Your recruiters are clearing CV backlogs at 7pm, chasing hiring managers for feedback and still missing start dates. Agency invoices are creeping up. Someone has suggested hiring another recruiter.
That may be the right answer, but before you add headcount it is it’s worth asking a less comfortable question: how much of this pressure is real demand, and how much is work your process is creating?
Avoidable workload and a genuine shortage of capacity feel identical from the inside, but they need different fixes. Avoidable workload comes from weak attraction, vague briefs and slow decisions, and adding more people will only absorb it. A genuine shortage of capacity or expertise means there is more hiring than your team can carry, or roles it is not equipped to fill.
An overstretched talent acquisition team has 4 broad options: remove avoidable workload through process changes, add flexible recruiter capacity for peaks, bring in a dedicated team for a defined project, or outsource permanent hiring end to end. The right choice depends on whether the pressure is temporary or structural, and whether the gap is volume or specialist expertise.
For many teams, the biggest drain on recruiter time is screening applications that were never going to succeed, rather than working on hard-to-fill roles.
The CIPD Resourcing and talent planning report 2026, supported by Omni, found that 58% of employers saw an increase in unsuitable applicants, while only 33% saw a rise in suitable ones. The share of organisations reporting excessive applicants to process rose from 24% in 2024 to 37% in 2026. For many organisations, attracting candidates has become easier than finding the right ones.
Our Candidate Attraction Has Changed report explores what good attraction looks like when volume is no longer the problem. Part of the shift is technology: in the Omni Candidate Experience Report 2026, we found that 51% of candidates said they use AI to tailor their CVs. Applying is quicker, and polished applications are harder to tell apart. Every unsuitable one still has to be opened, assessed and answered, while strong candidates wait in the same queue.
Screening is rarely the only cause. When we look at where recruiter hours go, the same tasks tend to come up:
Before deciding what to do, ask your recruiters to log their time for 2 weeks against a handful of simple categories. It can feel like extra admin, but it gives you evidence to work from. If, for example, 40% of the week goes on sifting and chasing, you have a process problem first and a capacity problem second.
In our view, the front of the funnel is the place to start, because reducing unsuitable applications is usually the most direct way to win back recruiter time and it improves the experience for the candidates you do want.
Attraction that filters as well as attracts
An advert written to drive maximum response will get it, so be specific about the essential requirements, the salary range, the location and working pattern, and what the role is honestly like. Some candidates will rule themselves out, which is the aim. Self-selection is still underused: the CIPD 2026 data shows only 11% of organisations use self-selection tools and 21% use pre-application assessments. Our talent attraction team works on this balance.
Screening that holds up
If AI-polished CVs make sifting less reliable, CV review alone becomes a weak filter. Short, structured screening questions or job-relevant assessment at the right stage give you a fairer and more defensible basis for decisions. Whatever tools you use, keep a person accountable for selection outcomes and check the process for bias.
Hiring managers who move at the same speed
Agree a short intake meeting before any role goes live, with the brief, salary and selection criteria signed off. Then agree turnaround times for shortlist feedback and interview decisions, with a clear escalation route when they slip. Where confidence is the issue, our recruitment training can help.
Less manual coordination
Self-service interview booking, templated candidate updates and ATS workflows that are actually used will remove hours of email each week, without the need for a large technology project.
Process changes take weeks to land, and sometimes longer when hiring manager behaviour is involved, so they will not clear a backlog that exists today. If you are unsure where your biggest gaps are, a structured review such as our Talent Maturity Assessment can help you prioritise.
A team can be well run and still have more hiring than it can deliver, in which case the pressure is not a process problem.
You probably need additional support if one or more of these is true:
If any of these apply, the next step is to ask whether the pressure is temporary or structural, and whether the gap is volume, expertise or both.
The answers matter because the default response, adding permanent recruiters, suits only one combination: sustained, predictable demand. Recruit permanently for a 6-month peak and you carry the cost long after the peak has passed. Rely on agencies instead and costs, candidate experience and data end up spread across several suppliers.
Doing nothing has a cost too. CIPD 2026 figures show the median cost of recruiting a senior manager has risen to £3,500, and £2,000 for other employees*, and every vacancy that drags on or hire that has to be repeated adds to that.
*Caution is required when comparing these figures, given small sample sizes and considerable variation within and between sectors, partly due to differences in included costs or calculation methods.
The right model depends on the shape of the problem. The table below compares the main options.
Best when What it gives you Commitment
End-to-End RPO Internal capacity is limited or being rebuilt and demand is ongoing A partner that owns permanent hiring while you keep control of policy and governance Multi-year managed service
Embedded Talent (Omni Flex) You need an experienced recruiter inside your team without adding permanent headcount A Recruitment Partner working behind your brand, backed by wider sourcing and attraction expertise Monthly service fee, no placement fees
On Demand RPO Your team is good but stretched by peaks Extra recruiter capacity, or support with stages such as screening or interview management Flexible, sized to peak periods
Project RPO A defined programme has a volume and deadline your team cannot absorb A dedicated team for the hiring window while your team keeps day-to-day hiring moving Defined project window
You can combine these options. One sensible sequence is to bring in flexible capacity to clear the immediate backlog while process changes take hold, then review whether extra support is still needed. Our RPO recruitment guide compares the models in more detail.
Whatever you choose, we think the support should work inside your existing tools, processes and employer brand, so candidates and hiring managers see one consistent experience. It should also leave your team in a stronger position than before, with better processes and better data as well as more filled roles.
As an indication of what good delivery can achieve, Omni reports reducing time-to-hire for clients by an average of 30%, and Ofcom cut time-to-hire by 44% through an End-to-End RPO partnership.
Watch for time-to-hire slipping, candidates dropping out before offer, rising agency spend and recruiters working longer hours to stand still. A 2-week time log will show whether the cause is avoidable workload or genuine demand.
Applying has become faster, partly because many candidates now use AI to tailor CVs, and broad job adverts invite volume. The CIPD 2026 report found 58% of employers saw more unsuitable applicants, against 33% seeing more suitable ones.
Hire permanently if demand is sustained and predictable. If it is temporary, tied to a project or needs specialist expertise, flexible support such as On-Demand RPO, embedded recruiters or Project RPO usually carries less cost and risk.
On-Demand RPO adds recruiter capacity that flexes with changing demand. Project RPO puts a dedicated team on a defined hiring programme with a set window and a clean exit at the end.
Yes. On-Demand and embedded models are designed to work inside your existing tools and processes, under your employer brand, so your team keeps ownership of hiring.
If your team is stretched and you want to work out what is avoidable workload and what needs extra capacity, we can help you separate the two. Talk to us about flexible recruitment support.
