Building a Business Case for RPO

Amidst the most turbulent labour market in recent memory, talent acquisition leaders and procurement professionals alike are turning to partners for creative, agile and adaptable solutions for their current and future talent challenges. Because recruiting touches the whole organisation, stakeholders across the business will have opinions on the benefits and drawbacks of recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) as well as unique ideas about the best approach. The process to secure buy-in and budget doesn’t have to be difficult. By having a few conversations with the right people in your organisation and gathering some information around current recruitment processes and costs, you can present a solid business case for RPO to your leadership team and create a path forward to an effective and resilient talent acquisition program.

What is RPO?

First things first—what is recruitment process outsourcing? Recruitment process outsourcing, abbreviated as RPO, is a type of business process outsourcing in which an employer transfers some or all portions of the recruitment process to an external service provider. These facets may include job postings, sourcing, screening, assessments, offer management, background verifications, some onboarding elements and more.

RPO can support hiring for high volume or niche professional roles and often involves technology and talent advisory consulting—including employer branding. An RPO provider embodies the best of your culture, employer brand and values in all the activities they perform on your organisation’s behalf, while integrating with your systems, processes and people. Plus, your RPO team brings new ideas, innovation and expertise to bolster your talent strategy and plans. They may sit on-site, work remotely, work offshore or a combination, and they typically take on your company name and email domain as an extension of your organisation.  

RPO can be leveraged to augment existing in-house recruitment teams and can complement your current recruitment program by taking over recruiting for specific job groups, locations or business units. Moreover, across your enterprise, you can leverage different RPO models to maximise the benefits.

When evaluating whether RPO is right for your organisation, it’s important to determine which RPO blueprint is the right one. As you speak to stakeholders, one key challenge you may run into is that stakeholders have different views on what you mean by RPO. In your business case presentation, you’ll want to compare different models—and clearly define them—in order to help the decision-making process.

Benefits of RPO

RPO engagements are not only about outsourcing your recruiting but also about finding the best partner to help manage the people, process, technology and strategy of your talent acquisition function. There is no single best option, only the option that best aligns with your organisational needs.

You should focus on finding the solution that provides the most value for your investment. RPO will create benefits that will be felt across your organisation in terms of both cost and operational efficiencies.

Cost Benefits of RPO

Whether through direct or indirect cost savings, RPO can provide advantages that impact your bottom line. As you prepare your business case for RPO, here are some cost benefits to keep in mind:

  • Reduced Time-to-Fill: The longer a position goes unfilled, the more likely your business is to experience productivity loss—and loss of revenue. RPO teams find candidates and fill roles faster through talent pipelining.
  • Lower Cost-per-Hire:  RPO offers cost efficiencies by shortening hiring timelines and improving the quality of your talent, while also lowering recruitment marketing spend. By streamlining and optimising recruitment processes, improving time-to-hire and retention rates, RPO increases your return on investment and delivers savings to your bottom line.
  • Reduced Agency Spend: A huge benefit of RPO is the reduced reliance on disparate third-party staffing agencies. By consolidating recruitment under a single partnership, you reduce agency usage and make your recruitment costs more predictable.

👉 Learn the top differences between an RPO and a staffing agency.

Operational Benefits of RPO

In addition to the cost benefits of RPO, there are operational benefits that can be felt across your business, including:

  • Elevated Role for HR: Leading RPO providers can provide labour market insights, talent intelligence and benchmarking data. With access to these insights, you have the data you need to support your workforce strategy as well as tactical business decisions. You can capitalise on the latest market analysis, thought leadership and competitive intelligence to inform your talent strategy. Your RPO partner can provide analytics to help you understand what’s working so you can maximise your ROI. Your RPO partner should also be able to give insights into how your organisation is perceived as well as tactical steps to fundamentally change perceptions through your employer value proposition (EVP) and employer brand and even recruitment marketing and media purchasing services.
  • Improved Candidate Quality: As skills gaps and talent scarcity becomes more challenging, having an RPO team digging into passive sourcing to access niche skills sets will expand your talent pool and improve quality-of-hire. RPO providers leverage their comprehensive talent networks and effective screening and assessment tools to produce stronger candidates and more diverse talent pools.
  • Better Candidate Experience: You want your recruitment process to leave every applicant, regardless of whether they get the job, with a positive experience. Your RPO partner can advise on ways to improve the candidate experience including career site audits, job application recommendations and how to leverage technology to speed up the process and reduce friction.
  • Improved Hiring Manager Experience: Your RPO team reduces the administrative burden on your hiring managers by taking over résumé and CV screening, assessment administration, interview scheduling, candidate communication and feedback tasks. RPO teams prepare hiring managers for interviews, provide them with feedback and identify any candidates at risk of dropping from the process so managers can make informed decisions.
  • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Through experience collected over many client engagements, RPO teams are knowledgeable about enhancing your employer brand for wider audiences and expanding your talent attraction efforts to new job boards, social media groups, online forums and events to target more diverse candidates.
RPO business case

3 Steps to Building Your Business Case for RPO

RPO solutions are designed to provide transformative recruitment strategies that are flexible enough to help you achieve competitive advantage at a predictable cost. Let’s explore the steps you can take to gather the information you need for your business case.

1. Engage Internal Stakeholders

Before embarking on your business case, it’s essential to engage the right stakeholders from the beginning. Human resources (HR), procurement, hiring managers and the C-suite will all have different pain points, desires and recruitment costs impacting their budgets. Their support will be crucial for not only securing resources but for the overall success of the RPO program.

👉 Create buy-in with our conversations guide for RPO.

By understanding what each stakeholder cares about, you can show how RPO can provide the solution for their challenges. Plus, once you’ve secured budget and selected an RPO provider, these stakeholders will be more open to change to make your RPO program successful.

The goal in this step is to be able to define current pain points and desired future outcomes so you can address these issues through an RPO solution.

Here are 10 questions you can use as conversation starters to uncover your organisation’s biggest challenges:

  1. Do we have the talent we need to achieve business goals now and into the future?
  2. Are we attracting quality talent with the right mix of skills, experience and cultural fit?
  3. How are we doing with our diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) goals? Are we attracting and hiring underrepresented candidates?
  4. Is our talent acquisition program able to respond quickly to changes in the market (i.e., easily and quickly scale up or down)?
  5. Are we providing an excellent candidate experience consistently?
  6. Are hiring managers getting the support they need to fill their vacancies?
  7. What recruitment technology are we currently using, and is it sufficient for our needs going forward?
  8. Do we have the data and insights we need to do effective workforce planning?
  9. How much are we spending annually on talent acquisition? Are we getting the best value for money?
  10. What are the differences in recruitment strategies between different countries or regions?

2. Assess Your Current Recruitment Landscape

As part of your engagement with stakeholders, it’s important to understand the current lay of the land when it comes to your talent acquisition program. You’ve got to know where you’re starting from in order to improve it.

This may seem like a straightforward question if your company has one in-house recruitment team. However, things get more complicated when there are separate in-house teams sitting in different regions who are using different processes or different local third-party agencies. Worse yet, individual departments and hiring managers may be handling their own recruitment. Ask around and get it all down on paper.

Metrics to help measure your recruitment process:

  • Applicant-to-hire ratio
  • Interview-to-offer ratio
  • Time-to-hire and time-to-fill
  • Time-in-stage or hiring velocity
  • Offer acceptance rate
  • Cost-per-vacancy

Sourcing & Attraction

Who sources candidates for your organisation? What channels are you using to get in front of candidates? Are you attracting lots of active candidates, or are recruiters having to engage mostly passive candidates? What are the average costs associated with attracting active candidates versus sourcing passive candidates?

What are you doing to attract candidates to your job ads? Who manages this budget? Are you using any suppliers like creative agencies or advertising platforms (e.g., LinkedIn, Indeed, industry publications, etc.)? How are these channels performing?

Screenings, Interviews & Assessments

Beyond sourcing candidates, who reviews résumés and CVs? Who manages the interview process? How many interview or assessment steps are currently required for each role type?

