Last updated on October 29th, 2023 at 08:25 pm

In 2014, the economies of the Middle East are growing at a healthy pace which is supported, in part, by increased government investment in regional infrastructure, as well as by the influx of new international companies into the region.

The Middle East is only set to gain greater international prominence when the UAE hosts the World Expo 2020, with 17.5 million visitors expected to attend in a fitting celebration of its theme: ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’. All this development and innovation has inspired renewed confidence and growth in the job market for experienced professionals, particularly in the UAE.

As the UAE’s economy grows strongly, so too will companies’ recruitment needs, ranging from volume hiring of blue-collar workers to niche specialists with the requisite skills and experience needed to deliver growth. While each organisation’s talent needs are different, one thing that progressive companies are collectively recognising is that attracting the right kind of talent to the region demands a sophisticated approach to recruitment, combining local knowledge and global expertise.

Consequently, businesses have taken to identifying and tackling potential talent gaps in their organisation. Upon addressing these gaps, companies have achieved operational efficiency and improved the overall quality of hires by investing in recruitment process outsourcing (RPO).

RPO is an emerging market in the UAE, and as the talent market continues to heat up, forward-thinking organisations have already recognised the benefits and reaped the rewards. In the war for talent, RPO is giving companies a competitive advantage, and in many cases helping them to achieve a reduction in total recruitment costs through better planning, attraction, assessment, hiring, onboarding and retention programmes.

Notably, the ‘outsourcing’ part of ‘recruitment process outsourcing’ is a misnomer, because RPO companies work with their clients much more as partners. As dedicated service providers, RPO companies act as part of the internal HR department of their clients. They can be flexible to meet their clients’ needs and pricing requirements, and eventually they can hand over the processes, technology and knowledge they have developed if the client wants to bring the work back in-house again.

RPO companies are not typical staffing agencies. Unfortunately, not all companies understand the huge difference between RPO partnerships and working with contingent staffing agencies.

Immediacy is, and always will be, the name of the game when it comes to staffing agencies — their priority is to fill seats in the shortest time possible. Inevitably, experience, quality of the hire and candidate satisfaction can fall by the wayside. Adopting this ‘immediacy over accuracy’ approach means companies miss out on using their own brand for attraction, something which RPO would never allow.

All too often, high-quality candidates are approached by multiple agency staff who do not take the time to truly understand the nuances of the role or company for which they are recruiting. The tendency to apply a ‘one size fits all’ approach to recruitment ignores the client’s USP and undermines the company’s competitive advantage.

Consequently, businesses risk losing talent at the first hurdle, due to the absence of a sophisticated recruitment process which is adequately tailored to best fit both the company and the recruitable talent.

The recruitment process impacts many people (such as potential recruits, their friends and colleagues). Candidate satisfaction is important, but ultimately, so is the company’s satisfaction with the quality of the hired candidate.

Time efficiency, focus on quality and cost-effectiveness are also key. Accordingly, companies need to understand that talent attracts talent, which means it is best to invest in the right approach in order to bring in the right people. And that’s exactly where RPO comes in.

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