4271-Article Text-6707-1-10-20200209 PDF

International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology
Vol. 29, No.02, (2020), pp. 2943-2973
Recruitment process outsourcing: a literature review
Dr. Suresh Kumar Bhakhar

(Professor, GJUS&T, Hisar)
Poonam (Research scholar, GJUS&T, Hisar)
Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to review research on recruitment process outsourcing to establish the current
body of knowledge and, on this basis, to identify gaps in our understanding. This action will rationalize
future research activities.
Design/methodology/approach – The study consists of a systematic review of 36 articles includes 21
refereed empirical papers, 3 review papers, 7 conceptual papers, 3 reports and 2 thesis on recruitment
process outsourcing.
Findings – Five themes were identified: Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), key motivators of
recruitment process outsourcing, benefits and risks of RPO, effects of RPO on different stakeholders and
RPO in India. It seems that there is lack of understanding concerning the concept of recruitment process
outsourcing.
Research limitations/implications – This study may not have enabled a complete coverage of all
empirical articles in the field of Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO). Yet, it seems that the review
process covered a large number of studies available.
Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no systematic literature review on this topic
has previously been published in academic journals.
Keywords - Outsourcing, Literature review, Recruitment process, Key motivators, India, Stakeholders
Paper type - Literature review
Introduction and background

Outsourcing has emerged the most extensive business trends in recent years due to its rising profile as a
management strategy for improving efficiency and effectiveness in the management of resources
(Ikediashi et al., 2012; Willcocks, 2010; Kakabadse and Kakabadse, 2001 and 2002).Because of
globalization and international trade, the trend of outsourcing the human resource activities is increasing
in today’s business scenario. HR outsourcing is defined as giving responsibility for various elements of
the HR function to a third-party provider (Turnbull, 2002). The outsourcing of HR functions have several
potential benefits (Ainapur et. al., 2016): It frees the internal HR staff to focus on strategic activities that
add more values than administrative tasks; Increase flexibility to meet changing business conditions;
Provide expertise, skills and technologies which would not be available; Cost reduction; Time
management and effort savings; Increasing employee morale (Cocuľová*, 2011) etc.To save cost and
enhance the quality of their recruitment procedures, many organizations transfer parts of their recruitment
process to external service providers—often referred to as recruitment process outsourcing (RPO).In
literature the term RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing) is used for denoting the outsourcing process
of recruitment and selection of employees. Human Resources Outsourcing Association (HROA) defines
RPO as a type of business process outsourcing, in which the company management transfers the
responsibility for the recruitment process to the service provider. In the past, RPO was mainly viewed as a
service that helped companies to fill low-level positions quickly and cheaply without taking the time of
the HR personnel (Gale, 2016). The RPO market is rapidly changing and companies are now looking for
ISSN: 2005-4238 IJAST
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Vol. 29, No.02, (2020), pp. 2943-2973
a strategic partner to team up with in order to bring new capability to the HR-function instead of the main
motivation being in cost savings (Cappello, 2011).RPO offers the entire gamut of tasks performed under
recruitment function (Ume-Amen, 2010) from finding the candidate to hiring a new employee, which
includes sourcing; screening; testing; interviewing; background checks and drug testing; hiring;
coordinating the offer letter; on-boarding; maintaining applicant tracking logs, requisition, and candidate
files; reporting; and training etc. to its client. It can be distinguished into three categories (Marquez,
2007):-Complex outsourcing which includes a comprehensive outsourcing, from finding and assessing
candidates to administrative functions; Selective outsourcing means when outsourcing is used only for a
certain type of job position; Project recruiting means that companies outsource a large number of workers
for a specific project.
Second, outsourcing of recruitment is influenced by not only a single factor, but also many
factors like cost, strategic, quality, time, social , innovation factors(Ainapur et.al., 2016; Gbadegesin and
Babatunde, Borodako et al., Rogers and Rodrigo, 2015; Kang et al., Ikediashi et al.,2014; Elsaid, 2013;
Sethi, Sinha et.al.,2011; Halim, et al.,2009; Ordanini and Silvestri, Ghodeswar and Vaidyanathan, 2008;
