how can recruitment process outsourcing help build a sustainable workforce?
Companies today face no shortage of challenges: economic and business uncertainty, rapid AI and digital transformation, evolving workforce dynamics and talent demand fluctuations. And while finding the right talent is paramount to overcoming each of these obstacles, ongoing talent scarcity has made that ever more complicated. But it also means that companies have a new opportunity to rethink their processes and refocus their people strategies in a way that drives real business value at every step.
In this dynamic landscape, recruiting must continue to evolve beyond the traditional, transactional process it has been for decades. It’s no longer just about filling open requisitions, but rather hiring with an eye towards agility and long-term value. This means seeking talent not only with the skills needed today, but also the ability to learn new skills for the future. It means considering candidates for not just the jobs they apply for, but their potential to assume other roles as needed. And it means looking beyond the traditional sources of talent to identify the people who can truly make a difference.
That may seem like a lot for talent acquisition teams to accomplish — especially at a time of much uncertainty. Add in growing pressure to both operate more cost-efficiently and better weather spikes and drops in talent demand, and the need to optimize the recruitment function is even stronger.
This may be why recruitment process outsourcing is likely to attract more employers in the months and years ahead, enabling them to benefit from a targeted, yet scalable and flexible, approach to talent acquisition.
Scalability and flexibility have always been key value propositions attracting RPO adopters, but there are other benefits attracting a variety of employers with different needs. Cost savings, access to talent, enhanced quality of hires, process efficiencies and workforce management support are all benefits that lead buyers to the contract table for the first time — or the second, third and fourth.
In the past decade, RPO has gained tremendous momentum over other outsourced talent acquisition models. While there is still a market for headhunters and traditional agencies, RPO offers distinct advantages these other solutions do not, including economies of scale, process optimization, deep access to critical talent, and best practices around HR technology and talent intelligence. It also facilitates consistent practices across geographies, while driving a positive experience from sourcing to onboarding — for talent and hiring managers alike.
Other direct hire solutions are typically more costly on a per-hire basis. They are ideal for filling low-volume, niche talent needs, but even when the number of hires reaches a few dozen — especially for niche and hard-to-find skills — an RPO can be more efficient and effective.
RPO definitions
Following are important terms you’ll need to know when learning more about recruitment process outsourcing.
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applicant tracking system (ATS)
A technology platform that helps employers manage job openings, and process incoming applications and candidate information.
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candidate relationship management system (CRM)
Enables organizations to engage with and manage passive and active talent throughout the entire hiring continuum. With functionalities beyond an ATS, a CRM is the system of record for maintaining an organization’s relationship with all candidate types, including internal, external, referrals, silver medalists and others.
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direct sourcing
The process of identifying and qualifying active and passive candidates through online and other channels using in-house recruiters.
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employer brand strategy
The holistic effort of employers to positively present and differentiate their value, culture, and products and services in the eyes of prospective employees.
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internal mobility program
A systematic approach to identifying and redeploying internal talent within the organization based on the career development needs of the talent and those of the business.
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permanent workforce
An employer’s workforce that is on its payroll and does not have a termination date at the outset of employment.
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recruitment process outsourcing (RPO)
An outsourced solution in which a service provider manages a portion or all of a company’s permanent hire recruitment function.
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strategic sourcing
The discipline in which recruiters identify potential candidates through various methods, including sophisticated search practices, online portals, and talent networks and communities.
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talent assessment and identification
The process of screening and assessing the suitability of candidates for a particular role.
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talent intelligence
The gathering and use of business insights and market intelligence to enable HR and other departments to shape workforce management strategies and tactics.
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talent marketing
A strategy that uses marketing disciplines to engage and “sell” roles to active and passive candidates.
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total talent acquisition
A holistic approach that enables an employer to manage both contingent and permanent hires through one model, achieving greater efficiencies and control.
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workforce equity
An organization’s approach to ensuring hiring processes and workplace practices offer equal opportunities for people of all backgrounds, experiences and perspectives.
how does RPO work?
RPO, in its many forms, can solve an array of recruitment challenges. In the past, first-time buyers were motivated mostly by cost savings, but with more strategic and pressing issues facing talent acquisition leaders, buyers see RPO more as a way to drive access to talent, process efficiency, technology fulfillment and talent intelligence. In the current climate, scalability, sector-specific expertise and flexibility have risen to the top among the drivers for RPO adoption or continuation.
New RPO buyers may be struggling with effective or efficient management of internal recruitment resources. While recruitment costs remain a concern for solution buyers, cost efficiency is built into most RPO programs. Many second- and third-generation buyers now look for providers to deliver a more comprehensive talent experience, integrated market and internal workforce data, access to next-generation technology and automation, and other qualitative benefits.
what benefits does RPO deliver?
Under a comprehensive program, an RPO solution may:
- Assess the company's HR technology stack and implement new solutions if feasible
- Create a framework for ensuring an equitable and inclusive approach to recruitment
- Provide workforce planning support
- Advise and execute on employer brand strategy
- Manage the end-to-end requisition process
- Take on strategic sourcing and recruitment marketing activities, including internal mobility
- Integrate talent marketing within the broader attraction strategy.
- Create talent pools as part of a direct sourcing strategy
- Manage pre-screening and assessment
- Conduct interviews and selection
- Manage candidate offers and onboarding
- Offer candidate management and hiring manager support
- Conduct HR research
- Manage program performance and talent strategy analytics
- Facilitate internal mobility and redeployment
- Provide offboarding and career transition services
what RPO models are available?
Click on each RPO model to learn more about how they work, what the benefits are and what companies have achieved with each.
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end-to-end RPO
End-to-end RPO is just what the name implies: a program that spans all processes, roles, business units and activities associated with recruitment of permanent hires for a particular organization. This may include:
- Sourcing, screening, assessment and selection
- Process management
- Transactional activities
- Guidance on and support for a comprehensive workforce equity strategy
- Technology deployment and management
- Employer branding and talent marketing
- Agency management
- Internal mobility
- Early careers
- Talent intelligence
- Talent marketing
- Onboarding, training and coaching support
This type of RPO is the most complex model and typically requires more time to implement than other models; however, employers gain greater benefits when they implement an end-to-end program.
see a case study -
project RPO
When organizations need to quickly scale up their recruitment efforts to support a business initiative, project RPO may be the best solution. Project RPO differs from end-to-end RPO because it has clearly defined timelines and end goals but offers similar benefits. It is ideal for:
- Addressing short-term, immediate hiring
- Providing the opportunity to test-drive RPO
- Assessing the cultural fit of an outsourced model to the organization
- Comparing the provider's performance against internal teams
- Gaining a view of how process transformation can affect outcomes
Project RPO often leads to a longer engagement because it confirms the validity of an outsourced approach.
see a case study -
talent BPO (sometimes known as selective RPO)
Some organizations may prefer to outsource the recruitment of lower-level, high-volume roles but retain other levels for internal recruiters. They may also implement RPO for some business units but not others, or need support on part or parts of the recruitment process, such as candidate management. The right solution may be talent BPO, which can provide:
- Targeted resources to business units with a specific talent need
- Flexibility in what is outsourced and insourced
- Recruitment expertise or efficiency for specific grades of workers
- The means to free up internal recruiters to focus on specific strategic roles
- Support for growth initiatives in new markets and geographies
This model may be ideal for organizations that have trouble filling certain roles with specific skill sets or in select locations. These programs typically supplement internal recruitment functions.
see a case study -
recruiter on demand (ROD)
When an employer simply needs additional recruiters to fortify its internal capabilities, an ROD solution is the most immediate way to meet this requirement. This model provides:
- Instant access to recruitment resources
- Flexibility of on-site or virtual resources
- Complete scalability to any employer's talent needs
- No lengthy contracts or a reduction in force
- Significant cost advantage over third-party agencies
- Highly experienced specialists backed by deep experience and methodology
An ROD is effective for the short term, but has minimal effect on transforming an organization’s overall recruitment processes. It can easily be transitioned, however, to one of the other more comprehensive delivery models.
see a case study -
RPO mobility+
Focusing on internal mobility is crucial to building a more agile workforce, while fostering engagement and retention. The RPO Mobility+ model optimizes external talent acquisition and internal talent mobility simultaneously. The benefits of this dual approach allow you to:
- Boost talent attraction and retention at the same time
- Move toward a sustainable skills-based hiring strategy
- Harness data to build a more agile workforce
- Create a work culture of growth and opportunity
This deeply talent-centric solution, which combines external talent acquisition with internal skills development, coaching and learning, is ideal for companies looking to better understand when to look inward for talent and when to seek skills externally.
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total talent acquisition
The integrated, or total talent acquisition solution, is the most transformative model. It extends the talent expertise and management of RPO to the employer’s contingent workforce program for a comprehensive approach. Dramatic enhancements include:
- Management of all types of talent
- Optimization of talent utilization
- Transparency of resource spending
- The creation of a more agile workforce
- Faster and deeper access to talent
- Greater accuracy around workforce planning
- Centralized cost controls to optimize savings
- Enhanced compliance
The total talent approach is the most transformative model in talent acquisition. While implementation takes more time, it also produces benefits beyond those provided by RPO or a managed services program (MSP) alone.
see a case study
explore RPO services
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5 questions: will RPO address your recruitment challenges?
- Do you have difficulties securing internal resources for recruitment functions?
- Are you experiencing longer fill times due to requisitions for more scarce skills?
- Have hiring managers expressed concern about the quality of candidates?
- Are you experiencing high turnover rates shortly after hires are onboarded?
- Could you benefit from more robust talent marketing and candidate relationship management strategies?