What Is An RPO?

The recruitment process is one of the most critical functions of any company. It’s also one of the most time-consuming and expensive processes that has to be managed internally. By outsourcing your recruitment needs to a third-party vendor, you can get access to advanced technologies that streamline various steps along the way — making it possible for you to find new hires faster while reducing staff turnover rates at the same time.

What is An RPO?

RPO, or Recruitment Process Outsourcing, refers to an external business that assumes some talent acquisition responsibilities on behalf of an organization. Every RPO provider’s contract is different but involves completing one or more parts of the hiring process.

Some RPO contractors specialize in sourcing for traditionally tough roles to fill, while others do “full-cycle RPO” and facilitate the hiring process end-to-end.

Why Use An RPO?

In an RPO model, there is no need for internal staffing or recruiting teams; instead all resources are outsourced to one organization that specializes in these areas. This eliminates inefficiencies resulting from having multiple departments handling different stages of hiring within one organization as well as allowing you to focus on other areas within HR such as employee training programs or benefits administration.

Not all companies leverage RPOs, but they can be helpful during periods of high growth, when your current talent team lacks certain skills or experience, or in lieu of an internal talent team altogether. RPOs can quickly scale your candidate pool since they’ve hired outstanding candidates before and know where they hang out.

RPOs can also offer suggestions for improving the quality of your candidates by enhancing your employer brand, implementing new software, and standardizing any disorganized or redundant parts of your hiring process.

In addition to saving money on hiring costs, outsourcing helps improve the quality of hires because they have access to larger pools of talent than internal teams do: they’re able to reach out directly through social media channels such as LinkedIn, leverage their own relationships with industry leaders, employ advanced screening tools like video interviewing software which allows them access into less traditional candidate pools such as Millennials who often prefer communicating via text rather than phone calls.

Another advantage of using an RPO model is that several vendors may be bidding against each other for your business; this kind of competition typically results in lower prices and/or higher quality service levels than you would get if you went with just one vendor alone.

By outsourcing your recruitment process, you might also benefit from having access to advanced technologies that can help streamline various steps along the way — such as automated notifications and job matching tools.

Disadvantages Of An RPO

That said, RPOs can be expensive. Before engaging with an RPO provider, it’s important to ask yourself whether the benefits outweigh the costs. Think about adding terms to your agreement to outline KPIs the firm must hit to ensure you’re getting the most bang for your buck.

RPO offers a number of advantages over traditional methods of recruiting and hiring new staff, saving businesses time and money.