Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) involves an employer turning the responsibility of finding potential job candidates over to a third-party service provider to bring qualified candidates to the table with minimal involvement from the client.

RPOs are particularly popular in tight labor markets where it can be difficult to attract new talent, and when specialised talent is required.

RPOs can bring different perspectives, skills and attention to problems, while, at the same time, freeing up the client to focus on other business responsibilities. When the RPO is successful, the client will only need to interview a small number of fully screened candidates and then make a hiring decision.

Why RPOs?

In many ways, an RPO operates exactly like an internal recruiter, but with some significant differences.

• Most NZ businesses do not have the resource of an HR department and when they do HR staff usually have many other tasks demanding their focus.

• RPOs are full-time recruiters with deep industry knowledge to help reach hard-to-find and passive candidates.

• RPOs nurture and mine candidate databases that businesses don’t, revealing candidates others don’t have access to.

• RPOs are more likely to know the websites and social media channels that will attract talent

• RPOs have access to the latest tools and trends in recruitment, which businesses and in-house HR professionals may not be familiar with.

Key Benefits of RPO

• RPO's reduce costs, save time, and have access to more qualified candidates.

• In a tight labor market or with specialised fields, RPOs can help an employer stand out.

• RPOs standardise sourcing, screening, hiring, onboarding and employee experience processes.