As one of the fastest-growing recruiting solutions in the nation, recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) has garnered a lot of attention from companies looking to make the most of their hiring dollars. With a more customized approach to sourcing, recruiting, and onboarding qualified candidates, even senior-level positions can be filled quickly and efficiently.
What is Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)?
Recruitment process outsourcing allows you to outsource your internal recruitment activities in part or in whole to an RPO specialist who owns and manages the recruiting process. The RPO firm provides the necessary skillsets, technologies, and process methodologies to you in an on-site, off-site, or virtual delivery model.
How Is An RPO Provider Different from a Staffing Company?
Recruitment process outsourcing optimizes your recruitment process, streamlines your operations, and focuses on long-term business strategy while reducing costs. Staffing agencies aim to fill positions quickly and focus on short-term, contingency solutions, at a higher cost. When you partner with an RPO firm, you can expect better candidate quality, more effective recruitment strategies, and greater flexibility. In addition, RPO uses a different pay structure. Rather than paying a contingency fee upon hiring, you will typically pay a management fee based on your specified needs and parameters and a significantly lower hire fee. In this way, RPO is more accountable to deliver the quality candidates you need and typically less expensive.
How Does RPO Work?
RPO is designed to integrate with your business, build on your company culture, and fine-tune your recruiting process in order to deliver high-quality candidates that will be a great fit for your company.
Workforce Planning—RPO firms utilize talent analytics to evaluate the current talent supply and demand as well as market compensation by department, role, and geography. RPO companies partner with your organization to develop a workforce plan and strategy to forecast future workforce trends, if necessary.
Sourcing—When 80% of new jobs are found through networking, deep sourcing expertise becomes an essential component of your recruitment strategy. RPO providers develop targeted sourcing strategies to address the needs of specific industries or functions, including recruitment marketing, talent pipelining, screening/assessment, predictive analytics, and talent advisory solutions such as employer branding, talent analytics, and recruitment messaging.
Screening—Rigorous screening, including skill assessments, behavioral and personality evaluations, and interviews, creates a pool of candidates that will be a good fit both for the position and for your company. Screening for cultural fit is also an important part of this process, ensuring that clients receive only candidates who will fit well within the current culture of the company.
Recruiting & Offer Management—RPO firms specialize in recruiting both passive and active candidates to find the best person for the job. The provider acts as your brand representative, promoting a consistent brand message, scheduling interviews, handling salary negotiations, and maintaining tight quality control
Reporting—The firm remains accountable to the client and provides regular analysis of recruiting metrics such as cost per hire, time to fill, retention rates, productivity, recruiting process conversion rates, and more.
RPO remains one of the fastest-growing recruiting service models in the United States. Companies looking to compete with major players in their industry need the far-reaching networks and industry expertise offered by a third-party specialist with the ability to fine-tune the recruiting process to fill needs for top talent.
What Benefit Does RPO Bring to the Table?
In a fiercely competitive recruiting environment where companies are desperate to hire skilled candidates for demanding positions, RPO bridges the gap between traditional recruiting methods and current hiring demands. No matter how large or small your hiring need, recruitment process outsourcing companies will:
Scale Solutions to Meet Your Needs—Whether you need 10 or 10,000 hires, RPO will help you find the best candidate for each open position.
Reduce Cost Per Hire—RPO lowers your hiring costs by reducing or removing the need to maintain a full-time, in-house recruiting division.
Reduce Time to Fill—With access to the best recruiting technology, industry expertise, and a broad referral network, RPO can significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to fill each open position.
Choose the Services You Want—RPO solutions can be customized to meet the needs of each client. Whether you want to supplement your current recruiting efforts or outsource recruitment entirely, an RPO provider can develop a targeted solution.
