- High turnover and constant vacancies can be managed more efficiently with recruitment agencies or RPO firms, which create a steady talent pipeline and reduce hiring costs.
- Recruitment challenges, such as candidate shortages and competition, are addressed by RPO providers through specialized expertise and advanced technologies, enhancing hiring speed and quality.
- A lack of in-house recruitment expertise is mitigated by outsourcing to RPO firms, providing access to industry knowledge and tools, and allowing your HR team to focus on core functions.
Sick and tired of candidates ghosting you? Do high cost-per-hire, long and tedious recruitment process, or low quality-of-hire sound all too familiar? You’re not alone.
And if you’re experiencing rapid growth and need to hire a lot quickly, or if you’re not attracting the right talent or keeping qualified applicants engaged during the hiring process, what should you do?
One possible solution, one that most HR professionals are quite accustomed to, is outsourcing recruitment to a recruitment firm — either through a contingency or retained search arrangement or a recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) model.
But what is RPO and how can it help you with your recruitment needs?
What is Recruitment Process Outsourcing?
Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association (RPOA) defines recruitment process outsourcing as “… a form of business process outsourcing (BPO) where an employer transfers all or part of its recruitment processes to an external service provider.”
In other words, it’s customizable!
Engaging with an RPO provider means you can outsource any part of your recruitment process — it could be candidate sourcing, screening, appointment scheduling, or you can outsource the whole process.
Related Reading: How RPO Can Help Overcome Operational Hiring Issues
This trend isn’t new.
Outsourcing HR functions to third-party organizations is a tried and proven business approach — be it through RPO or contingent and retained search services.
In 2004, an Accenture survey found that 80% of companies that currently outsource HR functions would do it again. It’s so effective that 91% of respondents report having achieved their HR outsourcing objectives.
Today, more and more employers are considering outsourcing. An Employ study revealed that 55% of HR professionals are considering outsourcing recruitment processes.
But why outsource recruitment? What problems does it solve?
Recruitment Process Outsourcing and the Problems It Solves for Employers
There are many reasons companies turn to outsourcing. If you find yourself in any of the following situations, then outsourcing recruitment may be for you.
1. If you need to hire a lot of people, quickly
If you need to hire a large number of new employees in a short period, whether you’re a startup scaling rapidly or an established company facing high turnover, the pressure can be immense.
This situation can overwhelm even the most experienced in-house recruiting teams.
A 2023 Employ study found that 31% of over 20,000 employers identified their biggest challenge as not having enough candidates to fill open positions.
Additionally, 30% cited competition from other employers as a major recruitment challenge, and 24% noted that their hiring processes were too slow.
The RPO solution:
- Scalable Solution: RPO firms scale with growth. They can quickly scale their resources up or down based on your recruitment needs. This flexibility is especially useful when there is a sudden increase in hiring volume or if you need to hire quickly.
- Access to wider talent pools: RPO firms generally have access to a wider pool of talents, including passive candidates who may not be actively looking for a job but are open to new opportunities. This established network and databases of candidates enable RPO providers to find and screen candidates more efficiently.
- Recruitment Know-How and Tech: Good RPO providers use advanced recruitment technologies and possess specialized knowledge and expertise in recruitment. This expertise combined with cutting-edge recruitment tools can streamline the recruitment process, reduce the time to hire, and improve the quality of hires.
2. If have high turnover rates or you have evergreen jobs constantly open
In industries with high turnover rates like hospitality, leisure, retail, customer services, or sales, continuous recruitment for open roles can drain your in-house recruitment teams and your resources.
Outsourcing recruitment to an RPO provider can help you fill these roles more efficiently.
The RPO Solution:
- Continuous talent pipeline: RPO firms can build and maintain a continuous pipeline of qualified candidates for roles that frequently have openings. This proactive approach ensures that there are always potential hires ready to step in, reducing the time to fill positions.
- Cost Efficiency: High turnover can be costly due to frequent hiring and training expenses. RPO firms can help streamline the recruitment process, reducing costs associated with sourcing, screening, and onboarding new employees. They can also help negotiate better terms with job boards and other recruiting resources.
- Specialized Expertise: RPO firms bring industry-specific expertise and knowledge, which is particularly valuable for recruiting in niche areas or industries with specialized skills. Remember that everyone in an RPO company is an expert in finding, attracting, and hiring top talents.
3. If you lack the necessary know-how
There are certain roles that require a deeper understanding of the technical skills required for it, say, developer roles or even C-suite executive roles. Recruiting for high-level or specialized roles may not be best left alone with your internal HR teams. Getting the help of specialist recruitment firms may be ideal in this scenario.
Aside from technical expertise, the recruitment landscape is ever-changing — new technology, new tools, new platforms, and changing candidate digital behavior, all contribute to the complexity of the entire recruitment process. RPO providers are at the forefront of these changes and are your best shot at getting up to speed with recruitment faster.
The RPO Solution:
- RPO providers are often specialists: RPO firms typically specialize in a number of industry verticals giving you the much needed technical know-how when hiring high-level and specialized roles. Sysgen RPO for example is a specialist tech recruitment agency with capabilities for both executive headhunting and general recruitment.
- Expertise and Best Practices: RPO firms have deep expertise in recruitment, including understanding market trends, candidate behaviors, and the latest hiring technologies. They bring best practices from their experiences with other clients, helping to optimize your recruitment strategies.
- Advanced Recruitment Technologies: Many RPO providers use cutting-edge recruitment technologies, such as applicant tracking systems (ATS), candidate relationship management (CRM) tools, and AI-driven analytics. These technologies can streamline the hiring process, improve candidate quality, and reduce time-to-hire.
4. If you lack the time and want to focus on core business functions
While crucial, recruitment or talent acquisition is a long, tedious process. Not to mention, recruitment is just one facet of human resource management — there’s also employee engagement, training, and employee development.
And oftentimes, recruitment is also time-sensitive, further adding pressure to your internal HR teams. Studies have shown that up to 23% of HR professionals expressed burnout and concerns over mental health during the recruitment process.
RPO Solution:
- Alleviate burden on your HR teams: By outsourcing recruitment to an RPO provider, your HR leaders can focus on core HR functions like training, development, and employee engagement among others.
- Training and Development: Some RPO firms offer training and development services to help your internal HR team build recruitment capabilities. This can include training on recruitment techniques, diversity and inclusion, and using recruitment technologies effectively. This allows your HR teams to be more effective and more efficient.
Final Thoughts
If you’re frustrated with candidates ghosting you, facing high costs-per-hire, long time-to-fill, or low quality-of-hire, you might benefit from considering Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO).
RPO provides a flexible and scalable solution, especially when you need to hire quickly, manage high turnover, or lack the in-house expertise and resources. By outsourcing your recruitment needs, you can access specialized knowledge, advanced technologies, and a broader talent pool, all while allowing your HR team to focus on core business functions.
Whether you’re facing operational hiring challenges or looking to optimize your recruitment strategy, partnering with an RPO provider can be a valuable strategy for achieving your hiring goals efficiently and effectively.
