RPO is NOT an extension of HRO

In order to ride the wave of RPO, many existing Human Resource Outsourcing (HRO) players claim to be providers of RPO services by either simply re-branding their services or hiring a handful of headhunters to pose as RPO professionals. It is critical for customers to fully understand the range of services offered by true RPO providers, so as to differentiate them from HRO services.

As per US-based ERE Media, Recruitment Process Outsourcing is defined as the outsourcing of specific, discrete recruitment processes, performed in both centralized

and decentralized applications, involving detailed service level agreements, with the vendor taking complete ownership of the processes of recruitment. Full life-cycle RPO engagements always include a written service-level agreement (SLA) that typically includes a guaranteed minimum number of applicants who meet the hiring manager's approved criteria, candidate quality as determined by hiring manager surveys, the speed with which the hired candidates are presented and overall program cost. Another criterion that organizations are evaluating is whether the RPO provider is capable of recruiting candidates for its operations not only in the country of origin but across its offices in various parts of the globe. In other words, they are beginning to differentiate between 'vanilla' RPO players and those specialized RPO providers which can partner with them in their global recruitment strategy.

Process as the differentiator

RPO brings forth measurable and definable standards. Using a rigorous selection and assessment process, an RPO partner can screen out potentially below-par candidates early in the process.

The RPO providers help to improve the hiring process immensely by bringing the process improvements at each stage of the recruitment exercise. These stages include sourcing, screening, assessment, selection and on-boarding. The importance of these process improvements can be gauged from the fact that as per a recent study by the U.S. Small Business Administration, every dollar invested in screening and assessment saves employers $5 to $16 in reduced absenteeism, improved productivity, lower turnover, safer working environment, reduced insurance premiums and decreased employer liability. The sourcing and screening process is quite challenging as it includes active and passive headhunting, referral handling, candidate tracking, placement and staffing agency coordination, market intelligence gathering, building recruiter domain knowledge and compiling screening tools. In assessment too trained specialists are required to conduct psychometric and aptitude testing, comprehension testing, verifying capacity and problem solving, motivation metrics etc. While the hiring decision remains an internal one, RPO providers support managers in a variety of ways to speed the hiring process. Finally, in order to ensure speedy on-boarding, RPO providers facilitate background checks, drug screening, employee orientation, employee record creation and data porting and on-site and off-site logistics support. Apart from ensuring a glove-fit match for the positions, RPO providers help to reduce cycle time significantly.

At the same time true RPO providers invest time in follow-up surveys, compiling benchmark data, gauging hiring manager and employee satisfaction post hire and determination of quality of hires. By examining data relating to employee satisfaction, retention rates, and others, RPO providers suggest improvements in the recruitment process.

RPO providers employ teams of specialized recruiters with industry experience in segments such as engineering, IT, finance, scientific, administrative and industrial. These recruiters are also experts in targeting passive candidates i.e. high-performing employees who are satisfied enough with their current jobs to keep them from actively seeking out new opportunities but not so satisfied that they can't be convinced to consider attractive positions.