Why partner with an offshore recruitment services company?
Both temporary and permanent vacancies have sharply declined, and recruitment agency owners are exploring potential avenues to sail through these troubled waters.
Some questions keeping every recruitment agency business owner awake are:
- Cash flow?
- Pivot into a new sector?
- Furlough staff?
- How to sustain and control costs?
- How to continue delivering uninterrupted services to clients?
- Generate new business in this market scenario?
- Wait for the situation to improve to explore new ways of working?
- Take decisions or stay put?
- Which route to take for cost reduction?
Every business is exploring various routes to stay afloat and sustain these different times. One of the many ways several (10 of top 50) and small-to-mid-sized recruitment businesses have taken the path to partner with offshore recruitment outsourcing service provider.
Agencies, especially the ones in the temp/contract market; i.e. healthcare (locum doctors, nursing, social care, AHP) and IT recruitment, have partnered with offshore RPOs for following reasons.
1.INCREASE FILL RATE
Outsourcing only high volume low margin jobs to the offshore recruitment process outsourcing teams. This is how it all started. Onshore (UK/US) Recruiters focused mainly on filling high margin jobs. Agencies were meeting sales targets, but there was an opportunity cost (unfilled jobs) which was missed.
Recruitment business owners with a growth mindset spotted this opportunity early on. Training Managers and Senior Recruiters were deployed to train offshore recruitment teams. Within months, an army of trained Recruiters was already recruiting and placing Doctors, Nurses, Carers and IT contractors. The activity not only helped agencies generate an additional revenue stream but also increased fill rate. Increased fill rate enabled them to the better contest when tendering and contract renewals. Offshore recruitment process outsourcing is a proven model to increase fill rates and revenues.
2.IMPROVE MARGINS
The outsourcing model of high volume low margin jobs is a success. The output of this model not only increased the fill rate and sales but also improved margins in the range of over 25%. Given this success, recruitment agencies ramped up their offshore recruitment process outsourcing teams. Pilot team of trained Recruiters took the lead to prepare another rank of Recruiters who could recruit and place. Replicating the success was easy when recruitment agencies executed a structured process of outsourcing and governance.
Agencies transferred many high margin jobs as well. With an adequate support system, formal process and transparency from the onshore counterparts, Recruiters filled high margin jobs as quickly as they filled the low margin ones. Skilled task force on the offshore teams enables recruitment agencies to improve margins massively. Cost to serve from India is in the range of circa 40%. Agencies who have taken a hit due to continually reducing margins and increasing costs must explore the offshore recruitment process outsourcing model.
3.REDUCE COSTS
A no brainer approach, the outsourcing revolution began with “cost reduction” as one of the major USPs. Recruitment business owners have positively embraced this route over the last twelve to fifteen years. Recruitment agencies initially identified transactional, simple and noncore tasks which can be outsourced. Transactional and repetitive activities such as job inputting/posting, database cleansing, CV formatting, CV processing and payroll were outsourced at the beginning as a trial.
Once the recruitment agency owners and key stakeholders were certain, other tasks such as pre-employment screening/reference checking, compliance, sourcing, candidate generation, database regeneration, organisation mapping, and recruiting were outsourced. There is a host of services recruitment agencies can benefit by partnering with an offshore recruitment process outsourcing company.
Agencies who haven’t explored the offshore recruitment process outsourcing route must trial this avenue. Agencies can take advantage of reducing costs, at least in the range of 50%.
4.FLEXIBILITY
Flexibility is one of the significant features of the outsourced business model. Recruitment agencies must take advantage of the flexibility and offshore recruitment process outsourcing model in times like these. Depending on the recruitment agency’s volume of business and need to scale up/down, the outsourcing model proves to be a boon for several agencies who have partnered with the offshore recruitment process outsourcing companies.
During times like these; i.e. crisis, many agencies have scaled their offshore teams, while the impacted ones were able to ramp down on short notice without incurring humongous costs; i.e. compared to onshore. The bench (team of members unassigned to any projects) of experienced staff can be deployed on your team for the recruitment agency who want to explore the offshore recruitment process outsourcing route.
Given the current situation, a range of engagement models is now available for the recruitment agencies to try. Take advantage of the flexibility and trial of the offshore recruitment model while the market recovers.
5.BUSINESS CONTINUITY
Companies across sectors and industries have realised the importance of business continuity in the last four weeks due to COVID-19. Offshore recruitment process outsourcing teams perfectly equipped to fit this requirement. When recruitment agencies have an offshore team, uninterrupted delivery of services to the clients is ensured. Offshore recruitment teams continue working on critical tasks ensuring clients, candidates, and respective stakeholders expectations are met.
By partnering with an offshore recruitment process outsourcing company, recruitment agencies can avert critical factors during a crisis or a disaster.
- Reputation loss
- Client loss
- Candidate loss
- Revenue/Sales loss
- Contract penalties
- Dissatisfied clients and candidates
Several recruitment agencies will not have explored this route either due to time constraints during busy times, hearsay from others where the model didn’t work or personal experience talking to a call centre representative. However, the proof is in the pudding. Recruitment agency owners should explore and try this model.
At least 10 of the top 50 UK and many small-to-midsized recruitment agencies, especially from the healthcare and IT have teams of up to 400 based overseas. The offshore recruitment process outsourcing is a proven model endorsed by influencers and industry thought leaders. Go for it.
