As an HR professional, you know how time-consuming and expensive the hiring process can be. To hire the top talent, you must screen resumes, contact candidates, conduct interviews, screen and test potential employees, and then finally make the right decision. This entire process can take weeks or even months. If you're thinking that there must be a way to streamline the process, you aren't alone. This is where recruitment process outsourcing can come in. Read on to learn more about RPO, how it can help make the hiring process easier, and how it reduces costs for your business.
What is Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)?
Recruitment process outsourcing is when a business decides to outsource the recruitment process to an outside provider. At its core, an RPO firm will act as an extension of a company's human resources team. They can help to bring you the necessary staff and technology needed to streamline your recruitment process.
Like traditional recruiting, RPO's main goal is to fill unfilled positions within your organization. But RPO often goes above and beyond just filling positions. They strive to recruit under your own brand, which can help to ensure a good culture fit between your organization and the employee.
How Can Outsourcing Assist In the Recruitment Process
Outsourcing assists in the recruitment process by saving your internal team time and money. But what exactly does recruitment process outsourcing entail? Here are some of the recruitment processes that can be outsourced:
- Creating the ideal candidate profile - before an RPO firm can help you find the right person for the job, they need to know what that person looks like. They will work with someone from your team to create a picture of what the perfect candidate for the position looks like.
- Advertising on recruiting platforms - RPO firms know the best recruiting platforms to advertise on in order to find the top talent in your industry. They can advertise on multiple platforms quickly and easily.
- Handling the recruitment process from start to finish. This includes placing ads, attending job fairs, following up with candidates, organizing multiple interviews, and making sure candidates understand the expectations of the job. The screening of candidates is still up to your in-house HR department.
- Taking care of all the paperwork - an RPO firm can write up contracts, offer letters, and more, so you can ensure that your candidates are ready for their first day with you.
- Helping you stay adequately staffed. Some businesses have busy seasons and slow seasons. An RPO firm can help you hire both short- and long-term placements to keep up with your business's demands.
You are the expert at your business, and an RPO firm is an expert at recruiting. This gives you a unique opportunity to partner and combine your knowledge to create the best possible team. A skilled RPO firm is up to date on the best hiring practices and will be able to bring you the most qualified candidates.
This means that, after the RPO firm is finished recruiting, you'll only be interviewing the best of the best for the vacancy at your business.
What are the Advantages of RPO?
There are a number of advantages of recruitment process outsourcing. Here are some of the biggest benefits:
- It can free up your internal HR team. Your HR team already has a lot on its plate. When your HR has so much to worry about, it can be difficult for them to find the time to hire the best talent. A recruitment process outsourcing firm's only goal is to hire the top talent for your business.
- HR can focus on more important issues. Instead of focusing on recruiting, your HR team can work to build a strong foundation of company culture, which will help you retain employees and keep morale high.
- HR's involvement comes in when screening candidates. This is great because you still have the final say in which candidate gets hired.
- It creates a shorter time-to-hire. Instead of wading through mountains resumes over the course of days or weeks, with an RPO you can hire the best candidates quicker.
- Best-in-class RPO solutions streamline the hiring process so that you spend less time trying to fill a position.
- RPOs help you reduce costs. When you save time in the hiring process, you also save your business money. Streamlining the hiring process means the cost of hiring is lower.
Getting Started With RPO
The benefits of recruitment process outsourcing are clear. If you think RPO is right for your business, you may be wondering how to find the best RPO firm to work with.
Keep in mind that not all RPO firms are created equally. When looking for a firm to work with, find a firm that has a clear hiring process and offers you the benefits described above. Talk to the RPO firm about what sets them apart from competitors. Ask if they've worked with similar companies in your industry in the past. An RPO firm that's a good fit for your business will save your HR team time and resources.
RPO is a great way to help reduce costs, but the ROI depends on whether or not you are using a Professional Employer Organization. Learn more about PEOs by downloading our eBook What is a PEO?
