11 Best Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) Companies - 2023

Everything you need to know about recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) so you can build a best-in-class recruiting process and a high-performing company

Huda Idris
Technical writer, B2B software advisor, and marketing strategist

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In today's competitive job market, finding the right talent is crucial, but it can also be a daunting task. After conducting extensive research on the best recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) companies, our experts have handpicked the top 3 companies for you: Orion Talent, Sevenstep and XOR — these are based on their quality of services, client satisfaction, and industry reputation.

The Best Recruitment Process Outsourcing Companies

Hand picked by our HR Technology experts after product testing, user research, and much debate - enjoy!

There are many reasons to praise Cielo, but we’re particularly impressed by its massive global reach, operating in more than 100 countries and providing support in 39 different languages.
Randstad Sourceright doesn’t believe in “one size fits all”. They’re a results-driven, tech-enabled Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) company with experience in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) recruitment practices.
PeopleScout particularly stand out for their veteran advocacy. Through several initiatives, PeopleScout has placed more U.S. Military veterans in full-time civilian employment than any other recruitment service provider.
Orion Talent's technology, combined with the expertise of their seasoned recruiting team delivers on all metrics. With their help, you can expect better candidate quality — all while reducing your costs per hire.
ManpowerGroup stands out for their expertise in recruitment process design. Their team will dive into your recruiting process, analyze all of its ins and outs, then propose and deploy improvements that’ll boost its overall efficiency and outcomes.
AMS’s experienced team can tackle all sorts of recruitment needs, be it for full-time or part-time workers, across various verticals including Technology, Financial Services, and Retail.
Sevenstep tailor-makes their offerings to each of their clients’ needs. Their custom solutions together with their proprietary technology are guaranteed to deliver top talent.
Korn Ferry is not only committed to bringing great new talent on board, but also to nurturing the talent you already have. They particularly focus on leadership development, which also complements their succession planning efforts.
Pierpoint is a particularly cost-effective RPO solution, potentially saving clients 40-50% of agency fees with 2x faster hiring.
XOR is an AI recruiting solution that uses an all-encompassing HR chatbot to screen candidates, reach out to them using their preferred communication channel, evaluate their qualifications, and connect them to a recruiter through automated scheduling.

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Introduction to Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) Companies

RPO — or Recruitment Process Outsourcing — refers to the outsourcing of a company’s recruitment process to an external provider. Depending on the company’s needs, they can outsource a portion of their recruiting efforts or everything to do with recruiting to the external RPO firm. 

Not to be confused with staffing agencies, RPO takes a more proactive approach to recruiting. Generally speaking, staffing agencies respond to companies’ requests for temporary or permanent workers by sourcing, screening, and onboarding candidates. 

RPO providers serve as an extension of a company’s HR department - owning, designing, and managing their entire recruitment process. Responsible for results, they promote a company’s employer branding, build talent pools, prioritize diversity hiring, and leverage predictive talent analytics to help you make better business decisions.

But that’s not all. In this guide, we’ve outlined everything you need to know about RPOs so you can decide if it's right for you and pick the right RPO for your business.

Our Criteria: Here's how we chose who made the cut

We take research seriously. To make sure we’re offering our readers the very best solutions in a given software category, we are methodical, rigorous, and expansive in our research. We consult with HR professionals, vendors, and industry experts. We cut through the noise to bring you a carefully curated list of vendors, along with other essential information, to help you find the right software platform for your business. 

Here’s how we chose who makes the cut: 

Product: We believe in gaining a comprehensive understanding of a product before we recommend it, so we start by getting to know the software. Whenever possible, we meet with a senior executive (CEO or Head of Product) for a demo and Q&A. We also test the product ourselves to make sure it has a solid UI, intuitive workflows, and the features to make it a best-in-class offering. 

User feedback: We go straight to the source and compile feedback on user experience. Real-world input supports our commitment to diligence in our software evaluation methods and the products we recommend. Keeping up with the everyday experience of HR pros also puts new vendors on our radar, and it keeps us close to our community so we can better connect the right products to the right people.

Financial metrics: We are certified finance nerds, so we use all the data we can get our hands on to make selections for our guides. We comb through data for concrete statistics like retention rates, growth, profitability, and scalability. We evaluate the bottom line of each product because we know making a software purchase can put your reputation on the line. 

Best for a use case: Software is never a one-size-fits-all product. Sometimes the best solution is free or cheap. Other times it’s the one that is best for global companies or the one that’s sized right for early-stage startups. Keeping this in mind, we include solutions across the spectrum so our readers can find the best fit for their unique needs.

Here's more detail if you want to read more about how we research vendors. Our dedicated staff writers rely on hard data, impartial experts, and user feedback to ensure our reviews are helpful, truthful, and hopefully a pleasure to read!

