Whether you're in a small or large organisation, in today's candidate market, acquiring key talent can be costly and time-consuming.
Businesses are under pressure with skills shortages, the ever-changing hiring landscape, growing candidate expectations, and competition for talent.
There can be a real knowledge gap between internal recruiters from different departments. The pressure to ensure that your talent supply chain runs smoothly every time is immense.
That's why a lot of companies consider handing over part or all of its recruitment process to an external talent partner. This is known as Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO).
Recruitment Process Outsourcing: how does it work?
RPO partners take on whatever part of the recruitment process that you need help with. This can be the total end-to-end process, specific parts, or for certain projects. An RPO partner is different from a recruitment agency in that your partner works with you to design and run the recruitment process, rather than filling individual roles.
In a Recruitment Process Outsourcing model, recruitment is provided by third party provider, which acts as an extension of your team, off-site or on-site. It's often used for high-volume recruitment, short and medium roles on a project-to-project basis, as well as helping internal recruitment teams in an organisation.
Recruitment Process Outsourcing is more than just filling positions when the demand is high; it's also about enhancing the overall recruitment process in your organisation. Because the whole recruitment process is taken care of, this significantly reduces internal hiring times and allows your teams to focus on other important duties.
Effective RPO partners will also make sure the candidate experience is front of mind and will work with you to build your employer brand so that you can support long-term growth. An RPO provider takes the time to really understand the structure and culture of your business in order to outline the key characteristics of the perfect employee for the job.
From the advertising and sourcing for the role available, to each stage of the interview process to ensure that all of the skill and culture requirements are met to the highest standard, to the required background checks and reference checking, all the way to the formal offer, contract duties, placement and onboarding. The RPO provider will manage every single step of the recruitment cycle for you.
Recruitment agency vs RPO - What's the difference?
Globally, there's an obvious shift in companies recognising the benefits that come with RPO, but what really separates it from the traditional recruitment agency offerings?
The traditional recruitment agency model
In the traditional recruitment agency model, a recruiter is as involved with the recruitment process and the candidate as much as the client wants.
Sometimes a client will request the recruiter to be involved in every stage of the process, but typically, the recruiter would:
Source appropriate candidates for vacant roles
Liaise between the candidates and client throughout the recruitment process
Screen candidates to ensure they have the necessary skills
Assist candidates with every stage of the application and interview process (CV preparation, interview advice, salary negotiations etc.)
The RPO model
In Recruitment Process Outsourcing, the client transfers all or part of its recruitment processes to the RPO provider. The RPO provider then acts as an extension of that client's HR department. This can be done either off-site or on-site. The RPO provider takes full ownership of all hiring duties and are fully accountable for the results they deliver.
RPO providers are often sought out for high-volume recruitment (for example, call centre staff), short and medium roles on a project-to-project basis, as well as fully replacing all internal recruitment in an organisation.
The RPO provider can take responsibility of part or all of:
Candidate name generation and sourcing
Recruitment marketing and/or advertising strategy
Candidate screening
The entire interview process
Testing and selection
Salary negotiation
Drug screening and background check
Placement and onboarding
Reporting
An RPO provider would also be responsible for introducing their own technology and reporting. This can be a big budget saver for clients, particularly for smaller companies who may not have access to similar technologies. All the above services can be amped up or reduced throughout the year depending on a client's needs. These means costs can go down when your hiring needs go down and the RPO provider can adapt to your specific business needs.
While a traditional recruitment agency is typically focused on filling individual vacancies, an RPO provider is responsible not just for hires, but also for improving recruitment performance and hiring outcomes over time. While the traditional agency model offers as much support as the client needs, RPO acts as an extension of the internal recruitment operations of the business by taking full ownership of the duties. Each solution has its merits to suit the needs of the client and enhance the core functions of the business.
What kind of recruitment processes can be outsourced?
Name generation and sourcing
An experienced RPO provider will have access to a large pool of candidates across all industries and verticals, as well as the expertise to market and advertise the roles effectively.
Recruitment marketing/Advertising strategy
There are literally hundreds of places where you can advertise a job, but crossing them all off will quickly eat into your recruitment budget.
An experienced RPO provider will ensure that your roles are advertised in the right places for the role and industry. Whether it's specific social media platforms, industry-specific forums, job boards or native platforms, every campaign will be handled strategically and effectively.
Recruitment marketing goes beyond advertising roles. With Cpl, it includes employer branding, microsites, webinars, and targeted strategies to find the best talent.
