what is RPO recruitment?

Recruitment process outsourcing can support part or all of your company’s permanent workforce hiring through a comprehensive set of external recruitment resources. Offering process excellence, a scalable model, cost savings, a technology stack, market intelligence and predictive talent analytics, recruitment process outsourcing helps you find and identify the right talent quickly.

Your RPO model can be customized with a specific set of services to directly address your company’s goals, requirements and recruiting challenges. Recruitment resources can be scaled up or down based on changing hiring needs, providing your business with a high degree of agility. Some RPO partners also offer talent mobility and career transition services to employers that are downsizing their workforces, creating a true end-to-end solution.

There are several considerations when determining what type of recruitment process outsourcing solution is best for your organization. Here are the four main types commonly offered in the market:

end-to-end RPO.

An ongoing solution encompassing all services involved with permanent recruitment, including recruitment technology investments. You can expect the greatest savings, efficiencies, hiring outcomes, satisfaction and compliance, but this model is also the most complex to implement. 

Your RPO provider may deliver on-site and off-site resources who consult with your hiring managers, process requisitions, source and screen candidates, schedule interviews, prepare and present offers, and conduct onboarding activities. End-to-end RPO often evolves through value-added services, such as talent marketing and employer branding, internal mobility programs, implementation of advanced recruitment technologies, and contingent workforce management.

project RPO.

An end-to-end approach applied to a specific project, such as a new product launch or opening a new branch. Project RPO is an effective solution if you need the benefits of an end-to-end approach for a defined hiring project but want to maintain internal recruitment capabilities for day-to-day hiring.

selective RPO.

Selective RPO addresses and strengthens specific components of your company’s internal recruitment process. Many employers strictly outsource sourcing and screening processes, or candidate management. With selective RPO, you receive best practices for those specific services only.

recruiter on demand (ROD).

This model provides recruiters to help your company address spikes in hiring, new business initiatives, product launches or handle parts of the hiring process. You can add recruitment capabilities immediately, without any process changes or technology implementation; however, recruiter on demand (ROD) does not typically result in permanent process transformation as other models do.

contingent recruiter on demand (ROD).

Getting greater agility to bring additional recruiting resources in quickly can help you accelerate hiring and meet business demand at speed, while ensuring a positive talent experience for all. 

A contingent recruiter on demand ROD immediately addresses your most critical staffing needs in a cost-effective way. We provide a team of highly trained professionals to quickly source, screen and engage contingent talent for both volume hiring and specific hard-to-fill positions.

Recruitment process outsourcing rates are based on a monthly management, placement and/or project fee. In an end-to-end solution, you would typically guarantee a minimum volume of hires to provide a baseline cost. For each placement, an incremental charge is added. 

A project RPO engagement may be similarly priced, but because the scope and volume are usually well defined and distinct, your provider may be able to provide a more specific estimate. In selective RPO, fees can be determined by volume (per candidate scheduled for interviews, for instance) or a specific project (e.g., an employer brand audit). In all cases, costs tend to be lower than those of a recruitment agency.