Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/149047
RPO "An integrated talent management approach ensures we're not only hiring good talent, but the best possible talent through a competency-based approach," he says. "The competency framework helps define the success factors associated with an individual in a given role." Applicant tracking systems, candidate relationship managers, and other recruitment technologies lead the globalization of talent acquisition strategies, says Jay Floersch, solution architect for RPO business lines at Aon Hewitt. "Multilingual technology capabilities now enable the stakeholder in HR and talent acquisition to own the recruitment processes on a global stand," Floersch explains. "So now, following globally-enabled technology comes globally-enabled professional services." Many buyers need expertise in growth markets where they have limited to no experience recruiting, such as subSaharan Africa, South America, or the Middle East. Andrew Goldschmidt, global offering leader for RPO at Kenexa, an IBM Company, reports these HR executives are looking to outsourcers to provide the capabilities. Moreover, buyers may have cultural and process siloes that create system limitations, Goldschmidt, says. "They are looking to RPO to provide them a global platform and one governance model, to provide a level of brand and process consistency from region to region." Considerations Managing recruiting and talent acquisition efforts on a global scale certainly has its challenges. Some considerations to take into account: as hiring managers move from doing business with local contingency firms to a more centralized solution, it is critically important to have a service level agreement focused on quality, cost, and service delivery," he says. "If this is not met, hiring managers will fall back on their relationship with their existing third-party providers to provide services." Expanding an RPO engagement into countries where organizations have historically relied on local sourcing agencies can be a very big source of disruption, Goldschmidt says. "We inform clients upfront that change will be harder in those areas, and we help management through that, showing them the steps to build credibility and implement it." Define expectations. For Hull, the principle challenge for Electrocomponents is to make sure scope of services is clearly defined, so local hiring managers don't expect Alexander Mann Solutions to "solve all of their problems overnight." "For example, we want to use RPO to hire permanent workers, but not temporary and contingent workers," he says. "We want to be able to educate managers that if they want a contingent process, they will need a different vendor and a different solution." Callahan says many buyers want a uniform solution, but providers have to let them know that sometimes can't occur, as recruiting methodology and laws can very greatly. For example, the U.K.'s Trade Union and Labour Relations Consolidation Act of 1992 specifies the amount of notice that an employee has to get if their assignment changes, which affects the price of RPO. Change is difficult. Getting local hiring managers on board can be a significant roadblock, Goldschmidt says. "We are also developing a statement of work and contracts to fit this," she says. "We encourage our clients to have one global master service agreement, but with separate statements of work for each region." "We address these challenges by suggesting a phasing approach," he says. "We like to be involved with clients upfront, helping to craft effective change management by communicating to talent acquisition leaders why the change will be better for them." Are you really ready? Buyers need to truly access their needs before determining how—and if—a global RPO engagement is the solution. Itron's in-house talent acquisition staff is serving as liaisons between its hiring managers in the field and Futurestep, Serff says. "Recruitment tends to be a relationship business, and [34] HRO TODAY MAGAZINE | JULY/AUGUST 2013 "There's an important question whether some clients are really ready for global RPO," says Paul Rubenstein, Aon Hewitt's leader of talent solutions and product strategy."While RPO may be right for many clients, the homogenous nature of some clients' recruiting needs may not be global, which leads to multiple providers in multiple