As Halloween draws closer, which monsters are keeping you up at night? Is it Freddy Krueger, with his razor-sharp fingers? Michael Myers, with his chillingly slow walk? Or is it a recurring nightmare about a recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) programme gone horribly wrong?  

Spooky season is in full swing. While it’s natural to be superstitious at this time of year, we’re here to debunk the common myths and urban legends you may have heard about RPO programmes and explain why they’re nothing to fear – especially if you need a comprehensive talent solution that’s tailored to your organisation’s needs.  

No tricks, only treats! 

Myth #1: It puts governance and compliance in danger 

The myth: 

Transferring all or part of your permanent recruitment to an external provider will lead to your organisation developing lower standards of governance and compliance, leaving you vulnerable to the relevant penalties.  

The truth: 

There are numerous safeguards built into RPO programmes to mitigate governance and compliance risk. These can include service-level agreements (SLAs), oversight, and governance structures.  

Operational intelligence (OI) – the practice of using real-time data to guide business decisions – enables organisations to get maximum value from their RPO programmes. RSIntelligence is our on-demand, cloud-based, talent intelligence solution that equips leaders with real-time dashboards featuring powerful insights. These can include talent supply and demand analytics, working age, relocation and investment opportunities, salary benchmarking, gender differences, and talent pools with the least attrition.  

The transparent metrics these tools provide can empower your organisation to move with the market and take decisive action, so you won’t have to wait until your quarterly business review to assess your performance and make improvements. 

In other words, with the help of OI, there will be no skeletons in the closet.    

Myth #2: It traps you into three-to-five-year contracts 

The myth:  

Undertaking an RPO contract is a frightening commitment, with providers offering little-to-no flexibility.  

The truth: 

There are many merits to a multi-year programme, but if your organisation has rapid or short-term hiring needs, Project RPO boils down the control, consistency, and compliance of an expert RPO provider into a more flexible and agile solution.  

Our Project RPO solution can be implemented in six weeks, with only a 12-month engagement. This can be ideal whether your organisation is relocating to or establishing premises in a new location, or you need to hire quickly to keep pace with rapid business growth. Additionally, our RPO On-Demand solution is a subscription-based service that gives companies on-demand recruitment with access to the best talent in the market. Our delivery teams are highly scalable to meet fluctuating needs, while the fixed-price monthly subscription costs can be switched on and off as you need. 

Myth #3: It curses your brand and experience 

The myth: 

Enlisting an external provider to support and oversee your TA initiatives will dilute your overall brand and experience, leaving candidates with an ambivalent or potentially negative impression of your company. 

The truth: 

There are several aspects of RPO programmes that facilitate an exceptional candidate experience. Firstly, RPO providers have the recruitment expertise and connections required to access extensive talent pools and identify candidates with unique and niche skills.  

To promote an excellent candidate experience, we implement a candidate management plan that is tailored to the needs of each client. This plan covers the entire recruitment process, and since our teams are equipped with clear specifications, they can find candidates more aligned to the client, which mitigates dropouts due to better quality matches.  

At Resource Solutions, we believe that great experiences aren’t just for candidates – hiring managers deserve them too! On average, we maintain a 90% hiring manager satisfaction rate across the majority of our accounts by committing to an experience charter, implementing communication KPIs for each stage of the recruitment process, and holding an intake briefing with the hiring manager within 24 hours of a requisition being raised. In this intake meeting, our teams gain a detailed understanding of the candidate and role profile. We also incorporate market intelligence in order to help all parties agree on the most effective sourcing strategy.  

Finally, there's the matter of data. RPO providers can track and empower your organisation with key recruitment metrics, which you can evaluate to determine how you can optimise your TA initiatives. 

Bonus myth: The Bloody Mary  

The myth: 

If you repeat “RPO programme” 13 times while looking in the mirror, an RPO programme will suddenly manifest in front of you.  

The truth: 

If only it were that easy! But feel free to get in touch with us to learn more about how a bespoke RPO solution can support your business ambitions.