Article: The rise of RPO in India

Talent Acquisition

The rise of RPO in India

With a population of over 1.3 billion people and a working age population of over 8.8 million people, India shouldnt have a problem finding talent, but the difficulty doesnt lie with the abundance of potential candidates, it lies in finding the right type of talent. And finding the ideal candidate is no easy task.
The rise of RPO in India

Today’s global economy continues to develop at such a rapid rate that our education systems and training programmes are struggling to keep pace, further expanding the skills gap, increasing the talent shortage, and making the search for skilled workers an even harder task.

Growth of the gig economy, shortage of in-demand skills/talent, demands for technology and data, are all market drivers for organizations to consider in their workforce planning and talent acquisition strategy. This can deliver big business benefits for an organization, not just in terms of cost-savings, but greater flexibility and agility, enhanced productivity and greater accountability and compliance, and of course competitive differentiation.

As a result, more organizations are turning to external service providers to locate candidates with the skills and knowledge to help drive business growth, so they can focus on business objectives. Finding talent requires a combination of human intelligence, proven processes and technologies. There is a fine balance between the art and science of recruitment that service providers need to maintain. 

What does an external service provider do? 

Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) – a form of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is where an employer outsources or transfers all or part of its recruitment activities to an external service provider – to help them find, attract and retain the right talent. RPO providers may offer services that include job postings, sourcing, screening, interview scheduling and logistics, offer acceptance and staff onboarding, system compliance, HRIS (Human Resources Information Systems) deployment as well as other research, recruitment and administrative technologies. 

There are many reasons why organizations engage external service providers to manage their talent acquisition needs, and here are the top 10 benefits:

1.  Leveraging the RPO providers specialized knowledge and proven processes can reduce hiring costs and time to fill 
2.  By using skilled sourcers and techniques there is a greater chance of finding the best talent for the role 
3.  RPO providers generally have greater access and can generate and mine a larger talent pool.  They are not limited to a static database
4.  Casting a wide net and utilising market intelligence allows RPO providers to capture candidates where they live, work and socialize
5.  Customizable and scalable talent solution, RPO providers will be flexible to accommodate your business goals and talent needs 
6.  Better access to state-of-the-art technologies, a provider will select the right mix of tools to develop a solution that meets your business
7.  An RPO provider ensures that employer branding is enhanced and every candidate, applicant and employee has a good perception of your business 
8.  Enriched workforce planning ensures that hiring strategies run parallel to your business goals
9.  Engaging an RPO provider means you gain full access to strategic market insights, RPO experts and thought leaders 
10. All of this leaves you time for you to focus on your business. 

According to Everest Group research, India has one of the fastest-growing RPO markets worth US$660-700 million, and it is expected to grow at a cumulative annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24-26% from 2015 to 2020. 

The RPO market in India is changing at a rapid pace – External providers are designing more holistic solutions with greater involvement in Applicant Tracking System (ATS) decision-making, utilizing a plethora of add-on recruitment tools and leveraging advanced analytics. There is greater inclusion of value-added services, and the result is often outcome-based pricing. 

Most of the major external service providers have captive sourcing centres, which provide cost efficiencies and enable pricing to be fully variable. In order to maintain competitive advantage and differentiate themselves in the increasingly competitive RPO marketplace, external providers must demonstrate global knowledge and state-of-the-art recruitment technology add-ons. 

Globally the world of work is shifting and the differentiation between permanent and contingent workers is blurring. We are experiencing a significant rise in demand for total talent solutions. 

The talent landscape in India is changing rapidly, and to maintain a competitive edge, organizations will need to take a holistic look at their workforce, and think about incorporating a total talent acquisition strategy, to find and hire the best talent to ensure successful business growth. 

Today, it is not just about finding candidates. With social media, candidates will find you. The question organizations must answer in order to gain a competitive advantage is: Why should anyone find you?

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Topics: Talent Acquisition, Strategic HR

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