What’s the difference between RPO and Project-Based RPO?

Let’s dig into the details of project recruitment and recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) to fully understand the difference between these two solutions.

In many ways project recruitment is similar to end-to-end RPO, especially when it comes to the way the solutions are designed and the capabilities they have.

The main difference between the two services can be summed up by the amount of time required for execution. However, there are a few more subtle differences that distinguish between project recruitment and RPO. Understanding those will help you make a better decision in relation to which service you should choose for your business.

Time commitment

This is the main difference between the two services. Project-based recruitment is usually a short term solution while RPO can last for as long as a year, a few years and in some cases even longer than that.

At the same time, project recruitment can be as quick as a few weeks or months.

Teams and responsibilities

In end-to-end RPO, the entire TA function is in the hands of the solution provider - they bear the main responsibility for the overall talent acquisition in the company.

Project recruitment is based on the augmentation of an existing TA team, so while the provider is responsible for certain agreed hiring requirements, they are not responsible for the entire talent acquisition function of the business. 

Value added services

Project recruitment is focused on a fixed requirement that a client may have, for instance a certain volume of roles. The execution does not have to take place in the client’s premises, which might be helpful especially for companies that have limited office space and are looking to hire home-based employees. A service-level agreement (SLA) is also focused around completion dates of projects.

On the other hand, RPO often entails value added services such as building or evaluating client’s EVP,  their employer branding, consultation, training and development for the client’s internal teams, general recruitment process improvement, onboarding and so on. What’s more, RPO consultants are based in the client’s office and always go to market as white label.

Final Comments

RPO is often selected by business looking for a scalable, but ongoing support for their internal HR team that face significant hiring volume and want to lower cost per hire. This requires supplying ATS, managing third party suppliers and offering regular and transparent reports.

Project recruitment solutions are cost effective, fixed and aimed at temporary support for the internal TA /HR teams. As such, project recruitment is often a good way to “test drive” a full scale RPO. More often than not, organisations that experience effective project-based recruitment partnership, turn towards end-to-end RPO.

If you’d like to know more about RPO or project-based recruitment, fill in our contact form and we’ll get in touch with you directly to answer any questions you might have.