The top 13 providers of end-to-end RPO.
By HRO Today Staff
Yes, this is our third RPO Baker’s Dozen ranking based on a customer feedback survey. As always, it is critical that we offer an explanation of each survey, the results, and how they were derived. Our web survey instrument comprised 40 qualitative and quantitative questions. Criteria and weighting for different questions were established in advance but not disclosed to the RPO providers. We keep the formula a secret so no one could coach a respondent to key questions that heavily impact the overall rating.
At our request, the RPO providers distributed the survey link to their buyers. We also made it clear to the customer respondents that their responses were confidential. In addition, we canvassed our own database of buyers and reached out to members of the RPOA Buyers Group.
We received 378 customer surveys on 45 RPO providers. We received some incomplete surveys that we discarded and some that were disqualified. The final tabulation was on 268 surveys (some surveys were not tabulated, for example, because a provider had an insufficient number to be rated). This is our largest and most diverse survey sample to date, and we were thrilled by the size of the response and the candor of some of the respondents.
The survey items examined the sub-processes of RPO service indexed as “Overall Breadth of Service.” A comprehensive service offering is the ultimate goal of the outsourcing industry so we thought this was important to measure. It is also harder to provide service across broader offerings, and we took this into account in the customer service scoring. Responses were assigned points, averaged, and calculated to generate the index.
Another index was generated on the overall size of program. This was based on numerical data about average hires managed per year. While not heavily ranked in the overall index, we thought it was good information for the buyers. We do not heavily weigh it because buyers deserve great service on ALL programs, regardless of size.
The final and most important component of the index is Quality of Service. This was based on a series of questions that examined the performance and the relationship between provider and customer. We used a five-point Likert scale with answers ranging from “Strongly Agree” to “Strongly Disagree.” Each answer was ascribed a point value, and a total, average, and mean score were calculated into the quality segment. We then weighted each element for the overall ranking.
We also examined momentum of the providers to see how many were adding new deals and factored this in as a minor rating item into our index. It has predicted moves on the list in prior years. We have three solid years of normative data—considerable buyer feedback that will be published in time for the RPO Summit in December.
We recognize that RPO is going global, so we ranked the leading firms in the industry outside of the U.S. This year, we have developed a list of the best firms that offer a global delivery capability. This list is different from our Enterprise RPO Baker’s Dozen Provider Rankings. We also have provided a list of Mid-market and Project/On-demand leaders. These are firms that offer hiring programs that may be multi-year but not on the size and scale of the enterprise providers. They also may perform project or on-demand programs. Depending on your needs, they may be an excellent choice for your company. Many of the enterprise providers started in this mode and graduated to ever-larger multi-year programs. We believe these are companies worth watching in the near term.
There are many highlights. These are covered in my CEO’s Corner. Whether you agree with a specific ranking (and you will hear lots of opinions), these are the top RPO firms of 2009, and we hope this helps you evaluate who to call in the year to come.
Elliot Clark
CEO, HRO Today
1. The RightThing Inc.
Hires in 2008: 175,000
www.rightthinginc.com
CEO: Terry Terhark
Headquarters: Findlay, OH
Comment: Remaining in the No. 1 slot from last year’s rankings, The RightThing offers scalable solutions that help clients find, recruit, hire, and retain top talent. Dedicated to recruitment, technology, and outsourcing, the company provides recruiting solutions to small, medium, and large organizations. The RightThing is also the parent company of AIRS, a provider of recruitment training.
Key Clients in 2008: Amgen; AstraZeneca; Boehringer-Ingelheim; Comcast; CIGNA; CVS; Eli Lilly and Company; Hallmark; Johnson & Johnson; MedImmune; Medquist; Pepsi Bottling Group; Prudential; Schering-Plough; Siemens; Spirit Aero; and WellPoint.
Services: Recruiting and sourcing, candidate intake, candidate selection and assessment, requisition management, resume prescreening, interviewing, candidate scheduling, test administration, offer compilation, candidate follow up and on-boarding, metrics and reporting, college recruiting, account management, competitive organizational mapping, outplacement services, SourcePoint, and AIRS training.
2. SourceRight Solutions (formerly Spherion RPO)
Hires in 2008: 85,000
www.sourcerightsolutions.com
CEO: Roy G. Krause
Headquarters: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Comment: SourceRight Solutions (a division of Spherion Corporation) offers end-to-end global delivery of recruitment process outsourcing services that streamline a client’s talent acquisition process. SourceRight’s RPO offers a scalable recruiting solution that results in higher-quality talent, reduced time-to-fill, enhanced business performance, and savings. A team of more than 500 experienced SourceRight recruiters uses the company’s proprietary methodology to source talent across a broad range of industries, including administrative, contact center, engineering, finance and accounting, healthcare, IT, and sales and marketing. As a comprehensive workforce solutions partner, SourceRight is also able to manage an organization’s contingent workforce and contractor compliance programs.
