(Originally posted February 2015, Updated April 2020).

Nothing is easy when running a business, especially the recruiting process. This process tends to be time-consuming to find the right talent.

During this process, your hiring managers have a variety of duties they must undertake. These include reviewing resumes, conducting interviews, and picking qualified candidates to consider.

Anytime you have to search for new employees, it takes time out of your day, which can be stressful.

Thankfully, the recruiting process is not one you have to undergo on your own.

It is possible to outsource most of these functions to firms that specialize in recruiting.

Naturally, you will have some choices when selecting a recruiting firm. This choice can depend on how much involvement you want in the process or what kind of hire you’d like to make.

For instance, there are options like working with an RPO recruiter, where you outsource almost all of your recruiting processes. Conversely, other options may have more involvement, like direct hire solutions.

Using RPO services are common for companies who don’t have the time to conduct an appropriate search.

Nevertheless, you should first consider how RPO staffing differs compared to other types of staffing before making a final decision.

To help you in your search, we explain the benefits of RPO staffing as well as other staffing solutions below.

RPO Staffing vs. Other Staffing Solutions: What to Know

RPO Staffing

Recruitment process outsourcing, or RPO staffing firms, handle a company’s recruiting process in its entirety. In other words, you outsource your entire recruiting process to a third party, which is the RPO firm.

The processes you outsource can include finding new talent, hiring workers, and even dealing with exit strategies when employees leave the organization.

In basic terms, the RPO firm is responsible for 100% of the organization’s recruiting functions.

The result is that the organization runs more efficiently because it always has the optimum number of staff members and can fix staffing shortages before they become significant problems.

Direct Hire Solutions

When you go with a direct-hire recruiting firm, you are provided with several candidates from which to choose. Typically, this type of firm fills a variety of roles, but a majority of these roles are full-time.

A direct hire staffing firm tends to work on an as-needed basis. This means that each time you need a new hire, you will contact the firm to start another search.

Additionally, each time you contact the firm, you’ll need to provide a list of desired skills or traits, and then wait for the firm to do its job.

Direct hire agencies work well when you have a sudden job opening that you need to fill, but don’t have the time or resources to conduct a thorough search on your own.

Contract to Hire Staffing Solutions

Using a firm that specializes in contract to hire staffing provides you with more flexibility than direct hire services. This flexibility is because you are not hiring the worker permanently at first.

Instead, the employee will work with you on a contract basis. The length of this contact can vary, with contracts lasting as long as three months or shorter.

Later, you can decide if you are going to hire the employee if they’ve met your expectations. If not, you can simply let the worker go once the contract has expired.

This type of search is best for companies that want to see how well a candidate performs before extending a full-time offer to them.

Temporary Staffing Solutions

A temporary staffing agency can provide you with short-term workers whenever you need them.

This comes in handy if you have a sudden shortage of workers or if you require a worker with a specific skill set for a particular project, but don’t have enough work to justify making a permanent hire.

A temp agency has access to many potential workers, so you won’t have to wait long for help to arrive.

Use a Comprehensive Search Method to Find Quality Talent

Now that you know more about different staffing services you can choose from, you can make your search more efficient.

Overall, there are varying benefits you can gain from RPO staffing vs. other types of staffing services. As we discussed, there are pros and cons to each service.

So, how can you choose the right service for you? Understanding what your unique talent expectations are will help you choose the solution that best meets those needs.

For example, are you looking for a timely hire to fill a role that opened unexpectedly? Or are you in need of a long-term staffing solution to improve your company’s productivity?

With a time-sensitive need, you’ll want a time-sensitive solution, such as temporary staffing. The same can be said for a long-term need requiring a long-term solution, such as RPO staffing.

Thus, once you’ve determined what your staffing needs are, you are better prepared to choose the most fitting solution.

Are you wondering how RPO staffing and other staffing solutions can help your company succeed?

Contact the team at TruPath to find the talent that you’re looking for when you need it.