Partner vs. Processor

In the time I have been working as a recruiter I've learned many lessons that have made me more effective in looking for candidates, scrutinizing for appropriate fit, and presenting the opportunity to them. I have learned better ways to help my clients identify their core needs and wants so I can provide the person or people who meet them.

All the challenges that go hand in hand with those functions are part of what I love most about what I do. My favorite part, however, is when I get the opportunity to work with a client who sees me as a partner rather than just a processor. What do I mean by that? My company specializes in helping our clients minimize their overall cost when it comes to bringing on new talent. We invest ourselves in understanding the clients’ business model, industry and local markets, then coordinate with managers ‘on the ground’ to get a clear picture of what the needs are from both an organization culture and individual manager preference perspective.

When a client looks at my role as just a processor rather than a partnership effectiveness is much harder to come by for several reasons. Clients who think of me as just someone to push along filtered through resumes are less engaged, provide less constructive feedback on candidates and ultimately extend the entire timeline for achieving the goal. This can often be counterproductive to getting and keeping quality candidates. Additionally, a poor candidate experience resulting from disengaged clients can be damaging to their company’s reputation which starts to impact referrals and can even make the bottom line feel it.  

Viewing an RPO as a partner rather than just a processor drastically changes the experience for everyone involved. Managers provide timely and informative feedback allowing me to make adjustments that will ultimately save them valuable time in their daily schedule by reducing the number of interviews necessary to hit the target. Clients who partner with an RPO also save themselves time and money by being open to feedback related to the job market they are working in and the candidate pool they have access to. This in turn allows the client to spend less man-hours on satisfying their staffing needs, improves company reputation, increases referrals and over the long haul saves the client significantly on total expenditures.

If you are considering taking on an RPO to help your company achieve it’s staffing goals, I highly encourage a partnership approach!