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Robert Half
Robert Half was founded in 1948 by Robert Half, a former FBI special agent, and has since grown into a global human-resources consulting firm with a...
Robert Half
Robert Half was founded in 1948 by Robert Half, a former FBI special agent, and has since grown into a global human-resources consulting firm with a focused model on temporary and project staffing for professional roles. The firm went public in 1995 and is a member of the S&P 500. It operates through multiple divisions, including Accountemps for finance and accounting, Robert Half Technology for IT roles, OfficeTeam for administrative support, and Robert Half Management Resources for senior-level project consultants. The firm is headquartered in Menlo Park, California. The firm's business is not investing client capital but deploying its own balance sheet to match skilled professionals with corporate clients, generating revenue through placement fees and consulting contracts. Robert Half's core operations fall into temporary and consultant staffing, permanent placement, and risk consulting through its Protiviti subsidiary, acquired in 2002. Protiviti provides internal audit, risk, and compliance consulting, extending the firm's reach into professional services adjacent to its staffing core. Geographically, the firm maintains operations across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and South America, with a significant concentration in the United States. Robert Half employs over 15,000 people across hundreds of offices globally. The company does not run traditional investment vehicles, but its annual surveys and hiring indexes, such as the Robert Half Salary Guide, are widely cited by economists and allocators as a barometer for labor market tightness and professional service demand. In May 2024, the firm reported a continued normalization of hiring markets post-pandemic, with contract talent solutions seeing increased demand in the technology and legal sectors. Robert Half's structural differentiator lies in its dual model of staffing plus risk consulting. The Protiviti subsidiary operates with a separate management team and revenue stream, creating a diversified services business that tempers the cyclicality inherent in the pure-play staffing model. This architecture allows the firm to sell into different corporate budgets — HR for talent and the CFO's office for internal audit and compliance — in a way that few competitors replicate at scale.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
1948
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Menlo Park
Corporate office
Menlo Park, CA, United States
Principals
M. Keith Waddell
Vice Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Robert Half?
Robert Half is a professional services and staffing company, not an asset manager. M. Keith Waddell serves as Vice Chairman, President, and CEO, overseeing capital allocation and corporate strategy. The firm deploys capital primarily through organic growth, acquisitions, and share repurchases rather than through a traditional investment portfolio structure.
How does Robert Half generate revenue?
The firm generates revenue through placement fees for temporary, permanent, and project-based professional staffing, primarily in accounting, technology, legal, and administrative fields. Its Protiviti subsidiary adds a significant consulting revenue stream focused on internal audit, risk, and compliance. The firm does not earn management fees or carry on third-party capital.
Is Robert Half connected to any family office or private investment structure?
No. Robert Half is a publicly traded corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker RHI. It is not affiliated with a single-family office or private investment vehicle. All strategic decisions are made by its public company board and executive management team.
What is the relationship between Robert Half and Protiviti?
Protiviti is a wholly owned subsidiary of Robert Half, acquired in 2002. It operates as a global consulting firm providing internal audit, risk and compliance, technology, and business process consulting. While it shares a parent company, Protiviti functions with a separate brand identity and management structure, serving a distinct client need from the core staffing business.
What is the Robert Half Salary Guide and why do institutional investors cite it?
The Robert Half Salary Guide is an annual publication that benchmarks compensation and hiring trends across professional fields including accounting, technology, legal, and creative services. Institutional allocators and economists track it as a real-world indicator of labor demand and white-collar economic health, given the firm's broad placement data across thousands of corporate clients.
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