Are there any delays or bottlenecks that are contributing to longer hiring cycles, poor candidate experiences or increased candidate drop-off rates?

What role is technology playing at each stage? Is there opportunity to build more automation into your processes?

Offers & Negotiation

Once you get to an offer stage, who signs off on offers? What is your offer acceptance rate? If it’s lower than you’d like, is there something about the candidate experience that’s turning them off?

Are you leveraging candidate surveys? What is your candidate Net Promoter Score (NPS)? What are your ratings on review sites like Glassdoor?

It’s also worth looking at attrition and tenure metrics to identify any issues causing new hires to leave soon after joining.

Uncovering this information will help you understand your gaps and opportunities. An RPO provider will be able to develop customised solutions to address your unique challenges.

3. Calculating the Cost of Talent Acquisition

Now that you understand what goes into your recruitment efforts, you can assess how much the overall talent acquisition program will cost to run. It’s preferrable to understand how your staffing spend has changed over the last three to five years.

Unfortunately, this isn’t as simple as asking HR for their budget details. You’ll want to incorporate both direct and indirect costs when assessing your talent acquisition program costs. Let’s break this down.

Understanding Direct Costs with Cost-per-Hire

A great place to start to understand your direct costs is with your cost-per-hire (CPH). This is the average cost you incur to hire a new employee. This includes total internal expenditures and external expenditures divided by your total number of new hires. You can calculate cost-per-hire using a monthly or annual measurement period.

cost per hire = total external costs + total internal costs / total number of hires

Internal costs include things like:

  • In-house recruiter salaries
  • Training costs for recruiters or hiring managers
  • Salary costs of time invested by hiring manager and other employees
  • Employee referral awards

External costs are any expenses incurred from external vendors, like:

  • External agency fees
  • Recruitment marketing and advertising costs
  • Assessment costs
  • Fees from drug tests and background checks
  • Technology costs
  • Hiring event and career fair spend
  • Candidate travel and lodging
  • Relocation expenses
  • Visa expenses
  • Signing bonuses

It may be useful to look into the differences in CPH for each job function, experience level, candidate source, geography and labour market. This may mean doing several calculations to capture these categories.

Keep in mind, cost-per-hire doesn’t capture quality of hire or take into account the costs of making a bad hire. If your cost-per-hire is low, but your new hires are leaving quickly or don’t pass their probationary period, is that really an advantage? On the flip side, a high cost-per-hire that brings in new employees that are engaged, productive and invested in your organisation is worth the expenditure. Ultimately, your talent acquisition program shouldn’t focus solely on cost but should concentrate on creating more value for the business.

Sussing Out Indirect Recruitment Costs

There are also indirect costs around recruitment that can be more difficult to measure and present in hard numbers. These could include:

  • Loss of productivity due to vacancy
  • Cost of overtime to cover vacancies
  • Impact on employee morale
  • Customer churn
  • Knowledge loss from turnover (and subsequent training costs)
  • Reputational damage from bad candidate experiences
budget for RPO

Presenting Your Business Case for RPO

Now that you’ve gotten to the bottom of your current recruitment efforts and the associated costs, you can present the business case for the RPO models that will address your challenges. Don’t be afraid to reach out to RPO providers for help with this step. By providing them with the information you gathered in the previous steps, they can provide a breakdown of the services they offer and how they could address your unique needs.

How you go about putting your business case on paper will depend on your organisational requirements and personal preference. We recommend getting everything onto one page. This gives C-suite leadership an easy-to-digest snapshot of your recommendations. While there is often a need to present high-level decisions in hard financial terms (e.g., ROI, NPV, IRR), presenting the business case simply will also help garner expert support to create any detailed financial assessment needed. You can always link to additional documentation to back-up your presentation (e.g., a flow chart of the current hiring steps, a SWOT analysis, etc.).

Your business case one-pager should consist of the following:

  1. Options: These are the solutions you’ve identified as best at addressing the pain points you uncovered in your conversations with stakeholders. Keep in mind that staying as-is is always a viable option. It’s also essential both to include your current situation as a contrast to the new RPO models and ensure each option is adequately described (for example, in supporting documents) so decision makers understand what is being compared. 
  2. Benefits and Drawbacks: These are the positives and negatives you could gain with each option. These should be aligned to the pain points identified by your stakeholders. The risk section (see number 4 below) is the place to capture any uncertainties about the expected benefits. Cash and non-cashable savings can be highlighted here, though most should be covered in the Costs section below.
  3. Costs: This should be both the direct (monetary) costs as well as indirect costs (like investments of time) and should be profiled to cover the whole life of each option (i.e., implementation, operation, close). A leading RPO provider should offer consultation that will help you complete this section.
  4. Risks and Opportunities: By showing the risks for each option, you give leadership the confidence that you’ve explored all the issues when coming to these conclusions. It also helps everyone make more informed decisions. Risks and opportunities are not guaranteed to happen, and in all cases should be evaluated both by likelihood and by impact. They are entirely future focused, so if you have a current issue, it should be listed as a drawback (see above).
  5. Assumptions: Explaining any assumptions you’ve made while preparing this document, helps you acknowledge any possibilities that might impact recruitment plans but that are out of your control or that could change in the future. For example, you could document current plans around mergers and acquisitions or geographical expansion. If there’s anything you want to exclude from the scope of your RPO engagement, you’ll want to document this here too.  

On the next page we’ve included an example of a business case for RPO created for a client who was hoping to move away from a combination of in-house recruiters and staffing agencies to an RPO solution.

Example Business Case for RPO

example business case for RPO

The Business Case for RPO

Going through the steps we’ve detailed in this guide will arm you with everything you need to prove that an RPO partner will create measurable value for your organisation. Presenting a winning business case for RPO—that depicts the process and cost efficiencies in an easily digestible document—will help you to secure budget and buy-in and put you well on your way to achieving talent advantage.

Countdown to Skills Crisis? What Our Latest Research Tells Us About Skills Gaps

By Simon Wright, Global Head of Talent Advisory Consulting

The workforce skills landscape is transforming at blinding speed. Automation, AI, sustainability initiatives, demographic shifts—global forces are conspiring to make skills gaps and talent shortages more acute by the day. Don’t think it’s moving that fast? Well, the World Economic Forum predicts that a jaw-dropping 85 million jobs could sit vacant by 2030, resulting in $8.5 trillion in lost revenue.

The very meaning of “skills” is shifting beneath our feet. Skills requirements have already changed 25% since 2015, and experts forecast 65% more change by 2030. However, companies still rely heavily on degrees and experience over skills when it comes to making hiring decisions. No wonder we’re careening towards a global skills crisis.

PeopleScout partnered with skills-based workforce management platform provider Spotted Zebra to survey over 100 senior HR and talent acquisition leaders globally, plus over 2,000 employees worldwide, to compare perspectives. Our new research report, The Skills Crisis Countdown, maps the skills landscape and diagnoses the disconnects between employers and their workforce.

Read on for some key findings from our report.

HR Leaders are Ill-Prepared for the Skills Crisis

According to a study by PwC, 40% of global CEOs believe their business will be economically unviable in 10 years unless they reinvent for the future. Our study revealed that nine out of 10 HR leaders believe that up to 50% of their workforce will require new skills to effectively perform their job in the next five years. Yet, when asked if they are currently undergoing or planning a workforce transformation initiative in the next three years, nearly half (45%) of HR leaders admit to having no plans to undertake one.

So, in other words, half of employees will soon be underprepared for the future, but most companies have no strategy in place to address the issue.

According to LinkedIn, 84% of members are in occupations that could have at least one quarter of their core skills affected by generative AI (GAI) technologies, like ChatGPT. So, how are HR leaders preparing for this digital transformation and the AI era? Shockingly, a full third (34%) say they have no preparations in place to prepare for new technologies. Those who are preparing emphasise bringing in outside talent rather than reskilling existing employees.

