Talent Acquisition Leader Scrambles to Meet Hiring Surge – Can You Relate?

by: Conor McCann, |
February 21, 2020
Woman staring off thinking

Picture this. Your Head of Sales tells you that she just received a signed contract from that big account she mentioned three quarters ago and she needs to start delivering services next month… NEXT MONTH!?! This means you need to hire more technologists, more production staff, and more customer service personnel and your organization is already understaffed.

You IM your Recruiter to tell them that you’re going to be opening several requisitions for IT talent, production shifts, and customer service reps to start fulfilling this new contract. Oh yeah, and they need to start before the end of the month….

Your Recruiter informs you that he is currently dealing with a contract dispute with a headhunter who is now charging you 30% fees instead of 20% because of the tight talent marketplace. Not to mention, two of his contract recruiters just quit after being on the job for only a few weeks. Plus, he already has dozens of requisitions which have been open for months….

If this describes you or your organization, you are not alone. This is a common thread we hear from several of our small to mid-size clients. They’ve tried it all: hiring an internal recruiting team, working with headhunters, and engaging contract recruiters as a fallback. All of these are valid options in the marketplace with strong use cases, but they don’t always produce the results that you need to achieve your goals.

Consider these statistics:

  • 79% of CEOs see the availability of talent as a threat to the growth of their organization.
  • One in five talent acquisition budgets have not increased since 2015.
  • $6,000 = the average cost-per-hire (CPH) for optimal internal talent acquisition teams.
  • Top talent gets hired within 10 days.

If your company is growing and changing, your partnerships will too. If your company is stagnant right now, the marketplace is changing and if you don’t adjust now, you may fall behind.

Recruitment Process Outsourcing or RPO has been around for decades and is traditionally seen as an option exclusively available for companies who are hiring 1,000+ employees for the same position across multiple locations. This is no longer the case. 

Here’s more:

  • The RPO industry consists of over 2,500 active partnerships today and is estimated to increase by over 10% annually for the foreseeable future.
  • Midsize companies will account for 50% of the market share of RPO deals this year.
  • 97% of RPO engagements include sourcing, screening, applicant tracking, and interviewing.

RPO is a partnership that is accountable to hiring the best talent, in the right position, on-time, and on-budget so small to mid-size, growing businesses can focus on their ever-changing strategy. It is an optimal solution for businesses of all sizes and delivers stable practices and reliable results for companies that need it most.

Curious to know where I found my stats?

Jobvite Recruiting Benchmark Report

Nelson Hall research reports

Everest Group research reports

Credence Research reports

Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) solutions from Advanced RPO can help you evaluate and improve your hiring processes to get the talent you need to succeed. Contact us today to learn more about our high-touch solutions.