Choosing the Right RPO Recruitment Model for Your Health System

As medical staffing shortages continue to strain healthcare facilities, more health systems are relying on Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) to streamline hiring processes and find talent. RPO solutions are not one-size-fits-all, and there are a variety of RPO strategies available to suit your healthcare organization’s physician and clinician hiring needs.

There are four general RPO models. We will explore them and their benefits as well as the service models that we offer at Provider Solutions & Development (PS&D). Knowing your options can help you determine which model is best for your recruitment goals.

Learn more about PS&D’s physician and advanced practice clinician (APC) recruitment services.

What is recruitment process outsourcing (RPO)?

Recruitment Process Outsourcing is an integrated partnership between a hiring organization and a specialized service provider. The customer organization transfers the management of all or part of its recruitment activities to their RPO partner. By outsourcing recruitment, health systems can save significant time, reduce costs, and improve the overall quality of candidates while also enhancing the new-hire experience.

The RPO group generally functions as an extension of the company’s HR or recruitment team, acting as a strategic partner and bringing specialized knowledge and expertise to recruitment. This enables organizations to focus on their core functions and enjoy a more efficient and effective talent acquisition process.

How does RPO work?

When a healthcare organization enters an RPO agreement, their new recruitment partner takes charge of either all or part of the recruiting process. Outsourcing recruitment involves working closely with hiring managers to help define and implement workforce planning strategies to meet long-term business objectives.

RPO providers typically manage job advertising, candidate sourcing, screening and selection, interview coordination, compliance management and onboarding. Your organization not only gets the benefit of recruiting experts, but also the technology, tools and resources they use to attract top talent. RPO engagements allow for flexibility and scalability, with organizations able to increase or decrease the partner’s involvement as required to meet their recruitment needs.

4 RPO models and their benefits.

As healthcare organizations evolve and their hiring needs change, they must adapt to new talent acquisition strategies. Recruitment outsourcing allows your organization to meet fluctuating hiring goals, especially when trying to attract in-demand specialists in highly competitive markets. There are four common models of RPO solutions, each with their own strengths.

1. Project RPO

A project-based RPO model is ideal for companies that need help with hiring for a specific project or a fixed set of roles over a short timeframe. Usually, a project RPO expert works closely with the hiring company to establish job requirements, hiring processes and deliverables needed to be met within a specified period.

Fill Immediate Hiring Needs with Flexibility

Project RPO Benefits:

• Flexible and scalable, as it is tailored to a specific team or clinic.
• Allows the hiring company to fulfill immediate staffing needs without investing in a long-term partnership.
• Can help avoid overburdening the existing recruitment team during crucial periods.

2. Recruiter-on-Demand

Recruiter-on-Demand is an RPO recruitment model where healthcare organizations can access expert recruiters as needed, without the long-term commitment typically associated with RPO. This model can be useful for health systems that have fluctuating hiring needs and can benefit from a volume-based fee structure. When using this Recruiter-On-Demand model, organizations can easily scale the level of support they receive from the RPO partner, depending on their immediate needs.

Scalable Expert Support as You Need It

Recruiter-on-Demand Benefits:

• Offers flexibility and scalability, as recruiters can be engaged on an as-needed basis.
• Allows health systems to maintain control over their recruitment process while receiving support as required.
• Can be a more cost-effective option for organizations with varying hiring needs throughout the year.
• Provides consistent set-rate structure, which eases administrative and budgeting variability.

3. Hybrid RPO

Hybrid RPO is a strategic choice for health systems looking to optimize their recruitment processes and improve hiring outcomes without committing to an end-to-end RPO partnership.

Hybrid RPO involves outsourcing specific searches, while the in-house recruitment team handles the rest. These activities typically include candidate marketing, sourcing, screening, onboarding support and management of applicant tracking reports.

