Correcting Misconceptions: Busting the Most Common Myths of Recruitment Process Outsourcing

These are trying times for the talent industry. Perhaps, the most trying ever.

While it’s been 50 years since the unemployment rate was as low as it is today, that stat tells only part of the story. For many recruiters and hiring managers looking to fill highly skilled positions that require truly unique skillsets, this type of talent shortage is almost unprecedented. At times, it can seem like the right candidate will never be found. And if they are, there’s an even slimmer chance they’ll agree to make a move.

Unfortunately, no company is safe from these challenges. Available, quality talent is at an all-time low across nearly all industries, especially in the tech sector, and it doesn’t look like there’s any respite on the immediate horizon.

One alternative to the recruitment stress that still seems to be a bit scary for many HR leaders and executives, despite its proven value, is to consider a recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) provider. In most instances, this solution includes the outsourcing of some or all components of internal recruiting for candidates, including sourcing candidates through the offer and onboarding process. RPO programs can either replace the need for internal sourcing or recruiting, or can augment resources already in place.

However, when we’re constantly reminded that people are our most important asset, why would a company want to outsource this most critical business component to an outsider? The so-called RPO horror stories are well-established – there’s no control, it’s too expensive, it hurts team morale, etc. – but are these true or simply myths that have been misconstrued over the years?

We lean toward the latter. Here are four myths about RPO that it’s time to stop believing.

Myth #1: You lose control with RPO.

Contrary to popular belief, RPO actually allows companies more control over their recruitment and gives significantly more visibility and clarity into their entire talent management process. Any experienced RPO provider will not be a replacement but rather a seamless extension of a company’s recruitment function. It is a partnered approach where the organization remains responsible for making the hire but also has available tracking and insights into the recruitment process at a moment’s notice.

Myth #2: An RPO provider cannot represent our employment brand as well as we can.

It can be easy to think that whenever there’s an outside party acting as the first line of communication with potential employees, it might lead to issues where the provider inaccurately represents a company’s culture or employment brand. However, the best RPO providers make it a core responsibility to implement the program only after correctly and properly training dedicated delivery team members on the solution, the jobs, the organization and the minutiae of cultural elements.

RPO has been a successful HR strategy for more than 15 years with proven results and a high client satisfactory rating across the industry. But there is a catch.

An RPO partnership will work only as long as both the provider and the organization are committed to the solution. The organization needs to trust that the RPO provider will deliver on its service level agreements and the provider needs to show its accountability with appropriate metrics, reporting and full process transparency.

PREMIUM CONTENT: RPO Provider list 2019

Myth #3: The best RPO providers are too expensive. We can do this much cheaper another way.

Beyond talent acquisition, cost reduction is one of the biggest benefits of RPO. In fact, over the years, RPO has helped organizations reduce their overall recruitment cost by 15 to 40 percent through greater efficiency, lower turnover, and more.

However, RPO is definitely not one-size-fits-all. And any provider claiming to use a one-size-fits-all solution as a cheaper alternative is, well, just that—cheap. Recruitment solutions need to be configured to the specific customer, specific application and the specific expected results. With RPO, you get what you pay for.

Myth #4: The transition to RPO will be long and will come at the cost of your current recruitment team and knowledge.

Proper implementation of an advanced RPO program shouldn’t take half a year (and if it does, you’ve partnered with the wrong provider). The typical implementation should take anywhere from 8 to 16 weeks depending on the solution and the size of the organization with most of the heavy lifting performed by the provider organization.

Additionally, any of the organization’s impacted recruitment staff are often either transitioned to the RPO provider or new roles are created within the client’s HR organization. This helps accelerate the implementation process and ensure the employment brand continues on through the transition.

An organization’s people are its most important asset, and growth can only be taken so far without proper investment into the sourcing, hiring and retention of them.

With the most commonly cited myths out the way, companies can see recruitment process outsourcing as the solution that it can be for sourcing hard-to-find talent and leveraging it to improve your company’s productivity. In my next post, I discuss discuss RPO’s benefits, why this investment in talent process is worth it for companies, and what RPO brings to an organization.

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