Should you use Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) for talent acquisition?

Every organisation wants to attract the best possible talent. In a competitive employment landscape, owning the talent acquisition cycle can seem appealing if you’re looking for a high degree of control over process, brand reputation, and candidate experience. However, there is an even better way: recruitment process outsourcing, or RPO.

What is a Recruitment Process Outsourcing service?

Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) is a fully managed service allowing you to outsource every aspect of recruitment without any loss of value or control - elevating candidate quality and driving organisational success.

An RPO team handles all recruitment tasks, including sourcing, screening, interviewing, and onboarding candidates, working closely with the rest of the human resources department. It’s a completely ‘white label’ service, with team members acting like any other company employee, providing a seamless experience for other areas of the business as well as for candidates.

It’s important to note that RPO is not the same as a placement service offered by recruitment agencies. The embedded RPO team contains a range of skills, including administration, support, and research – making it closer in profile to an HR team. This is what enables it to assure the end-to-end needs of talent acquisition tasks.

RPO is also a much more strategic service than placement. The team of experts will get to know the needs of the business, and provide timely advice in areas such as recruitment trends, employer branding, the hiring market, salary benchmarking, etc. RPO firms also maintain extensive networks of qualified candidates across industries, geographies, and job functions, giving you access to a broad range of candidates.

Why you need Recruitment Process Outsourcing

If you have an HR department, you may be wondering why talent acquisition isn’t best handled by HR. In larger multinationals, the HR department will be big enough to handle this function well. However, in smaller companies and enterprises, it’s unlikely that sufficiently experienced colleagues will have the capacity to take this on.

When a busy HR department is asked to take on talent acquisition, this will often lead to time crunching on other vital tasks, or assigning junior colleagues to this mission-critical responsibility. In addition, generalist HR staff don't typically have deep expertise in recruitment strategies, processes, or best practice. They also won’t have access to the kind of candidate network that an RPO firm does.

In most cases, it is far more effective to outsource recruitment and let HR focus on core functions such as employee development and engagement, policy development, compliance, change management, and DEBI. The RPO service will deliver a team with the right skill sets and expertise required to meet your specific culture, needs, and goals.

The components of best-in-class RPO:

• A seamless recruitment process and quality hires
• Alignment of recruitment strategies with company culture and values
• An internal talent pipeline for future growth and succession planning
• Deep understanding of the company's specific needs and skill requirements
• Less reliance on external recruitment agencies
• A consistent candidate experience and employer branding
• Ability to adapt and scale according to internal and external factors
• Retention of intellectual property and knowledge within the organisation

Is RPO more cost-effective for talent acquisition?

In a word, yes!

Recruitment Process Outsourcing is more effective and more efficient. RPO firms bring deep industry expertise and knowledge of advanced recruitment technologies, allowing them to streamline and automate almost every stage of the hiring process. This means faster turnaround times, reduced administrative burdens, and improved productivity for your HR team. A saving in itself.

In addition, RPO is a more cost-effective solution than creating a talent acquisition team in-house. You won’t need to divert any resources into managing this team, and it won’t incur any of the usual, hidden costs of typical employees. It’s a fully-managed, transparent solution that will feel just like an in-house team.

Traditional recruiting methods often involve hefty expenditures on job postings, advertising, background checks, and other hiring-related activities. RPO is vastly more cost-effective than using in-house HR resources backed up by agency recruitment.

RPO fees are also much more predictable than recruitment fees, with their variable costs. RPO services will be delivered on a regular, fixed-cost basis, giving the finance team the security of a monthly budget and predicable expenditure. Instead of investing in the various tools and resources required, you can benefit from the RPO provider's infrastructure and expertise.

A significant advantage of RPO is its scalability. If you need to ramp up hiring during peak periods or downsize during slower periods, your providers can quickly adjust their resources to meet your fluctuating needs. This flexibility ensures that your recruitment efforts align with your business demands without any requirement to hire and train additional in-house staff.

Recruitment Process Outsourcing offers a strategic advantage

As you can see, Recruitment Process Outsourcing offers many advantages for companies looking to optimise their talent acquisition efforts. By partnering with an RPO provider, you can tap into specialised expertise, streamline recruitment processes, and align your strategy with your unique culture and values.

RPO will help you build robust talent pipelines, enhance your employer brand, and adapt swiftly to changing market conditions. You can unlock greater control, cost savings, and agility while retaining valuable intellectual property. RPO is a strategic choice that empowers businesses to focus on their core competencies while gaining a competitive edge in today's dynamic talent landscape.

At Savvi Recruitment, we provide a tailored and flexible RPO service to companies of all sizes. While some larger RPO firms can struggle to deliver in niche roles, we have deep expertise across sectors such as financial services, risk and compliance, asset management, and insurance. Finding and collaborating with a trusted recruitment partner will help you secure the talent your business deserves.