How Can Recruitment Outsourcing Assist in Talent Acquisition?

When there’s a talent shortage or your team is stretched thin, leaning on your talent pipeline helps to keep your processes moving forward. But how do you ensure your pipeline is always full of talented candidates who are a good cultural fit for the organization? The answer: recruitment process outsourcing.


Understanding How Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) Works

Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) is the hiring of a third-party talent acquisition specialist that acts as an in-house recruiter for your business. It provides efficiency and flexibility to the recruitment process—freeing up HR professionals of administrative burdens and delivering a seamless, high-touch experience for job candidates.

An RPO partnership usually costs less than hiring new members to your HR team and the solutions can be customized in order to be scaled up or down depending on your needs. And since these providers keep your talent pipeline full of viable candidates, you can hire top talent faster than working through an agency to ensure your internal processes aren’t interrupted. 

Key Ways Recruitment Outsourcing Assists in the Recruitment Process

During rapid growth, or whenever needed, RPO helps employers maximize their budget and improve productivity and retention. When thinking about outsourcing talent acquisition, be sure to keep in mind these essential benefits:

Enhanced Candidate Sourcing

RPO providers usually have access to a large pool of qualified candidates and can leverage their extensive networks to find candidates who possess the specific qualifications needed for specialized roles. Their access to advanced recruitment tools also makes it possible to fill these roles faster.

Streamlined Screening and Selection

By utilizing applicant tracking systems and online assessment tools, RPO providers can automate the initial screening of candidates. These tools can quickly sift through a large volume of applications, filtering out unqualified candidates based on predefined criteria. Automating this initial screening stage means accelerating the process and reducing the burden on internal HR teams.

Effective Employer Branding

With a positive brand image and reputation, you’ll be able to attract top talent and retain current employees. Due to their single focus on maintaining the talent pipeline, RPO providers help organizations boost their employer brand image and reputation by providing a positive candidate experience, attracting high-quality candidates, and reducing recruitment risks. 

Improved Candidate Experience

An important element of employer branding is having an improved candidate experience. Once again, because it’s their sole focus, RPO providers are able to pour their whole attention into developing a positive candidate experience throughout the recruitment process. This means providing timely communication, feedback, and support.

Scalable Solutions

Unlike an agency or new HR talent, recruitment outsourcing is on a switch—you activate it when you need it, and pause when you don’t. This enables organizations to handle fluctuating hiring volumes without compromising quality. Plus, it’s a major cost-saving measure, ensuring you stay within budget even when things are stretched thin. 

Choosing the Right Recruitment Process Outsourcing Services

When determining which RPO provider is right for your organization, you first need to consider which services you need to succeed. Not all RPO vendors offer all services. Some offer services related directly to sourcing, interviewing, screening, and assessing candidates, while others are more strategic and contribute to your employer branding, recruiting for culture fit, and technology consulting.

It’s also important to look at the provider’s industry expertise and track record. For example, if you’re in tech but the RPO providers you’re looking at have proven solutions for pharma companies, you might need to expand your search to find one who understands your industry. Finally, we recommend you look to see what their process is and what technology they bring. Do they offer proprietary software? Do they have experience with your technology? 

Once you’ve found an RPO provider who seems promising, it’s key—as with everything in life—to have clear communication channels and define performance metrics. If everyone isn’t marching toward the same goals or if the flow of information is hindered, it could lead to disaster. 

PREDICTIVEHR as Your RPO Provider 

RPO is perfect for any organization dealing with hiring fluctuations and stresses. As opposed to bringing on a permanent member of staff for a momentary influx in demand, RPOs bring scalability to the process and variability to costs. They’re often structured based on hiring needs instead of a base figure.

PREDICTIVEHR’s industry-leading recruitment process outsourcing solutions focus on methodology, measurable results, and flexible solutions for every step of the hiring process. Short-term or long-term, we help get the employees you need to achieve all your talent acquisition goals. Get a full view of what PREDICTIVEHR can do for your business and schedule a call.

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