A Simple Guide to Recruitment Process Outsourcing
Every open role costs something. Projects stall, teams stretch, and good candidates accept other offers while your requisitions sit in a queue. Meanwhile, agency invoices keep arriving, each one a large slice of a new hire’s salary.
Recruitment process outsourcing offers a better way to hire. Instead of paying per placement, you get a dedicated recruitment team that sources, screens, and schedules candidates inside your own ATS and under your employer brand. This simple guide explains what RPO is, how it compares with agencies, what it covers, and how to get started.
- UK agencies typically charge 15 to 20% of first-year salary, and up to 30% for senior roles.
- A dedicated offshore recruiter costs up to 60% less than an in-house recruiter.
- RPO replaces per-hire fees with one flat monthly rate.
- Candidate data and hiring decisions always stay with you.
What Is RPO
Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) is when a company hands some or all of its recruitment work to an external team. Unlike a staffing agency that charges per hire, an RPO team works as an extension of your talent function. Recruiters follow your process, use your systems, and represent your brand to candidates.
| Factor | Staffing Agency | In-House Team | Offshore RPO Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Fee per placement | Local salaries | Flat monthly rate |
| Employer brand | Agency’s name | Yours | Yours |
| Candidate data | Agency’s systems | Your ATS | Your ATS |
| Pipeline visibility | Limited | Full | Full, with weekly reports |
| Scaling | Cost rises with every hire | Slow to add recruiters | Add or reduce recruiters as needed |
The Recruitment Dilemma
Growing companies usually feel the pain of hiring in two places. It costs too much, and it takes too long.
Fees and Salaries Add Up
UK agencies typically charge 15 to 20% of a candidate’s first-year salary, rising to as much as 30% for senior or niche roles, and fees in other markets are often similar. Building an internal team isn’t cheap either. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median pay for HR specialists, including recruiters, at $75,940 a year before benefits.
Slow Hiring Creates Backlogs
Talent is hard to find. ManpowerGroup’s 2026 Global Talent Shortage survey of more than 39,000 employers found 72% struggle to fill roles. SHRM’s recruiting benchmarks put the median time to fill a nonexecutive role at 39 days. When requisitions pile up, internal HR teams spend their days sifting CVs and chasing calendars instead of advising hiring managers.
Benefits of RPO
Up to 60 Percent Lower Costs
A full-time Philippine recruiter or sourcer costs up to 60% less than an equivalent in-house recruiter in Australia, the US, or the UK. And because you pay one flat monthly rate instead of a fee per placement, the cost per hire drops further as your team fills more roles.
Faster Pipelines
Dedicated recruiters keep every requisition moving. Sourcing, outreach, and screening happen every day, and with Manila’s time zone, much of it runs while you sleep. Hiring managers start each morning with fresh, qualified shortlists and booked interviews.
Capacity That Flexes
Hiring demand rarely stays flat. Add recruiters ahead of a growth phase, a new site launch, or a seasonal campaign, then scale back when hiring slows. No long recruitment cycle for recruiters, and no agency invoices piling up.
Core RPO Services
Through its RPO and recruitment outsourcing service, UpraisIT supports in-house talent teams, HR departments, and recruitment agencies.
Sourcing and Screening
- Active and passive talent sourcing
- Boolean and LinkedIn Recruiter search
- CV screening against your criteria
- Phone screens and pre-qualification
Coordination and ATS
- Interview scheduling and reminders
- Background and reference check coordination
- ATS administration and talent pools
- Hiring metrics and source tracking
Full Lifecycle
- Job descriptions and ad posting
- Shortlists and panel feedback
- Offer letters and onboarding packs
- White-label support for agencies
From Brief to Signed Offer
01 Intake
Role, must-haves, and ideal profile agreed with your hiring manager.
02 Sourcing
Active and passive talent found across every channel.
03 Screening
CVs reviewed, phone screens and skills tests run.
04 Interviews
Shortlists sent and interviews scheduled.
05 Offer
Reference checks, offer admin, and onboarding paperwork.
06 Reporting
Time-to-hire, pipeline health, and source data shared weekly.
Full Pipeline Visibility
Every touchpoint lives in your ATS, so you can see exactly where each role stands.
| Pipeline Stage | Candidates |
|---|---|
| Sourced | 240 |
| Contacted and engaged | 96 |
| Phone screened | 34 |
| Shortlisted to you | 8 |
| Interviewed | 4 |
| Offer accepted | 1 |
“Your recruiters, your brand, your ATS. Just without the per-hire invoice.”
Choose Your RPO Model
Start with the level of support that fits your hiring plan.
| Model | What You Get | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Embedded Recruiter | One or two sourcers or recruiters in your team | Lean in-house talent teams |
| End-to-End RPO | A full team led by a senior recruiter | Scaling companies |
| Project and Agency Support | A team for hiring surges or white-label delivery | High-volume campaigns and agencies |
Why Partner With UpraisIT
Experienced Recruiters
English is an official language in the Philippines, which ranks 28th globally in the EF English Proficiency Index. Your recruiters write warm outreach, run confident phone screens, and know LinkedIn Recruiter, modern ATS platforms, and Western hiring practices. Every candidate recruiter passes:
- A sourcing exercise
- An English assessment
- A background check
- Your own interview before joining your team
Fully Managed for You
UpraisIT handles onboarding, HR, payroll, equipment, and quality control for your recruitment team. Recruiters learn your employer value proposition, hiring criteria, and interview process before they speak to a single candidate.
Built Into Your Process
Your team works inside your existing ATS, inbox, and job boards, including LinkedIn, Indeed, SEEK, and Reed. Hiring decisions always stay with you.
| Your Market | Typical Setup |
|---|---|
| 🇦🇺 Australia | Day shift alongside your team |
| 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | Evening shift in Manila overlapping the London day |
| 🇺🇸 United States | Night shift so recruiters call candidates during US hours |
Four Simple Steps
Plan Review
We map your volumes, roles, ATS, and pain points.
Selection
You interview and choose your recruiters.
Onboarding
Recruiters learn your brand, process, and ATS.
Hire and Scale
Weekly reports, and add recruiters as you grow.
Need more than recruiters? See how offshore staffing works, or explore back office support for HR admin and payroll.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions from HR directors, talent leaders, and agency owners about recruitment process outsourcing.
Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) is when an external team takes on some or all of your recruitment work, such as sourcing, screening, scheduling, and offer admin, while working inside your systems and under your employer brand.
A staffing agency usually charges a fee per placement and keeps candidate data in its own systems. An RPO team is dedicated to your roles, charges a flat monthly rate, and logs everything in your ATS.
A dedicated Philippine recruiter costs up to 60% less than an equivalent in-house recruiter, and a flat monthly rate replaces per-hire agency fees, so savings grow as you fill more roles.
Yes. White-label recruiters can source and screen candidates for your agency’s clients under your brand, giving you more capacity without more local headcount.
You do. Your RPO team sources, screens, and coordinates, but hiring managers interview and decide. Right-to-work documents are prepared for final verification by your HR team.
Hiring shouldn’t mean choosing between expensive agencies and an overloaded HR team. Recruitment process outsourcing gives you dedicated recruiters at up to 60% lower cost, faster pipelines, and full visibility, all under your brand and inside your ATS.
Start with one embedded recruiter, measure your time to hire, and scale from there.
Ready to Hire Faster?
Book a free hiring consultation with UpraisIT. We’ll review your hiring plan and show you what a dedicated RPO team would look like and cost.
Book a Free Hiring Consultation → No placement fees. No commitment. Response within 1 business day.