RPO Explained: The Ultimate Guide to Hiring Top Talent Faster & Smarter 

The simpler it looks the difficult the task turns out to be. Hiring may look easy task but it is a challenging task. Many companies big or small are adopting Recruitment Process Outsourcing as the primary solution to their HR and recruitment needs. 

This Blog will take you through what is an RPO, how it operates, and what benefits it offers.

What Is Recruitment Process Outsourcing?

Recruitment Process Outsourcing is a strategy in which a company hands over some or all of its recruitment tasks to a third-party service provider. This gives the RPO partner the power to take on responsibilities such as:

• Sourcing
• Screening
• Selection
• Scheduling
• Offer management
• Onboarding, and more.

During this partnership, the RPO provider may work under the employer’s brand, using its recruitment team and tailored strategies. Alternatively, the provider can collaborate seamlessly with the employer’s existing staff, technology, methodologies, and reporting systems.

These companies engage closely with their client organizations to assess recruitment needs, evaluate current processes, and identify areas needing improvement. By understanding the unique dynamics of each company, RPO providers provide personalized solutions, establish service level agreements, and define success metrics to craft an effective recruitment strategy.

This partnership between RPO providers and employers provides flexibility and specialized expertise, making them suitable for organizations of all sizes and across diverse industries to improve their ability to find top talent.

How Does Recruitment Process Outsourcing Work?

The recruitment process mainly starts with a discovery phase in which the RPO gets familiar with your hiring objectives like your goal, and then accordingly creates a strategy for your hiring requirements. Then, both parties, the company, and the RPO provider, establish partnership expectations and key performance indicators (KPIs) and sign an agreement that states the scope of work, timeline, and service-level commitments. Subsequently, the company manages and executes the agreed-upon recruitment tasks and responsibilities.

Below are the standard steps involved in the recruitment process with an RPO provider:

• Planning: The initial steps involve a discovery discussion, during which the RPO partner evaluates your hiring requirements and develops a hiring strategy to fulfill your objectives.

• Attraction: After creating a plan, the RPO company reworks or creates job descriptions, implements digital marketing techniques, and taps into its talent networks to attract and identify optimal candidates.

• Screening: After finding potential candidates, the RPO team will take screening interviews, assessments, and reference checks to narrow the list to the most suitable contenders.

• Presentation: At this stage, you are given a list of top candidates and detailed insights from each interview.

• Selection: Assisting in making a well-informed decision, the RPO partner offers recommendations and evaluates candidates against job prerequisites, company culture, and values.

• Recruitment: Once you have finalized a candidate, the RPO will manage the offer and negotiation phase and administrative tasks post-acceptance.

• Retention: The RPO partner supports the onboarding process and ensures a smooth transition, fostering a positive candidate experience from initiation to completion.

Whether the RPO oversees the entire recruitment process or specific components are retained in-house is your team’s decision. Irrespective of the level of involvement, they should be perceived as an extension of your internal talent acquisition team, collaborating seamlessly to secure the right candidates.

How Is RPO Different From Staffing Agencies?

RPO companies in India take full responsibility for the hiring process, form the initial sourcing to the final onboarding of the candidates. Their services are not limited to seat-filling, targeting crucial recruitment challenges such as reducing premium labor costs, aligning candidates with organizational values and objectives, and improving employee retention rates. This comprehensive approach enables businesses to entrust their recruitment process to specialized providers, saving time, money, and internal resources.

Staffing agencies look for job seekers and connect them with employers. Their work is more like talent acquisition, screening, and payment and then presenting the selected candidates to employers. Clients are mostly charged a fee based on a percentage of the candidate’s salary or a flat fee per successful hire.

A significant distinction between RPO and traditional recruitment agencies lies in the breadth of services offered. RPO providers engage in longer-term partnerships with clients, offering continuous recruitment assistance and strategic talent acquisition planning and this mixed approach allows employers to manage their recruitment tasks and update their talent acquisition strategies.

RPO firms are the best choice for providing acquisition strategies as they handle all recruitment tasks while offering a well-curated recruitment solutions. While, Staffing agencies works as intermediater between candidates and employers. Both of them have their special advantages and businesses can choose as per their requirement and budget.

Top benefits of working with RPO providers

Future-proof strategy

We all know that the success of any business highly depends on its employees and productivity. 

This creates a sense of urgency to plan a strong recruitment process for talent acquisition that is beneficial for current and future needs. Working with RPO providers can help you add value to your company for long-term success.

Reduced hiring time

Revamping recruitment methodologies ensures a consistent influx of qualified candidates, particularly for technology roles, thereby cutting down the time expended in the hiring process. This streamlined approach enhances organizational agility in securing top talent promptly.

Access to Specialized Recruiters

Partnering with RPO providers versed in IT recruitment expedites the hiring process and alleviates the management burden. Especially beneficial for smaller tech departments with occasional hiring needs, this approach leverages the expertise of IT-focused recruitment teams while containing costs per hire.

Cost Savings Over Time

Using RPO services helps save money in the long term. The right use of the extensive talent pools of specialized external providers improves the chances of successful hires on the first attempt, leading to reduced time-to-hire and subsequent cost efficiencies.

Increase Employee Satisfaction and Retention

Following best sourcing and screening practices, ensures only candidates aligned with organizational values are selected, creating a conducive work environment and bolstering morale. This alignment contributes to heightened employee satisfaction and increased retention rates, mitigating turnover costs.

Expertise

Efficient recruitment and retention processes preserve and expand the company’s collective knowledge base. RPO providers facilitate accelerated contributions to business growth by minimizing onboarding and training time. Additionally, RPO firms offering workforce planning and strategic solutions provide HR support, enhancing employer branding and optimizing hiring costs.

RPO Pricing Models

It is important to know the different pricing models available to suit your budget and hiring objectives. Below are the pricing models that can help you make an informed decision.

• Management Fee: The RPO firm charges a fixed monthly fee for overseeing the recruitment process. The pricing structure depends on the complexity of the services rendered and is usually seen in enterprise-level RPO solutions.

• Cost per Hire: The RPO provider charges a fee for each successful hire made. This approach is typically linked with project-based RPO services.

• Management Fee plus Cost per Hire: This model combines elements from the previous models, entailing a monthly service fee and charges for each hire. This model is often associated with comprehensive enterprise RPO services.

• Cost per Slate: This model is a sourcing-centric. It involves the RPO provider charging a fee for delivering a predetermined number of sourced, screened, and qualified candidates.

• Cost per Transaction: Operating on a task-specific basis, this model involves fees based on particular processes completed, such as initial screenings or reference checks. This model is commonly associated with on-demand RPO or consulting services.

Conclusion

Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) requires a careful consideration, you cannot choose any RPO firm, it involves evaluation, weighing the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing HR functions. RPO companies can offer cost savings, efficiency improvements, and access to specialized skills. However, there may be potential challenges or issues that should be taken into account.

Note that each company’s decision to outsource HR functions is unique. It is not like If something works for one company, it may not be the best fit for another. Regardless of the decision, we wish you continued success and growth in your business. If you decide to outsource your HR procedures, Collar Search can help you plan for success today!