Industry Composition by GAI Segment
Percentage of LinkedIn Members by Industry

impact of GAI on workforce skills
(Source: LinkedIn Economic Graph Research Institute)

This is likely because they lack an understanding of the skills they have within their existing workforce. Our data revealed that 68% of organisations identify skills from manager feedback, which is highly subjective. So, it’s no surprise that 56% of employees think their skills are underutilised in their current roles, and 61% think there are other roles in their organisation where their skills could be utilised.

An unprecedented skills revolution is barrelling down the tracks, but companies are fast asleep at the switch. It’s time to wake up and get employees future-ready or risk a global skills crisis and talent scarcity for decades to come.

Digital & Tech Skills Gaps are Widening but Tech Skills are Viewed as Unimportant

Both employers and employees dangerously underestimate the importance of tech and digital skills. In our survey, both parties listed tech and digital literacy skills with low importance. With the skyrocketing demand for tech and digital talent, this does not bode well.

skills in the workplace

Mobile apps, ecommerce and digital transformation have made technology integral to every corporate strategy. However, supply isn’t keeping up with demand. McKinsey analysed 3.5 million job postings in high-tech fields and found there’s a wide divide between the demand for tech and digital skills and the qualified talent availability. The most sought-after skills have less than half as many qualified professionals per posting compared to average global figures. 

No wonder 63% of HR leaders in our survey admit they struggle to recruit the skills they need. Closing tech and digital skills gaps through recruitment alone is no longer sufficient. So, we were concerned when our research showed that 73% of the workforce haven’t been offered opportunities to reskill.

Organisations must invest in helping their employees evolve their skills via reskilling and internal mobility to cultivate digital and tech literacy across their entire workforce.

Case Study: Reskilling in Action

The Challenge:

A large global financial services company needed to undertake a major digital transformation program. The organisation needed to acquire key digital and tech skills while leveraging the existing company knowledge of employees in declining customer service roles by reskilling them.

Previous efforts by the organisation to assess employees’ suitability for reskilling were led internally and included multiple, time-consuming line manager interviews. Of even greater concern, around a quarter of those who began the reskilling program dropped out.

The Solution:

The bank worked with their long-time RPO partner, PeopleScout, and Spotted Zebra to assess customer service staff in bank branches and call centres to find ideal candidates for its tech and digital skilling program. Skills profiles were created for tech roles, which employees were assessed against to find the best fit.

The Results:

  • Redeployed 150 people, saving over $2.5M in exit costs
  • Saved over $350,000 in training and development costs
  • Reduced time investment by hiring managers
  • Reduced the reskilling cost-per-person by 70%

Employees Don’t Feel Confident in their Skills for the Future

A third (34%) of workers have doubts about how their skills will keep pace with new technology and automation. Meanwhile, just 17% of organisations are offering targeted reskilling programs for existing employees.

Where are HR Leaders Deploying Skills-Based Practices?

Skills-Based Practices
(Source: PeopleScout and Spotted Zebra)

This imbalance spells disaster. As change overwhelms existing skill sets, most workers will begin to feel unsure of their career paths or left struggling to stay relevant.

Investing in reskilling makes solid business sense. We must bridge the gap between workers anxiously facing uncertainty and leaders failing to invest in their resilience. HR leaders who empower their workforce with adaptable skill sets today will drive continued success in times of swift and sweeping change.

Finding a Talent Partner to Support Your Skills Transformation

The agility to match emerging skill requirements will soon become a competitive necessity. If you haven’t started your skills-based transformation, now is the time.

In our survey, one in two HR leaders admitted to a lack of understanding of skills-based practices. If you’re struggling to understand how to take advantage of skills-based practices in your organisation, PeopleScout is here to be your guide.

As a recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) partner, we can help you understand the skills within your existing workforce as well as the external market supply and demand. We offer solutions across the skills agenda, from skills-based talent intelligence and market insights, building skills frameworks, and creating skills-based success profiles to redesigning recruitment processes, skills-based hiring strategies, and helping you maximise the potential of your existing workforce.  

To learn more about PeopleScout’s skills-focused talent solutions, get in touch.  

[Webinar On-Demand] The Ticking Talent Clock: Is Time Running Out to Address the Skills Crisis?

[Webinar On-Demand] The Ticking Talent Clock: Is Time Running Out to Address the Skills Crisis?

With the rapid advancement of AI, accelerated digitalisation and the greening of the economy, businesses are grappling with the changing nature of work—how we work and the types of jobs we do. In fact, a new research report from PeopleScout and Spotted Zebra, The Skills Crisis Countdown, reveals that nine in 10 HR leaders believe that up to half of their workforce will need new skills to perform their jobs in the next five years. Yet, only less than one in 10 say they are actively investing in reskilling programs.

Are HR leaders running out of time?

Join PeopleScout’s Global Head of Talent Consulting Simon Wright and Spotted Zebra’s Chief Customer Officer Nick Shaw as they delve into the key findings from the research, lay bare the skills crisis and show why the clock is ticking for HR leaders.

In the webinar, Simon and Nick cover:

  • How organisations are addressing the mismatch in skills demand and supply
  • The current state of skills utilisation, skills-based hiring and the need to expand talent pools
  • Strategies for improving talent mobility (including case studies and success stories)
  • Practical steps you can take to transition to a skills-focused model
  • And more!

 

Talent Predictions: How Talent Acquisition Will Navigate 2024

By Simon Wright, Head of Global Talent Advisory Consulting 

We are in one of the most transformative periods in the history of work. Between technological disruptions, societal shifts and global events, the talent landscape five years from now will likely look very different than it does today. However, even in times of uncertainty, we can discern key trends that will impact the way organisations source, recruit and retain talent. 

As a leading talent solutions provider, PeopleScout has a unique vantage point to view the forces shaping the future of work. Based on our experience and industry insights, we believe there are eight core areas talent acquisition leaders should embrace in 2024 to up-level their strategic importance within the business.  

1. Talent Leaders Will Look to New Models to Ride the Economic Waves 

The power balance has now shifted back to the employer amidst a tight labour market, fewer vacancies and a cost-of-living crisis. But if you think it’s time to pause investment in your talent programs, think again.  

Talent acquisition teams shrunk during COVID-19 and then grew quickly as part of the bounce back only to shed jobs again this past year. With continued uncertainty, TA leaders must showcase the value they bring to business by minimising the impacts of economic fluctuations.  

It’s time to leave behind the boom and bust and embrace agility through a strategic approach to workforce planning and forecasting. Talent solutions like recruitment process outsourcing (RPO), including modular RPO solutions, offer responsiveness to help stabilise operational delivery amidst unpredictable economic waves.  

2. Business Transformation Will Shape the Workforce 

The specific skills and capabilities companies need are shifting rapidly, which means the jobs and roles employers need to fill are changing too. According to McKinsey research, one-third of new jobs created in the U.S. in the past 25 years were types that barely existed previously, particularly in high-demand areas like data analytics, software development and renewable energy. According to Totaljobs, despite a general slowdown in hiring, the demand for green jobs continues to go up, skyrocketing by 677% between 2019 and 2023. 

However, this business transformation is being hampered by the lack of talent and relevant skills. Economic, social and labour market changes are evolving faster than workforce training and development systems can keep pace. There simply aren’t enough workers with experience in emerging fields and new technologies.  

TA leaders must work proactively to build the reputation and influence of their employer brand with potential talent now—ahead of the hiring they need to do in the future. This means being able to recruit the best talent in the market, not just the best talent in your pipeline. Investing in candidate nurturing and employer branding strategies now will ensure organisations can hire first—and fast—when the time comes. 

3. Employees Will Continue to Reevaluate Their Relationship with Work 

TA leaders must be the eyes and ears for their organisation, tuning in to the candidate market and shaping the employer value proposition (EVP) to meet the changing needs and expectations of candidates. Today’s employees are demanding more, and the one-size-fits-all EVP approach must evolve to keep up.  

Organisations that refresh their EVP with a more human-centric approach that recognises employees as people, not just workers, will go beyond traditional offerings to provide exceptional life experiences that match employee needs. Delivering a positive emotional connection will be crucial for improving retention, overcoming the productivity vacuum and attracting quality talent in 2024.  