Candidate screening
Candidate screening is absolutely essential to ensure the candidate has the skills and potential social intelligence required to move forward in the interview process.
This ensures that the interview-to-hire ratio isn't skewed and the process is as quick and efficient as possible.
Every step of the interview process
The RPO provider will take care of every step of the interview process and scheduling according to the timelines provided by the client.
Testing and Selection
Selecting the right candidate is crucial, and your RPO provider should take careful and calculated steps in making an informed decision. Look for a provider who uses structured assessments, competency-based interviewing, and data-driven methods to find great candidates.
Testing methods such as personality and psychometric tests may also be provided to outline the most efficient way to work with the candidate and onboard them at ease.
Drug screening background checking
Background checking ensures the employer that the candidate has the background, education, and experience claimed and required for the role.
An RPO provider can perform thorough background checks on behalf of your business so you can peace of mind before you make a formal job offer.
In some instances, drug screening could also be required in the process.
Placement and onboarding
Ensuring that a new starter gets the best onboarding experience is crucial for staff retention. An RPO provider will create an onboarding process that reflects positively to your business and strengthens the company culture.
What are the benefits of Recruitment Process Outsourcing?
Cost-efficient
One of the biggest advantages of RPO is it can reduce your total recruitment spend considerably, due to the flexibility of the service.
The provider can also be as much or as little involved as you want, so costs can go down when your hiring needs go down and the RPO provider can adapt to your business needs.
Accountability
Since the provider will take ownership of these duties, they are fully accountable for the results they deliver.
Choosing the right RPO provider can significantly reduce risk to your organisation and ensure you have the right expertise for the roles you need to fill.
An experienced RPO provider will track and report on every step of the recruitment process, which will make future planning easier and optimise the process as time goes on.
Higher quality hires and longer staff retention
If your pick the right RPO provider with the right expertise for the relevant processes you want to outsource, it can significantly improve the quality of hires, which will subsequently improve overall staff retention.
RPO providers typically have a larger pool of potential candidates to choose from, which can reduce hire time when you need it the most.
Time-efficient
Simply put, outsourcing your recruitment process to an external provider will allow your business to fully focus on its core objectives. You'll have peace of mind that it's in good hands.
Scalability and flexibility
As your needs change, the RPO programme should scale up or down alongside your requirements.
Access to market insight
Market insights are important for the long-term success of your hiring, including salary bench marketing and workforce support.
How do you know when your business is ready for Recruitment Process Outsourcing?
The many benefits of RPO such as the potential savings on your recruitment budget and time can help immensely, but how do you know when your business is ready to work with an RPO provider? Here are 5 possible reasons.
1. You have high-volume project-based roles
RPO is useful for high-volume recruitment (for example, call centre staff), short and medium roles on a project-to-project basis, as well as fully replacing all internal recruitment in an organisation.
If you're looking to hire a lot of people in a short timeline but feel like your recruitment team can't manage the task, an RPO provider can work alongside your team to assist at any or every stage of the process.
2. It's taking too long to fill roles
Interview processes are getting shorter. Many organisations have sped up the interview processes to ensure they don't miss out on the best candidates. Those failing to do so will lose out on top talent.
An RPO provider can provide the expertise you need to fill those roles, review your existing process and identify areas that can be improved.
3. Your churn rate is high (and you're always hiring)
High turnover may mean that you haven’t quite landed on a method that finds the right people for the roles you need.
With an RPO model, since the provider will take ownership of these duties, they are fully accountable for the results they deliver, and build experience and human judgement into every step of the process.
4. Your team lacks the experience to fill specific roles
If your business offers a wide range of services with lots of different skills needed, it's unrealistic to rely solely on an in-house recruitment team to fill all those roles.
5. Your team can't cope with the demand
If you need to recruit a large number of employees for a project but your recruitment team can't meet the timelines set, an RPO solution is particularly useful.
RPO services can be scaled up or down, this flexibility means their involvement can be altered to demand and your budget.
It's important to recognise the signs if you need help with your recruitment process, and RPO could give you an accelerated solution without sacrificing any elements along the way.
If you have a lot of roles to fill but lack the manpower to fulfil them, your team lacks the experience to effectively fill the more specialised roles or you feel that your current recruitment process is having a negative effect on your current talent chain an experienced RPO provider can have a positive impact across your business.
Looking for a Recruitment Process Outsourcing provider? Our expert recruitment consultants can assess your hiring needs, help you understand what’s right for you, and build a solution that’s adaptable and will support you wherever needed. Explore our RPO solutions.
