When is it profitable to implement RPO in an organization

Acquiring engaged employees is one of the key elements of any organization’s development strategy. Currently, more and more companies are struggling with difficulties in reaching talents that could build the company’s competitive advantage. At the same time, companies are looking for solutions that will not only increase the efficiency of recruitment processes or reduce the involvement of the HR department in their implementation, but will also optimize costs. For many organizations, the obvious solution is to cooperate with companies implementing the ROPs. In what situations does the implementation of RPO become a solution that optimizes business processes in the organization, explains the LeasingTeam expert.

The need to relieve the internal HR department

Until recently, companies did not notice the strategic role of HR in the organization, assigning it primarily to recruit employees. Currently, the importance of the HR function is growing, and HR departments are becoming one of the key ones in the structures of the organization, performing such important tasks as: creating and optimizing personnel policy, building a positive image of the employer, motivating employees or planning their development and training. However, reconciling the implementation of strategic tasks with quick response to recruitment needs becomes a big challenge. Thus, there is little time left to acquire talents that are key to the development of the organization. In reaching the best candidates on the market, what matters is the speed of action and the ability to use diverse channels of reach. Unfortunately, due to the need for constant business support by HR, there is simply not enough time for such activities. The best solution is to entrust the order to a company specializing in recruitment, which has prepared staff, proven tools and the ability to acquire candidates in the most effective way.

Handing over the recruitment process to an experienced HR consulting company allows you to maintain the expected quality, meet the deadline and meet the expectations of internal clients. The key to successful cooperation between the parties is a detailed agreement with the client on their expectations and an analysis of their needs, including a description of all stages of recruitment and the determination of their implementation time – emphasizes Andrzej Trela, Director of the Sales Department at LeasingTeam Group.

Transfer of responsibility for the protection of candidates’ personal data

In the context of the new regulation on the protection of personal data, which has been in force for a year now, which imposes on entrepreneurs the obligation to adapt their activities to the new regulations by 25 May 2018, the responsibility for the processing of candidates’ applications collected in the recruitment process, often hundreds of applications, is transferred to the HR consulting company. Outsourcing recruitment to an external entity is a great relief for the organization, which avoids possible penalties for failure to comply with the new regulations. Violation of the regulations is associated with the risk of imposing high financial penalties on the entrepreneur up to EUR 20,000,000 or 4% of the annual worldwide turnover of the company.

Access to talent from specialist and managerial positions

In the case of recruitment for specialist and managerial positions, the use of RPO gives the opportunity to identify and acquire talents best suited to the current needs of the organization. Recruitment companies take the time to thoroughly understand the organization’s long-term strategy, which translates into matching candidates to both the position and the organization’s culture. A prerequisite for effective action is the diversification of channels of reach, which allows us to acquire candidates with unique competences and skills, ready to take up the most demanding positions. In the case of such positions, it is extremely important to verify potential candidates by subjecting them to psychological and competence tests, and in some cases by inviting them to participate in the original Assessment Center program.

The popularity of ROPs among employers will grow as the market changes and employees are becoming more and more courageous in their decision to change jobs. Specialist and managerial positions cannot remain vacant for a long time, because it is risky for the organization. In many cases, only the RPO allows even a very demanding recruitment process to be carried out quickly – comments Andrzej Trela from LeasingTeam Group.

Companies that have experience in specialist and managerial recruitment have a wide base of proven candidates, and their recruiters have their own contacts among experts in specific industries or fields. It is worth remembering, especially when there is an urgent need to fill one of the higher positions in the organization.

Reluctance to invest in recruitment tools

In the case of looking for candidates for specialized positions, requiring niche knowledge or experience, the publication of advertisements on recruitment portals may not bring the desired effect. Very often, the people the company wants to recruit already have a job, are satisfied with it, and therefore do not browse through job offers. These are passive candidates who require the use of more advanced, often proactive recruitment methods, such as direct search. This solution is commonly used by HR consulting companies. In addition, companies specializing in recruitment have their own candidate databases and IT systems supporting recruitment, which enable efficient search and selection of huge amounts of data. They also use modern recruitment tools, such as social networks, mobile applications, and cooperate with various industry organizations and participate in fairs, conferences, and business meetings, which gives them much greater opportunities to penetrate the candidate market. The use of so many different channels and methods of reaching is very expensive and unfortunately few organizations can afford such a solution. Therefore, entrusting recruitment to an external company will be both an additional saving for the company and will increase the chance of reaching the right candidates.

Flexible adaptation to current recruitment needs

RPO is a solution used only when the company has recruitment needs at the moment. This means that organizations can use it in a way that is tailored to their needs. RPO companies are flexible and have structures in place that allow them to adapt to any situation. Depending on the needs, they can involve large recruitment teams or several consultants in the process. Regardless of the size of the resources involved, the company entrusting the recruitment process will usually pay for the vacancies filled.

Lower recruitment cost

Conducting the recruitment process on your own is often more expensive than outsourcing due to the costs of publishing advertisements, technological solutions and the time of all people involved in the process. An indirect cost of conducting the ad hoc recruitment process may be a prolonged period of vacancy or a mismatch between the candidate and the position. The company taking over the responsibility for the implementation of the process, due to its experience, specialization, resources and access to advanced tools, uses the most effective solutions, which shortens the time of filling the vacancy. It is also worth mentioning that when recruiting on their own, companies take on the risk of improper selection of candidates, which involves the need to repeat the entire process and a double, often considerable expense.

In the case of cooperation with a personnel consulting company, the risk of incurring additional costs is eliminated thanks to the warranty, the length of which depends on the level and specificity of a given position. Usually, it can be up to 12 months. If the selected candidate does not work within a certain period of time or resigns from the job for reasons beyond the employer’s control, the recruitment company will carry out the process again, at no additional cost to the client – informs Andrzej Trela.

Reduced turnover

Mismatch with the position or organizational culture of the company is a common reason for the candidate’s subsequent resignation. It is most often due to mistakes made during the recruitment process. A professional and trusted HR partner will conduct interviews with line managers and future supervisors of the sought-after employees and analyze the expectations of the ideal candidate’s profile, job characteristics and values promoted in the organization before the recruitment process begins. Thanks to this, during the recruitment process, the company providing the RPO service will pay attention not only to the candidate’s competencies and skills, but also to their fit into the culture of the organization.

Every company needs competent and committed employees to effectively achieve its business goals and build a competitive advantage. The implementation of RPO in the organization, in cooperation with a trusted partner, will allow, m.in other things, to increase the accuracy of recruitment, reduce the costs of processes or flexibly respond to emerging recruitment needs. This will be a real benefit for the company, which will gain the right employees and more time to carry out tasks supporting its core business.