Your latest hire just gave two weeks' notice. Again. Now you're back to square one, competing with every other company for the same small pool of qualified candidates.
What starts as a simple hiring challenge quickly snowballs into missed deadlines, overworked teams picking up the slack, and that sinking feeling that you're burning through budget on a revolving door of mediocre hires.
The cascading effects hit harder than expected: current employees get stretched thin, projects get delayed, and you're left explaining to leadership why that critical role has been open for four months.
This isn't just a hiring problem. It's a business growth problem that compounds with every day a key position sits empty.
This guide covers 12 of the best RPO outsourcing companies and explains what recruitment process outsourcing can do for your hiring process, so you can decide if partnering with an RPO makes sense for your business.
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What Are Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) Companies?
RPO companies act as an extension of your HR team, handling some or all of your talent acquisition functions. These specialized firms manage everything from recruitment consulting and job postings to candidate screening and interviews, depending on your needs.
Businesses hire recruitment process outsourcing companies to handle their talent acquisition process. RPOs take over part or all of the recruitment functions as the business requires.
More often than not, it is large enterprises that use RPO companies. However, the RPO industry has evolved in recent years, and RPO companies also now offer their services to small and medium-scale enterprises.
What Are the Benefits of Outsourcing the Recruitment Process?
Working with an RPO can save you time, money, and the headache of managing a complex hiring process in-house.
The global RPO market was valued at just over $6 billion in 2021, with an expected cumulative annual growth rate of 6.62% between 2021 and 2027.
The rapid growth over previous years and projected growth in the RPO industry is a testament to the wide range of benefits RPO companies provide. RPOs can contribute to resource efficiency, better-quality hires, flexibility, and all-around talent management.
We look at each one of these benefits in more detail below.
Resource savings
Recruiting top talent is expensive. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, the average cost per hire is about $4,683. This number is much higher, at $28,000, for executive roles.
Finding qualified talent for any industry is increasingly competitive. In the most competitive industries, efforts to fill vacancies can drag on for months on end. This delay has a cascading effect on the business.
For critical roles, businesses may have to shuffle employees around. Current employees may have to take on unfamiliar responsibilities, potentially causing strain and thus reduced productivity. They may also have to be paid overtime, sometimes for suboptimal work.
There’s also the cost of wrong hires. The United States Department of Labor estimates bad hires cost businesses at least 30% of the employee’s first-year earnings.
This estimate doesn’t include the sometimes unquantifiable loss of team morale, project disruptions, and the time invested into hiring, onboarding, and training the employee.
The best RPO providers ensure a fast time to hire while filling the role with top-tier talent that fits the company culture and minimizing the overall cost of each hire.
Flexibility
Organizations often have unpredictable and fluctuating hiring needs. RPOs allow businesses to scale resources allocated to recruitment up or down as their needs change.
This is a much more flexible model than having a permanent hiring team that cannot always justify the resources allocated to them in lean hiring periods. In-house recruitment teams may also be unable to handle sudden and large recruitment needs.
Whether businesses need to fill one or a hundred roles, they can leverage RPOs’ existing structures per open position as needed. It’s essentially like having seasoned recruiters on demand.
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Better-quality hires
We’ve established that bad hires are costly, both financially and otherwise. Hiring quality workers isn’t just a cost-cutting measure—it’s a survival and business growth tactic for organizations of all sizes. That’s why there’s massive competition for top-quality hires.
RPOs have abundant experience sourcing top candidates with diverse backgrounds across many channels. They have time- and scenario-tested hiring processes to screen and match candidates to roles based on your company’s values and culture.
Having a reliable hiring process is even more important in the era of increased remote hires. RPOs know what additional factors need to be considered during the screening and hiring process.
RPO providers also have candidate pools that organizations can draw from with short notice, such as if team members leave unexpectedly at a crucial time, or you simply need more workers during your busier periods.
All-around talent management
Using the latest recruitment technology and innovation, RPOs can help you with comprehensive talent management. This includes all aspects of talent acquisition, including compliance with global and local employment laws. For example, employment laws in Latin America (LatAm) are different from those in the US.
An RPO can also be a strategic partner throughout the end-to-end recruitment pipeline. This may include tailoring job descriptions, talent sourcing, hiring the best fit, and ensuring a seamless and effective onboarding process.
