The Future of Scalable Recruitment: How RPO Deals with Demand Fluctuation
Recruitment is not a linear process, and depending on business needs, they can be seasonable or completely on-demand. As a time-consuming task, it can be challenging for the HR department to work on recruitment, compensation and benefits, employee engagement, and workplace safety simultaneously without compromising the quality of their deliverables in any of these areas. So, from this challenge emerged the scalability of recruitment outsourcing services today. But how exactly are the demand fluctuations being addressed?
First and foremost, it is important to understand that Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) providers are recruitment specialists. They are experts in the end-to-end process of talent acquisition and know precisely when hiring demand is going up or down. They are also well-versed in the utilization of various technologies and hiring platforms relevant to the optimization of recruitment efforts. Now let's go through these capabilities and how RPO providers use them to effectively deal with fluctuating demand for talent.
It is best to begin with RPO expertise.
RPO providers have specialized recruitment expertise that they use to offer services. They are more than capable of managing recruitment at different scales and possess industry-specific insights. Compared to the all-around HR department, they focus on recruitment and stay updated with the latest trends, technologies, and best practices. This ensures that their clients get access to recruitment services of the best quality regardless of demand.
As a result of their expertise, RPO providers are flexible. They anticipate the change in demand and know which strategy works best. Whether due to seasonal peaks, expansion plans, or project-based hiring requirements, they adapt their sourcing strategies, candidate screening processes, and onboarding procedures to align with shifting recruitment needs.
For example, a period of increased hiring demand is often a challenge for companies because the HR department must reallocate resources to address the sudden need, which will take time. Meanwhile, RPO providers are concentrated on recruitment efforts from the start. They have the infrastructure, expertise, and talent acquisition resources to swiftly scale up recruitment activities.
What about during low demand?
During these periods, companies can rely on RPO providers to optimize costs and minimize resource allocation on their behalf. This is opposed to having an internal recruitment team that risks underutilization during low demand. This helps companies avoid unnecessary recruitment expenses, such as job advertising costs, candidate screening expenses, and recruitment software investments.
These capabilities contribute to a consistent quality of recruitment deliverables and smooth transitions between periods of low or high demand. They work in close partnership with clients to understand their unique requirements and make sure priorities are aligned with employer branding. This leads to a great candidate experience, with high-quality hires and low turnovers at an affordable cost.
