Industry-Specific Candidate Shortages Spur Recruitment Process Outsourcing Growth

Demand for Recruitment Processing Outsourcing (RPO) is steadily on the rise and will continue that way as long as the war for talent keeps escalating. Challenges with candidate sourcing are continually being cited as a central component to the nonstop growth of the RPO industry.

The RightThing Inc., the market leader in RPO, signed nine new contracts in 1Q07, of which each new client listed the war on talent as a reason for engaging in RPO. The new clients, including Capital One, Colgate-Palmolive, Dow Chemical, Vista Print and Astellas Pharma, cited obstacles such as reduction in available candidates, shortages in quality candidates and highly competitive college recruitment.

A recent IDC white paper, authored by Lisa Rowan and sponsored by The RightThing, explains and examines the case for RPO, highlighting the renewed war for talent1 ìIn a 2006 study on recruiting and talent management, IDC found that close to 60% of recruiters point to noticeable candidate shortages in 2006 over 2005. These findings are not surprising and are likely a precursor to even starker conditions that are on the horizon given the demographic realities of the evolving and shrinking workforce:

ï There will be a shortfall of 3 million workers between the projected workforce and the number of jobs required by 2016 in the United States.

ï An estimated 19% of the entire U.S. workforce holding executive, administrative and managerial positions will retire in the next five years.

ï The U.S. unemployment rate for college graduates is hovering around 2.1% which represents almost full employment.î

(1IDC White Paper sponsored by The RightThing Inc., The Case for Recruitment Outsourcing, Doc #205558, April 2007)

Also included in the IDC white paper are case studies further exploring the reasons behind three large corporationsí decision to engage in RPO and their obtained results. Unisys, International Paper and a major supplier of packaged goods, all clients of The RightThing, listed sourcing challenges that translated to a negative impact on other metrics as a key reason for outsourcing. And all three have listed RPO as the successful solution to their recruiting and sourcing obstacles.

ìWe find that every company that seeks our help is having difficulty finding the quality, diversity and quantity of workers they need to build a solid workforce,î said Terry Terhark, president of The RightThing. ìUnique recruiting is vital for success and these companies are recognizing RPO as the solution to finding that unique element.î

The conclusion found in the IDC white paper sums up the thoughts on RPO as a solution for sourcing challenges, ìToday, more enterprises are looking externally for ongoing assistance for their often strained internal recruiting function. All three of the cases presented in this study are utilizing The RightThingís services slightly differently but have one thing in common: getting the right people into the right jobs as quickly as possible is of the utmost importance to the enterprise.î

To view the entire IDC white paper and read the complete case studies please visit: