Monthly regional recruitment analysis undertaken by Hays has suggested that Singapore leads the Asia Pacific region as one of the most-developed landscapes for Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO). Having gained much of its elevation in this sphere through its time as a regional hub for MNC’s, the island nation still faces educational challenges but may be best placed to foster true understanding of RPO and its benefits.
Hays’recent study focussed on Recruitment Process and found that Singapore’s status as one of the biggest decision-making hubs for global MNCs has made it a focal point of RPO expansion in the Asia Pacific region. But while industries like banking & finance, IT, pharmaceuticals and healthcare continue to lead the utilisation of this service in the country, expanding start-ups or traditionally local companies (like locally headquartered banks) are still exhibiting reluctance in adopting the model. The reason for this can be pinned down to a prevailing lack of education on the benefits of a full-fledged enterprise RPO solution.
This lack of education has resulted in many organisations in Singapore seeking RPO solutions only for specific projects or when they need help filling vacancies in a short period of time. This ‘quick-fix’ approach could hold organisations back from exploring or understanding RPO in terms of improving processes and the tangible value add of outsourcing and evolving with their RPO provider. More education is also needed around the subject of staff augmentation vs RPO, where RPO refers to outsourcing the end-to-end recruitment process of an entire talent acquisition function (or a defined part of it), as compared to staff augmentation which is the provision of a recruiter on-site, with no commitment on service delivery or headcount.
Organisations are guided to look out for the true value of an RPO provider, which lies in its ability to strategically advise a business. The right RPO partner must thus have substantial knowledge and presence in a number of markets, along with ensuring that all of its knowledge and data of the market is real-time and accurate. To make this possible, the provider would need to have the right technology and experts on board, where it becomes possible to influence trends rather than reactively advise a client on responding to them.
Speaking on these findings, Shane Little, managing director for Hays Talent Solutions APAC, commented: “The true value of RPO lies in its end-to-end solutions. Despite the market leaning in the direction of staff augmentation, it is imperative that RPO providers stay true to the expertise and value they can bring to the market. However, people are increasingly understanding that the real players are investing and are ready to grow in this market. The current RPO market in Singapore is better than ever before and its future growth remains extremely positive.”
