11 Best Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) Companies - 2023

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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?

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.