Organizations seek outsourced recruitment solutions for many reasons. But the key to making this work starts with embracing your recruitment outsourcing partner as part of your HR team and being very open with them.
Here are some of the things that an RPO provider can do to support your organization:
- Focus on quality of service and delivery; a highly professional on-site operation, supported by central resources, should be available to help resolve issues, provide guidance and offer support
- Show initiative in response to strategic and operational challenges; willingness and capability in this area will link to success that enhances the overall reputation of the HR team
- Take a proactive approach to identifying improvements; your RPO provider should adopt the trusted advisor role which leads to a true strategic partnership
Once the relationship and trust have been established, the RPO partner enables your company’s HR team to punch above its weight in a very competitive industry. Having strong underlying systems and processes in place can give you time for other high value-added improvements such as using succession planning information strategically, says Will Roberts, head of talent at Threadneedle Investments. Fujitsu ASEAN’s high attrition rates and escalating recruitment costs drove the company to enter into a recruitment outsourcing relationship, which had an “immediate impact.” “Our time to hire has already dropped dramatically, from peaks of 190 days, down to an average of 34 days,” says Amor C. Villalon, regional VP of human resources at Fujitsu ASEAN. “We’re also seeing hiring manager satisfaction with the level of service and the quality of candidates being introduced of 97 percent.”
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But it’s not just about what the RPO provider can do for you. You can take advantage of the RPO provider’s collective body of knowledge and experience. Roberts advocates taking every opportunity to participate in strategic review with the RPO provider, while Villalon trusts her vendor to solve issues independently. “To ensure that they perform to their fullest potential, I openly welcome them into our Asia HR team meetings and they’re privy to everything that’s happening”.
Customers can get the most of the partnership by understanding the culture of their particular provider and how to tap into them. “Use the team; allow them to advise you. We’re not experts in outsourcing, we expect their advice and we openly encourage it,” Roberts says. Fujitsu ASEAN, meanwhile, is focused on the best ways to solve problems. “Encourage transparency. Look at the important bottlenecks and address them,” Villalon says. “Empower the team. This way, they’ll only come to you when they need help getting to an agreed outcome.”
For more information on the topic, click here to download your free copy of “Building Partnerships with your Recruitment Outsourcing Provider” from Resource Solutions.
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