Relying solely on your in-house team can fall short when it comes to scaling rapidly, sourcing international talent, or filling challenging positions. You might not have enough time to build an in-house team or you might lack and in-depth understanding of the local job market.
Yet if you fully outsource recruitment to an external agency, you might lose some control over your employer brand and candidate experience. The cost of pay-per-hire fees can also add up quickly.
If you want to bridge the gap between internal and external recruiters, recruitment process outsourcing (also known as RPO) has the best of both worlds. In this article, we’ll dive into RPO, explore its pros and cons and discover companies that are a good fit for RPO.
What is Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)?
RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing) is a model that lets you embed recruiters in your team until you solve your hiring challenges. Your RPO partner becomes an extension of your in-house team, working closely with them to reach your hiring goals as fast as possible.
Your in-house team can have control over your entire recruitment process while the RPO partner offers a pre-built talent pool of qualified candidates and the know-how of hiring for specific roles and markets. Your recruitment partner will be integrated in your team which means they’ll use your company’s tools, systems and processes. They’ll also help you build your own talent pool and strengthen your employer brand.
RPO helps companies have a dedicated recruitment team with the right skills and experience in your preferred locations and industry. One thing is for sure – you’ll get access to the best talent while saving on excessive payroll costs.
RPO is a flexible solution that scales particularly well. That’s why it’s especially beneficial for fast-growing industries such as technology, healthcare, finance, and manufacturing. Businesses that are planning to expand abroad or have inconsistent hiring needs can also benefit from having an embedded recruitment team.
Pros of Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)
Why do companies opt for RPO? Integrating recruiters in your team has numerous benefits for companies looking to grow fast or expand internationally. Let’s break down some key benefits.
1. Get started instantly
Building an in-house recruiting team is time-consuming (to say the least). It takes about three to six months to hire and onboard an in-house recruiter. On the other hand, you can kickstart RPO in less than a month. If you’re pressed with time, RPO makes for a speedy solution. Embedded recruiters can fill your urgent roles and help you scale fast.
2. Access talent in a specific country
Hiring abroad? Work with recruiters that understand the local job market, speak the language and have pre-built talent pools of skilled candidates in your desired location. With an RPO partner, you get access to top-notch talent in specific locations – Brazil, Germany, USA or any other country you’re hiring in.
3. Control your talent pool, candidate experience and employer brand
While embedded recruiters are helping you fill positions, they’re building your own talent pool. They use your company’s tools and processes so your candidate experience can stay consistent. Embedded recruiters will help your employer brand flourish by following your hiring process and making sure they provide the best candidate experience.
4. Achieve cost-efficiency
Many agencies use a fee-per-hire model, which can quickly add up when you have multiple roles to fill. But hiring an in-house recruiter only makes sense if you have consistent hiring needs. Otherwise, you can face excessive payroll costs.
The most viable solution is to get on-demand help until you reach steady growth. You can stop using RPO services as soon as your needs change which makes it a cost-effective option.
Bonus: RPO providers usually have fixed monthly fees so you’ll know exactly how much you’re paying each month making your budgeting easier.
Cons of Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)
Although RPO is becoming more and more popular, it still has its downsides. Let’s break down challenges companies face when working with RPO providers.
1. Inflexible or lock-in contracts
Most larger RPO agencies offer contracts that lack flexibility. Many of these contracts are lock-in contracts, which restrict your ability to cancel the collaboration for a certain period of time. You could find yourself bound to a fixed duration, such as six months. Within these sox months you won’t be able to cancel the contract. If you do have to cancel early, you’ll have to pay a penalty or fee.
Not all contracts follow this model but many of them still lack flexibility. Before you sign a contract, make sure to look out for the duration, fees for early termination and renewal terms.
2. Not being able to choose the recruiters you’ll work with
RPO providers have a pool of recruiters and typically put together a recruiter team for you. Depending on the scope of their recruiter pool, there might be limited access to recruiters who’ve had experience in your particular field or location.
While agencies strive to assemble the best team for your needs, you most likely won’t be able to assess if the recruiters are a good culture-fit for your team.
3. Working with multiple RPO partners
If you have many roles to fill spreading out across multiple locations, you might have to collaborate with different RPO agencies. Managing multiple agencies calls for additional collaboration and coordination, which means extra work for your in-house team.
Use cases: When should you use RPO?
Companies opt for RPO for a variety of reasons, but there are three scenarios where RPO is the ideal solution.
1. You’re growing fast
If your company’s hiring needs have significantly increased and you need to grow your team fast, RPO can be a great solution. If the increase in open positions is temporary or seasonal, you might not have enough time to build your own talent pool or hire an in-house recruitment team.
When Nortal’s hiring needs surged from 400 to 600 roles, Nortal embedded recruiters in their in-house talent acquisition team. Piret Luts, Global Head at Nortal, notes that on-demand recruiters integrated with their in-house team and delivered exceptional results.
2. You’re expanding to a new market
When facing an unfamiliar foreign market, local recruiters can help get the job done. Hiring someone who understands the local job market will make your expansion more cost-efficient and save you a lot of time.
When Yolo Group was expanding to a new market, they used Relancer to work with local recruiters. Piret Ploom, Head of People and Culture, says that collaborating with local recruiters made the process much more cost-effective and faster at the same time.
3. Your hiring needs are temporary or seasonal
If your hiring needs aren’t consistent, growing your in-house recruitment team doesn’t make a lot of sense. Instead, consider embedding recruiters in your team until you’ve achieved your hiring goals. This is a great option to consider if you have a one-time increase in your open positions or your hiring needs are seasonal.
Introducing a more flexible approach to RPO
After analyzing challenges companies face with traditional RPO services, we’ve worked on creating an RPO solution that offers more flexibility and control to every employer. This approach lets you add and remove recruiters from your team as your needs change.
Why companies choose Relancer as their RPO partner
- Monthly subscription that you can cancel at any time
You’ll decide if you want to continue or cancel the subscription on a month-by-month basis. If your needs change or you aren’t satisfied, you can cancel your subscription with a month’s notice. No lock-in, hidden costs or penalties for canceling. - Pick the recruiters you’d like to work with
You’ll have the freedom to choose the recruiters you want to work with. You have the option to turn down any recruiter who isn’t the right cultural fit or whose skills and experience don’t match your needs. But we’ll also do our best to suggest the right recruiters for your situation. - Access a diverse recruiter pool covering 150 countries
You’ll have access to one of the biggest recruiter pools in the world. Over 1400 recruiters with different skills, locations, languages and talent pools. Work with recruiters that have hired for companies like Bolt, Typeform and Wise. - Cut down on legal and administrative work
Navigating all the legal and administrative work that comes with hiring multiple RPO agencies can be daunting. Working with Relancer means you have only one partner for all the recruiters you’ll ever need. Simplify your operations and cut down on the paperwork. - Total flexibility
Hiring needs can change. When they do, we’ll adapt. At Relancer, you can increase or decrease the number of recruiters at any time. You can also cancel at any time with no hidden costs.
Still not sure we’re a good fit?
Let’s figure it out together. Book a call with one of our advisors. We’ll go over your specific hiring needs and suggest the best solution for you. Use this free consultation to explore how RPO could address your hiring needs and if it’s the right fit for you!