Seth and Lau and Zhang, 2006; Khong, Lindholm,2005). Legislation and industry practices also influence
the outsourcing of recruitment to external agencies(Dasborough and Sue-Chan, 2002) .The factors
considered at the outsourcing decision-making stage can broadly be categorized into contextual and
organizational factors. (Siew-Chen and Vinayan, 2016).
Third, RPO provides both benefits as well as risk.RPO reduces employers' recruitment costs
when an organization wants to control attrition and retain talent in cost effective manner(Tank and
Chaturvedi, 2013). Beyond cost reduction, recruitment is a strategic function which is handled by
professionals. The cost of hiring the wrong person is often huge, and the chances of that are diminished if
companies use experienced agency (Croy and Duggan, 2005). Strategic benefits are following: - Brand
awareness, Improve resource planning, Develop Hiring Manager Skills and Employee engagement. There
are also some risks of RPO. From a cost point of view, a recruitment company cannot guarantee an
effective recruitment.Anyone who is recruiting on a company’s behalf has to be totally aware not just of
the wider industry as a whole but the individual nature of that company’s culture and its subtle
modifications. Against this, firms must consider the potential for negatives such as: loss of capabilities
currently residing in the firm; lengthy contracts that make it costly to switch external providers; scope for
providers to exploit contracts instead of acting in the best interests of the principal firm; outsourcers
offering standardized services to different clients instead of personalizing provision; and less control over
recruitment activities that are outsourced (David et al., 2017; Cocuľová*, 2011)Forth, outsourcing of
recruitment process affect different stakeholders of organizations.RPO affects employee morale,
employee’s commitment and loyalty. Motivation was not affected at all by RPO, (Masinovic, 2010)
effective orientation was affected by the most of the companies studied and the performance orientation
was affected by circum one third of the companies by RPO. Higher levels of RPO affect graduates’
reactions more negatively than lower levels of RPO. Thus, a strong employer image and service provider
image partially compensate for the negative effects of RPO on applicant reactions. Satisfaction of
participants with the process, the attractiveness of the organization, and the intention to accept a job offer
decreased with increasing levels of RPO. The prospector strategy is also found to positively moderate the
relationship between outsourcing recruiting and human resource effectiveness.
Fifth, as a fast-developing country, India has long been recognized as a popular place to
outsource. Low-cost labor and high-technology manufacturing have made India the leading destination
for outsourcing. The current estimate of RPO turnover in India is Rs 400 crore, which is expected to grow

Vol. 29, No.02, (2020), pp. 2943-2973
by 40-50 per cent a year for the next few years (Sreeradha, 2015). In India, the trend of outsourcing
recruitment is catching up fast in many industries such as in service industry .Vodafone outsource its
recruitment activities to Alexander Mann Solutions (RPO service provider), IT giant Wipro has
outsourced its recruitment process to MeritTrac, in banking industry Yes bank is also known to outsource
50 per cent of its recruitment processes (Tank and Chaturvedi, 2013). According to the report of Quest
staffing Solution (Pty) Ltd. in 2015 more than 70% of Indian employers are likely to outsource their
recruitment function either partially or completely in an effort to concentrate on their core businesses
while enhancing the quality of on-boarded staff and reducing the cost of hiring. According to the leading
RPO firm futurestep, “India is considered to be the number one market, bigger than the US, significant
investments were made in this business and market India is huge on outsourcing”.
Given that outsourcing of recruitment processes is of recent origin, general understanding is
rather limited regarding the motivators, benefits, risks and effects of RPO. Having this in mind, the aim of
this paper is to review research on outsourcing of recruitment processes to establish the current body of
knowledge and, on this basis, to identify gaps in current understanding. The following research questions
were formulated in accordance with the aim of the paper:
RQ1. Which were the main findings of the studies?
RQ2. What is RPO and its concept?
RQ3. Which type of factors influence the decision of RPO?
RQ4. What are the benefits and risks for RPO?
RQ5. How does outsourcing of recruitment process affect different stakeholders of organizations?
RQ6. What are the trends of RPO in India?
The remaining paper is organized as follows. In the next section, methodology used for this
research is briefly discussed and followed by a presentation of the results. The paper ends with the
conclusion and implications of the study.
Methodology of literature review

