Contingent RPO is quickly gaining popularity as the contingent labor industry continues to have an ever growing focus on the quality of talent. But exactly how do you define contingent RPO? It’s a process where an organization uses the client’s employment brand and EVP, which helps attracts top talent for your contingent labor while also reducing cost. Contingent RPO is an industry term that came in response to providers designing a “Direct Sourcing” program that mimicked their RPO solutions to address contingent needs. These programs are typically a partnership between Talent Acquisition and procurement. If connected with an RPO program, the solution utilizes the dedicated RPO team to source and qualify candidates and increase the efficiency of the best talent getting hired.
Let’s break down the top four benefits of using Contingent RPO within your Total Talent Program.
1. Cost Savings Opportunities
The first benefit is an obvious one – cost savings. Look at it this way, you would typically have a 35-50% markup with a 3rd party agency but with a contingent RPO program you’re only worrying about the payrolling fee, which is going to be approximately 20-25% - reducing your cost anywhere from 15% to 25%. Providers utilize a combination of technology and recruitment to drive contingent labor cost savings for clients. Just ensure that the provider is utilizing technology to offset the hiring costs and that you’re getting the right value and return on cost.
2. Utilizing the Client Brand
Another benefit is that we’re utilizing the client employment brand as well as their proposition. We’re essentially going to the market on behalf of the client and acting more as an extension to their organization. We come off less as a 3rd party agency and more as part of the client’s internal brand. We get to say this is a contract role for “xyz” (the client) instead of promoting the job as a contract role through our staffing organization which will most likely attract a wider range of candidates, which leads us to the 3rd benefit…
Hear Michael Talk about Contingent RPO on Our Latest Podcast with HRO Today
3. Higher Quality of Candidates
The next benefit is that the wider range of candidates, in this case, the higher quality of the candidates. Because you’re presenting open jobs as the employment brand instead of as the staffing company, you’re bound to get more candidates who are passionate about the brand they are applying to. It also helps that we’re living and breathing your talent proposition, giving us a better idea of the strongest candidates.
4. Lower Turnover Rate
Lastly, the higher the quality of candidates, the lower the turnover rate is. Because the candidate is a better fit, they are more likely to succeed in their role. And studies show, when an employee is succeeding in their role, they are less likely to leave the organization.
Contingent RPO and traditional RPO can be your total talent solution that allows our clients to hire the best talent for direct and contingent workers. For example, if a company was looking to hire a Software Engineer to develop their flagship application, I would recommend that they hire that individual as a direct hire. This is because that application isn’t going anywhere and there will be continual updates and upgrades. Now, if an organization was implementing an SAP system and they needed a project manager, I would recommend hiring a contingent worker because that role would go away after the implementation is complete.
Learn more about contingent RPO and listen to our recent podcast with HRO Today on how this strategy has made an impact for one of our manufacturing clients here.