Best Recruitment Process Outsourcing Companies

We track thousands of HR Tech solutions and service providers. Here are the best Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) companies as of 2023.

Cielo

Review:

Cielo is a specialized Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) and total talent acquisition provider that’s dedicated to ensuring their clients attract and hire better talent faster, all while providing stellar candidate experience. Committed to providing tailor-made solutions, Cielo’s team will immerse themselves in your industry, brand, and values to drive tangible outcomes.

Cielo

Pricing:

The pricing of Cielo’s services isn’t listed on their website. Contact their sales team for a custom quote.

The pricing of Cielo's services isn't listed on their website. Contact their sales team for a custom quote.

Best For

Companies looking for a global RPO partner, providing services, tools, and support in multiple languages.

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Randstad

Review:

Randstad Sourceright has talent advisors around the globe that focus on identifying untapped human intelligence. They first invest the time to understand the unique needs of each client, then develop and deploy strategies that attract qualified talent.

Randstad

Pricing:

The pricing of Randstad Sourceright’s services and tech tools isn’t disclosed upfront because they tailor their offerings to each customer’s unique needs. Contact Randstad’s sales team to learn more.

Randstad's billing is based on three components; pay rates, markups, and the bill rate:

  • Pay rates: The pay rate is the compensation owed to a temporary employee for hours worked.
  • Markups: The markup covers the compensation for candidate sourcing, interviewing, and other administrative work.
  • Bill rate: The sum of the pay rate and the markup is sent to you as the final bill rate.

Best For

Companies of all sizes looking for global, customized, and tech-enabled RPO solutions.

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PeopleScout

Review:

Owned by TrueBlue, PeopleScout is a giant in this space, providing end-to-end RPO and talent advisory capabilities. Not only that, but Affinix — PeopleScout’s proprietary talent acquisition platform — enables faster and better engagement with qualified talent through an AI-driven, consumer-like candidate experience.

PeopleScout

Pricing:

The pricing of PeopleScout’s services and tech tools isn’t disclosed on their website. Contact PeopleScout’s sales team to get a price quote based on the needs of your business.

The pricing of PeopleScout's services and tech tools isn't disclosed on their website. Contact PeopleScout's sales team to get a price quote based on the needs of your business.

Best For

All-size businesses looking to outsource a portion or all of their recruitment efforts.

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Orion Talent

Review:

Having acquired Novotus and Accolo, two outstanding Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) companies in the last decade, Orion Talent has all the expertise and technology to handle your recruitment processes from A to Z. Upon evaluating your specific needs and challenges, Orion talent will devise and deploy a recruitment strategy, as well as provide recommendations on tech tools that will suit your needs.

Orion Talent

Pricing:

The pricing of Orion Talent’s services and tech tools isn’t disclosed upfront. Contact their sales team to get a custom price quote.

The pricing of Orion Talent's services and tech tools isn't disclosed upfront. Contact their sales team to get a custom price quote.

Best For

Companies across different industries looking for a tech-enabled recruitment process outsourcing company.

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ManpowerGroup

Review:

Recognized by industry analysts as one of the best global Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) providers, ManpowerGroup leverages data-driven insights, best-in-class technology, and in-house expertise to find, engage and deliver talent that accelerates business performance.

ManpowerGroup

Pricing:

The pricing of ManpowerGroup’s services isn’t detailed on their website. Contact their sales team to get a custom price quote.

The pricing of ManpowerGroup's services isn't detailed on their website. Contact their sales team to get a custom price quote.

Best For

Companies across different verticals searching for a reliable RPO partner.

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Alexander Mann Solutions

Review:

Alexander Mann Solutions (AMS) takes on a business’ recruitment challenges and promises to put them at the leading edge of talent acquisition. With AMS, you’ll find candidates using up-to-the-minute sourcing methodologies as well as have access to innovative technology to help you streamline processes and save costs.

Alexander Mann Solutions

Pricing:

The pricing of Alexander Mann Solutions’ services and tech tools isn’t disclosed upfront because they tailor their offerings to each customer’s unique needs. Contact Alexander Mann Solutions’ sales team to learn more.

The pricing of Alexander Mann Solutions' services and tech tools isn't disclosed upfront because they tailor their offerings to each customer's unique needs. Contact Alexander Mann Solutions' sales team to learn more.

Best For

Companies of different sizes looking for a 3rd party service provider they can outsource permanent and contingent worker recruitment to.

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Sevenstep

Review:

Sevenstep designs and delivers end-to-end, as well as project-based Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) solutions for both permanent and contingent hiring programs. Whether delivering across one country or several continents, Sevenstep’s RPO offerings transform recruitment processes and resources to deliver top talent with speed, efficiency, and insightful guidance.

