What is RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing)?

The recruitment market is more daunting than ever right now. Around 80% of hiring managers say that they can’t find skilled applicants, which means that there’s an intense feeding frenzy whenever a new candidate starts applying for jobs. Small wonder then that so many companies are turning to RPO, or Recruitment Processing Outsourcing.

RPO is a form of Business Process Outsourcing that focuses on recruitment. Your Recruitment Process Outsourcing consultant works with your talent acquisition team to help you manage your hiring requirements.

Today HRavailable is discussing Recruitment Process Outsourcing and the various stages involved in it.

What’s the difference between RPO and a recruitment agency?

When you work with an old-fashioned recruitment agency, they’ll listen to your requirements and then get back to you with a stack of resumes. They may perform some candidate screening, but everything else in the process is up to you.

Recruiting is a fine art, especially in a tight hiring market. HR professionals may not have the know-how that allows you to compete with rival employers.

The alternative approach is Recruitment Process Outsourcing. In RPO, a recruitment consultant works with your HR department right from the beginning of the hiring cycle. They’ll help execute each step of your entire recruitment strategy while also helping you to refine your approach.

What happens when you work with a Recruitment Process Outsourcing consultant?

RPO consultants always start off by getting to know your human resources team. They will learn about your business, your culture, and the specific requirements of each open position. This is also a chance for your HR professionals to learn more about recruitment best practices from an expert.

What happens next depends on your agreement with an RPO provider:

• If you need a limited number of hires: Your consultant will begin by focusing on the requirements for each vacancy and building job descriptions.
• If you need ongoing support: The RPO consultant will review your hiring process and recommend ways to improve.

Once you’re up and running, an RPO consultant will get to work on expanding your team. The consultant will take you through the following steps:

1. Prepare job descriptions

Perfecting the job description is the first step towards sourcing great candidates. In some cases, this may involve elements of job design, as your new RPO team helps map out a realistic set of responsibilities for each job role.

2. Submit initial round of candidates

RPO consultants have a whole toolbox of techniques for finding great people. They’ll use their connections to reach out to passive candidates who are interested in opportunities but not actively job-seeking. Today’s RPOs also know how to search for remote candidates from other cities, or even from other countries.

3. Fine-tune the job description and requirements

When you review the first round of candidates, you will most likely need to review your job description, including the requirements for skills and background. Common changes at this stage include:

• Lowering the minimum candidate experience needed
• Changing requirements for education or certification
• Adding additional skills, such as soft skills or IT know-how
• Recalibrating the list of job duties
• Defining which attributes are must-have and which are nice-to-have

4. Review the final list of candidates

Now that the RPO consultant has a firm idea of who you need, they can start assembling a list of resumes.

Hiring Manager will work with the RPO to turn the candidate longlist into a shortlist. Once you’ve whittled things down, it’s time to start contacting people.

5. Conduct initial screening

The next step is to contact the candidates and screen out anyone who is unsuitable. Screening generally begins with a short phone interview, which your RPO provider can conduct. This chat will establish some basic facts, like their salary range and whether they’re interested in the role.

RPO consultants can also help with other forms of screening, such as aptitude tests. They’ll work with your team to develop a consistent screening methodology so that each candidate is judged on an even playing field.

6. Interview and assessment

Employers often miss out on great candidates because their hiring process takes too long. Your RPO consultant can offer guidance on building an effective interview process. They’ll talk you through things like:

• How many interviews to schedule
• What to ask in each interview
• How to collate and share interview feedback with the hiring team
• How to demonstrate your culture and make a positive impact on candidates
• Onboarding and cultural integration

7. Process review

An RPO solution helps you work with you through your hiring process to gather metrics and identify potential improvements. The goal is to help you develop a recruitment methodology that will consistently deliver the right person at the right time.

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