Earnings Call Transcript
Resources Connection, Inc. (RGP)
Earnings Call Transcript - RGP Q3 2023
Operator, Operator
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Resources Connection, Inc. Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later, we will conduct a question-and-answer session and instructions will follow at that time. Joining from management are Kate Duchene, Chief Executive Officer; Tim Brackney, President and Chief Operating Officer; and Jennifer Ryu, Chief Financial Officer. As a reminder, today's conference call is being recorded. At this time, I would like to remind everyone that management will be commenting on results for the third quarter ending February 25, 2023. They will also refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures. An explanation and reconciliation of these measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures are included in the press release issued today. Today’s press release can be viewed in the Investor Relations section of RGP’s website and also filed today with the SEC. Also during this call, management may make forward-looking statements regarding plans, initiatives and strategies and anticipated financial performance of the company. Such statements are predictions, and actual events or results may differ materially. Please see the Risk Factors section in RGP’s report on Form 10-K for the year ended May 28, 2022, for a discussion of risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the company’s business, results or operations and financial conditions to differ materially from what is expressed or implied by forward-looking statements made during this call. I would now like to turn the call over to RGP’s CEO, Kate Duchene.
Kate Duchene, CEO
Thank you, operator. Good afternoon, everyone. Thanks for being with us. We're pleased to report solid financial performance in Q3 despite the macro environment. We exceeded the high-end of our guidance on top-line revenue and gross margin was towards the high-end of our guidance range and at more than a 10-year high for the third quarter. Our SG&A cost containment efforts surpassed guidance expectations as well as we remain focused on delivering value for our shareholders. Taking a closer look. Q3 revenue was almost $187 million with our digital consulting business Veracity, delivering year-over-year and sequential growth. Gross margin improved 80 basis points over the prior year to 38.3% as we continue to roll out our value-based pricing initiative. This improvement represents our strongest third-quarter performance since 2010. Given that the talent crisis, especially in the professional arena remains acute, we see this pricing initiative as a continuing opportunity to improve both the top line and gross margin. With respect to run rate SG&A, we spent less than our guidance anticipated as we remain disciplined on cost control. Adjusted EBITDA margin was nearly 9% this quarter, which is strong performance in the typically seasonally impacted third quarter. As we enter Q4, our revenue pipeline remains sizable. This leading indicator means that we have earned the seat at the table as a value partner for mission-critical work. We are keenly focused on execution and confident in our relevance and value to the market. We will be all the more ready to execute when the macro environment strengthens and buyers gain a sense of economic stability. As we shared on our last call, we are not experiencing project cancellations, but rather project delays. And while the start of new projects softened somewhat in the quarter, clients are extending current engagements at a record pace. This indicates our consultants are providing exceptional value that clients do not want to lose even when faced with restructuring and layoffs in traditional talent pools within their organizations. Strategically, we're confident in the moves we are making to support an economy in transition. In short, we're focused on the following three areas: strengthening our core white-glove on-demand talent platform, expanding the capability and reach of our digital consulting business, and building more tech-enabled revenue delivery with HUGO and broader technology transformation. I'll provide further color on each and why they represent growth levers for our business. First, we continue to build the premier global on-demand talent platform for professionals to engage in operational and transformational work on a project basis. We give professional talent access to on-trend interesting work with top global brands and Fortune 500 clients as they engage to co-deliver strategic imperatives. Clients are increasingly evolving their workforce strategies to become more agile, project-focused, and skill set-oriented. They want a trusted partner to deliver with them as they take back responsibility from traditional professional services firms for strategic execution. As one of our key clients at a global healthcare company recently expressed, they want to engage with a trusted firm that is adjacent to the big four, who help them shape the scope and skill sets needed in project execution, but allows them to remain in control. This type of client knows that in an increasingly disrupted world, they do not need to hand the reins for execution to an outside firm. They also don't want or need to staff up in a traditional sense to own all the skill sets they need to compete and evolve. As discussed during our last earnings call, our