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What Is Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)?

Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) is outsourcing all or part of the recruiting function to an external provider.

An educational definition from the HR glossary. Explore related terms below, or jump into the resource center to go deeper.

Definition

Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) is outsourcing all or part of the recruiting function to an external provider.

Why it matters

It can add capacity and expertise to scale or improve hiring.

Examples

Illustrative example. An organisation might outsource high-volume sourcing and screening via RPO.

For the practical detail behind this term, follow the related metric, template and resources below.

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For informational purposes only. This is an educational, plain-language definition — not legal, tax, financial or compliance advice and not an official definition. Terms and obligations vary by organisation and jurisdiction. Numeric examples are simple, placeholder-based illustrations, not data. Confirm specifics with qualified professionals.
Related concepts

Related glossary terms

Keep exploring the HR vocabulary.

Glossary

Recruitment Agency

A recruitment agency is an external firm that finds and presents candidates to employers for a fee.

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Staffing Agency

A staffing agency supplies workers — often temporary or contract — to organisations that need flexible capacity.

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Talent Acquisition

Talent acquisition is the broader, more strategic approach to hiring — building pipelines, employer brand and long-term talent supply.

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Measure it

Related metrics & calculators

Recruitment metric

Cost Per Hire

Cost per hire measures the average cost of making a hire over a period.

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HR metrics hub

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Put it into practice

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Go deeper

Related resources

The clusters that put this concept into practice.

Lifecycle

Employee lifecycle

The full employee journey, stage by stage.

Open Operations

Employer operations

Run the workforce as a repeatable system.

Open Planning

Workforce planning

Strategy and organizational design.

Open Compliance

HR compliance

Documentation, records, data and policy.

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HR templates

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Open Playbooks

HR playbooks

Step-by-step plays for people processes.

Open Technology

HR technology

Automation, analytics and systems.

Open Funnel

Recruitment funnel

Sourcing through to accepted offer.

Open Reporting

HR reporting & dashboards

Turn people data into clear views.

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AI for HR

Where AI assists HR, responsibly.

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HR resource center

The central map of every cluster.

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FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)?

Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) is outsourcing all or part of the recruiting function to an external provider.

Why does Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) matter?

It can add capacity and expertise to scale or improve hiring.

How is Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) measured?

It connects to the HR metric linked on this page, where you can find the formula and how to read it. This glossary entry is an educational definition, not a data source.