HR Tips

RPO: a comprehensive recruitment expertise integrated into your HR team

We give you the keys to understanding how RPO is a relevant and smart solution for any HR team.

Jan 4, 2023

RPO is a term that is often misunderstood. Profile Group is increasingly developing this service and today gives you the keys to understanding how RPO is a relevant and smart solution for any HR team.

R-P-O: What's behind those three letters?

The official definition of RPO is Recruitment Process Outsourcing which can be confusing. Sometimes also referred as ‘In-house’, an RPO involves integrating one or more external recruitment consultants into your HR team and ‘on site’.

RPO is actually a comprehensive and customizable recruitment process optimization opportunity. The external consultant(s) will first take care of the recruitments from A to Z: sourcing candidates, making contacts, presenting the shortlist and following up the recruitment process with the candidates until completion. But the RPO does not stop there. When our recruiters are on-site, it's more than just outsourcing your recruitment: you benefit from their full expertise.

Why integrate an external recruiter into your HR team?

It is generally considered that RPO or in-house recruitment is useful when confronted with a larger recruitment volume. This is true. But beyond that, RPO is first and foremost a real project with the objective of optimizing your recruitment process in a comprehensive way. There is no ‘ready-made’ RPO solution. For each client, a new program is established, according to the given problems and objectives.

What is the added value of an RPO project?

By welcoming a recruiter to your premises, you allow them to have an exhaustive view of your internal organization and to be able to carry out an audit of your recruitment process. They can then identify the weak and strong points. The first step is to put out the urgent fires. This relieves the HR team and allows them to focus on the most strategic projects. Also, when short term issues are solved, more fundamental operational problems will be identified, and it is then possible to analyze their origin and come up with an adequate solution.

Your HR team may need perspective but also tools, techniques and even a specific attitude. Recruitment companies have these resources or expertise. You may think this is nothing different from using external recruiters, And yet it is.

Firstly, you can benefit from an intense recruiting training. You interact directly with the recruiter, they advise you, they communicate about the tools they use. The RPO allows for a real transfer of expertise in a way that is completely customized to your company's situation. The recruiter's field of expertise allows the company to improve many aspects of its recruitment process such as: Employee Value Proposition, job description, job site, candidate sourcing, interviews and reports, follow-up, coaching of managers, offers, HR data reporting, internal communication, ...

Secondly, the external recruiter becomes your company’s ambassador. Being present internally, interacting directly with the managers and the HR team allows them to feel closer to the company and present it all the better. Becoming (almost) a full-fledged employee, this person is a witness to the internal atmosphere of your company, its infrastructure, its functioning and will know better than anyone how to paint a positive picture. They will help define/challenge your Employee Value Proposition and communicate it effectively, so that you are chosen by the best candidates and can, in return, make the best choices.

The candidate experience is optimized. The recruiter presents themselves as a member of the HR team, which reduces the go-betweens and reassures the candidates. The candidates receive more precise and clearer information. This also shortens the recruitment process and makes it more responsive. The recruiter interacts directly with the managers, the number of steps is reduced, feedback is faster, and fewer candidates are lost along the way!

But above all, this global optimization is achieved with your help, and that of all your colleagues - whether they are promoters or detractors - to ensure smooth change management.

Why RPO instead of hiring a new person?

Depending on your company's situation, it may indeed be more appropriate to hire a Talent Acquisition Manager. But this is not always the best solution, especially in the following cases.

The recruitment load is temporary

Hiring someone is a long-term decision. It is therefore necessary to ensure that this person(s) has enough work volume on an ongoing basis. With a recruitment consultant, the on-site assignment stops when the recruitment need stops. Also, an RPO can be useful in managing a long-term absence in your team.

The recruitment load is variable

While your needs may vary, the recruitment company is able to provide the adequate number of consultants within your walls. You benefit from an elastic and agile recruitment team.

Your recruitment need is urgent

Recruiting takes time (we are well placed to know this...). Using an external recruiter allows you to put out the fires almost immediately. Also their knowledge of the recruitment market allows them to achieve results quickly.

You need an external opinion

The recruitment consultant is used to working with different clients, each with their own structure and challenges. You therefore benefit from a wide expertise and their ability to develop innovative, out-of-the-box solutions. Internal employees are often caught up in the day-to-day tasks and a fresh view of the situation can be useful.

You are looking to improve your expertise without straining your HR budget

RPO can be a much more affordable solution than you might think. Different types of contracts are possible. For example, it is possible to bring in an external recruiter and pay only for the actual recruitment. The important thing is that the RPO is a real added value for your company.

RPO with Profile Group

The key to the success of an RPO is the focus on candidates and, above all, on the HR team. Profile Group's human scale allows us to be close to your business and to really listen to your needs and constraints.

Want to know more about our RPO solution? Contact us here.