A Guide to Recruitment Process Outsourcing Models

A good RPO partner helps staffing agencies access a high-performing recruitment process outsourcing model, which can improve their quality of hire and other metrics, including the cost-to-hire, time-to-hire, retention rates, candidate experience, etc. A well-defined RPO model extends flexibility, customization and the exact kind of support needed to hire for different types of staffing requirements. These can be permanent or contractual, full-time or part-time, or for various industries such as healthcare, IT, engineering, education, etc.

Some of the most common recruitment process outsourcing delivery models are Full-Service RPO, Project-Based RPO, Hybrid RPO, Recruiter On-Demand RPO, Turnkey end-to-end RPO and Function-Based RPO.

Recruitment Process Outsourcing Models

RPO Business Models

1. On-Demand RPO

On-demand recruiting allows for targeted candidate sourcing. This ad-hoc recruitment model helps companies meet hiring demands during a period of rapid change or sudden hike in requirements. The on-demand recruitment model involves a contractual engagement between the RPO service provider and the hiring organization to fill a certain number of positions within a specific timeframe. It is a flexible model that allows a dedicated recruiter to handle your hiring needs for a particular time and can work on an hourly engagement rate.

2. Project-Based RPO

As the name suggests, the project-based RPO model is suitable for short-term hiring requirements. It is applied in cases where companies want to hire for specific roles for a given time and defined work requirements. In a project-based model, the RPO firm can take care of specialized hiring functions, any one or more stages of the hiring cycle, or handle the entire life-cycle recruitment. The RPO service provider here acts as a branded agent in the market for your company while hiring for specific roles.

Project-based RPO model allows companies to scale business operations and hire when expanding operations, opening new branches, or launching a new project.

3. End-to-End or Full Service RPO

A full-service RPO model covers all aspects of the company’s recruiting process and involves outsourcing full-cycle recruitment. This model allows to work with a specialist RPO solutions provider and improve hiring efficiency. An end-to-end recruitment model can leverage the benefits of the best recruitment technologies, automated processes and recruitment marketing used by the RPO provider.

Full-service RPO is best suited to big companies with high volume staffing requirements or small businesses having small HR teams.

4. Hybrid RPO Model

The Hybrid RPO model facilitates customized solutions for every business’s unique needs. It offers the most flexible options for the internal hiring and RPO talent acquisition teams. Hybrid models optimize efficiency, streamline workflow, provide access to a wider talent pool, ensure regulatory compliance, and decrease the overall time-to-hire.

Hybrid recruitment process outsourcing models can take care of permanent and temporary staffing requirements without building internal recruitment capability.

RPO Cost Models

• Cost-per-hire Model

Cost per hire RPO model can be used to meet short-term hiring requirements as well as long-term permanent hiring requirements. The organization pays a fee only for the successfully hired and onboarded candidates. It is commonly used when the recruitment process is outsourced to meet specific project requirements for a few months or during full-cycle recruitment of full-time employees.

• Cost-per-transaction Model

The RPO service provider charges specifically for each recruitment process they execute for the client, such as resume screening, compliance check and candidate sourcing services.

• Management Fee Model

Under this model, a management fee is paid to the RPO provider for managing a company’s hiring requirements. The Management Fee model is a consistent support model, and the cost paid to the RPO partner is often a recurring fee paid monthly. The model’s pricing changes according to the hiring requirements.

• Monthly Fee Model

The monthly fee model is a value-added process where the RPO company charges a fixed monthly fee for recruiting candidates for a pre-determined list of positions. This model requires flexibility to accommodate any changes in the hiring requirements.

How to choose a Recruitment Process Outsourcing Model?

There are a couple of factors to consider when choosing an RPO service model, such as technology, processes, cost, and the staff employed by the RPOs. No two companies are the same, and RPO requirements differ between businesses. It would be best to determine the most suitable recruitment process outsourcing model for your business. Here are some of the factors to consider:

• Expertise

Check if the RPO provider has the expertise to hire for roles and skillsets for your business and how they structure the recruitment process.

• Flexibility

Flexibility in the RPO model is a crucial factor to consider, especially in the short term during the initial period of relationship building and negotiations.

• Credibility

Credibility of the RPO provider in the market is a significant influencing factor. The number of clients served, and the company’s reputation indicates the level of expertise with which it can carry out the recruitment outsourcing process.

• Savings

It is helpful to consider the cost-saving your business can make by outsourcing to an RPO provider. Also, consider the proposal against other competitors and the penalties for adjustments in projects before choosing your RPO business model and provider.

Learn more about RPO: A Complete Guide to RPO Services.

Choose your RPO Model with QX Global Group

The recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) division of QX Global Group, operating since 2003, delivers recruitment outsourcing services from India. It can help ease the operating burden of staffing agencies based in the UK, USA, Canada, and several EU geographies and scale up their service delivery capability cost-efficiently.

Get on a free consultation call with our RPO consultants to choose the most suitable recruitment outsourcing model for your business.

Originally published Jun 16, 2022 11:06:27, updated Feb 05 2024

Topics: Recruitment Process Outsourcing, RPO Models