Risks

RPO can only succeed in the context of a well-defined corporate and staffing strategy. As with any program, a company must manage its RPO activities, providing initial direction and continued monitoring to assure the desired results.

• Loose Definition of RPO - As RPO is a commercial concept rather than a specific definition, there is little regulation to RPO providers. As such, a recruitment agency may brand their services as RPO without actually structuring them in a way that will provide the most benefit to their clients.

• Cost - The cost of engaging an RPO provider may be more than the cost of the internal recruitment department, as an RPO provider is likely to have higher business overheads.

• Effectiveness - Improperly implemented RPO could reduce the effectiveness of recruitment, should an RPO provider not understand or seek to understand the recruitment solution that they will be providing.

• Failure to Deliver - RPO service providers may fail to provide the quality or volume of staff required by their clients, especially when finding candidates in industry sectors where there are staff shortages.

• Lack of Competition - Placing all recruitment in the hands of a single outside provider may discourage the competition that would arise if multiple recruitment providers were used.

• Pre-Existing Issues - An RPO solution may not work if the company's existing recruitment processes are performing poorly, or if the service provider lacks appropriate recruitment processes or procedures to work with the client. In this situation, it is better for the company to undergo a recruitment optimisation programme.

• Employer Branding - RPO providers do not necessarily act as custodians of their clients' employer brandsearch firm or internal recruiting resource would. in the way that a strongly aligned retained

• Engagement - Many RPO organisations perform their staffing functions and service offsite or offshore, disconnecting the provider from the client company's growth and recruiting strategy. While this effect can be mitigated through strong relationship management, some of the momentum and energy associated with the rapid upscaling of a workforce through recruitment may dissipate.