The societal and economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has been severe. As is often the case, the recruitment industry had been one of the first to feel the early brunt of a significant downturn.
Fundamentally, uncertainty causes panic and a loss of investor and consumer confidence. As a result, companies are forced to make roles redundant. Hiring slows down. Future job requirements get squeezed.
For a traditional recruitment agency, this poses serious problems.
While not immune to economic shocks, the depth, scalability, and inherent value contained within an outsourced relationship grants the RPO provider a greater degree of wriggle room.
RPOs can pull on their strategic capability to fulfil a broader remit that goes beyond transactional recruitment. For example, talent pipelining for the recovery, retention initiatives, business continuity programmes and process efficiencies are a few of the additional elements typically undertaken by an RPO provider during periods of economic stress.