How RPO Talent Acquisition Supports Your Recruitment Strategy

April 27, 2023

Finding the right, qualified talent is a critical factor in any company’s success. Yet, even experienced employers are struggling to achieve an effective talent acquisition process in today’s hiring climate. As the U.S. labor market continues to add hundreds of thousands of job openings each month, and unemployment rates steadily shrink, companies will only continue to face fierce competition when it comes to attracting and hiring the right talent.

To overcome these modern challenges and adapt their recruiting strategies, many business leaders choose recruitment process outsourcing (RPO). But what is RPO, and how can an RPO partner support or even transform your talent acquisition strategy?

What is a Talent Acquisition Strategy?

Before we dive into what an RPO provider can do for your business, it’s important to cover the basics of talent acquisition. After all, finding and hiring qualified candidates doesn’t just happen magically. It takes a carefully considered, deliberate strategy and the full effort of a talent acquisition team to maintain a high-performing recruiting process. But hiring the right people is about more than simply recruiting.

The best talent acquisition strategies take a holistic approach, encompassing everything from the candidate experience and employer branding to the hiring process — all the while, your team needs to ensure alignment with key business goals.

Whether you’re reviewing your current strategy or you want to leverage recruitment outsourcing to enhance your hiring initiatives, here’s a short rundown of everything your talent acquisition strategy should include:

• Analyze current talent needs and supply to ensure that everything aligns with your overall business strategy. You’ll also want to uncover any skill or knowledge gaps to identify areas in which you need additional support.
• Forecast future hiring demands to determine what type of candidate and experience your organization currently requires or will need soon.
• Evaluate employer branding and candidate engagement across all touch points. An attractive brand image and a positive candidate experience can be a crucial differentiator that sets you apart from the competition.
• Assess strategies and technologies to identify and close any gaps or inefficiencies in your hiring process. You might find that you need to update your current recruitment process or strategy to stay competitive in the labor market.
• Source and secure talent with a focus on how each candidate will integrate and grow with your organization. Your final hire should not only have the necessary skills and knowledge for the position, but they should also fit in with your company culture, values, and mission.

What is Recruitment Process Outsourcing?

According to the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association, “RPO is a form of business process outsourcing (BPO) where an employer transfers all or part of its recruitment processes to an external service provider.” While you might see the term “outsourcing” and ask yourself, “Why would I trust a third party with my talent acquisition process?”, the truth is RPO is much more than an external workforce solution.

When you partner with a dedicated RPO team, you build a lasting business relationship built on mutual trust and shared goals. Your RPO recruiters will embed themselves into your organization, acting as a seamless extension of your talent acquisition team while assuming full management and responsibility of the processes you agree upon.

How Does RPO Work?

Through clearly defined processes and deep-rooted recruitment expertise, RPO seamlessly aligns and integrates with your business. It starts off with your RPO partner getting to know the ins and outs of your business and company culture. By meeting you where you are currently at and building upon your existing strategies and processes, RPO firms deliver top-quality talent while minimizing time, costs, and turnover rates of traditional hiring.

A quality RPO solution fully aligns with your hiring managers and leadership to help drive your entire end-to-end recruitment process. For instance, Envision’s RPO experts provide a comprehensive list of services, including:

• Candidate sourcing allows you to expand your talent pool with both active and passive candidates.
• Screening assesses each candidate for technical skills as well as culture fit.
• Reporting provides you with comprehensive recruiting metrics and actionable insights to improve the process.
• Workforce planning enables you to develop strategic plans and forecast future hiring needs.

Different RPO Models

At Envision, we understand that every business is a unique case with specific goals and support needs. That’s why we offer three different RPO models for varying levels of recruitment support:

• End-to-end: This RPO model provides ongoing support for the full lifecycle of your recruitment process, from sourcing and screening to negotiations and onboarding assistance.
• Project-based: Also called on-demand RPO, this model offers continued short-term support for specific projects and hiring initiatives, such as finding employees for a new office location.
• Talent acquisition consulting: Gain expert guidance and strategic support on critical recruiting issues with our talent advisory services.

Whether you need seasonal hiring support, a dedicated consultant, or you want to outsource your recruitment function entirely, RPO has the flexibility and deep specialization to elevate or transform your talent acquisition strategy. But is RPO right for your business?

Is RPO the Right Talent Acquisition Strategy for Your Organization?

Ultimately, the answer to this question will depend on your specific business needs and objectives. While there are many obvious advantages to RPO, such as the efficiency and quality of hires, this kind of outsourced workforce solution might not be best for every business. However, if your company struggles with any of the following recruiting challenges, RPO might be an excellent choice to optimize your talent acquisition strategy.

1. There’s a lack of consistency and gaps in your hiring process.
2. Scaling your workforce or recruiting efforts is a constant uphill battle.
3. Your talent acquisition team needs better metrics on recruiting initiatives.

At Envision, our RPO experts are ready to help. If you’d like to learn more about RPO talent acquisition or kick start your RPO journey, contact our team today.