RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing) is a recruitment process outsourcing solution that is often associated with start-ups. Whether it is partial, project or end-to-end, RPO can be adapted to the different needs of future unicorns. What are the advantages of RPO?
Why is it the best option for scale-ups looking to recruit many profiles in a short time?
What is RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing)?
In order to choose the right RPO model for your situation, here are some questions to keep in mind:
- Is your need one-time or long-term?
- Do you want to change your Talent Acquisition process?
- Do you already use recruitment agencies?
- Would you like to benefit from Talent Acquisition best practices?
- Does your need to outsource come from company growth or from dysfunctions in your HR teams?
- Do you need specialized tools (ATS, HRIS)?
The partial RPO
Partial RPO outsources only part of the recruitment process. The company's internal recruiters are relieved of part of their tasks so that they can concentrate on important or higher value-added projects.
Most of the time, the partial RPO will take care of sourcing and pre-qualifying candidates: time-consuming and repetitive tasks.
In-house recruiters take over the interview process.
Project RPO
Project RPO is for a specific, temporary project. The company may launch a new offering, for example, and not have enough staff to handle the extra workload.
End-to-end RPO
End-to-end RPO outsources the entire talent acquisition process. The consultants form an autonomous recruitment team that provides expertise and tools.
This is the RPO mode that allows the best optimization of the process because it is controlled from end to end by the provider:
- Sourcing
- Pre-screening of applications
- Preparation and facilitation of interviews
- Evaluation
- Selection of the best profiles
- Hiring proposal
- Onboarding
Teams can work on customer site or remotely. They can use the ATS and are an integral part of the startup for the duration of the mission.
The advantages of RPO over other providers
The flexibility of the offer
Using a service provider gives you the opportunity to choose different services depending on your context.
A reduction in costs
An RPO is usually billed monthly. It includes a management and recruitment fee.
In an end-to-end RPO, the client commits to a minimum volume to set a base price. After that, each additional hire results in a new invoice.
If the RPO is a project, the quote will be adapted to its scope.
For a partial RPO, the cost depends on the volume of recruitment (price per candidate sourced) or the assignments given.
The RPO is often much less expensive than a recruitment agency.
A detailed and personalized follow-up
Your provider provides performance indicators on its activity so that you can adapt your strategy.
Optimization of the employer brand
The RPO works on behalf of its client, the process is transparent to the candidates.
A single provider can harmonize your HR communication and candidate experience. Your employer brand is entrusted to a professional.
Better management of activity surges
The RPO can reinforce his teams in case of peak activity. He has a high reaction capacity and can react in case of high demand.
Why RPO is ideal for start-ups
It reduces turnover, a critical need.
Startups need to recruit massively in a given time. Each open position is an additional mental burden on internal teams. So when it comes to hiring 100 people in a few months, mistakes can multiply.
Scaling involves very high risks for a start-up: change of the company culture, uncertain recruitments due to poorly assessed soft skills, etc.
A failed recruitment is expensive, but when it is several dozen in one year, it can jeopardize the health of the startup.
He finds specialized talent that is difficult to source.
A start-up is a young company that often lacks experience in certain areas. It needs to recruit experienced people who are rarely active candidates.
The only solution is often a recruitment agency. But the cost of a position is several thousand euros. It is impossible to repeat on 10, 20 or 30 positions.
RPOs are often specialized in a particular business niche, which allows for faster sourcing and access to talent pools.
In France, we are seeing more and more freelance RPO recruiters specialized in tech.
It is a great match for large companies.
An RPO knows the candidate well and is able to deliver the pitch that will convince them to join a startup rather than a large company.
And this is not an easy task: low awareness, lack of confidence in the future of the structure, instability, etc.
The RPO is a temporary cost.
The RPO does not inflate the payroll of a startup that sorely needs to preserve its gross margin.
To convince investors, they must reassure them that they can become profitable "quickly."
The use of an RPO has many advantages: no salaries, no investment in larger premises, no training costs, etc.
It is very quick to set up.
RPO is almost as easy as a phone call. It's very quick to set up, which is perfect for startups that have just raised money.
In this scaling phase, the structure's ability to succeed in recruiting a maximum number of people in a minimum amount of time is one of the key factors of its commercial success.
RPO is the best recruitment solution for start-ups. The flexibility and speed of its implementation is perfect for future unicorns that need to scale quickly. RPO is an outsourcing solution that provides them with HR expertise at a lower cost and without increasing their payroll.
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