4. Data Will Be the Key to Overcoming Talent Scarcity  

The labour market has shrunk due to the retirement of Baby Boomers, and companies face an enormous brain drain of institutional expertise. Not only is the upcoming population smaller and not replacing the Boomers who are leaving the workforce, but they lack the some of the soft skills of the departing generation. With this double depletion at play, organisations will need to work hard to attract and train Gen Z in order to keep their workforce development on track for the future. 

Additionally, long-term illness, including lingering complications from COVID-19, has sidelined many working-age adults. The latest ONS data shows that the number of people economically inactive because of long-term sickness is now over 2.5 million in the UK alone. 

The key to reducing the impact of talent scarcity in 2024 is data. It’s time for TA leaders to treat talent intelligence as business intelligence, bringing it to the C-suite to drive decision making and inform strategy. Organisations must leverage data to understand both internal and external talent pools, maximising ROI on talent attraction and retention efforts. 

Talent Acquisition Predictions

5. Skills-Based Practices Will Take Centre Stage 

In order to keep pace with changing roles and dwindling talent pools, leading organisations are taking a proactive and holistic approach to adapting their workforces. They are investing in upskilling and reskilling programs while also leveraging RPO partners to find professionals with the most in-demand and future-proof skills. 

More organisations will look to expand candidate pools and tap into diverse skill sets through skills-based recruitment. To do this, organisations must evolve their candidate assessment practices to focus on skills rather than credentials or pedigree. We’ll see more organisations follow the likes of Google and drop their university degree requirements. This will have the added benefit of promoting greater diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) in the workplace.  

6. Internal Mobility Will Receive Big Investment 

More than a third (36%) of HR professionals surveyed identified employee retention as a priority in 2024. Internal mobility will become the key to retention as well as filling open roles and skills gaps. Focus will shift from building external talent pools to internal talent pools, putting methods in place to identify transferable skills that can be boosted to support business transformation.  

We saw an uptick in labour hoarding in 2023 talent trends. In 2024, organisations must invest in transforming the skills of the workers they’ve kept on board in order to ensure they’re ready for what’s on the horizon. 

In 2024, career moves won’t take a linear path but will weave across departments and disciplines, providing workers with variety and rewarding work. Organisations must train hiring managers to look at candidates, not just for their fit for a specific role, but for the value they can bring to the organisation.  

7. Long Overdue Tech Upgrades Will Happen for HR 

The Josh Bersin Company estimates the HR technology is a $250 billion market. 2024 will be the year of recruitment tech stack upgrade.  

Organisations will look to capitalise on AI-powered features to do the heavy lifting so their teams can focus on more valuable recruiting activities. TA leaders should look to technology to augment human touches throughout the candidate experience, to identify opportunities for streamlining through automation, and to help them better interrogate data for a more agile resourcing model.  

This is also an opportunity for TA leaders to demonstrate they can deliver digital transformation and deliver ROI from these investments. This has been a criticism of talent acquisition and HR in the past, and it’s time to dispel that narrative.  

8. AI Fever Will Hit an All-Time High 

And finally, it wouldn’t be a 2024 talent acquisition forecast without a mention of AI. Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) tools, like ChatGPT, were on the tip of our tongues in 2023. As organisations grapple with the ethics of AI, most will succumb to the transformative potential and begin to test and experiment with how AI can benefit their workforce and operations in 2024.  

The role of technology will keep evolving within talent acquisition, but it’s primed to have a pivotal role in streamlining recruitment tasks and improving efficiency in everything from screening to assessments to interview scheduling.  

Organizations should take a principled approach to leveraging AI and automation to augment recruiting, while ensuring human oversight and care for people remains central. Starting with a small project or two will clear the mist so you can see clearly where AI will add value to your recruitment tech stack and candidate experience. 

The Importance of the Right Talent Partner to Help You Ride the Waves 

The future of work holds exciting potential, but also some uncertainty. However, while individual trends are difficult to predict, TA leaders that embrace agility, skills practices and tech innovation will find themselves in a strong position to prove their value in driving business performance. As your talent partner, PeopleScout will be ready to support, challenge and inspire you for whatever lies ahead. 

By staying on top of key shifts like these and working with an expert talent solutions provider like PeopleScout, companies can build workforces with the skills, mindsets and diversity of experiences to thrive in the next era of business. 

Talent Trends: 2023 in Review

By Simon Wright, Global Head of Talent Advisory Consulting  

Earlier in 2023, we highlighted six key areas that would impact how companies attract, retain and develop talent. With the year wrapping up, we’re revisiting these critical topics to examine what transpired in the talent landscape and what may be on the horizon for 2024.  

From closing persistent skills gaps to offering more work flexibility, companies continue to face pressing talent challenges. Economic fluctuations have led some employers to pull back on hiring and remote work, while others doubled down on upskilling programs and expanded their talent pools.  

In the following review, we trace how the 2023 predictions played out amidst an uncertain economy and ever-evolving workplace. 

1. Closing Skills Gaps 

What We Said: 

With rapidly evolving technologies requiring new skills, companies are making upskilling and reskilling their workforce top priorities. Most employees feel unprepared for future jobs, so it’s important for organisations to invest in development to retain employees, build confidence, and help them adapt to changing business priorities. 

What We Saw: 

Skills gaps, and the upskilling and reskilling that must happen in order to close them, are still very much top of mind for HR leaders. The economic slowdown has increased candidate availability, so in the short term there has been more tech talent available, for example. But long term, there is still a skills crisis, and organisations are largely yet to shift to skills-based practices. 

We’ve seen front-runner organisations investing in skills development initiatives to grow the workforce they need. For example, Amazon’s program Career Choice is part of a wider initiative to invest over $1.2 billion by 2025 to provide 300,000 U.S. workers with the training they need to pursue careers in whatever field they choose.  

The average shelf-life of skills is now less than five years. So, the skills conversation is only going to get louder. If the World Economic Forum’s prediction is correct that over 85 million jobs will go unfilled by 2030 due to a lack of skilled talent, resulting in $8.5 trillion (USD) in annual lost revenues, then this is the most pressing issue facing talent leaders today.  

2. Offering More Flexibility 

What We Said: 

Amidst the acceleration of remote work, companies are facing mounting pressure to offer greater location and schedule flexibility to attract and retain talent.  

What We Saw: 

The return to the office debate is still raging. Employees want greater flexibility, but more and more employers are pulling people back into the office. Even Zoom, the video communications company that helps us all work from home, announced in August that it will start tightening its restrictions on remote work. Amazon, Disney and more have all reduced remote-work days. 

While power has shifted back to the employer, this issue won’t go away. If you really think your employees love coming to the office just because you’ve introduced free snacks, you don’t understand what flexibility means to your workers. Flexibility is not just about where you work. True flexibility is about giving more autonomy to your employees about the kinds of work they do and when and where they do it. 

3. Shifting to Contingent Workers 

What We Said: 

As the desire for work flexibility drives more professionals into freelance and contract roles, organisations are increasingly utilising these temporary workers to fill pressing skills gaps and specific project needs while maintaining financial and strategic workforce flexibility. 

What We Saw: 

The economic uncertainty this year has made organisations less likely to make permanent hires. Plus, freelancers, consultants and contractors have developed into an essential part of the workforce as skills requirements become more complex. Maintaining a mix of traditional and flexible talent is crucial for businesses to stay ahead in today’s dynamic climate. 

With the enormous interest in ChatGPT and generative AI, it’s not a stretch to think the pace of business transformation will only accelerate in 2024. And demand for contingent workers will continue to rise. Indeed, according to Ceridian, 65% of organisations plan to increase their reliance on contingent workers in the next two years. 

Talent Trends 2023

4. Tapping into New Talent Pools 

What We Said: 

Facing workforce shortages, organisations are expanding their applicant pool by targeting untapped talent like Generation Z, unretiring Baby Boomers and boomeranging ex-employees.  

