Which is understandable of course, because far too often, HR and those agencies approach the challenge of talent attraction from opposite ends of the field. Their goals aren’t aligned, communication is poor, everyone wants control and opinions are flying around like bullets. Before you know it, the two are basically at war and the whole thing has descended into chaos. The worst part? You’re probably no closer to recruiting the team you need.
Enough was enough. We called a ceasefire on that whole thing years ago. HR and their outside sources of talent being at odds was and is the craziest thing we’ve ever heard. It’s also one of the main reasons why we designed our RPO solution. We wanted to create a world in which our expertise and contribution complimented everything HR does, which is honestly what a partner should always be doing.
The way we look at it, HR is made up of the keepers of the keys to your organization. They control culture, manage talent, work to contain costs, keep you regulated, provide a safe haven for your staff and keep your organization growing. HR is too important to ignore; so anybody would be a fool to do so. In case you’re currently at odds with your stable of agencies, or even with your RPO provider; if you’re not sure it’s working, we’ve come up with a few things that you should be looking out for to ensure that this is a marriage made in heaven:
[clickToTweet tweet=”HR is made up of the keepers of the keys to your organization.” quote=”HR is made up of the keepers of the keys to your organization.”]
Partnership
We liken the constant use of third party contingent agencies as using golden Band-Aids over and over again when surgery is clearly required. Your talent solution is a partner to your business, not an add-on or a temporary fix. When we go into an organization, we always make sure our goals are exactly the same, and that we’re aware of the business objectives. We can then streamline every piece of our process to fulfill your goals and objectives, not simply go hunting for large fees.
Buy-In
An RPO solution is not just a directive to fill X amount of roles. That’s far too narrow and shortsighted. Your RPO provider should be looking at the entire business. We align our service with the MACRO-level, long-term view of organizations. If every person hired is contributing to your company’s objectives, and quality of your workforce determines whether you meet them or not, why wouldn’t we be constantly concerned with the bigger picture; the total talent acquisition pie, if you will, and not just a few slices here and there.
Control
Everyone loves to hold the power in their own hands, but when it comes to building recruiting strategy, it’s not something we’re necessarily interested in. Your RPO provider shouldn’t be either. No one knows your organization better than your HR department, and it’s absolutely up to them to be the champion of the program. RPO compliments and builds on the work of HR to create a well-oiled machine that is consistently moving towards growing your business and achieving your goals. It’s as simple as that.
[clickToTweet tweet=”No one knows your organization better than your HR department” quote=”No one knows your organization better than your HR department”]
Money, Money, Money
One of the main reasons you may evaluate an RPO provider is to cut costs and reduce those expensive third party fees. If you’re working with an agency that is slapping huge fees onto every single placement, and you’re watching your budget get blown out, please recognize that there is another way. It goes back to the aforementioned partnership piece and having aligned goals. It is an objective in your business to cut costs. Let’s just say it takes one to know one. We work to make it our objective for you as well.
There are literally hundreds of things your RPO provider should be doing, and since we’re clearly pretty passionate about it, we could talk all day. But we won’t. Just know, there is absolutely no need for HR to be pulling teeth with recruitment agencies and RPO providers. It’s not a necessary evil or simply part of the job. If you find HR constantly complaining about or engaged in regular battles with their external help, something is terribly wrong. HR and RPO are fundamentally a partnership. A group of people working hand-in-hand to make your company the very best it can be. That’s how it should be, and it’s what your business deserves.