A companys most important resource is its talent. Businesses invest heavily to recruit and retain the best workers in their industries. With over eighty percent of overhead costs going to a companys human resources, the ability to recruit effectively presents a considerable competitive advantage. Recruitment process outsourcing cedes this high-value human resources activity to the experts, achieving better results at a fraction of the cost.

Recruitment Process Outsourcing Defined
Recruitment process outsourcing moves the recruiting and hiring process outside, to a third-party contractor. RPO specialists manage the entire process from start to finish, drawing on wide networks and industry experience to publicize the position, profile the ideal candidate, recruit promising leads, vet candidates, negotiate contracts, and finally, to bring the new candidate on board. Benefits of outsourcing the recruitment process to a human resources service provider include:

• Decreasing time to hire
• Increasing quality of the candidate pool
• Reducing recruiting costs
• Ensuring compliance with federal labor regulations
• Improving retention of new hires

RPO in Action: Verizon Business
Global communications provider Verizon Business discovered the strategic advantage of human resources outsourcing when it contracted a third-party provider to revamp its sales recruitment strategy. With a major European restructuring effort imminent, the company set about to improve its HR recruiting record. With time-to-hire in excess of four months, no coordinated attraction methods, and poor retention rates, Verizon was in need of a recruitment process makeover.

The agent of the companys HR transformation was a recruitment process outsourcing consultant. The RPO consultant began by integrating Verizons fragmented recruiting approach by establishing a single Web-based technology platform to support a proprietary candidate database. This technology enabled Verizons hiring managers to consolidate all sources and candidate materials. In addition to partnering with other placement agencies, the RPO service conducted a Web advertising strategy and developed a campaign to enhance awareness of Verizons employer brand in the marketplace. Finally, the HRO provider took measures to vet and qualify candidates. Consultants designed and implemented a core assessment toolkit and established assessment centers capable of processing up to fifteen candidates per day.

• The results of this coordinated RPO effort were dramatic.
• Offer acceptance rose from thirty to ninety percent.
• Time-to-hire came down from four months to about a month.
• The proportion of internal hires grew twenty percent, reducing Verizons dependence on costly external referring agencies.
• The company was able to attract higher caliber employees.

Verizon Business HR Vice President Trevor Severigni credits the RPO provider with bringing a sound, business-focused, effective, and cost-efficient recruitment capability to Verizons European unit.

Recruitment process outsourcing offers companies a way to galvanize their talent acquisition efforts, producing better results at a lower overall cost. In addition to recruitment experience and deep industry contacts, HR outsourcing agents have the capacity to implement technology solutions such as CRM to coordinate and consolidate recruitment campaigns. In a competitive business market, the ability to acquire and retain qualified employees drives a companys strategic advantage. Human resources outsourcing offers businesses the recruitment process expertise they need to claim the top talent.

Sources
HRO Europe
HRO Today
RPO Association
HRO Association