Key Clients in 2008: American Family; ASML; AT&T; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Carestream; Gerdau; Honeywell International Inc.; Linde; MetLife; Policy Studies; Polymarin; United Airlines; W.W. Grainger; Yodlee; and Zurich.
Services: Project-based RPO, selective RPO, and enterprise-wide RPO services including on or off-site (via national recruiting centers) support; requisition development and management; proprietary sourcing methodology; reporting and metrics analysis; candidate, user, and enterprise satisfaction measurement (through survey tools); screening and assessment (with optional automated proprietary IVR and web prescreen technology/methodology); interview scheduling; management of offer process and on-boarding process (i.e. I-9 form completion, benefit enrollment, and provision coordination); staffing department budget support; employment brand development and/or program management; employment advertising strategy development and/or budget coordination; employment advertising creation and placement; and contingent or temporary staffing. A standardized scalable RPO solution called RPO One includes applicant tracking system implementation, a reporting package, and standardized workflow and SLA management program.
3. Alexander Mann Solutions (AMS)
Hires in 2008: 50,000 permanent, 205,000 contingent
www.alexandermannsolutions.com
CEO: Rosaleen Blair
Headquarters: London, U.K.
Comment: AMS delivers recruitment process outsourcing services to more than 40 clients across 60 countries globally. First to emerge in the RPO market in Europe in 1996, AMS provides end-to-end solutions as well as project-based consulting. The company manages contractor, internal mobility, referral, graduate, and talent programs under multi-year contracts. Solutions involve off-site support through a network of client service centers, regional centers, and centers of excellence. This provides flexibility, scalability, and leveraging of low-cost centers. In addition to RPO solutions, AMS offers a range of professional services, including employer branding, assessment and selection, graduate recruitment, talent management, business intelligence, recruitment technology, and operations consultancy.
Key Clients in 2008: American Express; ANZ; Atos Origin; BAE Systems; Barclays; Britvic Soft Drinks; Capgemini; Citi; Credit Suisse; CSC; Deutsche Bank; Freshfields; HSBC; Jones Lang LaSalle; Microsoft; Molson Coors Brewing Company; Novartis; Numonyx, Party Gaming; RSA, Sainsbury’s; Scottish & Newcastle; Siemens; Thales; TUI Travel; Vodafone; and Zurich.
Services: AMS OnDemand (scalable technology platform for mid-size companies); assessment and selection; business intelligence; compliance and contractor audits; contingent workforce programs; diversity programs; attracting and retaining emerging talent; employer branding services; internal mobility programs, on-boarding; operations consulting; permanent recruitment; redeployment and outplacement; resource planning; resourcing communications; retention and engagement improvement; sourcing; supplier management; talent sourcing and management; vetting and screening.
4. Kelly Outsourcing & Consulting Group (OCG)
Hires in 2008: More than 30,000
www.kellyocg.com
CEO: Carl Camden
Headquarters: Troy, MI
Comment: Kelly’s Outsourcing & Consulting Group (KellyOCG), Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) practice manages enterprise-wide talent acquisition process, sourcing, and recruitment solutions. Since 1995, Kelly has delivered talent acquisition processes and services through advanced sourcing techniques, LEAN methodologies, and recruitment process design and management. With more than 500 recruitment professionals across 43 sites nationwide and more than over 30 countries with clients ranging from 75 to 7,000 annual hires, 100 percent of Kelly’s global business capabilities are dedicated to RPO.
Key Clients in 2008: General Electric (GE); Hugo Boss; SAP; Infineon; and Case New Holland (CNH).
Services: Recruitment process outsourcing programs; HR program management services (management of the employee referral programs, college recruitment, and student programs); sourcing services; high-volume direct hiring projects; and advanced RPO. (A joint alliance between KellyOCG and IBM delivers end-to-end RPO offerings targeted at global clients).
5. Futurestep, a Korn/Ferry Company
Hires in 2008: 11,300
www.futurestep.com
CEO: Robert H. McNabb
Headquarters: Los Angeles, CA
Comment: Futurestep is a global talent solutions provider that helps companies build and implement strategies for improving recruitment and talent management operations. Services focus on strategic consulting, recruitment process outsourcing, and mid-level recruitment. As a Korn/Ferry company, Futurestep has worked with nearly half of the Fortune 500.
