RPO - synchronizing the recruitment strategy and your business goals

Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) is a form of business process outsourcing where companies assign the complete process of the selection and hiring of staff to an external supplier, specialized in HR. For eleven consecutive years, Manpower has received the Everest Group's "World Leader in the RPO Sector" award, with active projects in over 64 countries.

Today Ivan Varbanov, Business Development Manager at our company, will share more about the specifics of the RPO service on the Bulgarian market and the new horizons ahead of it in the situation of high market dynamics and increased talent shortage that we observe in our country.

Speaking about the Bulgarian market, companies of what size and from which sectors most often seek the RPO service?

We have examples for companies from different sectors and sizes benefiting from outsourced selection, and in different cases, their goals vary. For start-ups, as well as scale-up companies, most often the aim is to accelerate the growth of their team through RPO, while they focus on product development. Large companies often choose the service to receive support and cooperation in the selection process for specific roles.

It is important to emphasize that the methodology we use gives us a high degree of flexibility and allows us to adapt to different goals, as well as various types and sizes of companies. The labor market is becoming more dynamic and standard approaches are less and less likely to produce the desired results. It is necessary to dive deep into the specific requirements and business needs of the company to select the most suitable candidates and here the RPO service offers an optimal solution.

What are the advantages of choosing RPO that may not be completely visible at first glance?

First of all, the side analysis that our specialists prepare. Very often a different point of view on the internal process of an organization leads to a change in a positive direction.

Also, the flexibility that our partners get. In an outsourced recruiting project, one of our team members, fully committed to the specific project, uses the entire internal resource of Manpower Bulgaria - databases, contacts, network, experience, communication channels, good practices. This work format repeatedly increases the quality and efficiency of the process and allows our clients to monitor the project development through regular progress updates, without being involved in the topic daily.

How does RPO help to synchronize recruitment strategies with companies' business goals?

As a company that has put its finger on the pulse of the labor market, we report increased dynamics and displacement of layers in many sectors in Bulgaria. Increasingly, our customers have to devote a massive resource in a very short time to build or fill a team. In this situation, outsourcing the recruiting process makes it possible to compensate for the high workload and to meet quickly the identified human capital needs. 

When the selection process is outsourced, the internal HR team can focus on other strategic functions, such as improving the employer brand - a key function today. All this is a real advantage for the employer and at the same time, he retains full control over the process.

What is the standard format of an RPO project?

Most often a recruiting specialist from our team takes the lead of the RPO project and is fully dedicated to working for our client. KPI’s, deadlines, and specifics are defined. In most cases, the colleague takes over the entire selection process except for the most final interviews and more and more often even participates in decision-making for certain candidates. The main goal in such projects is to most effectively use the extra person not only as a resource but also as expertise.

What are the latest innovations in the field?

The big novelty in the world of outsourced HR solutions is the development of comprehensive partnerships between companies and HR partners. As an international organization with traditions in various fields, our goal is our experience and expertise to be an effective tool in the hands of HR directors from different sectors.

For this reason, we are investing more and more in improving the environment, in human capital development under the brand Assert International, in comprehensive analysis of the labor market, and last but not least - full-service HR solutions for the Bulgarian labor market.

Recruiting in the digital age - Manpower Academy

In this spirit that we launched a dedicated RPO academy "Recruiting in the digital age". Attracting talent for us is a key factor in the development of a company, and the HR specialist plays a crucial role in building a dream team to meet the challenges of an increasingly competitive market. That is why we started the RPO Academy, where selected candidates get the opportunity to master the various techniques and methods of the effective selection process in the digital age and become part of our team.

The goal for the participants is to gain confidence and industry-specific knowledge for several months, to become narrow specialists for the relevant profiles, requirements, remuneration levels, and specific processes. Last but not least, the best among them will have the opportunity together with a senior specialist from our team to take on an RPO project.

We believe that every company should strive to improve the sector in which it operates. At Manpower, we see the human capital at the heart of such a change, and that is why we are systematically investing in its development.