5 Offshore RPO Myths Debunked

When it comes to offshore recruitment process outsourcing (RPO), various offshore RPO myths often deter businesses from using RPO solutions to solve in-house challenges.

For example, many business owners believe outsourcing recruitment processes will cost them more than using in-house resources to tackle these challenges. Now, initially, RPO costs may seem higher than tasking someone on your in-house team with recruitment processes; however, the contrary is true.  

In the long run, asking an employee with little to no experience in recruitment could end up costing you way more as you could end up hiring unsuitable individuals for the role. In fact, a bad hire could end up costing a company approximately 30% of the hire’s annual salary, according to Zappia. 

Similarly, hiring a full-time recruiter could have the same costly effect as you may end up having to scramble to find work to keep them busy between hires. And this is just one of the many misconceptions surrounding recruitment process outsourcing. 

But before we jump into the top five offshore RPO myths, let's take a look at what RPO is.

What Is RPO?

Recruitment process outsourcing, or RPO, is a business strategy used to overcome recruitment challenges. This involves outsourcing various human resources (HR) or recruitment acquisition processes to an external service provider, often in another country or offshore. Of course, the scope of offshore RPO will vary depending on the preferences and requirements of your business. 

Here are five recruitment processes that are commonly outsourced to a recruitment process outsourcing services provider:

1. Sourcing Candidates: RPO solutions can provide a variety of methods for solving recruitment challenges. This could include processes like postings on job boards or searches on social media and databases to identify prospective candidates to fill vacant positions.

2. Assessment and Screening:  Recruitment process outsourcing services can conduct initial assessments and screenings of potential candidates, evaluating their skills, qualifications, and whether they fit the company culture. 

3. Candidate Management and Engagement: Offshore recruitment often involves managing the whole candidate application experience from start to finish. This includes keeping candidates informed of the recruitment process, interviews scheduled, and providing feedback. 

4. Employer Marketing and Branding: Recruitment process outsourcing services can help companies enhance their employer brand and attract top talent. This may involve creating compelling job descriptions, optimising job postings, and promoting the company's values and culture.

5. Onboarding: RPO providers may take care of the onboarding process to ensure new hires have a smooth transition. This involves conducting pre-employment checks, coordinating paperwork, and overseeing orientation programs.

Myths of Offshore RPO

Offshore Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) is a business strategy that often gets a bad rap. 

While, in actual fact, offshore RPO can be an effective solution for businesses looking to streamline their recruitment efforts and reduce costs, many businesses still believe the opposite of offshore RPO to be true. 

Let's debunk five of the most common myths surrounding RPO:

Myth 1: Offshore RPO Compromises the Quality of Candidates.

Reality: This offshore RPO myth suggests RPO providers may not be able to find high-quality candidates in other countries. This, however, is simply not the case. 

Reputable offshore recruitment companies hire skilled recruiters with access to global talent pools and can leverage technology and best practices to source qualified candidates.

Myth 2: Offshore RPO Leads to Communication Challenges.

Reality: It’s no secret that effective communication is essential for successful recruitment. So it stands to reason that some businesses are concerned that offshore recruitment process outsourcing providers may struggle with language or time zone differences. 

While some challenges are inevitable, reputable recruitment outsourcing process providers often work with teams with strong language skills and flexible working hours to accommodate different time zones. Technological advances have made seamless communication simple through features like collaboration tools, video conferencing, and project management systems.

Myth 3: Offshore RPO Is Only Suitable for Large Companies.

Reality: A common misconception associated with offshore RPO is that it's only suitable for large organisations because of the recruitment scale and complexity. 

On the contrary, offshore RPO can be a huge advantage to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). 

Outsourcing recruitment processes gives SMEs access to specialised skills and knowledge regarding recruitment, allowing them to focus on core business activities.

Myth 4: Offshore RPO Is Only About Saving Money.

Reality: Another one of the offshore RPO myths that detract businesses from outsourcing recruitment is that it’s more expensive than in-house recruitment. While cost savings are a significant driving factor for offshore RPO, it is not the only reason. 

The offshore outsourcing recruitment process can bring valuable recruitment knowledge of local markets and recruitment strategies, expandability, and efficiency to identify and attract suitable candidates.

Myth 5: Offshore RPO Solutions Lack Compliance and Data Security.

Reality: This is probably one of the most common offshore RPO myths. It suggests that offshore recruitment outsourcing process providers may not adhere to the same compliance standards or data security measures as in-house teams or local providers. 

Reputable offshore RPO providers understand the importance of data protection and comply with relevant regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). They implement robust security measures to ensure data confidentiality and often undergo independent audits to demonstrate compliance.

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