In a staffing market increasingly shaped by automation, AI matching, and self-service hiring tools, Express Employment Professionals is being recognized for excelling at something far less technical—and far harder to scale: consistent human-centered service.
The global staffing firm has earned ClearlyRated’s 2026 Best of Staffing® Client and Talent Awards, along with the Best of Staffing Client 5-Year Gold Award, placing Express among an exceptionally small group of agencies delivering top-tier satisfaction to both employers and job seekers year after year.
Fewer than 1% of staffing firms in the U.S. and Canada earn both Client and Talent awards in the same year. Achieving that distinction while also securing a multi-year Gold designation underscores not just performance, but durability—an increasingly rare trait in a volatile labor market.
Why dual Client and Talent awards matter
Staffing firms typically optimize for one side of the marketplace. Some excel with clients but struggle to engage candidates. Others build strong talent pipelines but fail to meet employer expectations at scale.
Winning both awards signals balance—and balance is difficult in staffing.
ClearlyRated’s Best of Staffing Awards are based entirely on verified client and candidate ratings, not nominations or subjective judging. According to the firm’s benchmarking data:
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Clients of winning agencies are 50% more likely to be completely satisfied than those working with non-winning firms.
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Placed candidates are 60% more likely to report complete satisfaction.
Those outcomes translate directly into retention, repeat business, and community reputation—metrics that matter far more than short-term placement volume.
Express outperforms industry benchmarks—by a wide margin
Express didn’t just clear the bar in 2026—it raised it.
From this year’s survey data:
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77.1% of clients rated their experience with Express a 9 or 10 out of 10, compared to an industry average of 55%.
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77.4% of placed candidates gave Express a 9 or 10 rating, significantly higher than the 50% industry average.
Those gaps are meaningful. In an industry where incremental gains are hard-won, outperforming the market by more than 20 percentage points suggests systemic strengths rather than isolated wins.
It also reflects a consistency across Express’s vast franchise network—no small feat for an organization operating at global scale.
A people-first model in an automation-heavy era
Express leadership has been clear about why these results matter now.
CEO, President, and Chairman Bob Funk Jr. emphasized that while much of the staffing world is racing toward automation, Express continues to invest in relationships—between recruiters and job seekers, franchises and clients, and offices and the communities they serve.
That positioning runs counter to prevailing industry narratives that frame technology as a replacement for human interaction. Instead, Express appears to be betting on technology as an enabler, not a substitute, for trust and local insight.
This approach resonates in segments of the labor market where personal guidance still matters—entry-level roles, skilled trades, light industrial work, and regional hiring needs that don’t fit neatly into algorithmic matching.
Franchise scale, local accountability
One factor behind Express’s sustained performance is its franchise-based model, which blends national infrastructure with local ownership.
With more than 870 franchise locations across the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, Express operates at scale without centralizing every hiring decision. Local offices maintain accountability for service quality, while benefiting from shared systems, brand standards, and operational support.
That structure can be difficult to manage—but when executed well, it creates alignment between national expectations and local execution. The consistency reflected in Express’s satisfaction scores suggests that alignment is holding.
ClearlyRated’s perspective: experience as strategy
From the awards organizer’s standpoint, Express represents the kind of staffing firm the Best of Staffing program was designed to spotlight.
ClearlyRated CEO Baker Nanduru noted that 2026 award winners are pushing client experience to the forefront while experimenting with innovative service models. In other words, service quality isn’t being sacrificed for efficiency—it’s being treated as a strategic advantage.
That framing is important as staffing firms evaluate where to invest next. AI tools may accelerate screening and placement, but experience still determines loyalty.
Competitive implications for the staffing industry
Express’s performance highlights a growing divide in staffing.
On one side are firms prioritizing speed and automation, often at the expense of personalization. On the other are agencies attempting to integrate technology while preserving human engagement.
The data suggests that clients and candidates continue to reward the latter.
For regional and national competitors alike, Express’s recognition sets a benchmark: satisfaction isn’t just about filling roles—it’s about how people experience the process, from first conversation to post-placement support.
It also reinforces the idea that employer brand and agency reputation are becoming more quantifiable. In an era of public reviews and benchmarked NPS-style metrics, service gaps are harder to hide.
A mission rooted in employment access
Express has long framed its mission simply: helping as many people as possible find good jobs by helping as many clients as possible find good people.
That mission sounds straightforward, but sustaining it across economic cycles, labor shortages, and global expansion is anything but. The company’s continued recognition suggests that its operating model—built on local relationships, franchise accountability, and service discipline—remains effective even as the staffing landscape evolves.
With its international headquarters in Oklahoma City, Express continues to expand its global footprint while maintaining a strong presence in North American labor markets.
What this signals for 2026 and beyond
As staffing firms head into another year of workforce uncertainty, Express’s 2026 Best of Staffing wins offer a clear signal: experience still wins.
Automation may accelerate hiring, but trust, responsiveness, and human connection remain decisive factors—for employers choosing staffing partners and for candidates choosing where to place their confidence.
Bottom line: Express Employment Professionals’ dual Best of Staffing wins and 5-Year Gold recognition place it firmly among the industry’s top performers. In a tech-driven hiring era, the company’s results suggest that consistent, people-first service isn’t a legacy approach—it’s a competitive one.
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