What We Saw: 

In 2023, the UK government launched a “returnership” initiative to inspire those over the age of 50 to come back to work. The goal is to help older workers retrain and learn new skills, providing them with a roadmap back to the workplace and encouraging organisations to hire them.  

We also saw organisations turn their attention to the talent pool sitting right under their noses. Internal mobility was a hot topic for talent leaders in 2023 as recruiting new talent became more and more challenging and costly.  

We were also reintroduced to the concept of labour hoarding, a term coined in the 1960s. This practice refers to organisations forgoing head-count reductions now, so they’re prepared when business picks up. In an era of labour shortages, organisations are keeping their workforces to avoid the risk of losing good talent to a competitor and to skip the costs associated with hiring again. 

5. Rallying Around the Mission 

What We Said: 

Our Inside the Candidate Experience research revealed that for 50% of candidates, an organisation’s mission and purpose are a key influence on their decision to apply. Yet, when evaluating career sites, we found details on the mission or purpose of the organisation less than half (48%) of the time.  

What We Saw: 

Employees are more dedicated than ever to finding an employer that shares their values and offers them a sense of purpose. However, workers within organisations that lack a sincere commitment to improving the community and supporting climate initiatives often report disengagement.  

According to Gallup data from June 2023, 59% of global workers say they’re not engaged at work. This is worrying as we move into a labour market that favours employers, as they will inevitably become less motivated to keep their employees engaged. Yet, a key reason why someone quiet quits hasn’t changed—and it’s down to a lack of connection to the company culture and purpose. 

A lack of engagement in the workforce is a leading factor in the productivity vacuum. Going into 2024, my hope is HR leaders will go beyond simply thinking about wellbeing to view their employees as whole people—not just workers. Updating your employee value proposition (EVP) to be more human-focused can help strike the right balance between compassion and business interests. Shifting to a Personal Value Proposition (PVP), and customising offerings so that each employee feels valued as an individual, can help in fostering a positive emotional connection. 

6. Engaging Outside Talent Acquisition Solutions 

What We Said: 

Despite economic uncertainty, business leaders foresee revenue growth in the coming year, but may need flexible and agile workforces achieved through contingent staffing to meet their top challenge of filling critical roles amidst a shifting talent landscape. 

What We Saw: 

We saw an increase in talent acquisition teams looking for quick wins. At PeopleScout, we are investing heavily in talent solutions designed to boost agility for employers of all sizes and across all industries. This includes offerings like our Amplifiers and PeopleScout Accelerate solutions launched this year. 

Amplifiers provide modular, targeted recruitment process outsourcing tailored to specific hiring needs. Clients can implement RPO support for just part of the talent acquisition lifecycle, whether that’s filling the top of the hiring funnel with high volumes of qualified talent or gaining deeper insights to guide strategic workforce decisions. This “as-needed” model is ideal for companies that want to remain nimble. 

Additionally, our PeopleScout Accelerate technology-enhanced RPO solution is purpose-built for fast-scaling organisations that need to ramp up recruiting quickly. We can implement PeopleScout Accelerate in just two weeks, providing access to our proven recruitment methodologies and our industry-leading Affinix talent acquisition technology suite right out of the gate. 

As we close the books on 2023, it’s clear the talent landscape continues to shift in new and uncertain directions. In the coming year, agile organisations that invest in the longevity of their workforce and truly connect with their people on a human level will maintain an edge. Rather than recoiling from change, forward-thinking talent leaders have an opportunity to guide their organisation’s evolution. Now is the time to build workforces that can pivot on a dime while staying true to their purpose. 

Debunking RPO Myths: How Savvy Talent Leaders Separate Fact from Fiction

In the ever-evolving landscape of talent acquisition, Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) has emerged as a go-to solution to help organisations redefine their recruitment strategies. However, many employers shy away from engaging an RPO provider because of common misperceptions. If you’re a talent acquisition leader stepping into the world of RPO for the first time, get ready to separate fact from fiction as we dismantle RPO myths. 

Myth 1: Outsourcing Means Losing Control Over the Hiring Process. 

Let’s set the record straight from the get-go: RPO doesn’t mean relinquishing control. You’re not sending your recruitment program into a mysterious void.  

In fact, reputable RPO providers thrive on collaboration. You maintain oversight, make strategic decisions and keep your finger on the pulse of the recruitment process. Your RPO partner should provide you with regular reports so you can track metrics and SLAs against your hiring goals.    

It’s like having a co-pilot who respects your position in the driver’s seat.  

Myth 2: RPO is Expensive. 

There’s a notion that RPO will drain your coffers faster than you can say “ROI.”  

With an ever-widening skills gap and climbing hiring costs, organisations are looking for recruitment solutions to reduce overhead and improve outcomes while reducing risk. By streamlining your hiring process, reducing time-to-fill and minimising administrative burdens, RPO creates substantial value, particularly for high-volume or hard-to-fill specialist roles. While RPO may not be the cheapest option, a good RPO, and the technology they bring to the table, improves efficiency and delivers results.  

Think of it as an investment that not only bolsters your team but also your bottom line.  

Myth 3: RPO Only Works for Large Companies. 

You might be thinking, “RPO? That’s only for the large enterprises with deep pockets.”  

Not so fast! RPO isn’t an exclusive club for corporate giants. It’s an adaptable strategy for businesses of all sizes. Whether you’re a startup looking to scale or a mid-sized enterprise seeking an edge, RPO can be tailored to fit your unique needs.  

In fact, according to Everest Group, smaller organisations made up 43% of RPO of news deals in 2022, up from 23% in 2017, as they increasingly turn to RPO to help scale and reduce risk in an uncertain labour market. RPO helps these mid-sized and small organisations scale up their hiring efforts without the costly commitment of building talent acquisition teams in-house.  

Myth 4: RPO Takes a Long Time to Implement. 

With the economy see-sawing post-pandemic, we’ve seen our clients shift their focus to agility and speed with an increase in urgent hiring projects. Organisations often think that RPO is not a viable option in these situations due to the misperception that it takes 12 to 16 weeks to ramp up.  

While an RPO engagement can certainly be a long-term strategic partnership, there are also solutions for short-term recruitment projects where speed is the priority. For example, we developed PeopleScout Accelerate, a tech-powered, ready-to-go recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) solution that combines PeopleScout’s deep recruitment expertise and a pre-configured Affinix™ talent acquisition technology suite—implemented in just two weeks.  

Myth 5: RPO is Only for Filling Volume-Based Positions. 

Your talent needs are unique to your organisation and the right RPO partner will know that a one-size-fits-approach isn’t effective. Don’t let the myth of “volume hiring only” keep you from experiencing the benefits of RPO. 

While RPO is an ideal solution for high-volume hiring in which many hires for similar job families are made annually, it’s also perfect for hard-to-fill specialist professional roles. With their networks, resources and expertise, RPOs have the ability to attract candidates from all corners of your industry. 

One huge bonus of the long-term relationship you build with an RPO partner is their ability to create talent pools. Having a pool of active and passive candidates speeds up time-to-hire by giving you fast access to qualified candidates when a new vacancy opens. Plus, RPO providers have access to leading technology featuring AI matching tools that can identify and source strong passive and active candidates within seconds of an open job requisition. 

Myth 6: RPO is Exclusively Cost-Cutting, Not Quality-Improving. 

Quality over quantity, right? Absolutely. And guess what? RPO providers are on the same page.  

Unlike working with a staffing agency, which is often a transactional relationship, an RPO partner won’t flood your inbox with CVs that miss the mark. Instead, they use targeted strategies to find the ideal candidate who aligns with your values and vision.  

RPO providers can help you develop and implement effective selection and assessment processes to identify high-performing candidates with the right skills and experience for the role. Plus, with their tech know-how, RPOs can help you leverage predictive analytics to gain a better understanding of the behaviors of top talent and predict factors such as cultural fit, willingness to change companies and future tenure potential. 

With RPO, quality isn’t compromised—it’s elevated.  

Myth 7: RPO is a One-Size-Fits-All Solution. 

