RPO 101: How Much Does a Recruitment Process Outsourcing Program Cost?
Decided whether to maintain your in-house talent acquisition resources or outsourcing recruiting...
Stop us if you've found yourself in this position. With each week that passes the number of open positions at your company either increases or maintains the same level. As a result, candidate quality suffers and tensions build. But you don't need to bring in a referee, you just need a project-based recruiting provider.
Project-based RPO can take the pressure off of overstretched HR departments. They do so by providing a scalable and responsive recruiting engine for your organization. Whether it’s to support a new division of the company or short-term initiative, project-based RPO is a low-commitment approach into the world of recruitment process outsourcing (RPO).
In fact, some of the most successful RPO engagements start out as smaller projects; sometimes considered a pilot program. Other times, when a specific need arises, a project-based RPO program is an easy way to quickly scale recruiting resources.
When a Project-Based RPO Approach Makes Sense:
When selecting a Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) provider, or considering an RPO program for your organization, many companies believe that they must take the plunge and commit to an enterprise-wide RPO program. But, a project-based RPO program makes sense for a lot of different reasons. Here are a few:
- Peak-season sourcing
- Rapid recruitment projects; like expansion
- Improve candidate quality; often for difficult-to-fill or technical positions
- Assist in one or more of the recruiting functions; i.e. on-boarding, reference checks, etc.
4 Ways to Use Project-Based RPO Providers to Meet Recruiting Goals
Determine level of need and priority. Look at your hiring needs over the next 12 months or so. Determine which areas have the most pressing needs, and as much as possible, group hires into the broadest categories possible. For example, group them by skill, project, department, or location.
Match needs and resources. Next, consider your list and determine the level of in-house resources available, along with the priorities. Look for areas where you do not have sufficient coverage or expertise. For example, geographies that are not covered, skill sets or specialties (i.e. sales, IT, R&D), and new or upcoming expansions. Identify "weak spots." Consider the logistics and resources required to source, screen and on-board these groups on your own.
Divide and conquer. Determine the focus of your in-house resources and look for opportunities to outsource others. Look especially at hiring that must be ramped up quickly or that requires completion by a certain date -- Those are excellent candidates for project RPO. Evaluate providers with project-based experience in the areas you want to outsource.
Measure and monitor performance. Your project RPO partner should be able to provide tools, reporting and a willingness to get paid, at least partially, for performance and delivering results within areas they control. Monitor and evaluate results for future efforts.
