Top 5 considerations
In times of disruption, leaders must reevaluate whether their business partners can support a rapid and flexible response to meet fluctuating needs. Here are five key questions to help you determine if it’s time to change recruitment process outsourcing partners:
01. Can your current provider keep up with your evolving business strategy?
A partner that’s more transactional than strategic isn’t well-suited to advise on proactive and flexible strategies in a dynamic talent market. Consider whether your current provider can catch up if given clarity on your changing needs and expectations.
02. Is your RPO partner meeting key performance metrics?
The right partner will guide you in defining the best KPIs to measure success – and consistently meet set targets. Reflect on how well current performance metrics match your business needs and if your provider is meeting the mark.
03. Do you have the right RPO model for existing & future talent needs?
Some providers offer simplistic RPO models designed for cost reduction, speed, and efficiency. The most sophisticated partners build on that, offering advanced models that also enhance your agility and improve the hiring experience. Assess how well your needs and your current provider’s capabilities align.
04. Can your RPO partner scale with changing business needs?
Some providers are more flexible than others, allowing them to quickly scale to suit your needs. This is especially beneficial for global organizations that must keep pace with regional trends. Evaluate whether your current provider can keep up or if you’d benefit from a larger, more agile partner.
05. Does your RPO partner embrace the new?
The best providers have cutting-edge technologies and services that find top talent when and where you want while creating a better hiring experience for all. Ask whether your current provider is an innovator in recruitment technology, artificial intelligence, employer branding, and recruitment marketing.
Misalignment between your needs and your RPO provider’s capabilities impacts hiring metrics and the ability to make a meaningful business impact. Switching to a more sophisticated partner will advance your talent acquisition strategy, improving results across the board.
The ever-changing market has human resources and talent acquisition leaders uncovering tremendous opportunities for improving their hiring approach. The right RPO providers will help you:
Start here if you're considering a change
If you're considering a change in RPO providers, you must build a business case to support the change. Here's how to start:
01. Evaluate your current state: Ask questions about your existing provider’s recruiting capabilities, costs, and results. The insights will help you assess other options to determine which gives you a competitive edge.
02. Set your requirements: There’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Consider which talent acquisition model best supports your company’s unique hiring needs.
03. Assess the true cost of talent acquisition: Calculating your current spend means looking at both hard and soft costs. Look at costs related to sourcing, addressing talent gaps, and enhancing the hiring process, and how a more sophisticated partner could reduce these costs.
04. Uncover opportunities for other bottom-line impacts: Support from the right RPO partner for your company can deliver value that ripples across the business, such as:
05. Understand stakeholder priorities: Successfully changing business partners requires buy-in and support from many of your company’s stakeholders. Make a shining business case by answering their top questions:
Humans naturally dislike change. Prepare to address weary stakeholders’ concerns and help them see the positive aspects of your new RPO relationship, including: streamlined processes, enhanced technologies, reduced workloads, and improved candidate and hiring manager experience.
Start your analysis and begin to build your business case 9-12 months before your current RPO contract renewal period. This gives you time for:
Decide which provider is best for your needs
This checklist will help you understand the relative strengths, weaknesses,
and differentiators of potential partners.
✓ RPO evolution stage: Evaluate how sophisticated each provider’s offering is versus your requirements.
✓ Innovation: Assess how providers differentiate their offerings with innovative services and technologies.
✓ Culture: Rate which provider is the best cultural fit for your organization.
✓ Industry experience & expertise: Evaluate providers’ experience in your industry and with the type of positions you need to fill.
✓ RPO focus & investment: Determine if RPO is the provider’s primary service offering or a small part of their portfolio.
✓ Billing structure: Check whether the billing structure is a standard pay-by-requisition format or a more results-driven approach based on custom service level agreements.
Here's what the top RPO partners provide
The RPO partner you select should be well-equipped to design and execute a tailored talent acquisition and recruitment process that delivers exceptional business results. The best partners provide:
The right RPO partner can create glowing talent acquisition results
Faster time to fill
The partnership between Tufts Medical Center and Cielo: Decreased average time-to-fill by 38 days year-over-year.
Offer acceptance rate
The partnership between McKesson and Cielo:
Decreased time-to-offer to under 36 days and delivered a 90% offer acceptance rate.
Reduction in attrition rate
The partnership between Grifols and Cielo: Reduced attrition by 11%, impacting productivity and profitability.
In savings
The partnership between Froedtert and Cielo: Delivered approximately $3 million in savings in the first year.
Tufts Medical CenterHaving a bold talent acquisition strategy is key to our success. We are grateful for the dynamic partnership we have with Cielo.
Once you choose the perfect RPO partner, it's time to plan
Proper planning will help you guide a successful conversion that delivers improved TA results.
✓ Develop and communicate a clear message about what’s driving the change and how it impacts all parties.
✓ Define clearly the expectations of the incumbent provider, the new provider, and your internal teams.
✓ Understand your current RPO contract (e.g., termination clauses, do not hire).
✓ Inform the incumbent provider of the transition.
✓ Create an interim recruiting contingency plan.
✓ Host a transition meeting with all parties.
✓ Catalog all “knowledge transfer” from the incumbent to the new provider.
✓ Take or transfer ownership of databases and third-party tools/partnerships.
✓ Incentivize the incumbent provider to continue performing.
✓ Assess progress regularly and adjust your plan as necessary.
An intentional, well-thought-out internal change management plan will ensure a smooth transition for stakeholders. Consider including the following elements in your internal change plan:
No matter where you are on your talent acquisition journey—whether you're exploring new strategies, optimizing existing processes, or navigating a major change—we're here to help. Let’s talk about what’s next and how we can help you move forward with confidence.
About the experts
Senior Vice President – Business Development, Cielo
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Senior Vice President – Business Development, Cielo
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