RPO, Recruiting, Firms

The future of RPO points toward international opportunities, recruiting efforts

The RightThing, Inc., an end-to-end RPO provider, delivered a brief statement to analysts this week while at HR Week West, providing a positive outlook for an industry that’s made a name for itself in North America and will soon expand overseas.

"Partnerships will emerge between US and international RPO firms," said Terry Terhark, president and founder of The RightThing. "More and more contracts will include a global component. RPO firms in North America will develop a delivery model that supports most areas of the world."

The move toward worldwide RPO is expected to build momentum in late 2007 then hit the industry to stay in 2008, according to Terhark. He added that the talent pool and sheer numbers in the workforce in areas such as Asia Pacific will be unable to be ignored.

"Companies will continue to examine and execute on RPO decisions," Terhark said. "Due to the demand for talent, companies have to be sure they’re getting access to the very best talent, in North America or anywhere else. RPO firms will continue to evolve and be able to provide solutions to meet the changing needs of the world’s best companies."

As Human Resource Outsourcing (HRO) firms continue to meet the challenges of the RPO piece of the engagement, HRO firms will step up their partnerships with RPO firms to deliver recruiting and staffing services.

"HRO firms that have either built an in-house RPO delivery engine or have partnered with RPO firms will have a market differentiator," Terhark said.

"RPO firms are evolving their recruiting models to better match the customers’ needs," said Jamie Minier, vice president of The RightThing. "Historically, RPO firms have been strong on process and weak on actual recruiting. Now, many RPO firms are building robust recruiting delivery capability. They’re also building in-house expertise in many functional areas."

Other trends for 2007 identified by The RightThing include:

- Industry consolidation: With many firms entering the RPO space, look for definition and standards to emerge as the industry evolves.
- Larger contracts: As large corporations continue to recognize the strategic and business benefits of RPO, large contracts of this size and scope – and larger - will become more commonplace.
- Demand for an RPO strategic partner: Companies will look at RPO firms as more than a vendor. They will expect RPO firms to bring forth new ideas and fully understand a client’s issues.
- Consultative/Selling approach to staffing: A recruiter can’t be a "yes man." The RPO firm must support "change management."
- New recruitment skill sets: RPO firms will be continually asked to find ways to attract the passive non-job seekers.
- Metrics: The demand will be to measure results as the key to identifying issues and make improvements before they become problems.
- Technology: Specifically, RPO firms will provide the expertise for managing a process within a system and integration with other systems.
- Reporting: The ability for companies to pull ad hoc, real-time reports is becoming the standard expectation – and at a reduced cost.