What is outsourcing recruitment?
Outsourcing recruitment is typically known as Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) and involves an employer transferring all or part of its recruitment process to an external partner. RPOs are often employed as a recruitment solution when an organization is going through relocation or even through mergers and acquisitions. It is particularly effective when multiple hires need to be secured over a short period of time and across multiple business areas.
The integrated or full-service solution?
The outsourcing recruitment provider may take over all aspects of a recruitment process, from assessing requirements, building the employer brand, and managing compliance through to workforce planning, sourcing talent, and pre-employment screening. Essentially the provider takes on ownership of the design and execution of the entire recruitment process. This approach offers a wide range of benefits to the client including the ability to recruit multiple roles, at different levels, and across different locations. It can offer time and cost savings, affords access to wide-ranging recruitment expertise and experience, and can alleviate pressure on existing teams that were not established to manage such demands.
Another approach to Recruitment Process Outsourcing is to integrate the RPO provider into an existing HR or talent acquisition function for a period of time to offer additional resources at times of high demand. Many companies that chose to partner with an RPO will have an established HR team that is capable of running recruitment processes but are faced with larger scale remits which require more resource. In this scenario, the provider will offer a solution that fits the particular requirements of the client. This could be via a team of recruiters who act as an extension of the existing talent acquisition team off or on-site.
What makes a good outsourcing recruitment provider?
A good outsourcing recruitment provider should do more than simply take a brief and fill roles. Each solution should be different and tailored specifically to each client’s needs. The RPO is not a one size fits all solution, far from it. A good provider should take the time to understand and assess each client’s specific needs and offer a solution tailored to meet them. They should suggest approaches, technologies, cost-saving efficiencies, and process enhancements that will help the client to reach their recruitment goals. The RPO approach should be treated as a partnership between client and provider with shared objectives.
