What is an RPO?
RPO, or Recruitment Process Outsourcing, is a solution designed to support part or all of your organisation’s permanent workforce hiring processes, putting you in control of your hires while removing the strain of searching for them.
An RPO model can be tailored with specific services to meet your goals, requirements, and recruiting challenges. Recruitment resources can be scaled up or down based on changing hiring needs, providing your business with significant agility. Additionally, some RPO partners offer services in contingent workforce management, talent mobility, talent development, and talent transition, ensuring a positive talent experience throughout the entire talent lifecycle.
RPO Benefits
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.
Over the course of the past decade, RPO has gained tremendous momentum over other outsourced talent acquisition models. While there is still a market for head-hunters and traditional agencies, RPO offers distinct advantages these other solutions do not, including; economies of scale, process optimisation, deep access to critical talent, and best practices around diversity recruitment, HR technology and talent analytics strategies.
Under a comprehensive programme, an organisation onboarding an RPO solution can benefit from these 10 services:
- creation of a framework for ensuring a diverse and inclusive approach to recruitment
- workforce planning support
- advisory and execution of employer brand strategy based on exclusive data and market insights
- management of the end-to-end requisition process, ensuring full visibility and compliance throughout
- strategic sourcing and talent marketing activities, including internal mobility
- talent pool creation as part of a direct sourcing strategy
- management of pre-screening and assessment
- conducting of interviews and selection as well as management of candidate offers and onboarding
- ongoing access to market intelligence, insight and analytics to help inform longer term strategies
- ability to leverage the latest recruitment technology via established supplier partnerships
How does RPO work?
RPO, in its various forms, addresses a wide range of recruitment challenges. Initially, first-time buyers (often referred to as first generation) were primarily motivated by cost savings. However, with the increasing complexity and importance of talent acquisition, RPO is now seen as a means to enhance access to talent, improve process efficiency, fulfil technology needs, and provide valuable analytics. Today, scalability, sector-specific expertise, and flexibility are the primary drivers for adopting or continuing with RPO.
New RPO buyers often struggle with effectively managing internal recruitment resources. Although recruitment costs remain a concern, cost efficiency is a fundamental aspect of most RPO programmes. Many second- and third-generation buyers now seek providers that offer a comprehensive talent experience, integrate market and internal workforce data, provide access to next-generation technology and automation, and deliver other qualitative benefits.
Designing an RPO solution is a complex and involved task, but by implementation time, you and your provider should already have a good understanding of organisational needs. That’s because the contracting process provides clarity to both sides on what services should be in scope, the SLAs involved and how to achieve them.
Early in the implementation, your RPO provider will complete an extensive discovery of your existing recruitment processes. Even though the provider will have an understanding of current processes gained throughout the tender and contract period, it’s only when they are afforded a close examination that they will be able to develop and implement the most suitable programme. Often, the impression a client’s leadership team may have shared about their own organisation can differ from actual practices, which can delay programme rollout.
While SLAs provide the framework for ensuring the programme is on target, there are also instances in which volumes may vastly surpass expectations or certain extraordinary circumstances occur, so it’s important, then, that both sides stay flexible and mechanisms should be built into the RPO to allow for these kinds of exceptions.
As the programme matures, clients often find themselves asking for innovation. Today’s third-and fourth-generation deals have moved beyond the basics to include high-value services, such as workforce planning support, advanced analytics, employer branding, talent community building and management, and process reengineering.
Ready to explore the benefits of RPO?
With today’s talent becoming increasingly scarce and the resources for acquiring it being stretched thin, partnering with an RPO provider offers a cost-effective and convenient solution for attracting skilled individuals. By working with Randstad, you can benefit from cost savings and efficiencies without losing access to the best talent or much-needed skills.
We’ll be your trusted partner for talent and our experts will guide you and keep you informed through every stage of the journey.
If you are interested in finding out more about the benefits of a RPO or exploring how Randstad can help you with your talent management click below to request a call back: