The latest 2022 CIPD Resourcing and Talent Planning Survey, produced in partnership with Omni, revealed that 77% of employers who attempted to recruit had difficulties attracting suitable candidates, with 70% believing competition for well-qualified talent has increased.
The pandemic and current extreme economic conditions changed the market dramatically, with job-to-job moves reaching new heights, as people explore alternative opportunities and prioritise balancing their home books and want the post pandemic work-life balance. Furthermore, considerable skill and talent gaps mean talent acquisition and retention has become even more challenging for organisations across multiple sectors.
As a result, employers are investing more into talent strategies to secure the skills they need when they need them. With competition fierce, organisations are increasingly seeking support from external recruitment agencies at higher than ever costs to address potential skills gaps as quickly as possible. While often effective, without proper planning and budget management, the costs associated with this can quickly spiral.
With recruitment agencies typically charging between 20-30% of the base annual salary, any unexpected volume and high-skilled or senior appointments may see costs escalate further.
Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) and Managed Service Provider (MSP) is proven to reduce overall recruitment costs in several ways. Fundamentally, they enable organisations to improve their ability to recruit directly, consolidate suppliers and, in doing so, reduce reliance on more expensive recruitment agencies. Outsourcing RPO / MSP also provides great flexibility. Whilst sometimes misconstrued as an all of nothing solution, in practice organisations can opt for an end-to-end, project or on-demand RPO service. The final solution should be built around the scope of engagement, so organisations have the right service, and cost visibility, enabling them to create a budget, track spend and easily forecast future hiring needs.
In addition, outsourcing can save organisations money through:
Each stage of the hiring process generates costs through the time and resources required to shortlist, screen and onboard talent.
Outsourcing providers reduce this cost by working as an extension of an internal team, solely focused on hiring the best talent. They have extensive experience hiring for organisations across multiple sectors and know precisely what it takes to source and screen the right talent in a competitive market. Utilising proven recruitment and assessment processes, providers grant access to a broad pool of qualified candidates who not only meet skill and experience requirements, but also align to an organisation’s values and behaviours. This means that hiring managers should only be involved when there is a decision to be made on who to appoint.
The current 2022 cost of living crisis reinforced the need for organisations to remain agile in the face of uncertainty and market fluctuations. Engaging an RPO or MSP provider means organisations don’t need to pay for internal personnel when recruiting needs decline. More importantly, employers are not faced with the prospect of making redundancies during a downturn, as an RPO takes on the responsibility of adjusting resource levels. An MSP can manage the agility of your contingent workforce to supplement any permanent gaps. In turn, they enable organisations to respond quickly to upturn without the need to increase headcount.
Through an RPO, organisations save on advertising and job board fees and any costs associated with the screening stages. There is no requirement to invest in potentially expensive recruitment technology, as an RPO provider will utilise the latest tools and platforms.
Furthermore, organisations have access to valuable insights into how their employer brand is perceived externally, as well as salary benchmarking data to ensure roles are competitively pitched to secure the best talent.
Inefficient hiring processes, whether through unnecessary admin, disparate departments or a lack of resources, can severely impact time-to-hire, generate higher operational costs and ultimately result in organisations missing out on the skills they need.
Engaging an MSP helps organisations evaluate and revamp the recruitment lifecycle by rectifying inefficient practices and areas that generate high costs.
As a resourcing transformation specialist, Omni’s outsourced services help organisations improve their resourcing effectiveness. We do this through a combination of tackling Process, Tech, Cost and People related challenges – examples being developing and nurturing talent pipelines, developing EDI attraction campaigns, designing assessment processes to aid retention or providing detailed market intelligence to inform talent management strategies. This is achieved whilst delivering significant cost reductions, reducing agency fees and working collaboratively to ensure organisations stand out as destination employers.
From a short-term project to a long-term strategic partnership, Omni embeds into your organisation, sitting behind your brand and working in collaboration to change the way you resource for the better. Contact our team today to learn more about the benefits of Omni’s flexible range of RPO and MSP solutions.
RPO, or Recruitment Process Outsourcing, is a strategic approach to talent acquisition where organisations outsource some or all of their recruitment processes to an external provider.
In traditional hiring, organisations typically manage recruitment processes in-house, from sourcing candidates to onboarding. This often requires significant time, resources, and expertise from internal HR teams or hiring managers. However, traditional hiring methods can sometimes struggle to keep pace with changing talent demands, especially in industries facing skill shortages or rapid growth.