recent in-depth research established that companies are increasing by double-digits their engagement with interim on-demand and agile professional talent to deliver better outcomes and greater efficiency. At its executive forum event in March, staffing industry analysts also shared two important data points regarding growth in the contingent workforce space. In 2021, spend grew 28% and over the next 10 years workforce composition will increase to nearly 30% agile versus 21% today. Talent is also looking for more modern ways to pursue career development and work. Gone are the days of a career employee; the global pandemic accelerated the mindset shift away from a single lens employee-for-life approach. Today, what is emerging is the rise of the portfolio-based professional, who's committed to betting on herself and broadening her experience. While this shift first accelerated because of the global pandemic, we believe the recent increase in layoffs will only continue to reinforce this talent trend as traditional employment models no longer equate to greater security. In fact, in 2022, MBO Partners reported that project-based professionals are happier, healthier, and feel more secure than they did in traditional employment models. Second, we are prioritizing our investment in fast-growing opportunities like digital transformation. Veracity is our digital consulting business delivering employee, client, and workplace transformation. Coming out of the pandemic, remote and hybrid work has forever changed the rules, timing, place, and pace of work. Such shifts require that organizations realign how work is accomplished. Veracity is squarely in this sweet spot, which has allowed us to increase the penetration of such services into our core RGP client base this year. For example, Veracity recently completed a significant project for our Fortune 50 global pharmaceutical company to help connect employees with services, tasks, and hyper-targeted communications. By harnessing the power of Employee Center Pro and ServiceNow, Veracity delivered a comprehensive set of services including a first-of-its-kind service delivery Internet, creating a consumer-grade experience for employees. Through a new network of connected content under a single taxonomy, employees can now self-serve first, reducing frustration, increasing productivity, and giving the call center a much-needed break. In addition, our subject matter experts within RGP have been working more closely with Veracity to bring a deeper functional lens to ServiceNow projects to automate workflows. During the quarter, Veracity launched a center of excellence in India to increase the offshore talent pool. Our corporate development activities are focused on building scale and reach for Veracity’s digital consulting platform. Third, we are continuing to invest in HUGO as a modern digital engagement marketplace for talent and clients to engage directly for finance and accounting needs that are highly sought after and well defined. We've piloted HUGO in three markets, New York, New Jersey, Southern California, and Texas and are ready to pursue a more aggressive digital marketing plan to accelerate commercialization. We believe that digitalization for flexible placement and well-defined talent pools will increasingly disrupt the staffing industry, and we're optimistic about our position as a first mover in this professional category. SIA recently reported that in 2021, staffing platforms grew more than five times faster than traditional staffing firms at 58% versus 11%. Of note, we are increasingly receiving RFPs for professional staffing services from global Fortune 500 clients specifically attracted to our capabilities and investment plans for self-service digital engagement models. We live in an age of relentless digital disruption and must be prepared to meet the future with investments like HUGO and core business technology transformation. Turning to our technology transformation project. We are on track to implement a state-of-the-art technology stack in fiscal year ‘24. Not only will this digital initiative improve the experience for all of our core constituents, consultants, internal employees, and clients, but we expect it to drive improved financial metrics through automation, better data analytics, and faster global collaboration. Once implemented, we'll have a global view of the business and can deploy talent more effectively, efficiently, and faster on the broader stage. Seamless execution differentiates us as a preferred partner for global transformation projects and allows us to build talent delivering with a blended financial model. Many of our largest clients are increasingly moving global services capabilities to developing markets, and we will be well positioned to support them. Summing up, we are confident that our on-demand talent platform, whether delivered traditionally or digitally, and our digital consulting capabilities are more relevant than ever in today's marketplace. We are optimistic about the investments we are making to align with the emerging dominant trends in the world of work and the incoming data supports our thinking. In the meantime, we have a very resilient and profitable core business with a pristine balance sheet, allowing us to continue to strengthen the enterprise with capabilities and innovation that will accelerate growth as the economy recovers. I'll now turn the call over to Tim for an update on operations.
