Leadership Tip #12: Prepare for the expected uptick in hiring

Brought to you by SourceRight Solutions

While optimism is still in short supply, more companies are beginning to look ahead to better times in 2010. The smart ones are realizing that now is a good time to find the very best candidates, while the talent pool is still deep. They also want to avoid being caught short when the economy finally rebounds.

But many are encountering a significant hurdle. Their human resources capabilities have taken a beating from layoffs and other reductions in force. This gap has HR and other executives looking for options to rebuild their staffs. To face this challenge, companies need solutions that are both scalable and flexible. One potential solution: Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) can be a good solution for challenging times.

In addition to being short-handed internally, the economy has forced many organizations to rethink their business model and marketplace niche. To stay competitive, they have had to adapt and change. Right now, they may not fully understand what their future needs will be.

In a volatile economy RPO offers flexibility. Companies can shift a fixed cost to a variable cost. They pay only for what they need. By paying for results – successful hires – rather than an entire HR infrastructure that may be out of scale or even inadequate to an organization’s current needs, companies can save money while boosting the quality of hires.

Equally important, RPO offers great scalability. Whether a company needs to make numerous hires quickly or adjust to reduced demand by limiting hiring for a period of time, scalability adds efficiency and saves money.

If a company already has an RPO provider, the job of creating a robust candidate pipeline for upcoming high-priority positions can be a smart way to utilize that provider. If they don’t currently have an RPO team, getting one in place now can help them ramp-up when the time comes. The provider and the client company can use the time to begin creating requisitions and a system. While it may start small, the engagement can scale up as the economy revives.

While many companies are still struggling, one thing is clear: It is very important to stay competitive, despite the economic fluctuations. RPO enables companies to be nimble and flexible, meaning they can pursue a winning strategy even in challenging times.