Work Force of Tomorrow: How RPO can play a role The Changing Talent Landscape With more companies vying for top talent, a reactive approach to recruiting is longer adequate. The company that waits for a position to open to start recruiting will fall far behind the organization that treats talent acquisition as a continuous process. And therein lies the challenge. How can one define its talent needs, identify the right people to meet those needs, and build relationships needed to attract them to the organization all with limited internal HR or talent resources? The answer for a growing number of companies is simple: they don t. Instead companies are turning to service providers for end-to-end recruiting capabilities they need to compete for top talent. This is the idea behind recruitment process outsourcing (RPO). Over the past few years, RPO gained a foothold in the lexicon of talent decision makers, but until recently there was little agreement on definition. In some cases, companies with a recruiting focus would take on multi-position recruiting projects and call that RPO. In other cases, RPO efforts were limited in functionality, location, types of hires or any of a number of attributes. Today, the RPO market has come of age. Companies are becoming better educated about the different types of services available, and service providers are offering solutions that are delivering real improvements in talent acquisition. For Organizations, considering RPO as part of their talent strategy, it is important to understand what RPO
means, what it can do for the organization and what it needs to do to make it work. A great starting point is with the definition of RPO itself. Key Defining Factors: Ownership and Accountability At its most basic level, a true RPO relationship hinges on process ownership. The RPO provider shares in the responsibility for program success, ensures process excellence and provides a process for continuous assessment and performance improvement, as well as technical systems and data management. In short, true RPO covers the people, processes and technology needed to deliver an end-to-end recruiting capability. The key starting point for the success of any RPO effort requires commitment on the part of the client organization. Understanding needs, setting expectations, establishing goals and developing communication processes- these are important aspects of the RPO effort that require input from all stakeholders. As a result, it is more accurate to view RPO as a relationship rather than a service, because the input of the client company is as important to the outcome as the quality of service delivered by the RPO provider. It is a relationship built on process ownership by the provider and active participation on part of the client organization. The key deliverable of an effective RPO relationship is dramatic improvement in the recruiting capability. This improvement comes in the form of cost-effectiveness, but also, and possibly more importantly in the ability to quickly and effectively secure the right talent to drive business success.
HR Strategy Employee Relations Global Mobility Performance management Recruitment Compensation Learning Benefits & Payroll HRIS Employee Data Management Recruitment Strategic consulting Sourcing Applicant Tracking Screening Pre-Employment testing Employment offers/ Selection management Background Checking On-Boarding Vendor management What can RPO really do for a Business With so much press about RPO people have begun to think of it as a panacea for a host of talent issues. Most of these issues arise from the acute talent demand supply gap, resulting in shortage. An RPO provider cannot be a panacea for the talent issues but it can provide
the tools, process, resources and agility to better compete for talent that is available. RPO Market Space Pure-play RPO Background Kenexa Alexander Mann Solutions Pinstripe Ochre House Contracting/Staffing Background Adecco Kelly OCG Manpower PeopleScout Hays Market Segmentation Multi-Process HRO background Accenture IBM Infosys AOn Hewitt Executive Search background Futurestep Hudson Present RPO Landscape Leaders Significant Scale High Delivery capabilities Ability to support multi-continent deals
Major Contenders Building scale Maintaining/Enhancing delivery capability Acquiring complementary niche players Emerging Players Limited scale Experience in limited geographies/industries Maintaining/enhancing delivery capabilities in specific segments RPO Service Provider Delivery capability Key Dimensions Domain Expertise A RPO provider with the right resources in place and the experience and relationships to identify and attract the right candidates Accountability Through effective use of service level agreements (SLAs), RPOs can create a more responsive talent organization Size and scope Through one relationship, a company can manage everything from recruitment services to technology integration, metrics and reporting Speed and agility Qualities of an RPO relationship that are simply not possible through internal recruiting processes. In challenging economic conditions and cyclical hiring environments, this is a significant advantage
Strategic business impact The cornerstone of an RPO engagement. RPO begins by focusing on strategic business goals and draws on a comprehensive recruiting approach to meet these goals Companies can benefit greatly from RPO if their needs are well defined and there is strategic intent. It is just not about cost-reduction or process gains but a transformational approach that is to do with a talent mindset within an organization. While RPO holds no magic wand, an understanding of its potential benefits can help organizations achieve a true competitive advantage in the market for talent