized workforce strategies and new solutions and creating added value that addresses our clients’ complex global workforce needs. Through our RPO offering, we manage customized, large-scale recruiting and workforce productivity initiatives for clients through exclusive outsourcing contracts. We can manage a single element or all of a client's permanent recruiting and hiring processes, from job profiling to on-boarding, globally or in a single location. MSP services include overall program management, reporting and tracking, supplier selection and management and order distribution. The MSP and RPO offerings both provide specialty expertise in contingent workforce management and broader administrative

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functions. Our Right Management offering includes our career management services that have historically been counter-cyclical to our staffing services, which helps to offset the impact of an economic downturn on our overall financial results.

Americas

We provide services as Manpower, Experis and Talent Solutions through both branch and franchise offices. The Americas segment had 490 branch and 182 franchise offices as of December 31, 2020. In the United States, where we realized 61% of the Americas’ revenue, we had 318 branch and 175 franchise offices as of December 31, 2020, as well as on-site locations at clients with significant permanent, temporary and contract recruitment requirements. In Other Americas, the largest operations of which include Mexico, Canada and Argentina, we had 172 branch offices and 7 franchise offices as of December 31, 2020. We provide a number of central support services to our branches and franchises, which enable us to maintain consistent service quality throughout the region regardless of whether an office is a branch or franchise.

Our franchise agreements provide the franchisee with the right to use the Manpower® service mark in a specifically defined exclusive territory. In the United States, franchise fees generally range from 2% to 3% of franchisee sales. Our franchise agreements provide that in the event of a proposed sale of a franchise to a third party, we have the right to acquire the franchise at the same price and on the same terms as proposed by the third party. We have exercised this right in the past and may do so in the future if opportunities arise.

Our Manpower and Experis operations provide a variety of workforce solutions and services, including permanent, temporary and contract recruitment, assessment and selection, and training. During 2020 in this segment, approximately 35% of temporary and contract recruitment revenues were derived from placing industrial staff, 25% from placing office staff, and 40% from placing professional and technical staff. For our United States operations in 2020, approximately 46% of the temporary and contract recruitment revenues were derived from placing industrial staff, 12% from placing office staff, and 42% from placing professional and technical staff.

Our Talent Solutions operations provide a variety of workforce solutions offerings including RPO, MSP and Right Management.

Southern Europe

We are a leading provider of permanent, temporary and contract recruitment, assessment and selection, training and outsourcing services throughout Europe. The Southern Europe segment had 1,061 branch offices as of December 31, 2020. Our largest operations in this segment are in France (55% of the segment revenue) and Italy (17% of the segment revenue).

During 2020 for our Southern Europe operations, approximately 73% of temporary and contract recruitment revenues were derived from placing industrial staff, 14% from placing office staff, and 13% from placing professional and technical staff.

We conduct our operations in France as a leading workforce solutions and service provider through 525 branch offices as Manpower, Experis, including our Proservia brand, and Talent Solutions, and 149 branch offices under the name Supplay as of December 31, 2020. The employment services market in France calls for a wide range of our services including permanent, temporary and contract recruitment, assessment and selection, and training. The temporary recruitment market is predominantly focused on recruitment for industrial positions. In 2020, we derived approximately 84% of our temporary recruitment revenues in France from the supply of industrial and construction workers, 15% from the supply of office staff, and 1% from the supply of professional and technical staff.

In Italy, we are a leading workforce solutions and services provider. As of December 31, 2020, ManpowerGroup Italy conducted operations through a network of 211 branch offices. It provides a comprehensive suite of workforce solutions and services offered through Manpower, Experis or Talent Solutions, including permanent, temporary and contract recruitment, assessment and selection, training and outsourcing. In 2020, approximately 66% of our temporary and contract recruitment revenues in Italy were derived from placing industrial staff, 6% from placing office staff, including contact center staff, and 28% from placing professional and technical staff.

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Northern Europe

Our largest operations in Northern Europe are in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Nordics and the Netherlands, providing a comprehensive suite of workforce solutions and services through Manpower, Experis, and Talent Solutions. Collectively, we operate through 379 branch offices in this region. 

During 2020 for our Northern Europe operations, approximately 38% of temporary and contract recruitment revenues were derived from placing industrial staff, 22% from placing office staff, and 40% from placing professional and technical staff.

