Globalization is changing the way companies do business and even recruit staff. With many medium and large corporations straddling borders and needing highly specialized technical talents, the Human Resources (HR) function can quickly become overloaded and hence the need for recruitment process outsourcing (RPO). 

In short, an RPO partner is a third-party that helps organizations source the right talent, at the right time, for affordable costs so as not to overload the traditional HR department with the recruiting process. There are numerous benefits of this for most organizations and we explore some of these in more detail below. 

What does an RPO do?

Before getting started though, it’s important to look at some of the functions of an RPO provider. It’s important to note that their role is to take ownership of the design and execution of the entire recruitment process. This includes services such as: talent engagement, candidate management, hiring manager engagement, recruitment analytics support, workforce planning, pre-employment screening, strategic sourcing, compliance and risk management, employer brand consultation, vendor partnering, supply chain management, and early careers/graduate recruitment, among others.

What types of RPO are there? 

Generally speaking, there are two primary types of enterprise RPO. The first is “long-term, company-wide” and the second is “job/location specific”. 

Regarding the former, this is when an organization appoints an RPO provider to “handle the entire recruiting process”. This can include anything and everything related to the entire recruitment process itself to the technology involved and even measurement and tracking of the results. An important feature of this type of RPO is that it contributes in a great way to employer branding. Many organizations seek to be the preferred employer of choice for top talent and compete with others to attract and retain these candidates. With an RPO at your side for “long-term, company-wide” recruitment, an organization’s brand is much more likely to strengthen in the talent pool marketplace. 

Meanwhile, when it comes to “job/location specific” recruitment, we find that it is quite similar to the former example. However, there are several differences. The main one is that instead of recruiting company-wide, only one or a few specific positions are sought to be filled. Alternatively, positions for certain locations only are sought to be filled. What the RPO provider will do is source talent for these specific positions and although they retain ownership of the process of the results, they may or may not use technology as they are not necessarily handling every position for the whole organization but only portions of it. 

How does RPO work?

To begin working with an RPO provider, an organization will typically start out by signing an outsourcing agreement. This agreement will generally outline the scope of the project, including its time frame and cost, in addition to other factors such as the achievement of key performance indicators (KPIs). 

Next, the HR management team will discuss job descriptions with the RPO so that the RPO knows exactly who and what type of talent is required. 

Once a clear job description has been created, the RPO gets to work. They will use their methodologies and technological tools (for example, social media recruiting), alternatively, the client’s own techniques and systems, in order to begin the talent sourcing process. 

When the RPO service provider starts receiving resumes, they will begin assessing candidates, and potentially tweaking the job description, if necessary. After candidate assessment is carried out, they will be screened and possibly put through pre-employment assessments, depending on the client organization’s requirements. Once the RPO process is complete, the client or employer will only interview several of the highly vetted candidates before making the final decision.

Overall, the client’s time, efforts, and resources are not wasted on the recruitment process and they will be able to focus on the interview process only. This means less costs for them and fewer hours spent on sifting through applications, screening and pre-screening, and assessing the best fit for their organization. 

Who is RPO ideal for?

We mentioned above that RPO is great for medium and large enterprises (with thousands of employees). But it’s also great for those businesses, which are comfortable with outsourcing as a company strategy. Furthermore, it’s ideal for those companies that have a sustained and substantial need for recruitment, those with multiple locations and which seek to standardize their recruitment process, and medium-sized enterprises that are experiencing rapid growth.

Why RPO is a must for your organization

Given the considerations mentioned earlier about how RPO works and who it is ideal for, it’s also important to take a look at why you should consider it for your organization. 

Firstly, it offers flexibility in terms of the recruitment process. This consistency in recruit-to-hire can improve an employer’s brand and attract higher quality talent. By leveraging big data that is at the RPO’s disposal, organizations can also take advantage of cost reduction strategies and efforts. With this also comes increased efficiency in terms of reducing the time it takes to hire an appropriate candidate and the model used by the RPO is scalable, which means that it can apply to single job-specific or location-specific recruitment efforts or to larger company demand for a high number of new employees.

An RPO service provider can also help an organization with talent pooling, by creating a community for future hires. In addition to this, the recruitment process and assessment design, which is the proprietary intellectual property of the RPO, will also lead to improved processes in terms of following the process at any given point in time. It’s also a cost-cutting measure because advertising for talent can be highly expensive. 

Also important for your organization is the analytics and reporting that you’ll be able to monitor at every stage of the recruitment process. The real-time data can help you improve your decision making and to conduct audits more thoroughly.

Perhaps most importantly is that the RPO enables the business to do what it does best – running their operations without having to dedicate valuable time and resources to the recruitment process. And in addition to this, an RPO as an expert on labor law and standards, can help achieve excellent compliance with regulations.  

Wrapping up

Recruitment process outsourcing is perhaps the best decision you can make for your organization when it comes to sourcing talent. The ability of the RPO service provider to consider your unique talent needs and put them first in the recruitment process means that you’re likely to find the right talent that much quicker. 

By discussing your needs with the RPO provider beforehand, they’ll be able to create a strong recruitment framework, methodology, and process, which you can then track at any point in time. This will ensure that you’re always aware of what is taking place and you can manage the process as you see fit. Overall, choosing an RPO provider for your business is the right decision to make if you want high quality hires within a short space of time for a limited budget.