When to choose an RPO instead of classic recruitment solutions?

When to choose an RPO instead of classic recruitment solutions?

What is Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)?

Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) is a business model where a company outsources the management of the recruitment function to a third-party expert to drive cost, process, and quality efficiencies. An RPO provider essentially acts as an extension of the client's HR department, taking full or partial control of the recruitment process. This can include everything from job profiling and candidate sourcing to interviewing, onboarding, and even employee retention strategies. RPO solutions are highly customizable and can be scaled up or down depending on the hiring needs of the organization.

When to deploy an RPO solution vs. classic recruitment?


When a company requires a Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) solution as opposed to classic recruitment, it's usually driven by a combination of factors such as scale, complexity, strategic focus, and specific challenges in talent acquisition. Below is an extensive summary outlining the scenarios where RPO is beneficial over traditional recruitment methods:

Scale of Hiring

  • RPO: When the hiring needs are large-scale and constant, RPO solutions offer a dedicated team to manage these high-volume requirements effectively.
  • Classic Recruitment: Suited for smaller-scale hiring where internal HR teams can manage the process without external assistance.

Budget Constraints

  • RPO: Offers a cost-effective solution in the long run, especially for companies with constant hiring needs. A fixed contract often includes various services like sourcing, screening, and onboarding.
  • Classic Recruitment: Could be more expensive per hire, especially if using recruitment agencies.

Quality of Talent

  • RPO: Typically provides a higher quality of hires, as RPOs use advanced sourcing technologies and methods to find the best match.
  • Classic Recruitment: May not always guarantee the best talent, as the focus might be on filling the role quickly rather than optimally.

Time-to-Hire

  • RPO: Usually faster due to dedicated resources and expertise. RPOs also tend to have pre-vetted talent pools.
  • Classic Recruitment: Could take longer, especially if the hiring is not consistent or high-volume.

Strategic Focus

  • RPO: Frees up internal HR teams to focus on more strategic initiatives like employee engagement, culture, and retention.
  • Classic Recruitment: Requires HR to focus on operational tasks such as sorting resumes, initial rounds of interviews, etc., taking time away from strategic focus.

Compliance and Reporting

  • RPO: Manages compliance with local and federal laws and can provide detailed analytics and reporting on recruitment metrics.
  • Classic Recruitment: The burden of compliance rests on the internal HR team, which may or may not have the required expertise or resources.

Customization and Integration

  • RPO: Can offer customized solutions integrated with the company’s existing HR technologies and processes.
  • Classic Recruitment: Less flexible and usually follows a set process that may not always align with the company's specific needs.

Geographic Scope of hiring

  • RPO: Better equipped to handle multi-location or global recruitment needs.
  • Classic Recruitment: More localized and may not be suited for a diverse geographic scope.

Questions to consider:

  1. What is the scale of your hiring needs—large, constant, or variable?
  2. Do you have the internal resources and expertise to manage recruitment efficiently?
  3. Is cost a significant concern for your recruitment process?
  4. How important is the quality of hires to your organization?
  5. What are the time constraints for filling your open positions?
  6. Does your HR team have the bandwidth to focus on strategic initiatives?
  7. How crucial are compliance and reporting to your organization?
  8. Are you looking for a customized recruitment solution?
  9. Is your hiring requirement local, multi-location, or global?

In conclusion, RPO solutions offer distinct advantages in terms of scale, efficiency, and strategic focus, and are more suitable for organizations with complex and ongoing hiring needs. On the other hand, classic recruitment might work well for smaller companies with more straightforward, localized, and infrequent recruitment needs.

If your organization is seeking volume hires, we strongly suggest you to get in touch with our team of consultants that can easily show you what are the main differences in operations and based on what figures there might be more convenience to pick a Recruitment Process Outsourcing solution or Permanent Placement given that we can provide both services on a multilocation and multilanguage basis.

Interested in understanding more regarding RPO solutions? Check our dedicated RPO service page!

In addition, we have also some interesting reads related to what to look out when choosing an RPO provider for your company growth.

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