Managing Your RPO Partner during Economic Uncertainty

You may be wondering why I am writing such an article.?For the last 25 years I have lead Global RPO Practices and worked on the other side as a Leader in Recruitment.?My life “sentence” as I jokingly share, has given me exposure to various corporate cultures, drivers and leaders that influence how we partner with outsourcing providers. ?As a result, the guidelines that I am sharing come to life differently across multiple environments, however at the highest level they hold true across the board.

Before you review my guidelines, take an inventory of why RPO is utilized, how it is received, who owns the relationship and the unspoken politics that affect relationship and performance outcomes. These factors will shape how you digest my suggestions below.

1.??????The impact of turn off and turn on.?I have been in situations where the following is said: “I hired an RPO to give me flexibility, so you should be able to turn back on immediately”.??These guidelines do not work well with this said mindset. In fact, economic uncertainty drives decisions that are in constant motion, which may result in the need for Talent Acquisition to have a clear plan to ramp back up at unprecedented speed. ?Here are some guidelines:

a.??????Reduce staff:?Have you RPO reduce staff, due to lower workload, and work in partnership to plan on how to ramp back up as quickly as possible.?

b.??????Create a contract addendum:?Retain a small number of staff, at a per head or per month cost structure, with candidate pipelining performance objectives that enable a quicker ramp up.

c.??????Plan:?Work as business partners to determine triggers for ramp up or turn on, and discuss how to best manage expectations for ramp in recruiter performance.?Attach the outcome of these discussions to a contract addendum.

2.??????Know your contract.?There are two factors to this statement.?(1) Contract guides behavior.?(2) Adherence to a contract drives outcomes.??I often hear from colleagues, who have adopted an RPO contract; it was never followed or managed properly.?The result of this often becomes a very messy situation when the economy shifts and changes need to be-made.?My best suggestion is go back to the basics, and use your contract as the guideline for making adjustments, establish new SLA’s and refine how you turn off and turn on successfully. ?Frankly, sometimes an economic downturn and non-contract adherence gives both organizations a chance to reset.?

3.??????Understanding how your RPO bills for their service, will drive # of resources dedicated to your account.??Economic uncertainty, hiring freezes, reduction in hiring, affects the overall need for staff.?Most RPO financial models are driven around fills per person in addition to ancillary services.?The reality is you will lose staff.?This results in the need to drive a communications effort to the organization about the impact and how talent acquisition needs will be supported during this period when staff has been reduced.?As a leader of TA, you may also need to be prepared to discuss what it will take to ramp back up, when the economy or business decisions shift.

4.??????Read the contract fine print: Your RPO may have project minimums to protect them financially, especially if the service is people, process and technology.??Again, know your contract, as there may be costs associated with turning off the lights. If you have financial penalties, use this as an opportunity to define what the RPO can due during this down period, so when you ramp back up there is a clear productivity plan.

5.??????Keep lines of communication open regarding shifts in hiring:?Communicate and plan.?Many times RPO providers are the last to know when requisitions are going to be re-opened. Keep your partners close, so they can ramp back up. Again, create a plan and add it to the contract, so everyone is accountable when the lights turn back on.

6.??????Know your data:?Your knowledge of data, and the ability to tell a story related to what “turning on” the lights looks like, the time of the fiscal year, recruiter productivity and recruitment trends that may impact your world, will be crucial to understanding the impact of turning back on the lights.?Here is where I say, lean on your RPO provider, to help you tell this story. Use the data, to best understand which group may have the most difficult time, explore solutions to minimize the pain.?

Personally, we will need to look at some type of augmented solution in different parts of the world due to shifts in the business for a variety of reasons.?There are so many choices including agency augmentation, contractors (where permitted), project RPO and temporary labor strategies.???I leave you with this thought, success or failure with your RPO, begins with understanding what behaviors the business expects from Talent Acquisition that define both success and failure??How you work with your RPO during this changing economy is really driven by the role RPO plays in your organization, what defines success and the content of your contract.?