{"id":1717,"date":"2010-03-11T06:48:00","date_gmt":"2010-03-11T06:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/projects\/horsesforsources\/rpo-empower\/"},"modified":"2010-03-11T06:48:00","modified_gmt":"2010-03-11T06:48:00","slug":"rpo-empower","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/rpo-empower\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Recruitment Process Outsourcing empower a more flexible, scalable workforce?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Mindy Blodgett, Research Director, Horses for Sources<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
One of the facets of outsourcing that always challenges industry observers is\u00a0fuguring out\u00a0the timing of when (or if) companies will take the plunge.\u00a0 Delivering a value proposition for outsourcing\u00a0isn’t enough – it’s proving that those processes can benefit a company’s competitive position if they are\u00a0externalized in a managed services\u00a0environment.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n For example, most companies would never have dared move the management of their entire recruiting function over to a third party, but the squeeze of this post-recession economy, combined with fresh thinking from company leaders and a willingness to explore global sourcing models in business functions that can benefit from added expertise and flexibility, is moving services such as Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)\u00a0up the corporate agenda for many firms.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n We’ve decided to take a deeper-dive into the RPO market, and have asked our new research director for HRO, Mindy Blodgett, to tee up her research into this area for us.\u00a0 In fact, taking a closer look at Mindy’s bio<\/a>, I see she likes “eating\u00a0at expensive restaurants”, so hopefully you’ll like what she’s working on enough to sign up for our research program and\u00a0help her maintain this past-time… over to you Mindy:<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n Can RPO empower a flexible and scalable workforce?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0Although the global financial picture is still unclear, the signs of an economic recovery are tentatively drifting into view.\u00a0 However, this isn\u2019t your typical cyclical<\/em> post-recession market:\u00a0 industries are facing fundamental shifts in their very make-up and competitive dynamics, and this is impacting how many firms need to approach their recruiting strategies.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0Many firms, fearing the worst, laid off staff aggressively in the crisis months, and now have to readjust their talent resources quickly to meet the business demands of a recovery that is \u2013 in many industries \u2013 appearing faster than many had anticipated.\u00a0 Without an agile recruiting strategy, vital market opportunities could swiftly pass by those firms with talent shortages. But there is risk in taking a bold recruiting stance; no one can be sure that the economy will not take another nose-dive, and the need for greater workforce flexibility<\/em> has never been so strong as it is in today\u2019s environment.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0Staffing back-up in the midst of uncertainty –\u00a0 Four critical questions to address<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a02010 is a year that threatens to expose many firms.\u00a0 Uncertainty drives some to be conservative and hold back on major re-investments; others to be bold and use the conditions to forge ahead in their respective markets.\u00a0\u00a0 Whatever stance firms choose to take, they need to answer these questions:\u00a0<\/p>\n Those who fail to answer these questions and define a coherent recruiting strategy could well find themselves left dog paddling as more nimble competitors surge ahead.\u00a0 Enter the concept of RPO, which attempts to help firms tackle these issues without significant upfront investment and business risk\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n Is now the time for RPO to finally emerge?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n Recruiting, onboarding and training a global workforce is a daunting challenge for companies of all sizes and industries, and enterprises have traditionally invested in large inhouse recruiting functions to manage this process.\u00a0\u00a0 However, many HR leaders today do not have the bandwidth or focus needed to keep up with the latest in recruiting management technologies and best practices. Maybe it\u2019s finally time to use a third-party specialist to help manage this process?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Therefore, the increasingly smart answer for a number of enterprises is to turn to Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) to manage some or all of their recruiting processes.\u00a0<\/p>\n At Horses for Sources, we believe that RPO, one of the HR functions that has historically lagged in the HRO space, is now poised to finally come of age in this growing, but uncertain, recovery.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hot off the presses survey data tells the interesting story. Data from the Seeking the New Normal in Outsourcing Delivery survey<\/a>, conducted by Horses for Sources in January of this year revealed that in the coming year, close to 50% of respondents report they are either likely to increase or are already increasing their participation in some form of HRO.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The survey also showed that there is a growing interest in RPO, whereby some 35% of buyers said they were actively evaluating the outsourcing of some aspect of their recruiting function, while another 12% said they were actively interested in pursuing RPO. More importantly, some enterprises are moving into RPO immediately, with 6% reporting that they are engaging in RPO in the 2010-2011 timeframe.\u00a0<\/p>\n So while RPO is still relatively low on the HRO totem pole, it is occupying a more significant piece of the total HRO pie. As enterprise leaders are increasingly scrutinizing RPO as a viable, and potentially formidable, weapon in the HR arsenal.\u00a0<\/p>\n Why RPO claims to make sense:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n Managing the talent life cycle has always been an intimate process for many firms, and finding staff which are a cultural fit, as opposed to simply filling immediate task-oriented and transactional needs, has been a major reason why enterprises have clung to managing the bulk of this process inhouse.\u00a0 However, in today\u2019s maturing outsourcing environment, both providers and buyers are vying to become more sophisticated at working together to achieve common business outcomes.\u00a0 RPO is no exception, and there is no reason why a quality RPO provider cannot work with a client today to understand its culture and work in a personalized manner to meet its recruiting needs. In an ideal world, an RPO provider should be able to deliver:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Breaking old habits is hard, and many enterprises cling to the belief that their recruiting needs are unique, not easily adapted or standardized into universal templates. Hence, a rapid increase in RPO adoption is not yet a sure bet as many HR leaders will continue to resist transferring such processes into the hands of a third-party. Still, it\u2019s clear that RPO is now firmly on the agenda for many firms ready to embrace new recruiting strategies that add agility, and do not cost the earth to deploy.\u00a0 Enterprises pursuing RPO need to be committed to change and to effective outcomes \u2013 but the goal of finding a true service provider\/partner is not easy to attain.\u00a0<\/p>\n At Horses, we\u2019re committed to tracking RPO in addition to many other developments in the wonderful world of HRO\u00a0\u00a0– stay tuned! We\u2019ll be asking the hard questions about adoption challenges, analyzing buyer successes and failures, as the markets mature.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you are an organization engaging in RPO, are interested in RPO, or if you are a service provider with an RPO solution and a strong message for how these relationships are working to build a new global work culture, we want to hear from you. As part of our research efforts in the near future, we will be surveying buyers; analyzing\u00a0service provider\u00a0offerings; conducting case studies \u2013 you name it, we\u2019ll be doing it.\u00a0<\/p>\n So please\u00a0email me<\/a>\u00a0if you\u2019d like to participate in our RPO research, or\u00a0whether you have some suggestions or questions.\u00a0 It\u2019s an exciting time to be watching the RPO space, and we look forward to sharing our insights\u00a0 and hearing about your experiences.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mindy Blodgett (pictured), is Research Director for Horses for Sources, her prime focus being Human Resources services and Business Process Outsourcing areas.\u00a0\u00a0 Mindy’s role is to deliver research analysis and thought leadership for Horses clients and readers in areas related to recruitment process outsourcing, total benefits outsourcing, workforce analytics, talent management and broad HR areas, such as compliance, payroll and compensation.\u00a0 You can read more on Mindy’s background and expertise by <\/em>clicking here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mindy Blodgett, Research Director, Horses for Sources One of the facets of outsourcing that always challenges industry observers is\u00a0fuguring out\u00a0the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,79,80],"tags":[648],"organization":[],"ppma_author":[19],"class_list":["post-1717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-process-outsourcing-bpo","category-hr-outsourcing","category-hr-strategy","tag-recruitment-process-outsourcing"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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