Tim Brackney, President and COO
Thank you, Kate, and good afternoon, everyone. During the third quarter, we saw a solid revenue performance and operational metrics, and we're able to exceed top-line expectations. The overall demand profile for the business continued to be healthy. However, client uncertainty related to the overall macro environment made it more challenging for new business. Total pipeline remained strong throughout the quarter, indicating endurance of opportunity, yet converting opportunities to project starts was slower related to myriad factors, including tightened approval levels and delays in supposed initiative timeline. These opportunities are intact but require increased patience and care, and we believe they represent real prospects for growth as clients rapidly adjust to the new environment. Regional performance was mixed, reflecting increased vacation impact over the prior year and increased choppiness in client demand. Despite these two factors, Veracity and Countsy in the Central U.S. demonstrated solid growth over the prior year quarter. Additionally, our international business showed resilience as Europe generated sequential growth on a constant currency basis and Asia Pacific posted strong results despite the first fully celebrated Chinese New Year since the outset of the pandemic. Our strategic client accounts program was also affected by broader trends but has performed well overall on a year-to-date basis, up approximately 4% over the prior year. Overall, we have performed solidly through the first three quarters of the year, growing by about 6%, exclusive of the divested task force business on a same-day constant currency basis, and our growth pipeline continues to be sizable. Client hesitation requires more patience and persistence with respect to top-of-the-funnel activity as well as extra vigilance, communication, and consideration while shepherding opportunities through the sales cycle to deal closure. The overall market opportunity remains as companies continue to transform and build workforce plans, accounting for a distinct transition in labor force mindset towards flexibility and choice. The pace of required change and the alternation in employee mentality are truly permanent shifts framing each company's future workforce plan. A movement toward co-delivery of important initiatives has already begun, and now a resetting of plans through the lens of production support will likely require many to lean in more to agile partners. Speed and flexibility are essential in order to right-size workforce plans, seamlessly run day-to-day operations and transform for the future. We know this provides a runway for opportunity for us once companies re-baseline their plans. We see true upside in the future, but timelines are really driven by clients as they carefully rationalize and build for their needs. Here are two examples of work with Fortune 500 technology clients that help illustrate the current mixed environment. One of the clients long ago transitioned to a plan centered around a more fluid workforce. They continue to transform during the current environment and have started to rely on us more broadly for support. A leading reason for this reliance is the investment we have made in understanding their business, their organizational structure, and their culture. Key client relationships built over time, coupled with fast-moving trends we are currently seeing, have provided immediate opportunity for us both in on-demand talent and consulting as our clients prioritize value in their purchasing decisions. In recent weeks, we've been invited to bid on several RFPs and enjoyed successful outcomes. This represents substantial movement in our ability to win share from larger consulting firms within this long-time client and reflects the renewed flight to value. On-demand staffing within the client continues to grow as stakeholders work hard to fill gaps and move away from low staff arrangements of larger projects. In fact, we are directly collaborating with our clients' global procurement team to build a resourcing plan for existing and forthcoming initiatives around the go. Veracity within this client is growing, and we expect to continue to take share as our client trusts RGP to help them with their most important initiatives. Other clients whose agile workforce plans are less mature will have longer timelines for adjustment. As an example, another one of our Fortune 500 technology clients has gone through multiple rounds of layoffs during the strategic reorganization. Like many, they overhired during the tight labor market and are now sorting through where best to utilize the remaining talent. In these periods of uncertainty, attrition rises and initiatives are paused. As a result, even though some projects that were won and many in the pipeline have been delayed, our stakeholders are extending our existing teams as they do not want to lose proven resources, but they will likely need a plan solidified. On the Canada side of our business, in the third quarter, we continued to attract and retain exceptional talent to our platform, which is viewed as an increasingly appealing option because of worker sentiment. As clients undergo restructuring and layoffs, more people begin to realize that there is very little difference in stability when comparing agile and traditional employees. In fact, the strength of community and human-first culture that has always been the center of RGP's value proposition does not wane or flicker during turbulent times like it does for many traditional firms. We have numerous examples of impacted workers seeking to work with us, including alumni and a large cadre new to our platform, bringing new skill sets and experience to our already deep employee base. The labor market remains tight and project start dates are fluid, impacting engagement timing, an interesting dynamic that our talent team manages beautifully. Through it all, consultant attrition rates have remained relatively consistent, which speaks to the excellent performance of our team and the strength of our employment brand. We believe that the unique current conditions will only accelerate recent employment trends and make RGP the premier destination for talent that dares to work differently. In the past, I've spoken about alumni who have left RGP over time and have returned, realizing that in reality, the grass is not greener and that the experience of working within our community is hard to replicate. We worked hard to stay very close to our consultant alumni, and it's apparent that many people want to return after succumbing to the allure of traditional employment. Some have been impacted by restructuring, but many want to return because of the experience we provide. As just one example, we have three consultants working together on a project for our financial services clients. They went their separate ways to pursue different traditional opportunities. All three returned during the quarter, largely because the roles they left were not as rich in terms of experience and culture, and they missed working with our go-to-market team. All of them reengaged in different projects and are happy to be back with RGP. Now let me turn back to our third-quarter operations. In addition to the growth pipeline remaining at a high level, we were able to make continued progress in pricing. Excluding divested task force operations, fill rates increased by 3.1% on a constant currency basis compared to the prior year quarter. Pricing leverage continues to be an opportunity across the enterprise as clients trust our consultants, and trust is at a premium today. While project timing will continue to be a challenge and impact weekly revenue in the early fourth quarter, we believe there is revenue outside based on the deals in the pipeline. Finally, let me touch on operational leverage. In Q3, we continued to focus on controlling fixed costs and operating efficiently, resulting in a strong EBITDA margin, particularly given the economic environment. We will remain especially vigilant about discretionary spend through the fourth quarter and beyond.
