Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) continues to gain traction in corporate America. The challenge for HR and Talent Executives has shifted from justifying WHY it should be an option to ensuring it will be a SUCCESS. Most RPO companies sell their services as a panacea to all the frustrations in the recruiting process. But even the best RPO companies can’t fix everything. If you consider these three topics you should be in a better position to make the right decision.
WHY Outsource?
Before starting down the path to outsourcing recruiting, start with a clear idea of what you hope to accomplish. Here are a few reasons so many organizations are pursuing RPO solutions:
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Scalability: If your recruiting needs fluctuate from just a few open positions to hundreds based on seasonal or industry needs then an RPO can be a great solution. They can scale up or down the recruiting team much quicker and easier than corporate entities.
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Effectiveness: If your In-House Recruiting team is under skilled, untrained or just consistently failing, a transition to an RPO can be a viable solution. An good RPO partner will bring process and technology expertise. That said, the internal team will need to identify and address internal issues that impact hiring.
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Budget: An RPO can provide a cost savings over the expense of internal employees and a marketing budget for your jobs. Effectively reviewing and knowing your current recruiting spend is critical for developing a business plan for outsourcing your recruiting efforts.
As you go through the request for proposal (RFP) and contracting process, make sure the improvements and performance you expect are measurable so you can hold your RPO partner accountable.
WHO is the Right Partner?
Who do you want to partner with? There are so many companies that are offering RPO partnerships. Some very large, some are relatively small. Some do recruiting exclusively, while others offer it as part of a larger solution. Finding the right partner takes some effort, so make sure to run a thorough RFP process:
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Document your your requirements and performance expectations
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Be thoughtful about selecting who you’d like to invite to respond
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Ask A LOT of questions so you get a solid understanding of what they can and cannot do (knowing they will all say they can do everything!)
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Negotiate a clear, metrics based contract that allows both sides to be successful
While this may seem like a lot of effort, selecting the wrong RPO partner can be costly and painful. If you don’t have time to do it right, you definitely don’t have time to do it twice.
Don’t Overlook COMPLIANCE!
Just because you’ve outsourced your recruiting efforts doesn’t mean you don’t have to consider compliance. You should require your RPO partner to maintain a compliant process as part of their contract keeping in mind that your definition of “compliance” may be different from theirs. Take the time to clearly define what is expected from both parties.
Contractually, you will want your RPO partner to be responsible for replying to any and all audits…and the fines that come with them for negligence. You will also want to build an audit process into the partnership.
They are still your candidates! Having someone on your team holding the RPO accountable for everything from occasional spot checks to a full-blown annual audit with help to encourage them to stay on top of things!
Recruiting Process Outsourcing is a growth industry for a reason – IT WORKS! But, if you have lousy hiring managers, a bloated and outdated hiring process, below average corporate culture, below market pay, embarrassing benefits packages or any of the laundry list of reasons your current recruiting team can’t seem to find the right candidates moving to an RPO will NOT solve your problems! Look within to solve the problem before you look to outsourcing. Then you can start down the path that is right for your organization.