How to Outsource Recruiting

In companies large and small, a popular alternative to on-staff employee recruiters is a partnership with a contractor who can provide the same services at a lower cost. Many companies choose to outsource recruiting either because they do not have the staff on hand to provide adequate support during an expansion or are seeking to downsize back-office services of this type. Before you outsource recruiting, educate yourself about what to expect from this kind of relationship.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Hiring manager contact information
• Hiring deadline
• Job descriptions

Learn About RPO or Recruitment-Process Outsourcing

1. Look for an outsourcing partner who has knowledge of employment trends in your industry. Many RPO firms specialize in specific fields, such as IT, medical and educational services.

2. Ask your potential RPO firm about its use of current technology in recruiting practices. One of the main benefits of outsourcing recruiting is access to the latest online employment resources. They can be customized to suit your company's brand identity and hiring needs.

3. Determine how involved your on-site hiring managers should be in the hiring process. One of the cost benefits of recruitment-process outsourcing lies in the consolidation of nearly 70 percent of the recruitment process, including job posting, short listing and interview setting.

4. Make sure that any RPO firm you might partner with can be as flexible as your company's hiring process requires. If you are in an industry that experiences seasonal peaks and lulls, your RPO firm should be able to package its services while taking this into consideration.

5. Keep on top of the performance provided by your RPO partner by developing a performance-appraisal process. Enlist hiring managers to judge your outsourcing partner's performance in areas such as the timeliness of response and the quality of candidates presented for hire.

6. Review the details of the job posting and hiring process with your RPO partner before agreeing to a service contract. Processes like initial contact upon job vacancy, job description compilation and job applicant review should be outlined in detail.

Tips & Warnings

• The best way to determine whether recruitment-process outsourcing (RPO) will be beneficial to your company is to perform an analysis of the time and money currently being spent on recruiting new employees before approaching an RPO firm for service contract bids.
• Hiring an RPO firm does not exclude your company's management team from the hiring process altogether. Even with the assistance of an RPO firm, you should expect to train your hiring managers in effective RPO interfacing.