Jennifer Ryu, CFO
Thank you, Tim, and good afternoon, everyone. This quarter, we achieved revenue performance exceeding the high end of our outlook range. We achieved the highest third-quarter gross margin in over a decade, and we remain disciplined with our costs performing better than the favorable end of our run rate SG&A outlook range. While we outperformed our top-line outlook range provided in January, compared to the prior fiscal year, which had elevated revenues as clients emerged from the pandemic, revenue of $186.8 million for the third quarter was down 4% year-over-year on a same-day constant currency basis and excluding task force. However, year-to-date revenues grew 6% year-over-year on the same basis. As Tim mentioned, our pipeline remains strong throughout the quarter, and we haven't experienced cancellations. We continue to make good progress on improving bill rates to align our pricing with the value we deliver. Our U.S. average bill rate rose 4.7% compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2022, with Europe and Asia Pacific driving 8.4% and 6.3% improvement on a constant currency basis. Regionally, on a same-day and constant currency basis, North America revenue decreased 5.7% compared to an extraordinarily strong prior fiscal quarter, while APAC grew 9.8% and Europe, excluding task force, grew by 4.3%. Bright spots in North America included Veracity and Countsy, both growing year-over-year. APAC as a region grew primarily due to strong demand from our strategic client accounts in Southeast Asia, as well as excellent revenue performance in Japan. Europe, after experiencing a softer first half of this fiscal year, exhibited better stability following the onset of the Russia-Ukraine conflict a year ago. Gross margin in the quarter was 38.3%, an expansion of 80 basis points over the same quarter a year ago, driven by an improvement in the pay-bill ratio of 190 basis points, partially offset by an increase in consulting benefits. Excluding task force, enterprise average bill rate for the quarter was $131 on a constant currency basis, up from $127 a year ago, while the average pay rate remained flat at $62. Turning to SG&A. We remain disciplined with cost management and investment oversight in the business. Our run rate SG&A expense for the quarter was $55 million compared to $54.4 million a year ago, better than the favorable end of our $56 million to $58 million outlook range. As a reminder, run rate SG&A excludes non-cash stock compensation, restructuring charges, contingent consideration, and technology transformation costs. With stronger pricing leverage and disciplined cost management, we delivered a solid 8.9% adjusted EBITDA margin for the quarter. Turning to liquidity. We continue to demonstrate our ability to generate robust free cash flow. Cash from operations through the first three quarters of the fiscal year was $64 million. Free cash flow conversion was 100% of EBITDA equating to $63 million. We ended the fiscal quarter with $104 million of cash and cash equivalents after fully paying down $20 million of remaining outstanding debt, distributing $4.7 million of dividends, and spending $5.2 million on share repurchases. With total available financial liquidity of $278 million, we plan to invest in the most critical areas of the business to drive long-term growth while continuing to return cash to shareholders through dividends and by opportunistically buying back stock through our share repurchase program, which had $54.9 million available at the end of the quarter. Investment in our multiyear technology transformation projects continues to progress and remain on track. We incurred $3.9 million of costs in the quarter, of which $2.2 million was capitalized with the remaining $1.7 million included as non-run rate operating expenses for the quarter. The estimated cash outlay on the transformation project in the fourth quarter is expected to be in the range of $4 million to $6 million, of which approximately $2 million to $3 million will be capitalized. Upon go-live, we anticipate the new technology platform will drive long-term value for the business by elevating our operating efficiency, enabling scale and enhancing the stickiness of our talent platform. I'll now close with our fourth-quarter outlook. Early fourth-quarter revenue trends have been modest compared to Q3. We expect the fourth quarter to be impacted by the general slowdown in the economy and estimate revenue to be in the range of $178 million to $183 million. While clients sort out their own internal