An introduction to outsourcing recruitment

Discovering the right talent for BPO recruitment is a challenging feat. In addition to demanding significant effort, time, and resources to find the ideal candidate who can meet client requirements, these recruits must also adapt within the BPO industry’s unique culture.

We will explore the challenges of outsourcing recruitment and how to create a path to successful talent acquisition in the industry.

What is BPO recruitment?

With the rapid growth of the industry, BPO companies are constantly on the lookout for talented individuals who can help them meet their business goals, making talent sourcing a necessary, never-ending process. 

You may be wondering what is bpo recruitment? BPO recruitment is a complex process that involves finding the right candidates to fill a wide range of positions in the industry at incredibly fast rates without affecting quality. Within the pool of candidates to be hired, you could find customer service representatives, data entry specialists, and even technical support staff to name a few. Each job position requires a different skill set, and it can be quite challenging to find the right fit for each role and client.

Although this may sound simple, it is important to consider the specific needs a customer has when trying to find a perfect match for them. What do we do at Horatio? We integrate ourselves seamlessly into our clients’ companies. To function as a natural extension of their operations, we must follow a rigorous process in order to match each client with the perfect candidate for them.

This means that our thorough recruitment process requires an individual screening for each client, ensuring that they receive agents who identify themselves with the brand they’ll be working for.

How does outsourcing recruitment affect the client

Now that you know what is bpo recruitment, we can dive into other aspects like how it affects the client. The overall outsourcing experience for a BPO’s client is certainly shaped by the talent that is hired. It directly impacts service quality, operational efficiency, data security, and the client’s relationship with the outsourcing company.
Investing in a robust and effective BPO recruitment process is vital for achieving positive outcomes and maximizing the benefits of outsourcing. This makes some clients participate actively in the recruiting process by reviewing resumes and providing clear feedback on candidates. Meanwhile, others prefer to do the background check on the outsourcing company directly and then provide the specific hiring requirements for the BPO company to handle.

Pros and cons of outsourcing recruitment

These are some of the benefits that your company can receive by hiring a BPO recruitment firm:

Faster hiring time

Outsourcing recruitment will definitely speed up your hiring process since BPOs are experts in scouting candidates and talent at a fast pace. Why is this? Because they deal with customers who need to outsource some of their services, and require a specialized team in a short period of time.

Less investment is required

By outsourcing recruitment processes, companies will not need to build an in-house team to help them with the hiring process. This means they can cut costs related to searching for the right candidates, overhead costs, recruitment tools, job ads, staffing, structure, and many other investments required to build a team from scratch.

Access to a global network

You know what is one of the most important benefits of outsourcing recruitment? You can access a global talent pool, offering a huge potential employee base of experts who come from different backgrounds. The importance of this comes from the fact that they can offer fresh perspectives to your company, 24/7 services, or become a fit for specific language roles.

Now, we must discuss the other side, the challenges of outsourcing recruitment:

Finding the right candidate

One of the main challenges of BPO recruitment is finding the right candidate. Many candidates may have the required skills and experience, but not everyone can handle the unique demands of the BPO industry or represent a true extension of the client.

BPO companies require employees who can work under pressure, handle difficult customers, and adapt to constant changes.

High employee churn rate 

Another challenge is the high turnover rate in the industry. Employees may leave for various reasons, such as burnout and better job opportunities, which can be costly for BPO companies.

Despite that, BPO companies often need to hire a large number of employees in a short period to meet client demands. Managing such high-volume recruitment efficiently can certainly be a very daunting task.

Unrealistic expectations 

If you are an outsourcing vendor, then you know how difficult it is to leverage unrealistic expectations from some customers. They believe that cutting costs means having zero side investments or that you have a superpower to hire people with just one click, as if anything were really that easy. You need to make sure you can manage and help them set realistic expectations when it comes to hiring, so you can build them a great team. 

To address these challenges, BPO companies often employ various strategies such as offering attractive compensation packages, investing in employee training and development, and implementing robust recruitment and retention strategies to attract and retain the right talent.

Since day one, we’ve made sure that we’ve taken this a step further here at Horatio by building an employee-centric culture.

How to start a career in BPO industry

If you want to start a career in BPO industry, there are certain steps you need to follow. Even though these are not all of them, these 5 steps can help you have a better idea of what you need to do:

1. Understand what a BPO does. The first thing you need to do if you want to start a career in BPO industry is to understand what a BPO does. Research blogs that publish articles on outsourcing to know what to expect.
2. Scout companies and available roles. Once you understand what a BPO is and what those companies do, you can start searching for outsourcing companies and their availñable jobs. Read about them, what specific services they offer, how their culture works, etc. Then read about their available jobs and their descriptions, and the needed skills to apply.
3. Start your network. You can start this by connecting with BPO companies and their employees via LinkedIn. React to their posts, comment your thoughts, reach out to them, and let them know your interest. Start posting and creating content around BPO topics so you can become relevant in this world.
4. Prepare yourself for a specific role. Start analyzing your desire and comprehend every role to know which one of them you think attracts you the most. Understand what is needed and expected so you can prepare yourself for future interviews. Watch videos, enroll in courses, read articles and books, so you can become the best option for the job you want. 
5. Apply for jobs. Curate your CV, LinkedIn profile, and portfolio based on what is needed for the job. Try to understand how you can support the company and help them with their needs, basically why YOU are the right person for the job, and no one else is. 