Key Clients in 2008: AECOM; ARAMARK Corporation, AAPT; American Express Australia, BHP Billiton; BP America, Bruce Power; Canada Post, Catholic Health Initiatives; CEMEX, Centerpoint Energy; Cisco Systems, Inc.; Con-Way, Inc.; Corporate Express, Danaher; Davita, EDF; Fluor, Fonterra; General Mills, General Motors; Harley-Davidson Inc., Healthfirst; Hilton Hotels Corporation, Irvine Company; Itron, Johnson Controls; Inc.; Kaiser Permanente; Knowledge Generation Bureau (KGB); Maxim Healthcare Services; Inc.; McGraw-Hill Companies; McKesson Corporation; Metlife Insurance Company; Northrop-Grumman; NOVA Chemicals Corporation; Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL); Peace Health; Prudential Insurance Company of America; Queensland Govt. Department of Roads; Renewable Energy Corporation; Sempra; Southern Company; St. George Bank; Telecom New Zealand; T-Mobile USA Inc.; United Group Rail; Unum Provident; US Courts; US Foodservice; Volkswagen of America; Walmart; Weatherford International; Wellington Management Company LLP; Wind; and Yahoo!.
Services: Recruitment process outsourcing (talent acquisition strategy, global recruiting resources, competency-based methodologies, and a flexible service delivery model); consulting services (talent management strategy, workforce planning, employment value proposition, talent technology evaluation, selection, implementation and support, and organization design); project-based recruitment; and mid-level recruitment.
6. PeopleScout (a SeatonCorp Division)
Hires in 2008: 187,000
www.peoplescout.com
Managing Director: Michael Miles (CEO of Seaton Corp.)
Headquarters: Chicago, IL
Comment: PeopleScout, a division of SeatonCorp, was recently named one of Chicago’s largest privately held companies. PeopleScout provides recruitment process outsourcing services aimed at helping companies with their exempt and non-exempt hiring needs. PeopleScout currently has recruiters supporting hiring for RPO engagements in North America, Europe, South America, and Asia Pacific. In addition to its core RPO offering, PeopleScout offers employment branding and employee retention solutions. Annually, PeopleScout facilitates more than 187,000 placements on behalf of its RPO clients and placed its one millionth full-time hire in 2008. Industries served include airline, financial services, call center outsourcing, telecommunications, retail, utilities, pharmaceutical, industrial, and transportation. PeopleScout’s clients include many of the recognizable names in the Fortune 500.
Key Clients in 2008: Not disclosed.
Services: Employer branding; custom client web portal/microsite development; multi-dimensional recruiting and sourcing strategy/execution; candidate intake; candidate screening (web screening/assessment, phone screening, and behavioral screening); scheduling; offer administration; coordination of pre-employment verifications (drug, background, credit, references); college recruiting; employee on-boarding; compliance; proprietary applicant tracking system; employee retention; exit interviews; reporting/analytics; and workforce planning support.
7. Adecco
Hires in 2008: 60,000
http://rpo.adeccousa.com
CEO: Patrick De Maeseneire
Headquarters: Glattbrugg, Switzerland
Comment: With 6,000 offices in more than 70 countries, Adecco offers a global reach for its RPO clients. The company currently does business with 46 of the top Fortune 50 companies and all of the top 20 companies on the Fortune 500 list. With a focus on customer service, Adecco maintains a retention rate of 94.2 percent. The firm delivers industry-vertical solutions for financial services, pharmaceutical, healthcare, life sciences, information technology, energy, manufacturing, logistics and transport, retail, telecommunications, business services, and public sector.
Key Clients in 2008: Zep (Acuity); Allison Transmission; Morgan Stanley; DHL; Roche; Corporate Executive Board; Baker Hughes; HSBC; Inter-American Development Bank – IADB; HCR Manor Care; Owens Corning. and O-I (Owens-Illinois; Inc.).
Services: Recruitment strategy; branding; management of demand and sourcing strategy programs; vacancy management; internal recruitment; development of external recruiting sources; background investigation and reference checking; pre-employment physical exams and drug screens; recruitment administration; on-boarding; graduate and MBA campus recruiting; diversity job fairs; compliance and reporting; management of third-party vendor relationships; and flexible workforce management.
8. Aon Consulting
Hires in 2008: More than 20,000
www.aon.com
CEOs: Kathryn Hayley and Baljit Dail
Headquarters: Chicago, IL
Comment: Aon RPO partners with clients to optimize their talent acquisition and management operations. The company’s approach combines consulting and outsourcing to build a talent solution designed to help clients find, hire, and develop qualified employees, effectively and efficiently. Aon’s staffing experts use a methodology that combines technology, people, and process to optimize recruitment functions across the enterprise. As a result, clients achieve a long-lasting competitive advantage in their market.
Key Clients in 2008: Verizon; United Rentals; Chrysler; and Lockheed Martin.
Services: Public sector hiring; high-volume hiring; corporate recruitment; candidate assessment and selection; recruitment strategy; and employment branding.