While some providers have gained reputations for making their clients follow a rigid process, it doesn’t have to be this way. 

Good RPO partners are chameleons, adjusting their approach to your shifting hiring needs. Whether you’re gearing up for a hiring spree or scaling down temporarily, your RPO provider should deliver custom solutions based on your industry, job types, hiring budget and goals. 

And remember, you don’t have to outsource your entire full-cycle, end-to-end recruitment process. Look for an RPO partner that offers partial-cycle, project-based and even modular RPO solutions to help you scale your recruitment function to meet your needs—from talent mapping and sourcing to designing assessments and onboarding. In the fast-paced world of talent acquisition, flexibility is your secret weapon.

Our Amplifiers provide employers with the agility they need to weather the ups and downs of the labour market. These modular RPO solutions augment your team where you need it in your recruitment lifecycle. You get focused support for peak hiring, hard-to-fill positions, compressed time frames and more—whether as a boost to your internal recruitment team or to an existing outsourced recruitment provider.

Myth 8: RPO Providers Only Cover Recruitment. 

While RPO is focused on improving recruitment processes, it can also include other HR functions such as employer branding, talent management and workforce planning. RPO providers can offer a range of services that can be customized to meet the specific needs of the organisation. 

RPO partners are increasingly offering a range of value-added services to meet the demand for proactive, innovative candidate experiences. When you partner with a leading RPO provider, you also access: 

  • Talent acquisition consulting and best practices 
  • Technology consulting and implementation 
  • Passive candidate engagement 
  • Market insights, talent mapping and analytics 
  • Recruitment marketing and candidate attraction strategies 
  • Employer branding and employer value proposition (EVP) development 
  • Assessment design and execution 
  • Diversity, equality and inclusion consulting 

When considering potential RPO providers, make sure they can provide you with value-added services that will optimise and streamline each phase of the recruiting process. 

Myth 9: RPO Replaces Your Internal HR Expertise. 

Your internal talent acquisition expertise is invaluable—and it’s here to stay. RPO isn’t about replacing your team; it’s about augmenting their strengths.  

Organisations often struggle to invest in growing the number of talent acquisition and HR resources required to keep up with the rate of change. RPO providers take on time-consuming, but necessary, recruiting activities such as sourcing and candidate engagement. This frees up internal HR staff to focus on higher value activities.  

Plus, through working across many clients and industries, RPOs have their finger on the pulse of what’s going on the labour market and can share best practices and insights to help you make informed workforce decisions.  

Consider your RPO team your ally, enhancing your internal capabilities and helping you and your team shine even brighter.  

Myth 10: RPOs Don’t Care About Your Company Culture. 

Your company culture is your crown jewel, and you’re not about to let it fade away in the name of outsourcing. Fear not! Reputable RPO providers understand the value of cultural fit.  

Your RPO team integrates your values, purpose and employer brand into every candidate touchpoint. An RPO provider can help you amplify your employer brand by leveraging your established candidate attraction assets in targeted recruitment marketing campaigns. Utilizing job postings, social media posts, your career site and email campaigns, your RPO provider will carry your carefully crafted employer brand to candidates, providing them with compelling reason apply to your open positions.  

It’s like having a partner who not only respects your company culture but actively works to preserve and enhance it. 

If your organisation is looking to develop an employer brand from scratch or update your current one, a leading RPO partner can provide you with employer branding services to complement your recruitment strategy ranging from creative support to full-scale employer value propositions (EVP) development. 

From debunking misconceptions to revealing the true essence of RPO, you’ve now navigated through the labyrinth of misperceptions to arrive at the threshold of transformation. With RPO, you’re not just recruiting—you’re building a workforce that will grow your business for years to come. So, it’s time to shatter RPO myths and embrace the potential of of this powerhouse solution. 

You might also be interested in: 

PeopleScout Launches RPO Amplifiers—Modular Talent Solutions to Help Employers Boost their Recruitment Efforts

Curated suite of modular recruitment solutions helps augment recruitment efforts, deliver fast results and drive lasting business impact

LONDON—6 September 2023—Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) leader PeopleScout is proud to announce the launch of RPO Amplifiers, a curated suite of modular recruitment solutions to help employers augment their recruiting teams when and where they need it most. Whether it’s focused support for peak hiring seasons or sourcing hard-to-fill roles, RPO Amplifiers are designed to help organisations meet immediate talent goals and drive lasting business impact.  
 
“We are committed to meeting our clients’ unique needs with customisable talent solutionsand a full-cycle RPO engagement may not always be the best fit,” said Rick Betori, President of PeopleScout. “The flexibility of RPO Amplifiers allows organisations to scale quickly and augment their existing recruitment efforts, giving them the agility needed to compete in today’s talent landscape.” 
 
PeopleScout’s suite of RPO Amplifiers includes: 

  • Talent Mapping: PeopleScout experts harness research and analytics to help employers make better workforce planning decisions with insight into talent availability, salary benchmarks and more. 
  • Talent Sourcing: This talent sourcing solution helps employers boost their internal recruitment resources, engage with passive candidates and generate a list of qualified, enthusiastic applicants. 
  • Talent Campaign: Surge Support: This project-based solution leverages the expertise of PeopleScout’s recruitment pros when and where needed, without increasing permanent recruiter headcount. Surge Support is implemented quickly and seamlessly, providing all the benefits of RPO expertise on a short-term basis. 
  • Assessment Transformation: This solution helps employers deploy assessments to make the right hires and enhance the candidate experience, leveraging cutting-edge technology and visionary design. 

RPO Amplifiers offer scalable, agile recruitment support for organisations in all industries, augmenting existing processes with focused support, backed by PeopleScout’s 30+ years of recruitment expertise. RPO Amplifiers can be added as a standalone service or combined with an existing RPO engagement—whether with PeopleScout or another provider—when extra support is needed. 

Learn more about PeopleScout’s RPO Amplifiers here

6 Benefits of Modular RPO in a Challenging Economy

By Jo Taylor, Head of RPO, EMEA

Amidst a tumultuous economy, employers continue to face challenges in talent acquisition and are seeking nimble solutions that allow them to address hiring needs quickly. Despite layoffs in some sectors, job openings surpass pre-pandemic levels in nearly every industry—averaging 31% more vacancies than in 2019. This is compounded by three million people having dropped out of the labour force.  

Many organisations lack the in-house recruitment resources—in terms of personnel or technology—to respond to fluctuations in a volatile talent market. Plus, with skills gaps growing, internal talent acquisition teams are too stretched to effectively manage the candidate lifecycle. Consequently, employers experience dwindling talent pipelines and an increase in drop-offs and ghosting between offer acceptance and onboarding. 

No wonder 91% of hiring managers say they’re experiencing hiring challenges and 45% say they’re struggling to find qualified workers for open roles at their companies. Many organisations are seeking recruitment support in the form of modular RPO (recruitment process outsourcing) as a cost-effective way to augment their recruitment capabilities where they need it most.  

That’s why we’re thrilled to announce our new suite of modular solutions, Amplifiers. Amplifiers has a solution that can help augment your team to meet your short-term talent needs—while providing lasting business value.   

What is Modular RPO? 

Modular RPO, or variable RPO, is a strategic approach to managing the recruitment process in an ultra-focused manner. It involves outsourcing specific components of the recruitment process to an RPO provider, or as a supplement to an existing outsourced recruitment engagement, providing quick access to targeted and customised recruitment support. With a modular or à la carte approach, you choose from a range of services based on your requirements. 

Our Amplifiers include: 

  • Talent Mapping 
  • Talent Sourcing 
  • Talent Campaign: Surge Support
  • Assessment Transformation 

Modular RPO vs Full End-to-End RPO 

Modular RPO differs from traditional enterprise RPO in that it allows businesses to select and customise the specific recruitment services they need, rather than outsourcing the entire process.  