In the United Kingdom, where we have the largest operation in this segment, we are a leading provider of workforce solutions and services. As of December 31, 2020, we conducted operations in the United Kingdom as Manpower, Experis and Talent Solutions through a network of 61 branch offices and also provided on-site services to clients who have significant permanent, temporary and contract recruitment requirements. During 2020, approximately 26% of our United Kingdom operation’s temporary recruitment revenues were derived from the supply of industrial staff, 16% from the supply of office staff, and 58% from the supply of professional and technical staff. In the United Kingdom, we also conduct operations as Brook Street Bureau PLC, or Brook Street. Its core business is secretarial, office and light industrial recruitment. Brook Street operates as a local network of branches and competes primarily with local or regional independents. Brook Street’s revenues are comprised of temporary and contract placements as well as permanent recruitment.

APME

We operate through 136 branch offices in the Asia Pacific Middle East (APME) region. The largest of these operations are located in Japan, Australia, India and Korea, all of which operate through branch offices. Our APME operations provide a variety of workforce solutions and services offered through Manpower, Experis and Talent Solutions, including permanent, temporary and contract recruitment, assessment and selection, training and outsourcing. During 2020, approximately 8% of our APME temporary and contract recruitment revenues were derived from placing industrial staff, 61% from placing office staff, and 31% from placing professional and technical staff.

On July 10, 2019, our joint venture in Greater China, ManpowerGroup Greater China Limited, became listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited through an initial public offering. As a result, we deconsolidated the joint venture as of the listing date and account for our remaining 36.87% interest under the equity method of accounting. (See Note 4 to the Consolidated Financial Statements found in Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” for further information.)

Competition

We compete in the employment services industry by offering a broad range of services, including permanent, temporary and contract recruitment, project-based workforce solutions, assessment and selection, training, career and talent management, managed service solutions, outsourcing, consulting and professional services.

Our industry is large and fragmented, comprised of thousands of firms employing millions of people and generating billions of United States dollars in annual revenues. In most areas, no single company has a dominant share of the employment services market. In addition to us, the largest publicly owned companies specializing in recruitment services are The Adecco Group and Randstad. We also compete against a variety of regional or specialized companies such as Recruit Holdings, Kelly Services, Robert Half, Kforce, PageGroup, Korn/Ferry International and Alexander Mann. It is a highly competitive industry, reflecting several trends in the global marketplace such as the increasing demand for skilled people, employers’ desire for more flexible working models and consolidation among clients and in the employment services industry itself. We manage these trends by leveraging established strengths, including several of the employment services industry’s most recognized and respected brands; geographic diversification; size and service scope; an innovative product mix; recruiting and assessment expertise; and a strong client base. While staffing is an important aspect of our business, our strategy is focused on providing both the skilled employees our clients need and high-value workforce management, outsourcing and consulting solutions.

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Our client mix consists of both small- and medium-size businesses, and large national and multinational client relationships, which comprised approximately 60% of our revenues in 2020. Client relationships with small- and medium-size businesses are based on a local or regional relationship, and tend to rely less on longer-term contracts, and the competitors for this business are primarily locally-owned businesses. The large national and multinational clients, on the other hand, will frequently enter into non-exclusive arrangements with several firms, with the ultimate choice among them being left to local managers. As a result, employment services firms with a large network of offices compete most effectively for this business which generally has agreed-upon pricing or mark-up on services performed.

Legal Regulations

The employment services industry is closely regulated in all of the major markets in which we operate, except the United States and Canada. Employment services firms are generally subject to one or more of the following types of government regulation:

In many markets, the existence or absence of collective bargaining agreements with labor organizations has a significant impact on our operations and the ability of clients to use our services. In some markets, labor agreements are structured on an industry-wide, rather than company-by-company, basis. Changes in these collective bargaining agreements have occurred in the past and are expected to occur in the future and may have a material impact on the operations of employment services firms, including us.

In most countries, workforce solutions and services firms are considered the legal employers of temporary and contract workers. Therefore, laws regulating the employer/employee relationship, such as tax withholding or reporting, social security or retirement, health and other benefits, anti-discrimination and workers’ compensation, govern the firm.

In many countries, particularly in continental Europe and Asia, entry into the employment services market is restricted by the requirement to register with, or obtain licenses from, a government agency. In addition, a wide variety of ministerial requirements may be imposed, such as record keeping, written contracts and reporting. The United States and Canada do not presently have any form of national registration or licensing requirement.