If you follow these steps, you will be a great candidate for the role you want to apply for, and believe us when we say that you will facilitate the lives of any outsourced hiring team with them and ensure a successful career in bpo industry.

Trends of outsourcing recruitment

As the BPO industry continues to grow, the demand for qualified candidates will only increase. To meet this demand, outsourcing companies will need to adapt to new technologies and trends. Such as leveraging the use of AI and hybrid work, prioritizing diversity and inclusion, and even utilizing data-driven recruitment.

Certainly, BPO recruitment is undergoing a transformative phase to meet the dynamic demands of the industry, and it is expected to continue evolving in the years to come.

AI-recruitment

AI is being used in several aspects of BPO companies, and recruitment is not the exception. AI and analytics are shaping the outsourcing recruitment strategies that companies apply. Automation can help outsourced teams to match ideal candidates with the customer. Immediate predictive and data-based insights can help teams hire smarter and faster.

The use of AI is not about replacing humans, it is about enhancing their skills and making them more productive in their jobs.

The employees need to be the greatest asset

Companies need to invest in their employees and understand that they are their best asset. At Horatio, we take pride in providing our workforce with benefits that truly improve their quality of life, allowing them to enjoy higher levels of happiness and wellness as well as a work-life balance. More than a team, we’ve created a safe space full of opportunity and excellence that reflects the talent and spirit of our people at every step of the way.

Invest in employee well-being

We mentioned that employee churn rates are high in the BPO industry. We have good news for you! Employee burnout is common, but preventable. How can you prevent your employees from leaving? Start by offering great salaries, mental health resources, wellness programs, flexible schedules, and benefits that actually help them. When your employees feel valued, they will be loyal.

Employ personalized strategies

Your recruitment strategies are not a “one-size fits all” piece of clothing, you need to leverage personalization to land better results. Personalized recruitment and career plans need to be tailored to each individual, based on their strengths, aspirations, and learning style.

Invest in retention

Having loyal employees is not a luxury, it is a smart business strategy, which is why many outsourcing companies are shifting their focus. Old call centers were used to only fill seats to succeed on their hiring efforts, now it is not only about having a team in the quickest time possible, it is about ensuring that your employees will be part of your team for a long time. 

So, to have this, you need to invest in retention strategies, one of the best ways to do it is to help them boost their career based on their strengths and weaknesses. Retention is not about them staying, is about them thriving with you.

Outsourcing recruitment strategies

Outsourcing recruitment strategies

Scaling support teams

Some customers will need to increase or decrease their team members depending on their needs, so companies that offer outsourcing recruitment strategies need to consider this. BPOs need to be ready to scale up or down a customer team on demand. These needs depend on high-volume periods, increased customer base, low seasons, etc.

Sourcing local talent

Not every team needs global talent, you can find local talent well prepared for the job, too. You need to be ready to hire whatever profile your customer needs, this includes having a local network. Not every company will want to have team members from different parts of the world, so having a local network ready is key.

Long-term hiring

As we mentioned, modern call centers are not following the old school strategy of filling seats as quickly as possible, because this approach is meant to fail from the beginning. Employees who don’t feel comfortable, motivated, or valued will not consider staying for long periods of time with the company, so you will be wasting money by using that strategy. Instead, invest in employee well-being and consider actions to support them from the beginning, so they can stay with your company longer.

Use social media and in-person events

If you don’t trust in employer branding, then you will not succeed in your hiring efforts. The role that social media and in-person career events play in job-seeking strategies is key to finding the perfect fit. Outsourced teams that take advantage of this help their customer build visibility and a network of engaging potential candidates whose connections become valuable later on.

Outsourcing that feels like part of your team

By partnering with Horatio, you reap the benefits of customer experience support that represents a true extension of your company.
Contact us today to start experiencing the benefits of working with the new generation of innovation.

Sr. Talent Acquisition Manager, Jhessy Poline

Jhessy Poline

The Horatio Talent Acquisition Team is committed to providing exceptional support and guiding candidates toward achieving their career goals with our services. As the main point of contact for candidates, they offer tailored assistance throughout our recruiting process.

Motivated by a commitment to excellence and advancement, Jhessy has been pivotal in fostering collaboration and nurturing relationships with all of our candidates.