RPO or recruitment and selection
Recruitment and selection is the best-known recruitment model in the Netherlands, and for some situations still the best choice. But if you need people on a structural basis, one-off placements often mean paying too much for too little without noticing. The honest comparison.
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What is the difference between RPO and recruitment and selection?
Recruitment and selection is a transaction: an agency finds candidates for one vacancy and you pay a fee per placement. RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing) is a structural partnership in which one partner runs the complete recruitment process, from employer branding and campaigns to screening and follow-up, under your name and without a fee per placement. Recruitment and selection buys individual hires; RPO builds a recruitment system that remains yours.
What is RPO?The comparison
Transaction versus system
Both models deliver hires. The difference is in what does or doesn't get built along the way.
| Permanent placement | SocialFind RPO | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Fee per placement, often a percentage of annual salary | Fixed partnership, no placement fees |
| Scope | Searching and shortlisting for one vacancy | The full funnel: strategy, branding, media, sourcing, screening, follow-up |
| Under whose name | The agency approaches candidates under its own name | Everything under your name and your employer brand |
| Candidate relationship | Candidates sit in the agency's network | Candidates build a relationship with your organization |
| Multiple vacancies | A new fee for every vacancy | One partnership, a tailored approach per role |
| Employer branding | Not part of the model | Grows stronger with every campaign |
| Data and learnings | Stay with the agency | Remain yours and improve every next hiring round |
| Incentive | Place fast, because that's when the fee lands | Working toward sustainable hires and a decreasing cost per hire |
For one senior role without a structural need, permanent placement is often simply the logical choice. We'll be the first to say so.
The difference in one picture
A fee buys one hire, a system builds each one cheaper
With one-off placements, the work starts from scratch for every vacancy and nothing that's yours stays behind. With a structural approach, brand, talent pool and data keep stacking up, making every next hire faster and sharper. That's the difference between a transaction and a system.
See how RPO works.jpg&w=1920&q=75)
The economics behind both models
A placement fee seems expensive but straightforward: you only pay on results. The real comparison, however, isn't about the fee, but about the total cost per hire over a longer period. If you hire several people a year through one-off fees, you pay for the same work again and again. The agency starts from zero with every vacancy, and nothing from the search (the audience insight, the candidate relationships, the campaign learnings) becomes property of your organization.
With a structural model, that logic flips. The investment builds something that lasts: a stronger employer brand, a filled talent pool, an application funnel designed per role and data that makes every next hiring round sharper. That's why in a well-run RPO program the cost per hire drops the longer the partnership runs, while with one-off placements it by definition stays the same.
When is permanent placement the better choice?
Fair is fair:
- You have one specific (senior) vacancy and don't expect a structural hiring need any time soon.
- You're looking for a very scarce, very specific profile for which a specialized agency has a demonstrably relevant network.
- You want no structural commitment whatsoever and accept that this also means building nothing.
In those situations, we ourselves would simply recommend a good permanent placement agency.
When does RPO become structurally more interesting?
- You have multiple or recurring vacancies, or a wide range of role types, from board level to operational staff.
- The sum of one-off fees is starting to pinch and you want a predictable cost model without placement fees.
- You want hiring to strengthen your employer brand instead of candidates getting to know an agency.
- Your in-house team needs reinforcement in media, content or sourcing rather than yet another supplier.
You can run the full calculation on the business case page.
Frequently asked questions about RPO vs permanent placement
Compare further
Paying for one-off placements or building a system ?
Let us do the math with you: we honestly compare your current hiring costs with what a structural approach would do. And we'll say so if permanent placement remains the better choice in your case.
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