In the review process, the authors adopted the principles of a systematic review as given by (Jesson et al.,
2011), namely:
• mapping the field through a scoping review;
• comprehensive search;
• quality assessment;
• data extraction;
• synthesis; and
• Write-up.
First, the authors developed a research plan comprising the research questions they were interested in
answering. This also involved the keywords, and a set of inclusion and exclusion criteria. The authors
were interested in the current status of research on outsourcing of recruitment processes to identify the
research gap and future directions of research. The questions formulated, as outlined above, were:
RQ1. Which were the main findings of the studies?
RQ2. What are the RPO and its concept?
RQ3. What type of factors influence the decision of RPO?
RQ4. What are the benefits and risks for RPO?
RQ3. How does outsourcing of recruitment process affect different stakeholders of organizations?
RQ4. What are the trends of RPO in India?

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It was decided to use multiple keywords to identify relevant studies, such as RPO, outsourcing,
recruitment process, key motivators, benefits and risks, India and stakeholders. The inclusion criteria
were empirical research papers, peer-reviewed, English language, Emerald Insight, Sage, Wiley and
Taylor and Francis databases. Literature such as non-academic research was excluded, as well as
languages other than English .Additionally; the authors produced an Excel data sheet consisting of key
aspects related to the research aim. In this case these were: name(s) of author(s), year of publication,
research aim/objectives, theoretical perspective/framework, methods, main findings and name of the
journal.
Second, once the authors had specified all the relevant issues, one of the authors accessed
Emerald Insight, Sage, Wiley and Taylor and Francis and searched using combinations of the keywords
set. Combinations of these keywords were looked for in the title, keywords and abstract. The literature
review included papers published until 2017. Search included all papers from relevant journals. These are
the Human Resource Management, Personnel Review, International Journal of Manpower, Human
Resource Management International Digest, Journal of Knowledge Management, Asia Pacific Journal of
Human Resources, Journal of Global Operations and Strategic Sourcing, The International Journal of
Human Resource Management .
Third, both authors manually scanned the abstracts of the 100 respective papers and, if relevant,
more parts of the articles to make sure that they actually fell within the selected scope of interest. This
reduced the number of articles without duplications to the final number of 36 articles includes 21 refereed
empirical papers, 3 review papers, 7 conceptual papers, 3 reports and 2 theses which fulfilled the
predetermined criteria and were then analyzed.
Fourth, the papers were divided among the authors; that is, each author read 18 papers,
respectively. Both entered relevant data regarding the research purpose in the Excel sheet.
Fifth, in the next stage, the findings were discussed, individual data synthesized into one and
themes identified. This helped to establish the current body of knowledge with regard to outsourcing of
recruitment processes.
Sixth, the final stage of the review process was write-up of the findings. A critical part of any
research is to show the trustworthiness of the data provided. This leads to the concept of reliability.
Reliability can be defined as “the degree to which a measure of a concept is stable” (Bryman, 2012).
Communication between the two authors was coordinated by regular documented meetings and by
sharing the analysis. This also included a permanent cross-check of themes by comparing the results.
Presentation and discussion of findings

