The RPO market is, by all means, booming. While it started as a niche model to reduce costs, it has quickly evolved into a 360 degree solution for the recruitment process. From RPO 1.0 to RPO 3.0, as defined by the Everest Group, RPO could soon set to do 95% of the recruiting, according to recruiting expert Kevin Wheeler.
“RPO’s can function as the thought leaders of the industry.”
With a total estimate of 600 ‘pure-play’ RPO programs operating across the world, more options are becoming readily available. “RPO’s can function as the thought leaders of the industry”, said Geert-Jan Waasdorp, CEO of data and tech company Intelligence Group. “They can quickly speed up the overall notion of how good recruitment can work as a competitive advantage and essential to the business.”
A global RPO industry with a global survey
With approximately 700 respondents to its RPO customer satisfaction survey, HRO Today’s ‘Baker’s Dozen awards’ has become a global undertaking, Elliot Clark, CEO of HRO Today Magazine, noted during the awards show. “This helps fellow and HR and staff executives in the RPO process”, he said. “This is by far the largest and most prestigious survey in RPO.”
“This is by far the largest and most prestigious survey in RPO.”
The awards itself are based completely on customer feedback, HRO Today noted in its explanation of the process. “To determine an overall ranking from this data, we analyse results across three subcategories: breadth of service, size of deals, and quality of service”, they say. “Using a predetermined algorithm that weighs questions and categories based on importance, we calculate scores in all three subcategories as well as an overall score.”
HRO Today’s overall top 13:
- Cielo (301.01)
- Korn Ferry RPO (298.92)
- Wilson HCG (293.86)
- PeopleScout (293.33)
- Allegis Global Solutions (293.29)
- Sevenstep (293.13)
- Randstad Sourceright (288.14)
- AMS (280.78)
- Hudson RPO (262.00)
- Pontoon (260.64)
- Resource Solutions (260.64)
- Yoh/DZConneX (260.64)
- LevelUP Human Capital Solutions (260.64)
Tight margins across the board
Within the eventual top 13, margins were incredibly small across the board for RPO organisations. Individually in each category, Randstad Sourceright scored highest in the size of deals, Cielo was named the highest overall scorer for both the breadth of service and the quality of service rankings — which led to their status as the overall winner in HRO Today’s Baker’s Dozen.
“Any ranked company is an excellent choice based on your specific needs.”
Notably, the drop off from third place to sixth was decided by only 0.73 points in HRO Today’s model, indicating a consistently strong market. “Any ranked company is an excellent choice based on your specific needs”, Clark said. “All of these are great companies and all are deserving of your consideration as a potential partner in 2021.”