Sevenstep

Pricing:

The pricing of Sevenstep’s services and tech tools isn’t disclosed on their website. Contact Sevenstep’s sales team to get a price quote based on the needs of your business.

The pricing of Sevenstep's services and tech tools isn't disclosed on their website. Contact Sevenstep's sales team to get a price quote based on the needs of your business.

Best For

Sevenstep serves companies of different sizes in Health Care, Manufacturing, Tech, Retail, Financial Services, and more.

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Korn Ferry

Review:

Korn Ferry’s RPO division, Futurestep, aims to deliver sustainable growth by bringing together business, organization, and people strategies. They will work with you to develop your existing workforce as well as fill vacant positions throughout your company with the right talent.

Korn Ferry

Pricing:

The pricing of Korn Ferry’s RPO services and tech tools isn’t disclosed upfront. Contact their sales team to get a custom price quote.

The pricing of Korn Ferry's RPO services and tech tools isn't disclosed upfront. Contact their sales team to get a custom price quote.

Best For

Companies looking for an RPO partner with an emphasis on leadership development and succession planning.

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Pierpoint

Review:

Pierpoint International harnesses proven tactics and the latest innovations in Recruitment Process Outsourcing to recruit niche and hard-to-fill positions for companies in the Technology, Life Sciences, Healthcare, and Manufacturing industries.

Pierpoint

Pricing:

Pierpoint offers different RPO models, and pricing can vary depending on the recruiter's expertise. For more information, contact their talent expert to schedule a meeting.

Pierpoint offers different RPO models, and pricing can vary depending on the recruiter's expertise. For more information, contact their talent expert to schedule a meeting.

Best For

Pierpoint best serves growth-focused businesses of different sizes in the med-tech, life sciences, technology, manufacturing, and consumer goods industries.

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XOR

Review:

XOR is a recruitment solution that helps SMEs, large enterprises, and staffing agencies hire blue-collar and hourly workers in the United States. Rooted in AI, XOR's HR chatbot attracts candidates through various channels, evaluates them through a series of questions, and then automatically fills recruiters' calendars with interviews with the best candidates. It is easy to set up, and you can start having the first interviews with qualified candidates in under 5 days. Feedback from recruiters is collected and used to improve screening quality.

XOR

Pricing:

XOR charges $500 per hire, with a minimum payment of $5,000 for 10 hires. If open positions remain unfilled for over 90 days, you get your money back. The timeline for the first interviews is between 2 and 5 business days. For more information, you can contact their sales team. 

XOR charges $500 per hire, with a minimum payment of $5,000 for 10 hires. If open positions remain unfilled for over 90 days, you get your money back. The timeline for the first interviews is between 2 and 5 business days. For more information, you can contact their sales team.

Best For

XOR can be used by SMEs, large enterprises, staffing agencies, and RPOs that are looking to scale their teams at speed while keeping costs low.

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Use Cases: Why Use Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)

There are a variety of reasons why companies engage RPO firms. For starters, RPO allows companies to use their internal resources for business-building activities (not for time-consuming tasks like writing job descriptions, sourcing and screening candidates, making offers and negotiating salaries, etc.). Other common use-cases include:

  • Increase in hiring needs: If your company is growing and you know you’ll be hiring a lot of new employees over a period of time, RPO might make sense. RPO companies can help you build out new teams for product launches, location expansion, and more.
  • Tapped internal resources: If your internal team is unable to keep up with growing hiring demand and it’s taking too long to hire the right candidates, you might want to consider RPO. Similarly, if your internal recruiting process just isn't working well, your resources might be better spent on outsourced recruiting.
  • More accountability: RPO firms use data and analytics to help you make better, faster hires, build strong employer branding, and meet your goals at scale. As a strategic partner, they are motivated to succeed and reach your goals just as much as you are — and they provide metrics to show you what’s working and what’s not.

Pro Tips on Best Recruitment Process Outsourcing Companies

Considerations & Common Mistakes for RPO

It’s important to understand your hiring needs before outsourcing them. That way, you can tailor your search to a provider that is best suited to meet your needs — and you won’t be stuck paying for an RPO firm that isn’t delivering the right results. To ensure you make the right investment, consider the following variables:

  • Employee status: First things first: Are you looking for permanent employees or temp workers? RPO partners only focus on the former, so if you need temp help, staffing agencies might make more sense.
  • Firm size: RPO companies range in size from small to midsize to large. Here’s how they differ:
  • Small RPO firms tend to be regionally focused and/or only focus on a few specialties or industries.
  • Midsize RPO firms work regionally and nationally and cover a broader industry range.
  • Large RPO firms recruit on a regional, national, and global scale for the broadest range of industries. What’s more, they’re typically owned by Professional Employer Organizations (PEO) and can help you with other human resource functions you might want to outsource.
  • Scope of services: As we outlined in the previous section, RPO solutions range from full-service to project-based, to selective. Some will work within your company’s existing processes by identifying areas of improvement and owning their implementation/management. Others will come in and implement a brand new end-to-end solution. As you’re weighing your options, think about what you need and then discuss your needs with them to see how their services might be a good fit.