RPO offers a holistic and strategic approach to talent acquisition. RPO providers like Omni act as an extension of an organisations brand, assuming responsibility for recruitment activities such as candidate attraction, sourcing, screening, assessment, and even onboarding. By outsourcing these functions to specialised experts, organisations can benefit from industry knowledge, resources, and technology to give access to the best talent at pace.
One of the key differences between RPO and traditional hiring lies in the level of specialisation and scalability offered by recruitment RPO providers. RPO partners often have dedicated teams of recruiters who specialise in specific industries or skill sets, allowing them to access niche talent pools and identify high-quality candidates more efficiently. Additionally, RPO solutions are highly scalable, meaning they can quickly adapt to fluctuating hiring needs, whether it’s scaling up recruitment efforts during peak periods or adjusting to changing market conditions.
Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) can significantly enhance your Talent Acquisition strategy by providing specialised expertise, scalability, and strategic partnership. Here’s how:
Specialised Expertise: RPO providers have dedicated teams of recruiters who specialise in various industries, roles, and skill sets. These experts possess in-depth knowledge of the labour market, industry trends, and sourcing techniques, allowing them to identify and attract high-quality candidates efficiently. By leveraging their specialised expertise, RPO partners, like Omni, can access niche talent pools and ensure high-quality people for your organisation.
Scalability: One of the key advantages of recruitment RPO is its scalability. RPO providers can quickly scale recruitment efforts up or down based on your organisation’s hiring needs. Whether you’re experiencing rapid growth, seasonal fluctuations, or project-based hiring spikes, RPO can adapt to accommodate your changing requirements. This flexibility ensures that you have the right resources in place to meet demand without overburdening your internal HR team or sacrificing recruitment quality.
Cost-Effectiveness: RPO recruitment can offer cost savings when compared to traditional hiring methods. While there may be an initial investment in outsourcing recruitment to an RPO partner, the long-term benefits often outweigh the costs. RPO can help reduce time-to-fill, cost-per-hire, and turnover rates, resulting in overall cost savings for your organisation.
Strategic Partnership: RPO goes beyond transactional recruiting by forging a strategic partnership between the RPO partner, like Omni, and your organisation. At Omni, we become an extension of your employer brand and we work closely to understand business objectives, culture, and talent requirements. This collaborative approach allows RPOs to tailor recruitment strategies that align with your organisation’s goals. By working as an extension of your HR team, RPO providers can provide valuable insights, leading practices, and innovative solutions to help achieve talent acquisition objectives.
Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) is a strategic approach to talent acquisition where organisations outsource some or all of their recruitment processes to an external provider, like Omni. The partner is known as the RPO provider and assumes responsibility for various aspects of the recruitment process, including candidate attraction, candidate sourcing, screening, assessments, interview coordination and onboarding.
Recruitment RPO is about leveraging specialised expertise, technology, and resources to streamline the recruitment process and improve hiring outcomes. Rather than relying solely on internal HR teams or traditional recruitment agencies, organisations partner with RPO providers to access a broader range of talent to enhance efficiency and drive better results.
The specific services offered by RPO providers can vary depending on the needs and preferences of the organisation. That’s the beauty of RPO. Some organisations may opt for end-to-end RPO, where the RPO provider manages the entire recruitment process from start to finish. Others may choose to outsource specific elements of the recruitment process, such as candidate sourcing or interview scheduling, while retaining other aspects.
There are several key advantages:
Access to Specialised Expertise: RPO providers have dedicated teams of recruiters who specialise in various industries, roles, and skill sets. This expertise allows them to identify and attract high-calibre talent more efficiently than internal HR teams or traditional recruitment agencies.
Scalability: RPO recruitment solutions are highly scalable, meaning they can quickly adapt to fluctuating hiring needs. Whether your organisation is experiencing rapid growth, seasonal fluctuations, or project-based hiring spikes, RPO can flexibly adjust to accommodate your changing requirements.
Cost Savings: RPO can offer cost savings compared to traditional hiring methods. By outsourcing recruitment processes to an external provider, organisations can reduce time-to-fill, cost-per-hire, and turnover rates, resulting in overall cost savings for the business.
Strategic Partnership: RPO recruitment goes beyond transactional recruiting by fostering a strategic partnership between the RPO provider and the organisation. At Omni, we work closely with our organisations to understand their organisation’s objectives, culture, and talent requirements, allowing us to tailor recruitment strategies that align with the organisation’s goals and values.
