Differently sized companies face different challenges when it comes to attracting the right workforce – and outsourcing their recruitment needs can be a solution across the board. “For smaller companies, where recruitment is not usually a clearly demarcated activity, RO is often an addition to the HR team,” says Rav Bains, a principal at KPMG Sourcing Advisory Services. “For larger organisations, it may be a way of cutting down on the in-house staff.”

At the other end of the scale, a key benefit for international companies is outsourcing the knowledge required to work across several different legislative systems. “You have to take account of local countries’ employment laws, data protection and culture,” says Jeremy Tipper, executive director and founder of Capital Consulting.

“What is acceptable in the UK may not be elsewhere. In Asia, for example, you will get a much higher acceptance rate if, instead of posting an offer letter, you invite the candidate into the office and talk them through it.”

Geoff Smith, operations director at ElanRTO, a recruitment company owned by Manpower, says outsourcing can help to bring down national or international boundaries. “In today’s marketplace a company wants as few barriers to recruitment as possible. Companies are having to get cleverer about where they look for staff; if you are searching in a 50-mile catchment then you are on to a nonstarter.”

A good outsourcer, he says, will help a company find its most attractive points – whether that is working for a small, friendly business with a “family” feel or for a larger corporate with a clear career progression.

The weight of recruitment legislation can be a worry in the UK. “There are so many ways you can slip up,” says Phil Brown of Youmanage, which offers web-based HR support for businesses. “For a small company, recruitment is often informal, but you need to be able to demonstrate clear criteria against which a candidate is judged. Companies are more aware of the need to take a far more structured, methodical approach to recruitment.”

Small firms often don’t have the manpower to record or analyse data effectively. “The best they can do might be to have a folder with a load of CVs in it,” says Brown. “Ten years ago, it was unfeasible for firms with fewer than 150 employees to have specialist systems to support recruitment, but now many services are available online at relatively low cost.”

“Some ROs have up to 1,000 agencies throwing CVs at them,” says Bains. “An outsourced arrangement means you can access that.” From the candidate’s point of view, an outsourced operation can appear more consistent than an overworked in-house HR department. It may also help provide more honest feedback if an applicant turns down a job. “People will be more likely to say why if talking to a third party, rather than the company itself,” says Smith.

Single location enterprise

NOT all recruitment has to be outsourced. The London office of accountant Grant Thornton, which has about 1,300 staff, chose to outsource only the non-fee-earning jobs such as marketing and finance.

“We were looking for efficient ways of working,” says Samantha Weston, above, director of HR in London and the southeast. Carlisle Managed Solutions, the outsourcer Grant Thornton chose, “is able to work with a large volume of agencies – if we have a marketing vacancy, it knows which agency is best. The company is in touch with what’s going on in that market and what salary rates are like.”

Last year Grant Thornton recruited 121 temps and about 100 permanent or contract staff, and Carlisle provided flexible manning. Advertising, through Carlisle, has been extended from conventional avenues to online sites such as Monster or Total Jobs, but clearly branded as Grant Thornton. “It gives us more of a profile and brand awareness has increased,” says Weston.

National business

ALIAXIS is a multinational business with eight UK companies, including Marley Plumbing and Durapipe UK, which employ 1,500 people across Britain. The eight firms operate as independent units and, says Claire Silvester, below, UK human resources director, “that’s great for the managing director of the business, but not for the services we all share.

“We had been recruiting locally for each business, and candidates weren’t aware of the company behind the brand; they would see a company of 100 people, rather than one with 1,500. We were losing our competitive advantage”.

Standardising and improving recruitment through the use of outsourcer ResourceBank saved Aliaxis an estimated £90,000 a year. “That’s paid for a quarter of my department, and the money has been reinvested in HR,” says Silvester, who says that the time previously spent on recruitment administration alone was approximately one full-time position.

Global company

THE DRINKS firm Scottish & Newcastle (S&N) may sound as British as the Union Jack but its business is global. “We are functioning across a range of countries,” says Louise Alford, talent director.

“We carried out a review of HR and became aware that a lot of the recruitment processes are unique to parts of the business. We wanted to find a greater commonality to help us in moving people from one country to another, and ensure the same standards across the company.” S&N decided to introduce standardised recruitment, using an outsourcer, in its six main European markets: the UK, France, Portugal, Finland, Belgium and Greece. “All recruitment now comes through Alexander Mann Solutions,” says Alford, above.

“It becomes more cost-effective because of economies of scale but cost is only part of it; outsourcing is also about speed and quality. We don’t want to lose good-quality candidates and it’s a very competitive marketplace.”

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