Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) is a form of business process outsourcing (BPO) where an employer transfers all or part of its recruitment processes to an external service provider, according to the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association (RPOA). An RPO provider can provide its own or may assume the company’s staff, technology, methodologies, and reporting. In all cases, RPO differs greatly from providers such as staffing companies and contingent/ retained search providers in that it assumes ownership of the design and management of the recruitment process and the responsibility for results.

When an organization transfers all or some of its recruitment process to an outside talent solutions partner, it gains expertise backed by decades of experience forging successful recruitment programs. As recruitment experts, talent acquisition constitutes the core competency of RPO providers. They bring people, technologies, and processes together to attract and acquire top talent based on the client’s needs. In addition, outsourcing recruitment to an external provider allows employers to scale their hiring function up or down to meet fluctuations in hiring demands. As a result, RPO providers create fruit-bearing partnerships with employers.