Benefits & ROI: How RPO Firms Can Help With Your Talent Acquisition & So Much More

Companies typically hire RPO firms to save time and money on recruiting. But that’s really just a fraction of the benefits you can reap. Here’s what to expect when you outsource your recruiting and retention efforts:

  • Find better, more qualified candidates: Improve your talent pool by spending time only on the most qualified candidates. Plus, you’ll be able to build talent communities for niche and in-demand roles to source and engage qualified talent faster.
  • Faster time-to-hire: With a more efficient recruiting funnel, you’ll not only find the best talent faster — you’ll be able to hire them faster too. This is because your RPO partner will create a better candidate experience, come up with a competitive offer based on their salary insights, and leverage your employer brand to show them why your company is a great place to work.
  • Consistency in employer branding: Since RPO companies work as an extension of your HR team, they’ll act as representatives from your company and employer brand, not theirs. They’ll help evangelize your employer branding and company culture to attract and retain the best talent.
  • Scalability: Leveraging market insights and talent analytics, RPO firms will build and manage a top-notch talent strategy for your company, ensuring it’s flexible enough to handle hiring needs of all kinds.
  • Cost savings: You’ll likely see a reduction in your cost-per-hire since you’ll be able to hire better candidates faster.
  • Better workforce: RPO firms approach recruiting with an eye on diversity, equity, and inclusion

To see how all of this can actually improve your bottom line, check out our HR Tech ROI Calculators.

Pricing: What RPO Providers Cost

Pricing ultimately depends on your needs and the RPO solution you end up choosing. Typically, it is based on monthly fees, project fees, cost-per-hire fees, or a combination of the three. As you discuss your questions and needs with RPO providers, make sure to get a clear sense of how their pricing model works. Better yet, get a quote from them so you’ll know exactly how much their services will end up costing you.

Features: What You Can Expect From RPO Providers

RPO companies essentially become your recruiting department. But you don’t necessarily need to use them for an end-to-end approach if you’re only looking for help in a certain area of the recruiting process. In fact, there are a variety of RPO models that offer a different range of services. For example:

  • End-to-end RPO: This full-service option handles all workforce recruitment activities for full-time employees. This includes everything from sourcing and screening candidates, to making offers and onboarding new hires, building talent communities, leveraging data insights and other metrics to make smart hiring decisions, build employer branding, and more.
  • Project RPO: Project RPO is when you’d outsource an end-to-end approach for a single, specific project, but keep day-to-day hiring and recruiting in-house. For example, if you’re launching a new product or opening a new store, you could use RPO to hire for that only. Then for other one-off hires, you’d manage that internally as needed.
  • Selective RPO: Selective RPO is when you outsource a specific part of the recruiting process. For example, you could just outsource the candidate sourcing and screening process if you’ve identified that as your least efficient in-house function.

Demo Questions: What to Ask RPO Firms About Their Recruiters, Sourcing, Staffing Experience & More

As you think about your hiring needs, you should also prepare a list of questions to ask the RPO companies you’re considering for your company’s recruitment. Here are some questions to ask:

  • What methodology do you use to find qualified candidates and hire the best talent?
  • What recruiting functions are included in your solution?
  • When, if at all, will our internal hiring managers collaborate with your team?
  • How do you typically approach onboarding?
  • Are employee retention efforts included?
  • How does your pricing model work?

Implementation: How to Get Started With Outsourced Recruitment Solutions

Onboarding an RPO solution isn’t going to happen overnight. Their reps will need to work closely with your hiring managers to ensure they are equipped to own your company’s entire recruiting process. Be prepared to spend some time with them upfront to get them up to speed, and understand that your relationship won’t be the “set it and forget it” kind. There will be ongoing collaboration as your company grows and your hiring needs change.

To find out exactly how long this process will take, ask ahead of time what they’ll need from you to get started, and what you can expect on an ongoing basis.

Next Steps for Your Recruitment Process Outsourcing

Business process outsourcing has been around for a while — especially for recruiting. RPO firms lean on their own innovative strategies to source, screen, engage, hire and onboard the best candidates — all so you can spend your internal resources on other productive business areas and build a high-performing company. 

They’ll be your partners in talent strategy and use a combination of AI-powered recruitment technologies, proven talent marketing strategies, and smart employer branding efforts to help you build a scalable recruiting process and strong workforce. 

If you’re not sure where to start, assess your existing recruiting practices to see if anything is stopping you from attracting and hiring top talent quickly. From there, you can work with RPO experts on a talent solution that works.

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