For specialized industries like logistics, RPO services can be even more impactful. Learn more about the specific benefits of RPO services for logistics firms.
What Are the Different RPO Services?
RPOs provide different services, including project-based recruitment, full or partial-cycle outsourcing, and AI-automated hiring.
Partial-cycle/co-sourced
In partial-cycle outsourcing, businesses handle part of the recruitment process and outsource the other functions to an RPO.
For example, an RPO may only be asked to provide a set number of potential candidates. The company then makes a shortlist and arranges and conducts interviews itself to find the best fit.
Full-cycle/full outsourcing
In full outsourcing, the RPO is embedded into the organization and handles the entire recruitment process, from sourcing to onboarding. This service typically involves strategic inputs and technology investments by the RPO provider.
Project-based recruitment
Project-based recruitment is similar to full-cycle outsourcing. They both require end-to-end functions. The only difference is that project-based RPO services are used to fill unexpected expert needs, like digital transformation projects.
AI-automated hiring process
Some RPOs have the advanced technology to offer AI-powered hiring processes.
Examples of AI technology include predictive talent analytics, AI-powered applicant tracking systems, and AI chatbots to engage prospective candidates.
Automation can significantly reduce hiring costs and time, especially for high-volume hiring.
12 Top Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) Companies
Here, we’ll list 12 of the best recruitment process outsourcing companies. Note that since each provides its own advantages and unique offerings, they are in no particular order.
Near
Near (Hire With Near) is a full-service staffing and recruiting agency that helps US companies of all sizes hire top-performing remote talent in Latin America across finance, accounting, sales, software engineering, AI, data, marketing, operations, and virtual assistance.
Unlike typical RPO companies that focus on volume, we dig deep to understand your specific needs and company culture, then find candidates who actually fit—not just ones who look good on paper.
Our done-for-you approach handles everything from sourcing and vetting to compliance and ongoing support. Our clients usually hire within three weeks.
What makes us different is our on-the-ground presence in Latin America and our focus on real-time collaboration—your LatAm team members work in the same or adjacent time zones, speak excellent English, and tend to stay 66% longer than typical US hires.
Plus, you get access to top-tier talent at 30–70% less than US salary rates without sacrificing quality.
Cielo
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Cielo prides itself as the “world’s leading talent acquisition partner.” The company has a big global footprint, serving 215 companies in 113 countries.
Cielo’s sector expertise includes advanced manufacturing, health care, consumer brands, life sciences, technology, media, and financial and professional services.
In addition to RPO services, the company offers pre-employment services, including drug screening and background and reference checks.
Randstad Sourceright
Randstad Sourceright, now part of Randstad Enterprise, serves clients in over 70 countries with over 275,000 hires annually.
The company offers three types of services: core RPO services, managed service programs (MSP), and integrated talent solutions.
Randstad has a proprietary predictive talent analytics platform called TalentRadar. Its technology stack includes gamification screening, advanced market intelligence, and automated recruitment marketing.
PeopleScout
Founded in 1992, PeopleScout provides over 300,000 hires annually to clients in 70 countries. PeopleScout has headquarters in London, Chicago, and Sydney.
Its services include RPO, MSP, total workforce solutions, and talent advisory services.
Affinix is its proprietary talent acquisition platform, which combines artificial intelligence, machine learning, and advanced analytics to provide a seamless, positive candidate experience from end to end.
Orion Talent
Orion Talent was previously primarily a military recruitment firm. Through different acquisitions of RPOs over the years, the company has morphed into a full-scale RPO provider. That said, the company still retains its military-first DNA.
It caters to over 24 industries and niches, including the semiconductor field, data centers, alternative energy, construction, aerospace, HVAC and building automation, and manufacturing.
ManpowerGroup
ManpowerGroup is a public company founded in 1948 and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It offers services under three brands: Manpower, Experis, and Talent Solutions.
Manpower handles its contingent staffing and permanent recruitment services. Its areas of expertise are finance, business professionals, engineering, life sciences, and supply chain.
Experis covers information technology services. Its specialties include digital transformation, cloud and infrastructure, and cybersecurity.
