Problems of RPO

If a company failed to define its overall recruitment strategy and hiring objectives, then any recruiting program may fail to meet the company's needs. This is especially true for outsourced programs like RPO. 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. A company must provide initial direction and continued monitoring to assure the desired results. Overall, providing guidance to external activities can present a significant management challenge.

Outsourcing of company processes may fail or prove a poor organizational fit. Improperly implemented RPO could reduce the effectiveness of recruitment.]The costs charged for recruitment transactions may total more than the cost of the internal recruitment department. RPO service providers may fail to provide the quality or volume of staff required by their customers. Placing all recruitment in the hands of a single outside provider may discourage the competition that would arise if multiple recruitment agencies were used. An RPO solution may not work if the company's existing recruitment processes are performing poorly.

An RPO solution may not work if the service provider has inadequate recruitment processes or procedures to work with the client. RPO may not resolve difficulties that organizations have hiring staff when the organization is perceived negatively by potential employees. This will instead require improved branding and an adjustment of image. In fact, very few RPOs can successfully integrate their client's brand and therefore do not represent their client's brand as well as a retained search or internal recruiting resource may drive brand representation and or marketing.

Further, most RPOs perform their staffing functions and service offsite, further disconnecting the client's growth & recruiting strategy from the actual workforce within the client company. This is important because during a period of rapid recruitment growth, one of the many positive effects that a company typically enjoys is an increase in the workforce wellness or an overall workforce positivity of sentiment of optimism that comes with personnel additions... this may be lessened with an OFFSITE recruiting function. Organizations with efficient hiring process that are viewed as employers-of-choice by potential staff may stand to gain negligible benefits from RPO.