Hiring enables organizations to drive growth, innovation, and culture. Without timely hires, the opportunity cost of not hiring can be in the hundreds of thousands per employee. While many companies traditionally rely on internal teams or external agencies for staffing, Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) remains relatively underutilized, especially compared to other sectors like healthcare, manufacturing, and retail. We’ve discussed several learnings from enterprise teams who have made gains in their hourly and high volume staffing with alternatives such as RPOs.
In this blog, we will dive into RPO as an alternative—what exactly is it, why opt for it, associated costs, and why it’s increasingly popular.
What exactly is “recruitment process outsourcing” (RPO)?
RPO involves outsourcing some or all of your recruitment efforts to a third-party provider. It entails hiring a company to manage recruitment tasks on behalf of your organization, handling everything from sourcing to onboarding. RPO providers function as an extension of your team, charging either a flat monthly fee or tiered per job fee, and seamlessly integrating with your operations. RPOs will differ by the services they offer. Some will provide a white-glove service (like Mindfield), providing ongoing support and training to your hiring managers.
How is RPO different from staffing agencies?
Staffing agencies focus primarily on finding candidates for a specific role based on the job description provided by the company. It is usually more transactional and reactive than RPOs. RPOs integrate with the company and provide end-to-end recruitment. Think of staffing agencies as one-and-done.
Why are more businesses opting for RPOs?
It’s no surprise it’s becoming harder to fill hourly and high volume positions with today’s shrinking workforce. Internal recruiting teams themselves have gotten smaller admist record layoffs. Businesses are looking to reduce internal hiring costs without affecting time-to-hire and quality. Outsourcing the recruitment process to an experienced RPO is one way to do it.
Is RPO right for your business?
Deciding whether to outsource your recruitment hinges on various factors. While midsize and enterprise-level companies often turn to RPO, early-stage businesses can also benefit. Is your business struggling with any of the challenges below? If the answer is yes, it may be time to consider outsourcing your hiring.
- Difficulty in sourcing niche or specialized talent.
- Lack of internal resources, processes, or technology hindering effective hiring.
- Prolonged hiring timelines.
- Fluctuating recruiting demands requiring flexibility and scalability.
- Unsustainability of per-placement fees or expanding internal teams.
Top advantages 0f RPO
Enhanced quality of hire
By enlisting skilled recruiters committed to championing your company’s vision, RPO ensures better quality hires. For example at Mindfield, recruiters undergo rigorous vetting and training processes to seamlessly integrate with your internal team in order to hire and train the best people. Our team pride ourselves on delivering quality candidates in under 10 days, while seeing a reduction in turnover.
Access to best-in-class technology
With RPOs, not only do you get an outsourced recruiting team, you also get access to the RPO’s tech stack without spending millions on software. At Mindfield, we use programmatic advertising, SMS campaign and screening technology to help clients find the best candidates. Clients also have access to a hiring portal integrated to their HRIS with real-time info on candidates and hiring data.
Cost-savings
Compared to per-placement fees or the overhead costs of internal hiring, RPO’s flat monthly fee structure for a ceiling of jobs can result in substantial cost savings, ranging from 30 to 60%. This doesn’t include savings from software costs.
Flexibility and scalability
This has become even more important in today’s environment. RPO offers a ton of flexibility and scalability (up or down) based on your business needs, without constraints from in-house teams and staffing agencies. Need hires ASAP? Mindfield can help you scale up.
Specialized expertise
RPO provides access to industry-specific knowledge and experience tailored to hospitality, manufacturing, logistics, and retail. At Mindfield, businesses get access to 4 million quality job seekers from day 1.
Conclusion
About Cameron Laker and Mindfield:
Mindfield is a pioneering force in Hourly Employee Recruitment, providing tailored solutions for businesses to easily attract and hire high-quality hourly workers. With deep industry expertise and cutting-edge technology, we make the hiring process simpler, more efficient, and more effective for HR and Hiring Managers.
Connect with Co-Founder Cameron Laker on Linkedin for quick tips and how-to’s or sign up to The Hourly Minute for more in-depth discussion.
