Meet Sarah. She works for a busy organization with 100 staff and as an experienced HR Manager, she looks after all things HR. From onboarding to training, to helping managers with performance issues to HR strategy and reporting. For a key player in the organisation, there are never enough hours in the day! 

If you’re like Sarah and recruitment is just one of a myriad of things you have to juggle each day, then RPO, or recruitment process outsourcing may be the solution your organization is seeking to grow.

Most people are familiar with the traditional concept of a recruitment agency that ‘finds’ candidates, but mid size organisations are often put off by cost and lack of transparency.   RPO can offer a more flexible and lower cost option than traditional recruitment agencies, without having to add head count to your own team.   

Here are 6 reasons the RPO industry is growing worldwide at a double digit rate, and why organisations of all shapes and sizes embrace it

• Successful recruitment is about human connection, not data entry.

How a candidate will fit in the organization is arguably as important as what experience and skills they bring, so it’s important that a skilled HR or Hiring Manager is involved in the pointy end of the decision making.

But think about all the steps in the process of hiring.  Writing job ads, uploading to job boards, sorting through resumes, phone screening, shortlisting, reference and skills testing…. If you are running a small team (or are on your own like Sarah), then an RPO partner can provide a valuable set of qualified extra hands, leaving you free for the important human connection part

• Recruitment is a specialty skill that gets better with experience

It’s not just about time saving. A great RPO provider will let you tap into expert recruiters that can supplement your in-house knowledge.  Understanding the latest trends in social media and digital tools that can be leveraged to attract candidates are just some of the important skills a modern day recruiter needs.

• Outsourcing recruitment lets you scale up and down with hiring resource as demand requires

A key benefit of a third party partnership is scalability. You can call on as much – or as little resource as you need each month.   Some organisations only use an RPO for permanent hires, some only for temps, others for both.    Some keep an internal team and supplement with an RPO provider on an ‘as needs basis’, such as when there’s a big project.   Others outsource everything from brief to shortlist, every time.

Depending what your organisation’s needs are, the RPO model is all about flexibility.

• Outsourcing some or all of the recruitment process to a third party can reduce costs

Compared to using a traditional recruitment agent to ‘find’ you candidates, the cost saving can be anything from 30-50%, depending on how much (or little) of the process you outsource. 

If you are considering adding head count internally, consider on costs such as superannuation, seat cost and holiday pay etc.  Several of our clients who have weighed up the option of using Talent Propeller vs adding to their internal HR team have reported back a more modest saving, with flexibility the key selling point.

• You can access recruitment technology without IT investment or infrastructure

A good RPO partner will offer a variety of subscription options from 'DIY' on the technology platform, through to full service from expert recruiters.  

Hiring requisitions, advert approval, building talent pools, sharing candidate information with stakeholders and communicating with unsuccessful applicants are all parts of the recruitment process made easier with good technology.  Rather than investing in your own ATS or candidate management system, you can access cloud based options via a good recruitment outsource provider.  The benefits include access to the latest technology, innovation without need for capital expenditure and flexibility.  

• A strong RPO partner will integrate with your organization to provide seamless service

 Many RPOs will offer you the option of physically locating at your office but with modern technology and a global workforce, many work remotely and across multiple time zones. 

You’ll get great results if you embrace your RPO provider as part of your team. Provide a great brief and insight into your organisation’s culture which will set you up for a successful long term partnership.

Shortlisters by Talent Propeller offer fixed fee for service packages so you know what you're getting with no hidden commissions.