Developing a recruitment strategy to attract top talent is priority numbers one, two, and three for today’s talent acquisition leaders. And yet, their in-house TA teams aren’t always enough resource-wise to bolster their candidate pool, engage qualified candidates with timely and personalized messaging, and advance premier prospects from interview to offer quickly and efficiently.
That’s why employers and their talent teams often turn to recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) providers to aid them with certain elements of their recruitment strategies.
Whether it’s taking over the bulk of their recruitment marketing efforts (e.g., posting targeted job ads to career communities and social media sites) or proactively sourcing talent on popular and niche job boards, leading RPO firms ease the recruiting burden for employers of all sizes and across industries.
Regardless of the exact services rendered by said agencies, the core benefits are always the same:
- A streamlined and speedy recruiting cycle that doesn’t let top talent “slip through the cracks”
- A consistent employer brand message in all external-facing messaging regarding open roles
- An understanding of requisition priorities and, in turn, a quicker time to fill for critical positions
- A gradual rise in quality of hire, thanks to savvy candidate screening, sourcing, and evaluation
In short, working with an expert RPO provider can elevate your recruitment strategy and, at the end of the day, contribute to your org’s short- and long-term growth by helping to identify, connect with, and hire individuals who directly or indirectly contribute to your business’s bottom-line growth.
Why many employers turn to RPO providers for help with their recruitment strategy
Above are the high-level pros of working with recruitment process outsourcing services. Below are more specific advantages of contracting an RPO firm to aid your recruiting and hiring strategy.
Forecasting down-the-line headcount needs
It’s not just the actual, nitty-gritty recruiting work that the best RPO agencies handle for employers today. Leading recruiting outsourcing providers — like NXTThing RPO — also help executive leaders develop workforce plans for the foreseeable future (i.e., the next quarter or two or even year).
Here at NXTThing, our experienced and expert recruiting staff liaises closely with our clients to understand where they want to take their businesses in the coming months in terms of advancements to their product offerings and growth in certain teams across their org.
Combining this C-suite insight along with analysis of clients’ recent data tied to their recruitment efforts (e.g., the number of total and diverse candidates added to their talent pool; the average job offer acceptance rate by role, location, and department; the average speed with which in-house recruiters advance prospects and close requisitions) allows the NXTTHing team to develop a data-driven recruitment strategy.
One that ultimately helps our clients add top talent — and at scale — to their company.
Attracting both top active and passive talent
One of the main challenges in the hiring process is finding the right candidates to fill your open positions. Recruitment process outsourcing providers have access to specialized talent pools and networks. This enables them to identify and engage top candidates more effectively.
What’s more, RPO firms also utilize effective recruitment strategies like job advertising, candidate sourcing, and employee referral programs to increase the visibility of your job postings.
- Even hard-to-fill roles can be tackled by your RPO provider.
One of NXTTHing’s clients, a global pharmaceutical company, needs to fill numerous technical roles annually. So, we deployed a couple dozen of our recruiting experts to continuously get job postings and ads in front of the client’s ideal candidate profile where they search for technical jobs online.
The result? Our team helps the business hire 1,000-plus employees per year, through both targeted recruitment marketing campaigns and proactive sourcing via specialized career communities.
Improving job seekers’ recruiting experience
A well-crafted talent acquisition strategy is one that ultimately leads to a strong candidate experience as well as a higher number and rate of qualified job seekers accepting offers.
Today’s top RPO providers spend much of their time optimizing job descriptions, making the application process seamless for active prospects, and fine-tuning the interview process — all with the same goal:
- Ensure potential candidates actually enjoy the end-to-end recruiting process.
The interview process, in particular, is often be time-consuming and costly for orgs like yours. That’s why RPO providers focus a lot of their energy to streamline this aspect of the recruitment strategy for clients.
At NXTThing, we often control interview scheduling, create interview kits for and offer interview training to panelists, and conduct structured video interviews with prospects. One of the effects of a better interview process? Happier candidates — even those who don’t receive offers.
Improving retention and the employer brand
A lower employee turnover rate is essential for maintaining a stable workforce and reducing recruiting expenses. By utilizing data-driven recruiting methods and understanding the preferences of your top candidates, RPO providers can help you minimize the risk of a bad hire.
One way to achieve this is by hiring people who are not only good cultural fits but are motivated to grow alongside your organization. The best RPO agencies can play a significant role in executing effective recruitment strategies that increase employee engagement and retention.
Another advantage of working with an RPO provider is their ability to enhance the overall perception of your org as an employer. They are skilled at effectively communicating your company culture and values, showcasing why candidates should consider working for you.
In addition, recruitment process outsourcing firms can help refine job postings and create marketing materials that promote your employer brand, making it more attractive to potential applicants.
The specific recruitment strategy support the top RPO agencies provide companies
These benefits of working with recruitment outsourcing agencies are clearly great for companies like yours. But, it’s also essential to know how they can work alongside your existing recruiting team.
Strong collaboration and communication
Any RPO provider you contract will operate as an extension of your recruitment team. They will work closely with your TA leaders and staff to understand your org’s distinct hiring needs and objectives. This collaboration ensures complete alignment throughout the planning and execution of the recruitment strategy for each client. One that helps them achieve their core business goals.
Customized recruiting and hiring solutions
Any RPO provider worth its salt will also tailor their services to your org’s specific industry, size, and recruitment goals. By understanding your business’s unique requirements in terms of headcount growth and the most important roles to fill ASAP, your RPO provider of choice can create a customized recruiting solution that supports your overall talent acquisition strategy.
A constant focus on hiring process speed
An RPO firm brings expertise and resources to your hiring processes, which can result in a faster and more efficient recruitment cycle. Premier RPOs have a vast network of passive candidates and leading TA tech so they can easily and effectively identify and engage with qualified candidates.
As a result, your company can fill positions faster and steadily reduce your time to hire and fill.
Candidate outreach and “handoff” to clients
Sourcing is often the primary reason many employers turn to RPO firms like NXTThing. But, if these clients prefer to take the reins from their recruiting outsourcing firm after their talent pool has been bolstered with a high quantity and quality of job candidates, RPOs can ensure every prospect they identify and add to their applicant tracking system is sent to their clients’ ATS of choice.
Many companies with Jobvite, Lever, or JazzHR as their ATS work with NXTThing to outsource some or most of their candidate sourcing and have dedicated profiles created for each lead by our staff.
Data-driven decisions across the TA cycle
The use of data analytics in the recruiting process is becoming increasingly important, as it allows organizations to make more informed hiring decisions and achieve their recruitment goals.
Partnering with an RPO agency like NXTTHing, which provides custom TA reporting for clients, gives you access to valuable insights driven by data from the various stages of your hiring process.
Book a demo with the NXTThing RPO team today to get insights into the advanced recruiting and hiring services we offer — and how we can help your org meet your business growth goals.