Talent Solutions is an end-to-end talent life cycle solutions service. In the company’s words, it provides “end-to-end, data-driven solutions for talent attraction, acquisition, development and upskilling, and retention at scale.”
Alexander Mann Solutions
Alexander Mann Solutions (AMS) was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in London.
Its broad range of services includes talent acquisition, talent technology advisory, and digital talent solutions with a dedicated virtual internship platform and digital automation.
AMS also has a Talent Lab for bridging tech skills and upskilling recruiters.
AMS serves the consumer, digital and technology, government, investment banking, professional services, retail banking, and finance sectors.
Sevenstep
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Sevenstep’s services include RPO, MSP, and talent analytics. It has expertise in 10 core sectors: insurance, financial services, technology, healthcare, manufacturing and engineering, logistics, federal, retail, travel and hospitality, and supply chain.
The company also offers specialized strategic services, such as HR tech consulting; diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); and employer branding.
Its talent analytics service is powered by its proprietary data platform, Sevayo Insights. The data platform’s features include forecasting, predictive recruitment workflows, and talent trend reporting.
Korn Ferry
Korn Ferry is a global consulting firm with niche expertise in multiple domains, including business transformation, customer experience, sales effectiveness, workforce transformation, and RPO.
Its RPO services are driven by its in-house, AI-powered, end-to-end talent platform, the Korn Ferry Intelligence Cloud. It also has a service for high-volume hiring for repeatable roles called Korn Ferry Nimble.
In 2022, the Everest Group named the company one of the leaders in the RPO space.
Pierpoint
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Pierpoint was founded in 2003 and currently has operations in 143 countries. It is a certified minority-owned company and has relevant partnerships to ensure it remains at the forefront of conscious hiring.
Its services include RPO, direct sourcing, talent acquisition consulting, high-volume hiring, and executive search. It serves companies in consumer goods and retail, healthcare, life sciences and pharmaceuticals, technology and software, manufacturing and distribution, and professional services.
XOR
XOR is an AI-powered platform that screens candidates without human input and schedules shortlisted candidates for interviews into recruiters’ calendars.
The platform is best for hiring blue-collar and hourly workers in industries with repeatable roles. The XOR system contacts and engages candidates directly rather than through channels like job boards.
Magnit Global
Magnit has 30 years of experience in workforce management. Its services include MSP, employer of record, skills-based advisory services, strategic advisory, and DEI. The firm works in 124 countries with over 600 global clients.
According to the company’s CEO, they want to make it “faster, easier and scalable for organizations to plan, attract, recruit and manage the best and diverse talent anywhere in the world.”
You can use our list of the best RPO companies to find the ideal partner for your recruitment needs. For more guidance on making this decision, check out our guide on choosing the right RPO provider.
Final Thoughts
The right RPO partner helps you build a sustainable hiring strategy that actually works.
Top talent is scarce, meaning it’s vital to use the right strategies to win and retain top-quality talent, including partnering with the right RPO provider to save money and time in the recruitment process.
If you’re ready to start adding skilled professionals to your team without the hassle of a complex recruitment process, schedule a free consultation to find out more about how we can help you hire, onboard, and retain top LatAm talent.
We usually help our clients fill their open roles within 21 days.
Frequently Asked Questions About RPO Companies
What's the difference between RPO and traditional staffing agencies?
RPO companies function as a strategic extension of your HR team, managing entire recruitment processes and providing ongoing support.
Traditional staffing agencies typically focus on filling individual roles transactionally.
See “RPO vs. Staffing Agency: Choosing the Right Recruitment Strategy for Your Business” for a detailed explanation.
Can RPOs help with remote and international hiring?
Yes, many companies offering RPO services specialize in remote and international talent acquisition, like Near. This includes handling compliance, cultural matching, and time zone considerations.
The key is finding an RPO with specific expertise in the regions and employment laws relevant to your needs.
See our article on the top 10 global RPO providers for more information.
What should I look for when choosing an RPO partner?
Focus on industry expertise, proven track record in your specific role types, technology capabilities, and cultural fit with your organization. Ask for case studies, client references, and clear metrics on time-to-hire and retention rates.
For a comprehensive evaluation framework, see our detailed guide on selecting the right RPO provider.
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