When it comes to recruitment, there are hundreds of options to choose from so which solution is right for you?
For starters, you need to decide if you’re looking for someone that specialises in Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) or a traditional recruitment agency. Both options are capable of finding you candidates for a position, but their methods of doing so and the level of detail they can provide differ.
Here are some of the key differences between RPO and recruitment agencies to help you decide which is most suitable for your business and people strategy.
Differences Between RPO And Recruitment Agencies
RPO Recruiters Take Control Of The Entire Process
RPO recruiters are equipped to handle the entire end-to-end recruitment solution. The available services vary slightly from company to company but you can pretty much expect them to deal with everything and anything recruitment related. Even if they don’t write the job descriptions themselves, they’ll be advising you on what to include and providing constructive feedback. RPO recruiters prefer to take a hands on approach, guiding you through the interview process and providing recommendations. They also spend more time delving into a candidate’s background and assessing their suitability by running multiple tests.
In contrast, recruiters at recruitment agencies will be assigned multiple companies at the same time to source suitable candidates for, often within tight timelines. As a result of this, they will expect the company itself to have a greater level of input in the recruitment process, allowing them to solely focus on finding the talent. For example, it is not unusual for a recruitment agency to request pre-written job descriptions from a company.
RPO Recruiters Consider The Long Term
RPO recruiters like to develop long-term partnerships with their clients to ensure that there are no ‘emergency cases’. Their aim is to build a talent pipeline of both active and passive candidates who they are in regular contact with, constantly reassessing their suitability for your company.
At a traditional recruitment agency, the focus is on finding a candidate to fill a position as quickly as possible. Their only concern is the position that they are currently being asked to filled. Given that such recruiters work on a commission basis, they are constantly looking for ways to improve their number of hires by speeding up the process. Traditional recruiters are brilliant for those one-off ‘emergency cases’ where you to need fill a position quickly. For a more strategic approach, you want a RPO recruiter.
RPO Recruiters Help To Build An Employer Brand
Recruiters who specialise will typically handle fewer clients than a traditional recruitment agency. With fewer people competing for their time and attention, an RPO recruiter is able to fully immerse themselves with your brand, becoming intimately familiar with your company culture and values. This is vitally important because they are the ones who make that crucial first impression on candidates and who will answer the bulk of their questions. You need to have confidence that they will represent your brand well and do you justice, projecting the right message. A traditional recruiter simply doesn’t have the time to devote to that level of research and relationship building.
RPO Recruiters Measure And Report
The long term partnership approach that RPO recruiters take allows them to provide you with ongoing analysis of your recruitment strategy. Over time, they can build up a picture of where the inefficiencies are within the process and where the sticking points lie for company and client alike. Using advanced applicant tracking systems, they can report back on time to hire, cost to hire, candidate satisfaction and retention rates. Traditional recruiters aren’t with you long enough in order to gather any truly meaningful data.
To learn more about RPO recruiters like Omni and how we offer a new, often more successful approach to recruitment, get in touch today.