9. Kenexa
Hires in 2008: 52,000
www.kenexa.com
CEO: Rudy Karsan
Headquarters: Wayne, PA
Comment: For more than 20 years, Kenexa has studied human behavior and team dynamics in the workplace and has developed the software solutions, business processes, and expert consulting that help organizations impact positive business outcomes through HR. Kenexa offers a comprehensive suite of unified products and services that support the entire employee lifecycle from pre-hire to exit. The company’s RPO model leverages the resources of more than 1,400 employees and offers services in 50 countries and 27 languages. With 2,500 years of combined recruitment experience and 50 advanced and fully compliant recruitment technology systems, Kenexa places more than 52,000 employees every year.
Key Clients in 2008: Not disclosed.
Services: Recruitment process outsourcing; employment branding; employee assessments; recruitment management; on-boarding; performance management; employee surveys; learning management; leadership development; and succession planning.
10. Pinstripe, Inc.
Hires in 2008: 31,223
www.pinstripetalent.com
CEO: Sue Marks
Headquarters: Brookfield, WI
Comment: Pinstripe delivers end-to-end RPO services, as well as talent acquisition and talent management services.
Key Clients in 2008: Kodak; AT&T; Citi; Carondelet Health System; TIAA-CREF; Books Are Fun (Readers Digest); Johns Manville; Jupiter Medical Center; CUNA Mutual Group; SSM Healthcare; Baptist Health; CHS; VWR; Agilent; RJ Reynolds; Energy East; U Penn Health System; and Good Shepherd Penn Partners.
Services: Workforce planning; budgeting; requisition management; sourcing; posting; screening; recruiting; selection; logistics and administration; offer process; on-boarding; process reengineering; strategic advisory services; recruitment marketing services; HR technology services; training and off-boarding.
11. Manpower, Inc.
Hires in 2008: 95,000 to 100,000
www.manpower.com
CEO: Jeffrey A. Joerres
Headquarters: Milwaukee, WI
Comment: Celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2008, the $22 billion Manpower offers employers a range of services for the entire employment and business cycle including permanent, temporary, and contract recruitment; employee assessment and selection; training; outplacement; outsourcing; and consulting. Manpower’s worldwide network of 4,400 offices in 82 countries and territories enables the company to meet the needs of its 400,000 clients per year, including small and medium-size enterprises in all industry sectors, as well as the world’s largest multinational corporations. The focus of Manpower’s work is on raising productivity through improved quality, efficiency, and cost-reduction across their total workforce, enabling clients to concentrate on their core business activities.
Key Clients in 2008: Not disclosed.
Services: End-to-end RPO or project RPO programs with services that include requisition development with hiring management; sourcing; screening; interview scheduling; assessment distribution; requisition management (direct responsibility to hiring managers and direct communication with hiring managers); management of offer processes (offer presentation to prospective candidates and management of on-boarding processes); reporting and metrics; workforce planning; hiring manager training programs; recruiter certification; employment brand development consulting; and program management.
12. CDI — Talent Management/WorldConcert
Hires in 2008: 31,000
www.cdi-tm.com
CEO: Roger H. Ballou
Headquarters: Philadelphia, PA
Comment: CDI — Talent Management/WorldConcert has approximately 12,700 employees in more than 1,000 locations worldwide. In 2008, the company reported $1.2 billion in revenues. The company’s RPO business has entered into partnerships with other providers to service clients domestically and abroad. The company is a leading provider of engineering and information technology outsourcing solutions and professional staffing.
Key Clients in 2008: CA North America; CA India; Toyota Canada; FairPoint Communications; Hertz North America; Open Text EMEA/APAC; Siemens; and Washington Division of URS Corporation.
Services: End-to-end recruiting on an enterprise, department/position specific, or project basis including forecasting, requisition entry and approval; requisition management; client communication; sourcing and candidate management; screening; interviewing; selection; complete hire; on-boarding; technology and reporting; executive search; staff augmentation; MSP/VMS; BPO; and consulting.
13. hyphen Recruitment Outsourcing
Hires in 2008: 6,400
www.hyphen.com
Managing Director: Neil Jones
Headquarters: London, U.K.
Comment: hyphen is a recruitment solutions provider, delivering bespoke services to clients from consulting through managed services to full recruitment process outsourcing. With more than 10 years’ experience, clients range from global banking and financial institutions to IT services and utilities organizations.
Key Clients in 2008: Barclays; Nokia; EADS; Aviva; National Grid; IBM; Prudential; Logica; Experian; London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham; and RBS Insurance.
Services: Recruitment process outsourcing services include eRecruitment solutions (vendor management systems and recruitment management systems for contract/temporary and permanent staff, respectively); consulting; discovery and analysis audits; reporting and matrix; implementation services; managed services programs; migration services; and comprehensive management of client advertisement strategy, budget, and creative.
Click here to view Overall Chart.
Click here to view Quality of Service and Size of Deal Charts.
Click here to view Breadth of Service and Global Leaders Charts.
Click here to view Mid-market and On-demand Leaders Charts and Buyer Opinions.
