The question of whether to hire in-house or use a Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) service is one that many of your competitors have probably considered. Both choices offer great advantages, but the decision ultimately comes down to the size of the project. First, however, we must define RPO and explain how it functions.

In the recruitment process outsourcing concept, a business or organization hands over some or all of its hiring duties to an outside agency. The outsourced service provider functions as an extension of the HR division, handling all aspects of the company’s hiring process.

Both in-house and outsourced recruitment solutions have advantages and disadvantages. Check out some key differences between hiring in-house and RPO to help you decide what’s best for your small business.

In-House Recruitment vs. Recruitment process outsourcing

Responsibilities and their scope

The benefit of having an in-house HR team is that you have their complete attention. But, on the other hand, RPO agencies can wear many hats in addition to recruiting.

In-house: Your in-house team has an advantage in understanding your company culture, industry fit, and specific hiring needs. They are in charge of various tasks, such as planning and developing the workforce, dealing with employees and unions, managing risks, ensuring employees are engaged and hiring new people.

RPO: External service providers can provide flexibility in managing responsibilities. They can help with long-term talent pools, training and development, employer branding, and effective workforce planning.

If your team is already swamped with other HR responsibilities, they may fall behind on their recruiting assignments. Similarly, hiring can divert time away from other HR responsibilities. If this is the case with your small business, it might be best to work with an RPO agency.

Cost-Savings

Hiring an in-house recruitment team requires a significant investment in money, time, and effort. Outsourcing saves money and time by keeping finances flexible rather than fixed.

In-house: Hiring new employees is not cheap. Companies would face financial difficulties due to fixed HR expenses and intangible costs such as the time required to hire a full-time team. These are in addition to compensation, benefits, training, and other overhead costs.

RPO: Working with an RPO can significantly reduce your costs when compared to hiring in-house HR employees. Finally, you would not have to pay a monthly fee to LinkedIn or other recruitment platforms or tools. The RPO agency will cover almost all your hiring needs while keeping costs down.

Hiring new team members on your own can strain your resources if you run a small business. Outsourcing your recruiting needs could be a more cost-effective option for you.

Scalability

The RPO model is meant to make it easy to scale up or down your recruitment processes and resources at a cost that won’t hurt your business.

In-house: Hiring or developing your in-house recruiters may come in handy when business is booming. But what if you realize you need to scale back after a few months? This could only leave your company with a financial dent and an excess of resources. Furthermore, scaling your business quickly can be difficult for an in-house recruitment team.

RPO: Hiring the expert services of an RPO can help you grow your team at a manageable pace. Working with an outside service provider allows you to concentrate on more important tasks while growing your team.

Outsourcing is a more scalable option for small businesses compared to having your internal recruitment team. If you want to grow your small business, working with an RPO agency is your best bet.

Control Degree

Small businesses require a high level of control. Outsourcing does not imply giving up control of your recruitment process. You will, however, have less control over a third-party recruitment team than you would have over an in-house department.

In-house: Because full-time employees are solely focused on your small business, you have more control over them. You can easily delegate tasks and set priorities and workplace practices for them to follow.

RPO: Working with an RPO may mean competing for their time with other clients. For example, when you delegate too many responsibilities to third parties, you may work with maintenance workers who only keep the lights on for as long as they are paid.

RPO and in-house recruiters can coexist in some cases. You can realign the responsibilities of your internal department to focus on more strategic initiatives and internal affairs. A third-party recruitment team can focus on finding qualified candidates and managing the hiring process.

Expertise

RPO agencies are experts in recruitment and human resource solutions. Their responsibilities extend beyond simply screening candidates and filling open positions. They handle strategic hiring and come up with solutions that an in-house team might not be able to come up with.

In-house: You would never hire an in-house recruitment team that isn’t an expert in their field, would you? But, on the other hand, some might not have enough experience in certain areas, like managing all parts of the hiring process, which is important for your company’s competitive edge.

RPO: A recruitment process outsourcing agency employs technologies that provide optimal audit trails, comprehensive management information, improved analysis, forecasting, and reporting for strategic headhunting.

RPO agencies have the broader market knowledge and spend more time in the market looking for the right talent for businesses. This is because they know what a good candidate looks like. This entails getting to business as soon as possible and minimizing project delays.

One size does not fit all when deciding between an in-house team and the recruitment process outsourcing. An in-house team is ideal for established businesses with predictable hiring requirements. On the other hand, a recruitment agency is ideal for growing businesses that need to scale quickly without breaking the bank.

You may not even have to choose between the two in some cases. For example, working with a recruitment agency while building or keeping your own team lets you take advantage of the RPO agency’s expertise while also strengthening your workforce assets.

And what if you decide to outsource your recruitment? Consider BPOPHIL, fill out the form now to schedule a free consultation, and let’s talk about how we can come up with a custom quote: Our team of experts is waiting to assist you!