Tips on how to choose an appropriate RPO partner:

1. Specific or general?

If your recruitment needs are fairly general then you should look at a broad range of agencies. However, if you are in a highly specialized industry or require someone with very specific skills you need a sector specific agency.

2. Check their screening process!

You are paying for a service to save you time and money - you do not want to be wading through CVs that are not applicable to the job specification or sitting through interviews with candidates who are clearly not suitable. Furthermore, does the agency check their candidates’ references? If you are filling a permanent position this is an essential task. If you do not have time to do this, ask specifically for this service when vetting your prospective recruiter.

3. Speak to someone!

The quality of their personnel will reveal a great deal about a recruitment agency. They should be up to speed on employment law that applies to you. They should ask you lots of questions to determine the skills you require.

4. Look at their mission statement!

Do they subscribe to rigorous codes of practice and standardization? Look for indicators of a commitment to high performance and ethics. Build a number of key performance indicators into the contracts so the RPO provider has targets and you can track the improvements

5. Do they practice what they preach?

Do they believe in professional qualifications and developing their own staff? Look for recruiters with industry qualifications, qualified consultants will be conversant in the legal, ethical and business issues and trained to select and interview candidates for accurate matching.

6. Long term view!

While reducing costs and driving efficiencies is a major reason why companies turn to RPO, it should never be the only consideration. Good corporate recruitment today is about taking a long-term approach and creating an attractive, well-thought-out process for candidates.