Myth Busting Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)

We’re all guilty of over-complicating our jobs and hobbies, me included. Take my previous life as a Tennis Coach as an example. When you look at tennis in detail, it’s incredibly complex. But, at the end of the day, it’s all about hitting the ball over the net between the white lines, more times than your opponent. It’s pretty straightforward, really.
It’s the same with Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO). It’s been overcomplicated. So when you mention those little three letters (RPO), and lots of people automatically think ‘full, large-scale outsource of our entire permanent recruitment’ and run for the hills.
[bctt tweet=”Recruitment Process Outsourcing is not as complicated as it seems says Oliver Meager” username=”ATCevent”]
The problem is, there are so many myths and misconceptions out there about what an RPO entails. So, naturally, a lot of people are put off from the start. Perhaps it’s partially because there’s not a huge amount of reading material in the public domain about it. There’s some, but not a lot. But, then again, it’s almost impossible to create reading material for a service that’s completely bespoke to every organisation.
Now, don’t get me wrong, RPO can involve large-scale outsourcing. That’s one form of it, but it’s far from the only option. And, as someone working in a front-line sales role, one of the biggest challenges which I regularly face is helping people understand the breadth of services Recruitment Process Outsourcing has to offer.
So, let me start myth busting RPO, and help to make it that bit simpler:

Myth Number 1: RPO is just for huge companies

Yes, plenty of massive companies have an RPO. But they’re not just a solution for them. If you’re a smaller company but with big growth plans, an Agile RPO is the answer for you. You’ll get all the same benefits of a large-scale outsourced solution (dedicated team, improved profitability, excellent candidate experience etc). But you’ll be able to quickly turn it on and off, like a tap, in line with your requirements.

Myth Number 2: It’s all, or nothing

An RPO doesn’t have to encompass all of your permanent recruitment requirements. Say one specific division of your company needs to quickly recruit a large number of new employees. A Project RPO is the perfect solution. It’s a white-labelled partnership that’s much more cost effective than using a recruitment agency on an ad hoc basis, and again, has all the benefits of a full scale RPO.
[bctt tweet=”Three myths about RPO – busted!” username=”ATCevent”]

Myth Number 3: An RPO encompasses the full end-to-end needs

That’s not true either. An RPO can also support you with one distinct component of the recruitment cycle, if you don’t have the required resource in-house. You could outsource the telephone interview process; outsource sifting and screening; or get some employer branding support – the possibilities are endless.
When all is said and done, RPO is about permanent recruitment. The provider might run the entire show, or they might just support with one element of your permanent recruitment process. Either way, organisations look to an RPO solution because they want to yield benefits which can’t be achieved in-house or by using a recruitment agency on an ad-hoc basis.
Feel free to take a quick look at the Recruitment Process Outsourcing section on the ManpowerGroup Solutions website if you’d like to find out more, or get in touch with me directly.
Images: Shutterstock

This article first appeared on ManpowerGroup blog on August 31st, 2016.