The main differences include: 

  • Scope: Modular RPO focuses on specific parts of the recruitment process or short-term initiatives, while end-to-end RPO can cover the entire recruitment function. 
  • Duration: Modular RPO engagements are typically short-term, while end-to-end RPO is a long-term strategic partnership. However, many of our RPO partnerships at PeopleScout have started as short-term engagements.  
  • Technology Integration: End-to-end RPO often involves more extensive use of technology, including integration with other HR systems as well as customisation. 

The decision between modular RPO and a full RPO engagement depends on various factors, including organisation size, hiring volume, budget and strategic workforce planning. It’s essential to assess your specific needs and evaluate the benefits and trade-offs associated with each approach before making a decision. 

6 Benefits of Modular RPO

Here are six key benefits of a modular approach to RPO. 

1. Cost Optimisation 

Modular RPO gives you greater control over your recruitment costs. You select specific recruitment services based on your challenges, enabling you to allocate your budget more efficiently by avoiding unnecessary expenses for unused services. In uncertain economic times, this is a more cost-effective approach that still lets you benefit from the expertise of an RPO partner. 

2. Scalability and Agility 

The business landscape is unpredictable, which can cause your hiring needs to fluctuate rapidly. Modular RPO provides the agility to scale your recruitment capabilities up or down based on demand. You can quickly adapt your recruitment efforts in response to market conditions, ensuring you have the adequate resources during high-demand periods and avoiding unnecessary expenses during slower periods. Plus, some of our clients have added Amplifiers onto their full RPO engagement—whether they’re partnered with PeopleScout or another RPO—when an extra boost is needed.  

3. Customisation and Control  

Some organisations prefer to maintain a certain level of control over their recruitment process, particularly during uncertain economic times. With modular RPO, you can customise your recruitment process according to your specific requirements. Select the services you need, such as candidate sourcing, screening or onboarding support, while retaining oversight of other aspects of the recruitment process. This level of control allows companies to align the outsourced services with their internal hiring strategies and maintain greater mastery of their talent acquisition function. 

4. Strategic Focus 

By outsourcing specific recruitment functions to an RPO partner, you can free up your internal HR teams and hiring managers to focus on core business activities, such as talent development, workforce planning and organisational restructuring. By opting for a modular approach, organisations can collaborate with their RPO partner to design a solution that addresses their specific challenges and aligns with their strategic goals. 

5. Access to Technology 

RPO providers have access to advanced recruitment technologies and tools. Even with modular RPO, you can leverage these technologies for specific recruitment functions without investing in them for internal use. This is particularly beneficial in challenging economic environments where capital expenditures are carefully managed. 

6. Risk Mitigation 

In uncertain economic climates, modular recruitment solutions are a great option for organisations who are new to RPO. By opting for a more targeted and flexible approach, you can evaluate the effectiveness and value of the outsourced recruitment partner before expanding the engagement further. 

PeopleScout’s Amplifiers offer you the ability to optimise costs, maintain agility, streamline recruitment processes and focus on strategic priorities—while still benefiting from our 30 years of expertise as an RPO partner. The benefits of modular RPO align your organisational needs with our current economic realities. 

MODULAR RPO SOLUTIONS FROM PEOPLESCOUT

AMPLIFIERS: SCALABLE. FLEXIBLE. AGILE.

CSR and ESG: How Markers of Sustainability and Social Responsibility Transform Talent Acquisition

Amid the alphabet soup of corporate jargon, buzzwords, and acronyms, you’ll find CSR and ESG. Respectively, the two stand for corporate social responsibility and Environmental, Social, and Governance. These concepts have been around for years but have been growing in importance. Now, CSR and ESG impact talent acquisition in new ways. As candidates become more knowledgeable and passionate about social responsibility and sustainability practices, employers need to respond. The issue is particularly salient for Gen Z, where 87% say it is important to work at a company that aligns with their values.

Job seekers want to work at organisations with values that match their own, with as many as 80% of workers in some industries saying that ESG issues play a role in whether they will resign from or remain at certain organisations.

So, how do CSR and ESG impact talent acquisition? In this article, we explore their impact and outline strategies to help talent leaders incorporate these concepts into their recruitment strategies.

What is Corporate Social Responsibility?

According to the United Nations, corporate social responsibility is “a management concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and interactions with their stakeholders.” CSR focuses on issues including environmental management, eco-efficiency, responsible sourcing, stakeholder engagement, labour standards and working conditions, employee and community relations, social equity, gender balance, human rights, good governance, and anti-corruption measures.

CSR has been growing in importance over the last several decades, according to Harvard Business School, and has led to specific designations like B Corporations (B Corps), social purpose corporations (SPCs), and low-profit limited liability companies (L3Cs). But for many organisations, CSR is simply a self-imposed regulation. Employers can express it through initiatives and strategies and often report back their results through corporate social responsibility reports.  

What is Environmental, Social, and Governance?

According to Gartner, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) is “a collection of corporate performance evaluation criteria that assess the robustness of a company’s governance mechanisms and its ability to effectively manage its environmental and social impacts.”

Each pillar of ESG includes different criteria. McKinsey outlines environmental criteria as relating to how much energy a company takes in, how much waste it produces, what resources it requires and how that impacts life around the world. Social criteria address the relationships between an organisation and the institutions and communities where it does business. Finally, governance represents the internal procedures and checks and balances an organisation uses to make decisions and govern itself.

How CSR and ESG Impact Talent Acquisition

Once little-known terms, these markers of corporate responsibility and sustainability now play a role in job seekers’ decision-making.

One survey found that more than half of employees would not work for a company that doesn’t have strong policies addressing social or environmental sustainability issues. Additionally, 74% of employees said their job is more fulfilling when they’re given the chance to make a positive impact on social and environmental issues, and 70% indicated they’d be more loyal to a company in which they can help contribute to solutions.

The changing environment and increasing pace of climate-related disasters plays a role. Compiled data shows that Google searches for sustainable companies have been growing rapidly since 2016, reaching the highest volume yet in 2023, with no signs of slowing down. In that time, a number of environmental events have dominated headlines, from the devastating 2017 floods caused by Hurricane Harvey in the U.S. to the disastrous 2019-2020 Australian bushfires and 2023 Canadian wildfires. Spikes in searches often follow global climate meetings like the United Nations Climate Change Conferences.

Job seekers are paying attention, and employers can only expect that interest to increase. One survey found that 40% of Gen Z and millennial employees have changed jobs or sectors due to climate concerns or plan to in the future. Additionally, 60% of respondents reported feeling anxious about the environment over the past month, and more than 70% said that they are actively trying to minimise their impact on the environment.

3 Approaches for Including CSR and ESG in Your Recruitment Strategy

To stay ahead of the competition, talent leaders should include CSR and ESG in their talent strategies. Below we outline three approaches.

1. Build a Responsible, Sustainable Employer Brand

Your employer brand is your most powerful tool in attracting top talent, and your ESG and CSR initiatives should be featured throughout your branding materials. Think about your efforts to reduce carbon emissions, support local communities or promote diversity and inclusion. You may measure or report on progress of these initiatives for investors, so consider sharing with candidates as well. Even if you haven’t reached your goals yet, being transparent about your progress can demonstrate to candidates that these initiatives are genuine—not just lip service. Share your next steps and the strategies you have in place for reaching these goals.

There are several ways to showcase your progress to candidates:

  • Highlight ESG initiatives in your job descriptions
  • Create an ESG page on your career site
  • Leverage social media to share your progress toward ESG goals
  • Tap into current employees who can share their experiences
  • Train recruiters and hiring managers on ESG initiatives

2. Get Employees Involved

Your social responsibility and sustainability goals should be at the core of your culture. Make your goals and initiatives a regular part of conversation rather than distant promise. This will not only help retain top performers but will also help engage candidates.

You can get your employees involved in reaching your CSR and ESG goals by communicating progress and adding performance targets where appropriate. You can also consider benefits that align with your goals so that employees feel as though your commitment to social responsibility and sustainability are part of your DNA, not just marching orders.