In addition to licensing or registration requirements, many countries impose substantive restrictions on the use of temporary and contract workers. Such restrictions include regulations affecting the types of work permitted, the maximum length of assignment, wage levels or reasons for which temporary and contract workers may be employed. In some countries, special taxes, fees or costs are imposed in connection with the use of temporary and contract workers. For example, temporary and contract workers in France are entitled to a 10% allowance for the uncertain duration of employment, which is eliminated if a full-time position is offered to them within three days after assignment termination.

Our outplacement and consulting services generally are not subject to governmental regulation in the markets in which we operate.

In the United States, we are subject to various federal and state laws relating to franchising, principally the Federal Trade Commission’s Franchise Rules and analogous state laws which impact our agreements with our franchised operations. These laws and related rules and regulations impose specific disclosure requirements. Virtually all states also regulate the termination of franchises.

Changes in applicable laws or regulations have occurred in the past and are expected in the future to affect the extent to which workforce solutions and services firms may operate. These changes could impose additional costs, taxes, record keeping or reporting requirements; restrict the tasks to which contingent workers may be assigned; limit the duration of or otherwise impose restrictions on the nature of the relationship (with us or the client); or otherwise adversely affect the industry.

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Trademarks

We maintain a number of registered trademarks, trade names and service marks in the United States and various other countries and territories. We believe that many of these marks and trade names, including ManpowerGroup^®, Manpower^®, Experis^®, Right Management^®, Brook Street^®, Proservia^®, and MyPath^® have significant value and are materially important to our business. In addition, we maintain other intangible property rights. The trademarks have been assigned an indefinite life based on our expectation of renewing the trademarks, as required, without material modifications and at a minimal cost, and our expectation of positive cash flows beyond the foreseeable future.

Employees

We had approximately 25,000 full-time equivalent employees as of December 31, 2020. In addition, we recruit millions of permanent, temporary and contract workers on a worldwide basis each year on behalf of our clients.

As described above, in most jurisdictions, we, as the employer of our temporary and contract workers or as otherwise required by applicable law, are responsible for employment administration. This administration includes collection of withholding taxes, employer contributions for social security or its equivalent outside the United States, unemployment tax, workers’ compensation and fidelity and liability insurance, and other governmental requirements imposed on employers. In most jurisdictions where such benefits are not legally required, including the United States, we provide health and life insurance, paid holidays and paid vacations to qualifying temporary and contract employees.

Human Capital

We are a workforce solutions and human capital company. Our purpose is to provide meaningful and sustainable jobs and is rooted in our values: People, Knowledge and Innovation. Our employees, spanning 75 countries and territories, help improve the lives of nearly 600,000 workers on a daily basis by providing access to employment and opportunities to reskill or upskill. These efforts support local economies and create economic opportunity for our associates.

We Are Focused on Reskilling and Upskilling of Workers and Future Workers.

Through our partnerships with clients and NGOs (e.g. World Economic Forum, World Employment Confederation and Junior Achievement) and our own research and solutions, we are advancing the global discussion around the skills preparedness of today’s workers and the definition of required skills for the future. Since 2016, through our Skills Revolution series, we have highlighted how technology and digitization could shift in-demand skills, exacerbate existing talent shortages and require investments to reskill and upskill workers. In response to emerging trends, we launched our MyPath program, with the intent of connecting our associates to opportunities that can advance their skills and meet employers’ needs. Through this program, ManpowerGroup provides personalized guidance, career development, training, and access to jobs. Primarily focused in growth sectors including information technology, sales and finance, MyPath helped approximately 60,000 associates per month as of the end of 2020, representing our Manpower and Experis brands in 12 countries. We also provide free access to online learning to all associates on assignment. In 2020, we expanded our online learning platform, including partnering with University of Phoenix, resulting in an increase in associate usage by 15%.  

We Are Focused on Our Diversity, Our People and Our Culture.

Even though we have a global footprint, our teams are managed locally, with 29% of our people in the Americas, 33% in Southern Europe, 23% in Northern Europe and 16% in Asia Pacific/Middle East. Collectively, we are focused on advancing diversity, developing our people and assessing our culture to enhance our competitiveness in the marketplace and the workplace.