RPO Basics: Understanding Recruitment Process Outsourcing

Finding the right people for positions in your company can prove to be a massive undertaking, particularly if these are positions that require very specific skill sets and knowledge. If you’re having a tough time filling certain posts in your organization or if you are struggling to find the right Recruitment Specialists & Sourcing Specialists in your local market, maybe it’s time for you to consider recruitment process outsourcing (RPO).

What is Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)?

As the name implies, RPO is when the process of recruiting is outsourced, hence the term recruitment process outsourcing. This should not be confused with staffing agencies or services.

While they both provide businesses with talents for the positions that they have, that’s where the similarities end. Once a staffing agency puts forward a candidate and the company hires them, the relationship between the business and the agency ends.

For RPOs, the relationship is more nuanced and complex. It doesn’t end with the hiring of the person in question. RPOs continue their relationship with the company they’re working with even after a suitable employee is chosen.

They take on the responsibility of training, onboarding, talent pooling, recruitment strategizing, and post-offer requirements as well as management, to name a few.

Different Kinds of Recruitment Process Outsourcing Options

Before you can fully understand what an RPO is, and to answer the question of “How does recruitment process outsourcing work?”, you first need to know that there are actually many different kinds of recruitment process outsourcing options to choose from. To answer the varying needs of businesses, you’ll find that recruitment process outsourcing companies usually offer a selection of packages with varying recruitment process outsourcing service level agreements.

The three most common RPO types you’ll find being offered to businesses include the following:

On-Demand RPO

Sometimes called project RPO, this option is an “as-needed” choice, when a company wants certain positions to be filled at a specific point in time. The company that requires this service can engage the provider whenever such a need arises. While this may seem like a service that can be provided by a staffing agency, there’s a huge difference between what an RPO can do versus what a staffing company can do in this instance.

While staffing companies can give a business the employee they need based on the qualifications and specifications given to them, an RPO can do better.

Recruitment Process Outsourcing companies usually have an insight into a client company’s culture. This means that when they try to locate the right person for these positions, they not only find the right people for the job. They also find people based on how well their personalities will fit in with the company’s values, goals, and culture.

Function Based RPO

Function-based recruitment process outsourcing is when a client engages the services of an RPO provider to cover their recruitment needs for a division or department.

For instance, a company needs to build an entire content team. The RPO company trusted with this task will take care of finding, interviewing, vetting, and onboarding such team members for their clients. The rest of the hiring needs of the said company will be handled internally and only this specific team will be handled by the RPO provider.

Full RPO

When a company wants to hand off its recruitment needs to another entity completely, a full RPO is what they need. This type of service relegates the recruitment, onboarding, and even training of new hires to an outside body. Such a service allows heads of businesses to focus on other parts of their enterprise since the difficult task of sourcing, interviewing, vetting, and more is now in the hands of trusted experts.

Benefits of Recruitment Process Outsourcing Companies

There is a lot to gain when it comes to using recruitment process outsourcing companies for your hiring needs. Here are some of the more notable ones:

Cost Savings

Some people may say that hiring someone else to do the hiring for you will cost you more. On the contrary, it can actually cost you less. This is because you don’t need to employ a recruitment team full-time, and you cut out the many costs that come with finding the right person for the job.

Fill Positions Faster

When you engage with an RPO company to help with this process, you get only the most qualified candidates for your open positions. This means you cut through the clutter and only get to screen the people who are truly suitable for your open positions. You don’t have to go through the numerous steps required to get to the select few that fit your culture and your business needs.

Higher Retention Percentages

Hiring the right people for your company based not only on skill set and work experience but also on how well they fit your culture will help keep attrition rates low. Since an RPO company strives to provide clients with people they see as a great fit skill-wise and culture-wise, turnover tends to be lower. This can also be attributed to the fact that onboarding and training are often streamlined and consistent when an RPO handles them.

Wider Reach Produces More Viable Talents

Recruitment Process Outsourcing companies often have a ready pool of candidates for their clients, which they can tap into at a moment’s notice when needed. They also try to find such talents in more parts of the world than most companies would think of trying. This wider reach benefits businesses in a lot of ways since it allows them to get better candidates that are not only ideal for their needs but also cost-effective, particularly when these employees are from countries like the Philippines.

Scalability

One of the biggest benefits of working with a Recruitment Process Outsourcing company is the flexibility it gives you. When you need to find only one person for a specific position or to put together an entire department, you can trust an RPO to do both for you effectively.

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How Do You Determine If You Need an RPO?

Some businesses may find that having an in-house recruitment team or working with a staffing agency is better for them. Others, however, find that an RPO is the perfect fit for their recruitment needs. How do you find out if an RPO is what you need? There are a few things to consider, like the following:

If you have a limited budget for your hiring needs
If you have seasonal hiring requirements
If your business doesn’t see a need for an in-house recruitment team
If you only want to hire people as you scale your business
If you don’t have a streamlined onboarding process
If you want to get talented and skilled employees but don’t know where to find them
If your HR team is overloaded with other tasks and duties
If you don’t want to sift through hundreds of candidates to get the few you need

Choosing the Right RPO Solution and Provider for Your Business

So, now that you know what a Recruitment Process Outsourcing company is, the next question you may be asking is, how do you choose the right one for your business? Here are some of the things you need to think about before signing on the dotted line:

Customizability

Just like scalability, the RPO company you work with should be capable of tailor-fitting its services to your needs. Can they give you the right person with the right skill set and the right attitude in the time frame you’ve specified? Can they find you two or more of the same kind of talent when the need arises? Being able to adjust to your company’s needs whenever it’s required should be part of what they can do for you.

Innovative

Not all solutions fit all companies, so being able to provide new ideas when all of the old ones won’t work is a must when choosing an RPO company to work with. A good RPO company should be able to suggest recruitment solutions that are not commonplace, so to speak, when it’s necessary in finding the right person for the job.

Solid Support

When you need help with issues regarding your new hires, or even old employees that have been hired with the assistance of an RPO, the company should be able to provide you with solutions to such issues. A support team that can answer queries, address issues, and provides solutions is a must-have when choosing a recruitment process outsourcing solution to work with.

How Logix BPO’s Recruitment Process Outsourcing Service Measures Up

Not to blow our own horn, but Logix BPO covers all of the abovementioned requirements, benefits, and RPO options. This makes us one of the top choices when it comes to recruitment process outsourcing entities to work with. Our team of professionals knows where to source the people you need, how to match them with your company’s culture, and to find solutions for your unique recruitment needs.

Logix BPO also provides you, and the people you find through us, with incomparable benefits. From free training to complete onboarding to no added overhead costs for office environs and even compliance, Logix BPO has it all. So, if you’re looking for exceptional talent without having to do the backbreaking and time-consuming work of searching for them yourself, Logix BPO is the company to contact.