Here are a few strategies you can employ:

  • Communicate updates on ESG initiatives regularly, like in team meetings or all-company updates
  • Encourage leadership to display day-today behaviours that align with goals
  • Add ESG-related performance goals
  • Consider ESG-related benefits, like days off for volunteer work, a cycle-to-work scheme or vouchers for public transit
  • Recognize employees for ESG-related contributions

3. Avoid Greenwashing

As you focus on and promote your social responsibility and sustainability work, avoid falling prey to greenwashing. Greenwashing happens when an organisation spends more time and money showcasing sustainability initiatives than actually performing them. It’s often seen as a marketing gimmick, and consumers and candidates are growing more savvy in recognising it. To maintain a positive reputation and brand perception, ensure that your organisation lives up to the values you’re advertising from the top down.

Here are some tips to avoid greenwashing:

  • Avoid overly flowery language
  • Don’t use dishonest imagery
  • Ensure your business practices reflect your marketing promises
  • Be honest, even if you aren’t perfect
  • Share real data
  • Make concrete claims

A Sustainable Future: CSR and ESG in Talent Acquisition

As we move toward a more sustainable future, your CSR and ESG initiatives are important factors for job candidates. The right RPO partner can help you communicate the environmental work you’re already doing to attract top talent. The desire for sustainable employment isn’t going anywhere, and employers should only expect it to get stronger.  

Check out our predictions for the future of work in our ebook, Destination 2030: 10 Predictions for What’s NEXT in the World of Work.

future of work

DESTINATION 2030: 10 Predictions for What’s NEXT in the World of Work

Checking In: Updating Your Hospitality Recruitment Strategies for the New World of Work

Travel is back, but hospitality employers are still playing catch up. Holiday-makers around the world are booking flights, checking into hotel rooms, making reservations and buying tickets. Brands are attracting customers but struggling to attract employees with the right hospitality recruitment strategies.

In 2020, the size of the global tourism market fell by nearly a trillion dollars as travel came to a halt. The industry finally surpassed its prepandemic highs in 2023, reaching a market size of $2.3 trillion (USD). But employment in the industry lags behind. In the UK alone, hospitality vacancies are 48% higher than pre-COVID.

The old hospitality recruitment strategies aren’t working anymore. The world of work has changed.  Many sectors have expanded the availability of remote and hybrid work, and many front-line hospitality workers left the industry for more flexible roles.

Employers must update their employer branding and candidate attraction strategies to draw in top hospitality talent. In this article, we cover the hospitality brain drain and provide tactics that talent leaders can put into place now to get ahead of the competition.

The Hospitality Industry Brain Drain

One of the largest lasting impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic is the permanent loss of talent.  as workers fled the travel and hospitality industry for more stable, more flexible or less customer-facing positions. While employment in the hospitality sector still lags, professional and business services saw 1.4 million new jobs added during the pandemic.

Rather than returning to employment in hotels or with airlines, many laid off workers looked for behind-the-scenes office work where they were offered more flexibility, more traditional hours and often higher pay. With record quit rates during the Great Resignation, attrition in the leisure and hospitality sector jumped by a whole percentage point to 6.4%.

This phenomenon, sometimes called “brain drain,” has left hospitality employers with not just fewer workers but also those with less experience. This has led to increased competition for experienced hospitality workers and often increased time-to-fill rates for more specialised hospitality roles. Talent leaders must work to coax experienced workers back to the industry while also focusing on the next generation. Below, we outline three strategies to bring back and bring in hospitality talent.

Top 3 Hospitality Recruitment Strategies

1. It’s Time to Update Your Employer Brand

In today’s talent market, hospitality employers need to stand out in a crowded field of competition. Your employer value proposition and employer brand will be what convinces top talent to join your organisation, rather than the hotel down the street or the customer service job that will allow them to take calls from their home offices.

However, after the past several years, few have had the resources to invest in and update their employer brands. If you haven’t refreshed your employer brand in a few years, now is the time. Each hospitality brand has its own distinctive personality and style that should be reflected in both consumer marketing and employer branding.

Your employer value proposition, or EVP, is the foundation of your employer brand. Your EVP describes the give and get between employer and employee. At PeopleScout, our EVP work has five phases:

  1. Define
  2. Discover
  3. Develop
  4. Design
  5. Deploy

In the define stage, we build a baseline understanding of you and your competition through competitor audits, social listening, candidate experience diagnostics and collaborative sessions. In the discover phase, we go deeper to understand what makes your organisation unique through interviews with leaders and employees throughout the organisation.

From there, we analyse the data and develop an EVP prototype that we validate through workshops and interviews with employees. In the design phase, we create the creative concepts to bring your EVP to life with an employer brand playbook and employer brand toolkit. These include deliverables like EVP positioning and messaging, social media posts and ads, and printed materials like posters and exhibition stands for job fairs.

Finally, we deploy, focusing on an employee ambassador program that helps your current employees share their stories with prospective candidates. From there, your EVP and brand can flex and evolve to adapt to changing candidate expectations.

By honing your employer value proposition and attraction messaging, you can zero in the characteristics you need for the variety of roles you need filled. By shifting your mindset from focusing on getting the most applications, or even those with certain experience, to getting applications with the right profile, you can reduce attrition by increasing the likelihood of your new hires being successful.

2. Are Your Offers and Benefits Competitive?

The leisure and hospitality sector has seen some of the highest wage increases across all employers in recent years. In the U.S., wages in hospitality have risen 23% over the past three years. Additionally, workers have more options for hybrid or flexible work in other industries where the pay is similar or even higher. This makes it more difficult for hospitality employers to compete. According to the Boston Hospitality Review, compensation was one of the most cited reasons that people left the hospitality industry during the pandemic.

To stand out in this market, you need offers that are not only competitive in terms of salary but also provide the types of flexibility and benefits that candidates are looking for and can likely find in other industries. Hospitality candidates are increasingly interested in remote work. Google searches for “remote hotel jobs” have increased about 400% since 2019.

Many hospitality jobs require being on site, making hybrid work only possible for a small percentage of roles; however, employers should evaluate and offer the option when possible. Additionally, consider flexible work arrangements or scheduling that would allow front-line workers time to do things like pick children up from school.

Other benefits can also help bring in or bring back hospitality workers. While 88% of employees say that health benefits are important to them, only 30% of restaurants offer medical insurance. Not every employer will have the budget for health insurance, so consider other benefits, like caregiver benefits, parental leave or a commuting allowance.

You can also consider different compensation models. Consider a salaried front-of-house staff. According to Monster, employers who pay their front of house staff a salary gain an advantage for attracting top talent, and those workers create a better customer experience because they aren’t focused on “turn-and-burn” tactics. You can also consider profit sharing or bonuses to help attract and retain employees.

3. Focus on Culture

Your company culture may not be listed as a line item on a payslip, but it can serve as a benefit for attracting top talent in a tough industry. In any customer-facing role, employees can be subject to stressful situations, but a supportive culture can increase employee retention.

One survey found that 91% of hospitality workers have dealt with customers who believed they inherently deserved privileges or special treatment. Of those workers, 70% wanted to leave the industry entirely after confronting a demanding consumer. Employers need to ensure that they not only meet customer expectations but also keep workers happy and focus on retention.

Hospitality employers should focus on building a supportive culture. This should start from day one with structured training and can include things like mentorship programs to support new employees and help them feel like part of the team. Additionally, consider adding wellness programs that include things like counselling or employee assistance programs.

Finally, the travel and hospitality sector has a unique opportunity to build a fun culture by creating ways for employees to enjoy the services normally provided to guests. This can look like VIP perks for employees and their friends and families, discounted meals or free meals during shifts, yearly overnight stays at hotels to celebrate work anniversaries or discounted tickets to events.

Choosing the Right Hospitality Recruiting Strategies

Candidate expectations are always changing, so hospitality employers need to find the recruitment strategies that work best to attract the right candidates at the right time. An experienced RPO provider can help talent leaders narrow down the best solutions and help build an employer brand to bring in top talent with the right skills and mindset.

To get more strategies for attracting and hiring hospitality, travel and tourism talent, download our Recruitment Handbook for Travel and Hospitality.

The Recruitment Handbook for Travel and Hospitality