Hueman RPO Blog

How Does Recruitment Process Outsourcing Work

Written by Derek Carpenter | Apr 12, 2024

Many organizations are turning to reputable RPO recruitment providers to improve recruitment processes, leverage expertise, and gain access to resources to attract and retain talent. It's no wonder that a quality RPO recruiter can offer a 30% reduction in time-to-fill across positions and four times the number of recruited candidates compared to internal recruiters. 

Let's review how recruitment process outsourcing works and what an RPO recruiter does.

What Is Recruitment Process Outsourcing?

Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) involves transferring some or all of your organization's recruitment processes to a third-party service provider. A good RPO provider forms a close partnership with your organization, functioning as a highly specialized, dedicated extension of your internal recruitment team.

Unlike staffing or recruitment agencies, RPO providers offer more than just filling open positions. With RPO, you can expect a comprehensive end-to-end solution tailored to your business's unique recruitment needs.

 

What Is an RPO Recruiter?

RPO recruiters market your brand, source top talent, screen applicants, recruit candidates that match your organization and the specific positions, and handle offers and negotiations. They function under your company's name, email domain, and branding, so they recruit for you, as you.

RPO recruiters prep candidates for interviews, schedule them, ensure due diligence, and handle all pre-hire paperwork. The result? A frictionless hiring and onboarding process for your organization.

 

 

The "How" of Recruitment Process Outsourcing

It's important to note that no two RPO providers are the same — they vary in the type of services they offer and how they deliver them. For example, one RPO provider might offer a fixed service model, while another may offer more flexible, scalable service options. It helps to consider your business needs and objectives before starting your RPO provider search.

All that said, the typical RPO process includes six proven steps.

1. Initiate Discovery and Strategy Development

The RPO provider connects with you to assess your hiring needs and develop strategies to meet your goals. During this initial phase, a credible RPO provider spends time getting to know your organization, its culture, and its values. With this knowledge, RPO recruiters can ensure they represent your company correctly and recruit candidates who fit your core values.

2. Optimize Strategies to Attract Talent

Your recruitment partner leverages their developed strategies to optimize your existing infrastructure. They may revise job descriptions, launch digital marketing initiatives, and explore their talent pools to attract exceptional candidates for your organization.

An RPO provider should also go the extra mile to make your organization stand out from competitors. They might implement strategies like assessing and revamping your employer brand or leveraging social media to highlight your company's distinguishing perks in order to attract the best candidates.

3. Screen for Talent

At this stage, an RPO recruiter screens and lists top candidates. The screening process might include application review, pre-screening interviews, background verification, and talent evaluation. The RPO provider streamlines the screening process, helping you acquire the most qualified candidates with the least amount of stress. They might use their own recruitment technology or work within your existing applicant tracking system (ATS) — whichever method best supports your screening process.

Once screening is complete, the RPO recruiter presents a list of top prospective talent and summaries of each pre-screening interview. The findings are issued in a detailed report, which may include candidate data and insightful metrics, like application completion rate.

4. Assist With Candidate Selection

The RPO recruiter assists you in making sound hiring decisions by delivering clear recommendations and helping with selection interviews. To simplify the process, the recruiter might measure candidates against your company's culture, values, and job requirements.

Successful candidate selection is an art, and a qualified RPO provider is a master of this art. They understand the intricacies of tailored interviewing, which might involve defining candidate personas, implementing skills assessments, and crafting original interview questions. 

Your RPO provider is not just a service provider but a partner who helps you improve your interview process if needed, ensuring it goes smoothly and you hire the right match.

5. Provide Onboarding Support

At this step, the RPO team takes steps to onboard new hires, such as communicating the employment offer and handling the negotiation process. They also take care of the subsequent administration needs once the candidate accepts the offer, which typically includes collecting essential candidate documentation. 

Depending on the RPO provider, they may have ready-to-deploy onboarding technology to streamline documentation collection for all parties involved.

6. Track Metrics and Fine-Tune Your Process

The final stage is tracking and analyzing metrics like cost-per-hire and time-to-fill. Recruitment metrics can help you learn more about your partnership with the RPO provider and the impact they've made.

A top-tier RPO provider is transparent about its process and whether it's helping your organization meet its goals. They’ll also work with you to identify areas that could still use improvement so you can optimize your recruitment process.

 

Boost Hiring Efficiency and Reduce Turnover With Hueman RPO

Partnering with a seasoned RPO provider like Hueman RPO enhances efficiency and the candidate experience while upgrading talent quality. 

Hueman RPO optimizes hiring effectiveness and minimizes turnover with custom solutions. We take a people-centric approach to helping you connect with the right talent at the right time. 

Contact us today and get started with a proactive, long-term, and results-oriented approach to recruitment.