There are two main recruitment models which companies can choose from when deciding to revitalize their hiring process without using an in-house team: the recruitment agency model and the Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) model.
Recruitment agencies are the traditional way of outsourcing the talent search for companies who don’t have their own in-house talent team. They mostly focus on sourcing and pre-screening candidates for interviews for your company. They’re often sales focused, as they are paid per successful placement of candidates, and you often get multiple recruitment agencies competing to fill the same role. The RPO model is a newer, more efficient model of recruitment which is available to companies of all sizes as an alternative to using recruitment agencies.
What is RPO in recruitment?
RPO stands for Recruitment Process Outsourcing. The RPO model of recruitment involves an employer using a third-party service provider to find potential job candidates. An RPO recruitment provider connects with your team and takes ownership of the multiple stages of the recruitment process. They cover all steps in the recruitment lifecycle, from talent sourcing to screening support to recruitment administration to interviewing as well as workforce planning, offer management and onboarding. By covering the end-to-end process, an RPO takes the headache out of recruitment for busy employers. It’s an efficient way of quickly adding expertise and experience to enable your company to scale quickly when you don’t have the resources in-house.
The RPO recruitment model is newer and a more flexible solution to hiring and is a complimentary additional service to support types of internal recruitment. Unlike traditional recruitment agencies, an RPO is agile and can move quickly to fill sudden talent shortages or urgent scaling needs. When your company engages an RPO, you join a partnership. Your company transfers all or part of its recruitment to the external provider and the RPO acts as an extension of your company’s existing HR or Resourcing team, saving the cost of acquiring or expanding an expensive internal team.
Discussing RPO and its offshoots, recruitment entrepreneur John O’Sullivan told Recruiter that: “I think this is the first big sensible challenge to the crazy business model that contingent recruitment is. And I think it’s here to stay.”
What does RPO in recruitment mean for Troi?
The Embedded Recruitment model of Troi has many of the same features of an RPO. Troi offers a supercharged embedded RPO model that takes the shape of a living, breathing ecosystem offering a ton of value-added solutions, not just hiring. We do everything that your standard RPO does but embedded within your company rather than staying external.
You might be wondering what the difference between internal and external recruitment is. Internal recruitment is in-house recruitment, and, by nature, internal recruitment teams tend to have a better understanding of your business and culture as well as your brand and ethos than a third party, external provider. Often, external recruiters can benefit a company by bringing specialised, outside expertise and flexibility compared with that of an in-house team, but with our Embedded Recruitment model you get the best of both.
Most RPO solutions still operate outside of your business, whilst an embedded recruitment solution gives you a team of recruitment experts who essentially act as your own in-house team. We take the time to learn about your business and culture, using our expertise as previous in-house recruiters to harness the benefits of in-house for you at a fraction of the cost. We build strong relationships with your team to make the hiring process efficient and to ensure you get the right people who are the right fit for your company.
How is it similar to an RPO?
We do similar work to that of an RPO, but we work internally with your company instead of externally. Our new Embedded Recruitment model takes the best bits of the RPO model and embeds them fully into your team. By embedding into your company, we get to know your specific hiring challenges and needs, allowing us to develop a tailored strategy just for you.
Unlike the RPO model, as an embedded recruiter, we charge a monthly flat fee on subscription. We charge no hidden fees or commissions to pay on individual hires and no hidden costs for our recruitment tools, which are included. Whilst the cost of RPO services differs depending on how involved the provider is with your business and how much work they do in your company (and they often require payment upfront), we have a predictable monthly fee, which helps your company plan for the future and save. Just like an RPO, we can add to or replace your existing talent acquisition team, but our solution is also fully scalable and flexible. We have a range of packages on offer, and you can change packages as your hiring needs change.
Whilst RPOs are much more involved in your organisation than recruitment agencies, with Embedded Recruitment you get even more hands-on involvement. At Troi, we spend time understanding your workplace culture and your business strategy in order to integrate with your business and we use this knowledge to form a bespoke recruitment plan, better integrating with your business. We take your long-term goals into consideration and build a hiring strategy which works for you, with you. If you’d like to learn more about Troi’s Embedded Recruitment model, click here or book a chat with us here.
How is your plug-and-play talent acquisition model revitalizing the RPO model?
Hear from our founder, Johnny Coulter in a recent event taking all things talent in the current hiring landscape:
Leaders in Talent & People Innovation in Talent Strategy: Highlights from Johnny Coulter – YouTube
Project RPO
Project Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) is a strategic solution that organizations turn to when they require specialized assistance in managing their recruitment initiatives for specific projects. It involves collaborating with an external RPO provider, such as Troi who becomes an integral part of the project team, working alongside internal talent acquisition members to ensure the successful acquisition of skilled professionals within defined timeframes.
In the context of team dynamics, Project RPO acts as an extension of the internal talent acquisition team, providing additional resources and expertise to tackle the project’s unique hiring needs. The RPO provider collaborates closely with team members, engaging in regular communication and aligning recruitment strategies with the project’s objectives. This close partnership allows for seamless coordination, effective knowledge sharing, and efficient decision-making throughout the recruitment process.
Furthermore, it’s important to differentiate between RPO and RTO (Recruitment Technology Outsourcing). While RPO focuses on the end-to-end management of the recruitment process for specific projects, RTO refers to outsourcing the technological aspects of recruitment, such as applicant tracking systems, candidate sourcing tools, and recruitment marketing platforms. Both RPO and RTO can work in tandem to optimize the recruitment function, with RPO addressing the strategic and operational aspects while RTO supports the technological infrastructure needed for efficient and effective talent acquisition.
By leveraging Project RPO and, if needed, integrating RTO solutions, organizations can create a comprehensive approach to project-based talent acquisition. This approach combines the expertise of the internal team, the specialized knowledge of the RPO provider, and the efficiency of recruitment technology. Together, they form a powerful alliance that ensures successful project outcomes through streamlined processes, access to top talent, and optimal use of resources.