Streamline Specific Recruitment Tasks Strategically

Hybrid RPO Benefits:

• Enables organizations to target hiring challenges and pain points more effectively.
• Helps healthcare organizations streamline their recruitment processes without the need to make significant changes to internal structures or strategies.
• Allows companies to test the waters with RPO before committing to a more extensive engagement.

4. End-to-End RPO

End-to-end RPO is a comprehensive strategy that empowers businesses with a fully integrated, clinical recruitment operation. This allows incumbent HR and T/A teams to focus on core priorities, extends their capabilities, and eliminates the need to manage multiple recruitment resources all at the same time.

The End-to-End integrated solution involves outsourcing the entire provider recruitment function to a highly effective and experienced partner. The RPO specialist becomes an extension of your clinical talent acquisition department. Their team of experienced recruiters and support staff work closely with you to develop a customized recruitment strategy that aligns with your organization's culture, goals and values.

Comprehensive Hiring Strategy for Optimal Results

End-to-End RPO Benefits:

• Gives organizations the ability to transform their talent acquisition strategy.
• Improves hiring speed, quality and consistency while reducing costs.
• Provides scalability, allowing healthcare organizations to quickly adjust recruitment efforts in response to market fluctuations or changes in business priorities.

When should a health system use RPO?

The healthcare industry is facing a shortage of qualified specialty clinicians. Physician candidate pipelines have never been tighter as patient demand has skyrocketed in communities across the country. Having a provider recruitment firm with in-depth knowledge, experience, state of the art resources, and deep understanding of the industry is a precious commodity when faced with a challenging recruitment environment.

Companies experiencing rapid growth or cyclical hiring needs can also benefit from RPO services. An RPO partner can seamlessly ramp up or down their services as needed, allowing your organization to remain agile and responsive to any changes in the market.

Additionally, RPO can provide valuable industry insights and access to a larger network of top talent, increasing the chances of finding the right candidate and reducing time-to-fill.

PS&D’s Service Models

PS&D offers three service models tailored to each partner’s needs with a shared-risk fee structure. This leads to a true results-driven partnership.

Rather than providing a uniform set of recruitment services, we offer customized solutions to fit your healthcare organization’s needs. We meet with you to discuss your current recruitment process, which steps require improvement, what your goals are and how we can meet them together.

Additionally, PS&D is the only provider recruitment firm in the country embedded in a major healthcare system — we are wholly owned and backed by Providence — the largest health system in the western U.S. This gives us first-hand access and key insights into what is happening in the recruiting space on a day-to-day basis.

Below are PS&D’s three service models:

1. Fully Integrated Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO):

We are the exclusive provider of recruitment services for your organization, handling most, if not all, aspects of the recruitment process. You’ll have a dedicated recruitment team acting as an extension of your organization’s hiring team, allowing for a seamless handoff of candidates as they move through the screening process. This option works well for smaller organizations with lower search volumes or entire service lines of larger organizations.

2. Recruitment Management Service Outsourcing (MSO):

We work with your internal recruitment team in a true shared-risk partnership to address higher search volumes. Once PS&D and a partner agree on the project scope, we put together a team of recruiters to help you achieve your recruitment goals, focusing on ensuring the right fit and quickest time-to-fill. This option works well for larger hospitals or health systems with high growth plans.

3. Retained Search (Project-Based):

We give provider recruitment support for a limited number of individual searches. PS&D works with your organization’s hiring team to determine which support services will best meet the goals of these searches. This option works well for a specific service line expansion.

PS&D Can Connect You to Top Talent

PS&D can help your healthcare organization improve recruitment, gain access to a broader talent pool, understand and adapt to recruiting trends and ultimately find best-fit candidates for your organization.

We have grown to serve more than 40 partners across the country, giving us expertise in how to best recruit for every type of practice, medical group, hospital or health system. Our commitment to understanding the needs of both providers and health organizations leads to ideal matches and high retention rates.

If your organization doesn’t have the expertise to build a recruitment program, or if your existing team could use some assistance, we can help. Reach out today to discuss your recruitment goals.