Purposeful Recruitment: How To Get The Most Out Of Your Recruitment Process Outsourcing

When you are looking to outsource your recruitment process, service level agreements are very important. A service level agreement is a formal contract between an organization and a service provider that determines the obligations of each party. This includes what services will be provided, how often they will be provided, and the quality of service that is expected from both parties. Implementation of service level agreements can help ensure customer satisfaction by setting expectations for all parties involved in the process. It also helps to avoid disputes about billing issues or service failures.

What is a recruitment service level agreement?

When you choose to outsource your recruitment process, service level agreements are very important. A service level agreement is a formal contract between an organization and service provider that determines the obligations of each party. This includes what services will be provided, how often they will be provided, and the quality of service expected from both parties.

Implementation of recruitment service level agreements (SLAs) can help ensure customer satisfaction by setting expectations for all parties involved. It's significant to make sure that service level agreements are met because service quality and performance can affect customer satisfaction and, in turn, revenue and profitability.

There are those who may not really pay attention to service level agreements, but they should know that it is important. It is important because you want interaction with your employees who work for the company as well as the customers to be easier, smoother, and more effective. It can also help decrease costs of operations drastically if everyone knows what is expected of them.

The placement of a service level agreement in business helps to avoid disputes about billing issues or service failures. It is important for an outsourced human resource and recruiting service to adopt service level agreements or formal written agreements that specify how performance tracking and reporting will be done, and how service-related disputes will be resolved.

The service level agreement in best practice, should not be a static agreement, but a working document that will reflect the continuous change in services delivered by the provider. This will reflect the service delivery operating processes, and service level expectations agreed between the service provider and its customers.

Let's take a look at an example of how a service level agreement is used in business. We will see what the service level agreement outlines specifically within a human resources department in the recruiting function, and the recruiting workflow for the recruitment team.

What are the steps in the recruitment process outsourcing?

When you outsource your recruitment process, a recruitment SLA can help ensure customer satisfaction by setting expectations for all parties involved. It also helps to avoid disputes about billing issues or service failures.

Steps in RPO:

- Define business requirements and goals of recruiting functions

- Evaluate service providers in the market

- Create service level agreement(s) to define success metrics and expectations for a service provider

- Develop RPO model, transition plan, implement RPO solution

- Monitor service levels through frequent reporting against defined KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), improvements identified by service delivery teams, or functional areas of the service provider

- Hire service providers to complete RPO process for different needs of the company, service level agreement set up with a contract of services

- Continuously monitor service levels and service quality of outsourced recruiting function

- If necessary, choose a new service provider or change the service levels of the current partner.

What is SLA in outsourcing?

When you outsource your recruitment service, service level agreements are very important. A service level agreement is a formal contract between an organization and service provider that determines the obligations of each party. This includes what services will be provided, how often they will be provided, and the quality of service expected from both parties. Implementation of service level agreements can help ensure customer satisfaction by setting expectations for all parties involved in the process. It also helps to avoid disputes about billing issues or service failures.

What are HR SLAs?

Service level agreements can be very helpful when you outsource your human resource/recruitment service. This includes what services will be provided, how often they will be provided, and the quality of service expected from both parties.

Implementation of service level agreements can help ensure customer satisfaction by setting expectations for all parties involved in the process. It also helps to avoid disputes about billing issues or service failures.

Benefits of implementing a service level of agreement

- Reduces risk and cost associated with talent acquisition function

- Increases quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of recruiting processes

- Sets service performance expectations through service level agreements

- Helps to ensure that service providers are held accountable for how they manage the recruitment process

- Supports service delivery, increases customer satisfaction and reduces the risk of disputes about billing issues or service failures.

If you really want service level agreement results, studies have shown it is important that you prioritize service quality and performance over costs. In the case of the recruiting process, it is important to establish in the recruiting agreement the formal definition of the service levels for the RPO provider, hiring managers, and leaders.

This can be formally measured in the submitted candidate slate, the hiring manager recruiter candidate review time-frame to help mitigate the laggard hiring process not allowing for hiring faster.

Establishing mutually agreed talent acquisition hiring manager and recruitment agency service levels will help to remove the critical bottlenecks often presented in the recruiting process. Recruiters and hiring managers can establish meetings to get buy-in, set expectations, discuss the process improvement and success measures needed to generate a successful recruiting process.

In what ways can success be measured? It can be measured by how recruiters and hiring managers identify and assess candidates to ensure the best applicants are being engaged. The organization's practices and processes improve compliance because your team and RPO partner maintain compliance throughout the hiring process.

When you think of your SLA as a fluid nonstatic document, you can continue to improve engagements increasing service levels and service quality while still decreasing costs, if everyone involved follows the service level agreements.

Why should I do a recruitment process outsourcing service level agreement?

Service level agreements are very important when you are looking to outsource your recruitment process. Companies exploring RPO service options, typically issue an RFI or RFP to evaluate various RPO service providers' offerings before signing a contract. An RFI is normally an informal request for information on their services whereas an RFP is a formal request for services.

What is an RFI?

An RFI is an informal request for information on their services that some companies use as the first step in RPO discovery and preparing to issue an RFP.

An RFI can be considered as the basic evaluation between business groups and RPO service providers whereas RFPs can help determine the RPO service provider who is able to deliver what you need. RFI's and RFPs also help RPO service providers analyze their capabilities, so they know what they can offer to your organization.

Increase visibility and customer satisfaction

An RPO service level agreement helps ensure customer satisfaction by setting expectations for all parties involved in the RPO service process. RPO SLAs must be thorough and clearly outline responsibilities, expectations, commitments, costs, penalties, time frames, and management structures of RPO services.

What are four things to consider when looking for an RPO provider?

- Experience with your industry & organization type

- Location (is the RPO provider near you or able to work remotely?)

- RPO service type desired (Full RPO, RFO, RTA)

- What the SLA defines

Pitfalls of Service Level Agreements

In spite of all the positives of establishing service level agreements, there are some pitfalls that must be avoided. Not all companies get service level agreements right, so here are some tips to help you avoid pitfalls.

- Do not think service level agreements are not necessary. This is a service after all so it is important to have service level agreements.

- Results of service level agreements may not be seen right away, this could take some time.

- It is a good idea to ask the experts for advice if you are not sure of what service quality and performance should look like. They should be more familiar with service level agreements than you are.

- - If something does not go as planned or if service levels are not met, hire professionals who can help fix things up especially when service level agreement goals are already set..

- Always remember that service quality and performance affect customer satisfaction and revenue and profitability in return.

Summary

It is important to note that it might take some time before you see results from service level agreements, so you should be patient and persistent in order to achieve service level agreement goals. In the example of the recruiting service level agreement for an RPO, the goals would be tied to the recruiting results of the RPO provider.

Your recruitment process outsourcing strategy should be reviewed every year to ensure it is meeting your needs. A few things you need to consider are the steps of the RPO, the SLAs available to your organization, and how frequently HR policies will be reviewed.

There may not be a one size fits all approach so make sure you find an option that best suits your company’s needs. If you haven’t already looked into this service or if you want more information on our services, don't hesitate to contact us today!

Interested in RPO solutions?

With Accendi Group, you can count on us for leading recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) solutions, we excel in tech and niche recruiting and invite you to view our RPO service video. Want to learn more about what is recruitment process outsourcing? Watch our informational video.

Visit our recruitment process outsourcing page to learn more.

This article was written by Managing Partner, Fawn Hentrel.