What is RPO ?
Three letters you hear more and more when recruitment comes up. Here we explain in plain language what Recruitment Process Outsourcing is, what it includes and when it becomes interesting.
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What is RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing)?
RPO stands for Recruitment Process Outsourcing: you structurally place your recruitment process with one external partner. That partner runs the full funnel, from employer branding and campaigns to sourcing, screening and follow-up, and does so under your name. You pay for the process, not per placement.
This is what that process looks likeWhat does RPO include?
In an RPO partnership, your partner takes the entire recruitment process off your hands, or an agreed part of it. Think of sharpening your story as an employer, creating content, running campaigns, personally approaching latent talent, screening candidates and following up right through to the interview. At SocialFind, all of that happens under your own name: candidates get to know you, not us.
The big difference with standalone services: one team looks at the whole. If a campaign delivers lots of applicants but few hires, you see it in the numbers and the approach gets adjusted. Nobody points at another agency.
How does RPO differ from an agency?
A recruitment and selection agency delivers you a candidate and sends an invoice per placement. Fine for a single vacancy, but you build nothing with it: the knowledge, the candidates and the network stay with the agency. With RPO you work with a fixed team that gets to know your organization, and every campaign makes your employer brand stronger. The full comparison, including when an agency actually makes more sense, is at RPO or recruitment and selection.
Who is RPO meant for?
RPO is built for organizations that structurally need people: multiple vacancies per year, recurring inflow or hard-to-fill roles. If you have one common vacancy without time pressure, outsourcing recruitment in a lighter form is often more logical. Not sure? On who is RPO for we lay it out honestly.
This is what an RPO partnership includes
Which components we deploy differs per vacancy. This is the toolbox.
- Employer story and content
- We sharpen why someone would want to work for you and create the videos and content that tell that story, on your own work floor.
- Campaigns and visibility
- Vacancy campaigns on the channels where your audience really is, from Meta and TikTok to LinkedIn.
- Sourcing and personal outreach
- Latent talent that doesn't respond to vacancies, we approach in a targeted, personal way.
- Application funnels
- Short, mobile funnels that let candidates respond in a few minutes, without resume hassle.
- Screening and follow-up
- Fast phone follow-up and substantive screening, so you only speak to relevant candidates.
- Data and adjustment
- Every step is measured. What doesn't work goes, what works gets more room.
AT A GLANCE
RPO next to the familiar alternatives
An honest overview: every model has situations where it's the best choice.
| Recruitment and selection | Interim recruiter | RPO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you buy | One candidate per assignment | Extra capacity for your own process | A complete recruitment process |
| Payment model | Fee per placement | Hourly or monthly rate | Fixed monthly rate |
| Employer branding | Not included | Only if you arrange it yourself | Core component |
| Who candidates get to know | The agency | Your organization | Your organization |
| What you build | Little, knowledge stays with the agency | Knowledge leaves with the person | Brand, talent pool and data remain yours |
| Best suited for | One single, common vacancy | A temporary capacity gap | A structural staffing need |
You'll find the detailed comparisons per model under Compare, including the situations where you don't need us.
Frequently asked questions about RPO
Further reading on RPO
Curious whether RPO fits your vacancies ?
Tell us who you need. We determine how to find, convince and hire them.
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