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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
