When it comes to hiring, change is constant. That’s why it’s critical for talent acquisition (TA) leaders to be flexible in their approach to hiring — in today’s market, it simply doesn’t account for the rapid changes that require both real-time pivots and a futureproof, dynamic hiring strategy. Because of these unpredictable market conditions, flexible recruiting is the new gold standard. (Think about it: Anticipating the state of recruiting even six months into the future is tricky at best.) As a result, we must expect change and embrace it.
A recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) partner practices flexible recruiting solutions that allow real-time shifts for clients to accommodate and prepare for uncertainty.
While building a long-term TA strategy is a best practice, you should never rely on projections to be set in stone (this is especially true when forecasting based on past data, as we’ve seen this vary greatly). Certainly, forecast your company’s personnel needs on macro and micro elements based on attrition levels, anticipated growth and seasonality, but keep in mind these metrics will be fluid and ever changing. Having that agility keeps your team open to changes that are likely to come and helps you be proactive rather than reactive to them.
An RPO partner understands the value of an adaptable hiring model and executes this for clients.
Flexible recruiting has many benefits, as it:
Here are three ways an RPO partner helps clients prepare for an ever-changing market:
Attracting, hiring and retaining talent is a balancing act and requires varying resources. An RPO partner’s flexible recruitment model along with its access to global talent enables you to expand or contract your TA function at any time. This has become so important in an ever-shifting market environment. (It’s especially powerful if you have upticks in seasonal hiring or are a business undergoing restructuring too.)
RPOs have unique insight into managing key stakeholders’ expectations and leading clients through phases of change within organisations of all industries.
Flexible recruitment, in practice, means having the right talent in place to meet organisational goals. It requires a vigilant and dynamic strategy in place according to a client’s industry, roles and day-to-day market conditions. RPO partners work alongside internal teams to anticipate future hiring needs and build relevant talent pipelines.
A robust talent pipeline means you can minimise the time it takes to source roles in the future. RPOs accomplish this by fostering a talent community and engaging meaningfully with candidates across channels. Effective employment branding is also key here to give candidates an accurate picture — from the mouths of current employees — of what it’s like to work there.