Among the 36 that formed the basis for this analysis, the oldest publication is from 2002 and the most
recent ones are from 2017 (three papers). One of the papers was published in 2004. Three papers were
published in 2005, one paper in 2007, three in 2008, three in 2010,three in 2011, three in 2012,five in
2013,four in 2014,three in 2015 and five in 2016. No papers were published in 2006 and 2009.In the
sections below, the authors present the analysis concerning the following aspects: general observations
which outline the research methods applied and countries involved. After that the study’s main findings
according to the themes identified are presented, followed by a list of future research directions.
General observations
With regard to methodology, the most common methods are surveys (fifteen papers), case studies
(two papers) and interviews (Eight papers). Additionally, focus groups, secondary data and a mixed-

Vol. 29, No.02, (2020), pp. 2943-2973
methods approach (two papers) were used as research procedures. One paper was identified which was
longitudinal in nature (Laumer et al., 2012).The articles reviewed shows that research on outsourcing of
recruitment processes is highly dispersed, involving the USA,UK(two papers), India(twelve papers),
Ireland, Italy, Slovakia, Indonesia, Australia(two papers), Netherlands, Egypt, Taiwan, Sweden, Pakistan
Germany(three papers), and Malaysia(two papers).
Furthermore, the findings illustrate that most studies on RPO have been published in , Journal of
Global Operations and Strategic Sourcing, The International Journal of Human Resource Management
and Personnel review.
Body of knowledge regarding the outsourcing of recruitment processes

The main findings of the investigated studies were summarized under five topics: Recruitment
process outsourcing (RPO), key motivators of recruitment process outsourcing (RPO), benefits and risks
of RPO, effects of RPO on different stakeholders and RPO in India. These topics emerged by grouping
together papers that dealt with similar themes.
Outsourcing of recruitment processes

Two empirical papers, one conceptual paper, two review papers, one project report can be assigned to this
topic (Table 1). (Cooke, 2005) reviewed the different papers on HRO. Existing evidence suggests that
training and payroll appear to be the favorite aspects of HR outsourcing. In addition, recruitment,
taxation, and legal compliance are often outsourced. Organizational performance sees a much positive
outcome due to opting for RPO strategy in HR because the employees hired though this services are
usually skilled, as RPO service providers have the expertise in recruitment and selection function(Cole,
2017). (Siew-Chen and Vinayan, 2016) analyses the company’s process of recruitment outsourcing from
beginning to end, in three sections: RPO decision, RPO implementation and RPO outcome. Both TCE
and RBV can be useful in explaining the reasons behind outsourcing decisions; they may not be able to
explain adequately the entire RPO process from decision, to implementation, to outcome. To overcome
these limitations, this study looks at a third element – the Agency theory. Additionally, this study
highlights the importance of involving internal end users in the decision and process in order to maximize
RPO effectiveness. (Fox, 2015) highlights that although outsourcing has its benefits such as being faster
and more cost effective; it also has some negative effects. Some people view recruitment agencies as a
moneymaking business. This in return can affect the quality of the organization and its employees if
unsuitable candidates are being placed in jobs. (Savino, 2016) found that the main advantage may well
come from what organizational customers want from the RPO experience, be it expertise, process
excellence, cost considerations or some specific accommodation of a recruiting scenario. Successful
implementation of RPO requires due diligence on the company’s part. The HR manager should identify
the firm’s unique needs, competencies and resources in the first instance (Cole, 2017). Knowledge of
labor market conditions is equally important as is the likelihood of fit between available providers and the
organization. In this context (Gilani and Jamshed, 2016) also suggests that organizations should be very
clear about recruitment process outsourcing needs, Choice of right recruitment process outsourcing
service provider, Alignment of vision, and Strong relationship with the outsourced employees.
Key motivators of recruitment process outsourcing (RPO)

Five empirical papers, one review paper and one thesis can be assigned to this topic (Table 2).
They provide the factors that influence the decision for outsourcing the recruitment process. Outsourcing

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of recruitment is influenced by many factors like cost, time and quality, to gain competitive advantage for
organizations, economic, social factors (Dasborough and Sue-Chan, 2002; