Demand for recruitment process outsourcing is growing. Here’s why

The effects of the pandemic and a dynamic market have caused a massive upheaval in the recruitment space. There is a continued demand for talented people with the right skill sets. Companies find that they need to continue to be flexible and offer both remote and hybrid working models. As the workforce continues to be increasingly mobile and remote, companies are reassessing recruitment strategies and looking for diverse ways of getting the best talent on board. Many companies are increasingly turning towards Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) to fulfil their need for talent. RPO involves hiring an external staffing agency to recruit people. RPO has been around for a while, but in recent times, its role has increased manifold across industries. RPO providers now offer far much more than just fulfilling the talent pipeline. 

RPO is on the rise

Companies can leverage RPO services to satisfy all stages of the hiring process – right from candidate sourcing to onboarding. Let’s take a look at the reasons for the rising popularity of RPO.

To bridge the talent gap: It is well-known that there is a gap in tech talent. The white collar job market is on the growth path, and surpassed pre-pandemic hiring levels in 2022 in India - the white collar employment market recorded 330,000 job openings in May 2022, which is the highest over the last 2.5 years. The demand for talent will also be fuelled due to the growth of Global Capability Centres (GCC) and Global In-house Centres (GIC). By 2026, NASSCOM expects 500 GCCs to be added to the count of the existing 1500+ centres, which already employ about 1.3 million people in India.  India is home to more than 1200 GICs, and this count is expected to go up. As companies look at continued outsourcing of functions, cost savings and digitising their businesses, the projected revenues for India are expected to touch $350 billion by 2025. The growth of these captive tech centres is going to lead to an exponential demand for talent.

While companies are reskilling employees to meet their tech requirements, they also need to ramp up quickly to satisfy the existing demand for talent. A multi-pronged strategy is required, by considering short-term hires and reskilling in the long term. RPO providers offer a ready talent pipeline to satisfy both short-term and long-term hiring.

Achieve cost and time savings: Partnering with an RPO provider can result in significant savings of cost and time. With a ready-to-access talent pipeline and optimised recruitment processes, RPO partners help to reduce the operational costs of recruitment and also save an immense amount of time. When there is sudden attrition or a surge in demand, companies can save precious time by simply reaching out to the RPO partner. RPO vendors can also analyse the current recruitment process and workflows followed by the organisation, and make customised recommendations for optimisation, thereby resulting in reducing the cost-per-hire, as well as time-to-hire. Moreover, the risk of understaffing or overstaffing is handled by the RPO partner. RPO solutions allow companies to adjust the resource levels on demand – less or more, as needed.

Strategise talent acquisition: Hiring strategies have undergone a drastic transformation in recent years. Due to the uncertainties of demand, the skill gap, and a candidate-first market, the demand for quality talent is likely to go up. RPO vendors can create customised talent acquisition strategies, and help to determine an optimum ratio of contract workers and full-time employees (FTE). At the same time, RPOs have access to a talent pool of local and global workers. The rise in the number of regional centres of large enterprises is indicative of the fact that companies are going where the talent is. In such a scenario, RPO vendors offer tremendous benefits to companies aiming to recruit local talent.

Access to expertise: By partnering with an RPO provider, companies have access to recruitment experts in specific domains on a global scale. RPO providers have a deep knowledge of local laws, employment regulations and culture, which become even more pertinent with the new remote hiring or hybrid working models. They also have access to a global talent pool, helping build a diverse and inclusive workforce. Whether it is through using strategists or interview panellists, companies get access to the required resources, saving valuable time for the recruitment team.

Access to technology: Several RPO vendors have implemented or have access to AI-powered digital recruitment platforms that increase candidate engagement and provide a seamless experience.  Video interviewing platforms, AI-based chatbots, online assessments with automated proctoring, applicant tracking systems and human capital management systems are just some of these. AI and predictive analytics help to forecast demand, gain insights and determine patterns, thereby improving the efficiency of the recruitment cycle.

By partnering with an experienced RPO provider, companies can focus on core business activities. Careernet is India’s leading talent solutions provider and offers holistic recruitment solutions, powered by cutting-edge technology, with innovative and customised talent acquisition strategies to scale up your workforce. With a measured and strategic approach to workforce planning, companies can navigate the rapidly changing business dynamics and can build a lean, resilient and agile organisation.

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