Hardly a day goes by when we, at DSML Executive Search, aren’t approached by an offshore RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing) sourcing service firm looking for us to “give them a try”.
Recruitment Process Outsourcing is a business model where a recruitment firm, (or employer), outsources the ) to a third-party business to drive down cost. A recruitment firm might use an RPO service for sourcing, whereas an employer might add interviewing, candidate presentation, reference checking, etc. The majority of the clients are US businesses and the majority of the vendors are in India, although some are also in Eastern Europe.
They say that they have access to all of the job boards, (CareerBuilder, Monster, Indeed, LinkedIn Recruiter, etc.), along with an internal database, and that they are able to deliver candidates on a daily basis that match client requirements. Since they operate in a different time zone, far away, theoretically they can work when the client is closed for the evening and provide a good morning email which would include a fresh batch of candidate resumes.
Other executive search firms may have a different perspective; however, DSML Executive Search finds that these RPO firms totally miss the mark, especially when searching in specific industries like Medical Devices, or Packaging (for e.g.). We discovered, for the following reasons, that none of the firms we tried were able to provide us with the right profiles for our client’s needs:
- Candidates whose profiles were clearly years out-of-date
- Candidates who showed a consistent pattern of high turnover
- Those who simply did not have the industry experience, background, that we were seeking
- Candidates who we had already discovered on our own
- People who geographically resided in a location quite far away from the search location
Quite recently our team was challenged at a pre-bid meeting when a Consumer Goods client prospect said, “We know that you use overseas recruitment firms to assist you in finding candidates”, at which point we jumped in to say, “No, we do not … we’ve tried these firms in the past and they just weren’t working for us”. And, “For that matter”, we added, “We don’t even have an account on any job board as we’ve found that posting jobs very seldom brings us candidates who fit the profiles that we are seeking”.
There are no shortcuts to a successful project
Clearly, since we are approached by RPO providers practically every day, there is a proliferation of these types of firms which clearly indicates that other US recruitment firms are engaging with them. It’s sometimes arduous, however we know from experience.
If your company is seeking to recruit for a key position, such as CEO, COO, President, VP or other Senior level role, have a conversation with DSML Executive Search to ensure your search includes a “thorough” process and a “success based” strategy.