Creating a leaner HR function
It’s no secret that businesses are continuing to make strategic cutbacks in these uncertain economic times. But while you may think that reducing or even abandoning partnerships and outsourcing relationships would be a sure fire way to minimise costs – it may not be the case. Bringing everything in-house, adopting a do-it-yourself attitude and saving money on paying someone else to do your recruitment could in fact cost you in the long run.
For many companies, partnering with an RPO provider allows them to better utilise and focus company resources, especially in terms of man-power, time and costs. Outsourcing your recruitment function can in fact supply you with significant expertise in specialist fields without the price tag of having someone on staff permanently – making it a more efficient and cost-effective way of going about things. This is especially relevant if it’s not a function you recruit for often or a market in which you often recruit, as an RPO provider will ensure a flexible, proactive approach is undertaken to meet this challenge.
In uncertain times, especially in the current financial climate, peaks and troughs in recruitment demand will occur and can be difficult for organisations to manage with fixed size in-house teams and budget pressures. An RPO provider can be an invaluable partner to an in-house team by, providing flexible expertise to meet peak demand and scaling this down during recruitment troughs.
Organisations outsourcing recruitment aren’t always able to avoid major investment in technology, but they are able to benefit from discounted rates and deployment and customisation expertise quality RPO providers bring.
Perhaps the biggest bonus of using an outsourced RPO provider is that you can make it a bespoke service. Because, let’s face it, there really is never a one size fits all approach to resourcing and every client has unique needs. Creation of consistency of strategy, process, technology and people across a program is married with localisation to meet geographical market requirements or specific talent attraction needs to give a “best-fit” client solution. A customised service may not be the cheapest proposition, but it delivers in terms of value and is arguably more cost-effective in terms of the quality of the service and overall benefits it brings to the company. It’s about the Return on Investment and providing an optimum balance of cost versus quality. After all, a leaner HR function is only as good as the value it adds to the company.
Mark Lee
Managing Director RPO, EMEA
mark.lee@futurestep.com