initiatives and budgets and look for better economic visibility, we will continue to maintain a robust sales motion and strengthen our position to close opportunities in the pipeline. Fourth-quarter gross margin is expected to remain strong in the range of 40% to 41%. On the SG&A front, we expect our run rate SG&A expense to be in the range of $56 million to $58 million, non-run rate and non-cash expenses for the fourth quarter will consist of $2 million to $3 million of technology transformation costs and approximately $3 million of stock compensation expense. As we approach the end of fiscal 2023, we expect our full-year results for the second year in a row to be one of the best years in over a decade, notwithstanding what has been an uncertain and challenging environment. This is a testament to our deep client relationships, our attractive talent platform, and our laser focus on execution. We're excited about our business fundamentals and opportunities ahead. With a resilient variable cost model, a pristine balance sheet with zero debt, and ample liquidity, we believe we are well positioned to continue to drive long-term value for our shareholders. That concludes our prepared remarks, and we will now open up the call for Q&A.
Operator, Operator
Thank you. Our first question comes from Mark Marcon of Baird. Your line is open.
Mark Marcon, Analyst
Hi. Good afternoon. Thanks for all the details on the call today. I'm wondering, can you talk a little bit about what you're seeing just in terms of the client delays and to what extent do you feel like they're either concentrated on the coast partially due to what we're seeing on the credit side? Wondering if you have any commentary there.
Tim Brackney, President and COO
Hi, Mark. It's Tim. Yes, I would say there's been some concentration related to delays on the coast because those are our largest businesses generally. Also on the West Coast, we want to work with the tech sector. We've seen probably more delays there this year than we've seen historically. But I would say that just broadly speaking, we are seeing delayed projects for a number of reasons, which include the ones we enumerated in the script, and it's not just on the coast. We're seeing it more broadly. But because of the, like I said, the concentration of work that we have on the coast, we probably do see a little bit heavier concentration there.
Mark Marcon, Analyst
And Tim, what's the commentary from the clients? Just with regards to their uncertainty in terms of financing levels, particularly, I'd be interested just in terms of what percentage of the business is currently being done with relatively younger tech companies that might have been funded by SVB as an example.
Tim Brackney, President and COO
Most of our business is with larger clients in the Fortune 500, but we do work with some earlier-stage companies. The delays we experienced weren't significantly affected by SVB, aside from a general sense of uncertainty about the economy. The reasons for the delays are varied. Firstly, there is increased scrutiny on all projects. Secondly, many companies are focusing on their workforce plans, as several have overhired and are now trying to address changes with traditional employees who have been reorganized or whose priorities have shifted. This situation is primarily responsible for the delays, rather than the credit crisis associated with SVB.
Mark Marcon, Analyst
I really appreciate that insight. Regarding the delays, it's difficult to provide a specific timeline, but do you think it could take about three to six months to work through them? What feedback are you receiving from clients about when they feel ready to move forward with some of the projects that you could assist them with?
Tim Brackney, President and COO
It's somewhat mixed, and I must say there are some stop and starts concerning approval processes. The opportunities that remain in our pipeline are projects that we are confident will initiate and get approved, and we have seen very few that have been discarded. I expect that we will be able to start within the timeframe you're mentioning. We also don't have many projects that have moved to the latter end of that timeframe.
Mark Marcon, Analyst
Great job with the bill-pay spread. How much more potential do you think there is? It sounds promising for the fourth quarter, but Jenn, did I hear you right that the guidance for gross margin is between 40% and 41%?
Jenn Ryu, CFO
Yeah, that's right. 40% to 41%, correct.
Mark Marcon, Analyst
Okay. So maybe slightly down relative to Q4 of 2022?
