HR Director's Guide: How to get the best results with RPO and internal Talent Acquisition teams

Using Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) as part of your talent acquisition strategy can supercharge your recruitment efforts and add critical scalability to your business. RPO providers typically prefer managing the entire recruitment process for a smaller number of roles rather than just parts of the process for a broader range. Why? It’s all about maintaining control. Misaligned speeds between internal and external teams often lead to frustrations—like CVs not being sent quickly enough or delays in providing feedback.

Here is my quick guide for things to consider when introducing a third party into your recruitment process and how to avoid infighting and squabbling.

1. Define Clear Roles and Avoid Overlap

Avoiding overlap in the process is key. The RPO provider often handles the sourcing, screening, and the initial telephone interviews of candidates. This needs to be clearly defined with specific handover points to avoid confusion. Normally, this will be detailed in the statement of work (SOW) with the RPO provider. This is great but will lead to disaster if not also clearly communicated with the TA team. Full alignment during scope definition and process design is critical—don’t skip this step!

2. Integrate Technology Seamlessly

This seems obvious, but the RPO and internal team should use the same Applicant Tracking System (ATS). This doesn’t have to be a significant expense. Enabling the RPO’s systems to communicate with the internal team’s ATS ensures seamless data sharing, real-time reporting, and a unified candidate experience.
Pro tip: Say no to spreadsheets—they’ll only lead to chaos.

3. Foster Open Communication

There is bound to be scepticism and mistrust when you outsource any part of your business process. We are all humans, right? That’s why breaking down this barrier as soon as possible is so important. Establish regular meetings and communication channels to discuss progress, challenges, and updates. This ensures that both teams are on the same page and can quickly address any issues. For a stronger start, consider hosting an off-site “get to know each other” day before go-live. A little face time can go a long way in building trust.

4. Align Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

If you are using a good ATS, you should get some reasonable performance metrics. However, we all know that the devil is in the details. I advise keeping things very simple and agreeing on a small number of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that matter to the business—for example, time to hire or cost per hire. Lots of data looks excellent in a presentation but can divert you from what’s essential to your business. However, most critically, ensure that the internal talent acquisition team and the RPO team’s key performance indicators are aligned. If not, you will be in trouble.

5. Prioritise Candidate Experience

Disjointed recruitment is detrimental to the candidate experience. That’s why consistent branding is essential. I mean that the candidate should receive the same messages and tone of voice from both parties. There needs to be an agreed approach in how recruiters describe the business through its agreed Employer Value Proposition(EVP). The message doesn’t have to be super complex. But it does need to be consistent.

6. Focus on Compliance and Risk Management

I could write another article on risk and compliance. The RPO provider will have the expertise to ensure that all recruitment processes adhere to local labour laws, data protection regulations, and other relevant compliance requirements. Both teams should work together to identify and mitigate risks associated with recruitment, such as unconscious bias, data breaches, or non-compliance with employment laws.

The Benefits of a Strong Partnership

By effectively integrating RPO with the internal talent acquisition function, organisations will benefit from the expertise and scalability of the RPO provider while maintaining strategic control over their talent strategy. This collaboration can lead to a more efficient, cost-effective, and high-quality recruitment process, ultimately contributing to the organisation's success.

Glossary: Simplifying the Jargon

Talent Acquisition loves a good three-letter acronym! I’ve tried to steer clear, but here’s my quick glossary with short definitions.

• RPO: Recruitment Process Outsourcing, the use of a third party to manage all or part of the permanent hiring activity for all or part of an organisation
• ATS: Applicant Tracking System, the technology that date and time stamps the tasks in the recruitment process
• KPI: Key Performance Indicator, the data point that will demonstrate the success of the service
• SLA: Service Level Agreement details what good looks like against each of the Key Performance Indicators
• TA: Talent Acquisition is the full approach to planning and obtaining the people and skills an organisation needs to complete their work / strategic goals
• EVP: Employee Value Proposition, concise and consistent messaging that conveys why people want to work and stay at your organisation
• MSP: Managed Service Programme is the oversight of the non-permanent workforce, ensuring compliance and cost savings
• MSA: Master Services Agreement is the contract that captures indemnities, insurance, terms of the agreement.
• SOW: Statement of Work that attaches to the contractual terms and defines the service to be provided
• VMS: Vendor Management System that manages the suppliers and contractor process for non-permanent workers
• CV: Curriculum Vitae or Resume—we seem to be hanging onto this as well as requiring application forms to be completed