The true underdog of recruiting is recruitment process outsourcing (RPO)—a powerful tool that is under-utilized and overlooked despite the industry-wide talent crisis. Some organizations ignore RPO’s robust benefits due to a fear of the unknown or a perceived loss of control. Others are unnecessarily anxious that an RPO partner could fail to fully understand their needs or would be more expensive than keeping recruiting in-house.
These myths surrounding RPO are clouding many insurance organizations’ judgement and may end up costing them significant time and money. In fact, 88 percent of hiring managers report satisfaction with the results of outsourcing some or all of their recruiting functions. Today, we’re answering some of your most pressing questions and debunking the common myths that surround RPO.
How exactly does RPO work?
RPO is a form of business process outsourcing in which an organization transfers all or part of its recruiting process to an external partner.
The process typically starts with designing a program blueprint. This blueprint will define the scope and desired outcomes of the recruitment project. Once in place, your RPO partner will use this blueprint to support your recruitment needs. This can include thoroughly sourcing the market, screening and assessing potential candidates, and/or interviewing qualified professionals. The relationship between your organization and your RPO partner can continue through coordinating hiring, onboarding candidates and executing an ongoing reporting process. Essentially, RPO provides you with any component of a hands-on, effective hiring process that your organization needs.
Is RPO right for my organization?
First, ask yourself this question: what problems am I trying to solve?
If you are looking to decrease cost, improve candidate quality and recruit more efficiently, RPO may be the solution. An anticipated increase in hiring, a short-staffed internal HR department or a desire to cut costs can all be important factors in your decision. Whether you need to streamline internal processes or have urgent recruitment needs, bringing in an RPO partner can help efficiently and successfully marry quality candidates with open positions.
As an additional benefit, RPO users typically see a reduction in recruitment costs by an average of 45 percent. Outsourcing recruitment has proven to lower costs for organizations in need of a talent solution.
Remember that partnering with an RPO provider doesn’t necessarily mean transferring all of your recruitment processes. In some cases, outsourcing just one aspect of hiring can streamline the process and provide significant benefits. Finding a consultative partner to handle your recruitment advertising, sourcing, interview coordinating or onboarding may make the task of filling your next open position faster and more efficient.
We’ve decided to outsource – what’s next?
Choose an RPO partner who understands what success means to you. Ask them the questions that are most important in maintaining your alignment:
- How can your organization customize the RPO process to best fit our needs?
- In what ways can you improve the consistency of our hiring process?
- What reporting and analytics can you provide to help us track our progress?
- What experience do you have recruiting for our industry or these specific types of roles?
Together, set goals for what your project should look like in 10 days, 30 days and 60 days. Make sure to measure and track quality and efficiency using hiring manager surveys and new hire surveys. In any RPO program, metrics should be progressive. As the program gains momentum and continuity, raise the bar. This will help you continue to become more effective in recruiting top talent.
Now that you’ve turned to RPO to help with your recruitment efforts, the next step in talent management is maintaining efficient employee retention practices. Once you’ve recruited the best, remember that happy, engaged employees are the key to a successful workforce.
If you would like to learn more about Jacobson’s capabilities as a proven RPO partner, find our full process here.