Jenn Ryu, CFO
Yes, that's correct. We still expect the pay-bill spread to remain strong in the fourth quarter, but in comparison to last year, our indirect costs are affected due to a decrease in top-line revenue. This results in unfavorable leverage, which is impacting our overall gross margin.
Mark Marcon, Analyst
Got it. But the bill rates still expanding at a sustained rate or higher?
Jenn Ryu, CFO
Yes, we believe there is still potential for us to increase our pricing and bill rates. So, I anticipate that we should be able to maintain our pay-bills, if not improve them.
Mark Marcon, Analyst
Terrific. And then Kate, you spoke about multiple growth levers, obviously, within the staffing industry, there's a lot of discussion with regards to these talent platforms and what you're doing with HUGO would fit within that. Can you give us a little bit of a sense for how material you think it could end up being over the next two to three years in terms of potential revenue? I know it's early days, but just how are you thinking about it? How is the Board thinking about it in terms of the investment?
Kate Duchene, CEO
Yes. With these platforms, there's a significant growth curve. The most successful platform in the staffing market right now is in healthcare, which started small and has since grown to over $11 billion. This demonstrates that once you achieve critical mass and effect behavioral change, you see that growth curve. Our focus for the upcoming fiscal year will be on achieving critical mass and economies of scale while delivering in the three markets we’re currently targeting. This is crucial because there's ongoing conversation about the return to the office for certain roles, and we believe having localized talent pools is vital for positions that require on-site presence. Overall, in response to your question, we are anticipating modest growth in the coming year, but we expect to scale at a much faster rate after that, particularly as we increase our investment in digital marketing and sales support.
Mark Marcon, Analyst
How many additional markets could you potentially enter by the end of the next fiscal year, given that you are currently in three markets?
Kate Duchene, CEO
I believe we will focus initially on building a strong presence in the markets we are currently operating in. It typically takes around three months to develop a high-quality talent pool in a new market. We are pursuing this with both dedicated onshore talent and an offshore partner, which will allow us to scale rapidly once we reach that critical mass in our existing markets.
Mark Marcon, Analyst
Great. And then obviously, there's all sorts of macro questions that are out there. If we were to go into a mild recession, what do you think the downside would basically be with regards to EBITDA margins? You've done a nice job of getting them up over the last couple of years. How should we think about what your flexibility is from a cost perspective if things get a little bit worse?
Kate Duchene, CEO
Our model is very agile, and it's important to note that 70% of our cost structure is variable. We will critically assess the fixed costs if we see a continued or accelerated decline in revenue due to a recession. Overall, I believe the business is a matter of timing. We are well positioned to meet our clients' needs, and historically, during deeper recessions, clients often cut too much, leading them to seek our services for essential work before fully recovering. Therefore, the current challenge in the business is timing that opportunity.
Mark Marcon, Analyst
Appreciate that. Thank you.
Kate Duchene, CEO
You’re welcome, Mark. Thank you, Mark.
Operator, Operator
Thank you. One moment please. Our next question comes from the line of Stephanie Yee of JPMorgan. Your line is open.
Stephanie Yee, Analyst
Hi. Good afternoon. I was wondering if you can help us with what the implied revenue decline is in the fourth quarter guide versus the 4.1% decline in the just reported third quarter?
Jenn Ryu, CFO
Sure. Hi, Stephanie. For the fourth quarter, we're at the top end of our guidance range with $183 million, which represents about a 12% decline year-over-year. Compared to the third quarter, we're seeing an approximately 8% decline. It's important to note that last year's fourth quarter was exceptional, and our revenue trajectory has shifted over the two fiscal years. Last year, we experienced consistent acceleration throughout the year. However, on a year-to-date basis, if we exclude the task force, our guidance indicates we are essentially flat compared to last year.
Stephanie Yee, Analyst
Okay. Great. That's super helpful. And I know, Kate, you just gave a bunch of color on HUGO. But we were wondering if you have any preliminary information to share on how many active user candidates are already on the platform?
