In a sea of ordinary, what makes an RPO provider stand out?
The desire to discover a new kind of RPO is growing. Clients want strategic RPO solutions that elevate their employer brand, drive significant process improvement and enhance every single candidate experience.
The traditional metrics are still in-demand: find savings, reduce cost-per-hire, shorten time-to-hire. But more than ever, there is an appetite for innovation and a certain knowledge that, if the strategy is right then everything else will fall into place.
So why are so many RPO providers still so far adrift of current thinking?
What needs to change?
Clients who are looking for their next RPO provider seem to have more choice than ever. Part of the challenge that recruitment agencies face is the uncertainty in the market. How do those agencies build longer term relationships with clients and secure more consistent revenue? RPO contracts have become the holy grail for recruitment agencies looking to navigate a way through choppy waters.
While a new generation of agencies are entering the RPO space, many established providers are struggling to keep up. For these organisations, the challenge lies in delivering innovative solutions after years of focusing solely on driving numbers through the door.
There is a gap in the market for RPO providers who are agile enough to offer unique solutions, as well as, large enough to deliver a more strategic solution. Being a strategic RPO provider requires both a depth of expertise and resources. However, providers still need the speed of thought and execution to ensure that those resources do not slow you down.
The RPO market is projected to grow to $26.4 billion by 2031.
Allied Market Research, 2023
What is Strategic RPO?
In a sea of ordinary, what should RPO providers be doing to stand out?
RPO providers must drive and deliver strategic solutions that have the capability to improve talent acquisition in every area. Beyond simply adding resource to a stretched in-house recruitment team, or ramping up the number of applications for each role, organisations are increasingly looking to their RPO partners to deliver lasting change to how they work. This change can take effect in a number of key areas:
1. Technology & Process Improvement
For modern RPO providers, driving true process improvement demands expertise in how technology impacts at every stage of the recruitment life cycle, from AI insights and automation through to interview, engagement and onboarding, delivering continuous improvement demands an evolving knowledge of the latest technology.
2. Talent Brand & Attraction
In the past, RPO providers have been focused on helping their clients meet short-term hiring needs. Clients now demand a more strategic approach to building their employer brand, utilising every opportunity to build brand awareness, engage candidates and build more direct relationships with the talent they need. Building an employer brand means that RPO providers now need a far more specialist set of skills at their disposal: researchers, data analysts, creative thinkers and marketers.
3. Talent Mapping & Pipelining
Succession planning for hard-to-fill roles is an essential aspect of every good RPO solution. Working with hiring managers proactively enables recruiters to identify high-risk roles that may need to be filled quickly and then to use their talent mapping skills to build a broader picture of the best talent available at the right level in competitors.
4. Talent Communities
A talent community refers to a network or pool of potential candidates that a company builds over time. While these candidates might not be actively applying for jobs, they are engaged and nurtured with relevant content and opportunities. The idea, therefore, is to keep them connected to your organisation. This way, when a relevant job opportunity arises, you’re able to reach out quickly to someone who is already interested and familiar with your company.
5. Candidate Nurture
Candidate nurture refers to the process of building and maintaining relationships with candidates over time, whether they are active applicants or not. It’s about keeping them informed, engaged, and ready for the right opportunity. This is especially important for passive candidates who aren’t actively looking for a job but would be open to the right opportunity.
6. Total Talent Management
Total Talent Management (TTM) is a holistic approach to managing an organisation’s workforce. It integrates and manages all types of talent—whether full-time employees, contractors, freelancers or other contingent workers—into one unified talent strategy. This approach aims to optimise the performance, development, and engagement of all workers, rather than treating different groups separately.
7. The Partnership Mindset
One of the most critical aspects of a modern approach to RPO is to build a partnership mindset with clients. Increasingly, RPO solutions are built to work alongside in-house TA and recruitment teams, not to replace them. It is vital, therefore, that RPO providers can build strong relationships at every level, from senior leaders through to TA teams, recruiters and hiring managers, enabling a more advisory and strategic approach to delivering a solution.
Conclusion
Are you looking for an RPO provider that is prepared to challenge the existing outsourcing model? What about an RPO provider that thinks differently about talent acquisition? Central to your search criteria should be that partnership mindset: the desire to see themselves as part of your talent acquisition solution, not simply an outsourced resource measured by how many CVs land in your inbox. You need an RPO partner who aligns with your values and culture, and understands the importance of every candidate experience. They should have the depth of specialist expertise required to deliver a tailored solution, not just a basic service.