Kate Duchene, CEO
Yeah. So we have strong adoption from the talent base. We're not disclosing that level of detail yet, Stephanie, because it's still a growing platform. So I don't want to set expectations while we're still learning, but we have captive pools in each of the three markets that I would say are approaching critical mass and have proven to be very sticky. And our turnaround times are really improving in terms of matching opportunity with talent. So we'll continue to monitor this. And then as the platform becomes more successful and stable, we'll be sharing more detail.
Stephanie Yee, Analyst
Okay. Great. Thank you.
Kate Duchene, CEO
You’re welcome.
Operator, Operator
Thank you. One moment please. Our next question comes from the line of Marc Riddick of Sidoti. Mr. Riddick, your line is open.
Marc Riddick, Analyst
Hi. Good afternoon. So I was sort of wanting to follow up on the last question around HUGO as far as you made mention on some early learnings. So I was sort of curious, could you talk a little bit about what some of those learnings are, as well as if there's much in the way of differentiation between the three markets? Is what you're experiencing in these early days similar across the board? Are you seeing any differences that are somewhat regionally based, or how should we think about that?
Kate Duchene, CEO
We are primarily focused on technology targets in areas like dry state, financial services, and private equity, which have different needs in terms of roles and skill sets compared to places like Texas or Southern California. Currently, the most in-demand title on HUGO is staff accountant, which is not surprising given the market demand for that skill set. In New York, for instance, we have observed a greater emphasis on fund accounting, reflecting the financial services sector and our target clients there. In terms of insights, it's critical for us to track platform usage and identify points where users may disengage, so we can understand the reasons and re-engage them. Early in the calendar year, we plan to launch new landing pages aimed at providing more information to retain users at various stages. The feedback we've received from clients has been very positive and efficient; they appreciate the functionality and 24/7 access for their project engagements. We have received some input regarding the scheduling feature of the app and are continuously working to enhance all aspects of the user experience.
Marc Riddick, Analyst
That's really helpful. And then I wanted to go back to the prepared remarks, one of the things you made mention in the prepared remarks is around having a seat at the table with your customers. I was sort of curious as to whether or not the feedback and some of the areas of concern have changed much maybe since the beginning of the year or over the last six months or so as far as, we can understand obviously the delays and longer cycles and the like. But I was sort of curious as to whether things like the pace of returning to the office in person or anything like that has made them make adjustments to maybe where they thought things would be a few months ago?
Tim Brackney, President and COO
Hey, Marc. To address the seat at the table that Kate mentioned, I would say that in the areas where we have strong relationships with our clients, we're actually finding more opportunities to expand our consulting role. I've touched on that before. Regarding the return to work and similar topics, I don't believe that has significantly affected demand for us or caused delays. There are specific industries and regions where this has been more noticeable, and we have had to adapt to that. However, the primary reason for delays and other related issues appears to stem from general macroeconomic uncertainty rather than specific COVID-related factors.
Marc Riddick, Analyst
Okay. And then last one for me, and I know this is a little uncertain, so I apologize in advance. We've seen various opinions regarding the workforce and its changes over the last couple of years. Have you noticed any significant changes in demographics or age ranges, or is there anything meaningfully different in the overall demographic usage with your client base today compared to a couple of years ago? Thanks.
Kate Duchene, CEO
I would say, let me just offer something that's different from, say, the last recession in 2008. We're seeing, I think, a younger generation of talent wanting to work in this project-based or agile model, whereas 10 or 15 years ago, there was too much uncertainty or viewed as too much uncertainty or insecurity in the model. And I think that's completely changed today. I mean, I shared a little bit of a survey result from MBO Partner in my prepared remarks. But we're really seeing more of the rise of part-time working and also people who want to work in a more flexible way, and that's across all demographics. Marc, there was a recent article, I think it was just this week in or maybe Friday in the Wall Street Journal about the rise of part-time work at all levels of professional talent, and that matches our experience.
Marc Riddick, Analyst
Excellent. Thank you very much.
Kate Duchene, CEO
You’re welcome, Marc. Thank you.
Operator, Operator
Thank you. One moment please. I'm showing no further questions at this time. Let's turn the call back over to Kate Duchene for any closing remarks.
Kate Duchene, CEO
Thank you, operator. Thank you, everyone for joining us today. We'll look forward to giving you a further update on the business at the close of Q4. Thank you very much.
Operator, Operator
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today's conference. Thank you all for participating. You may now disconnect. Have a great day.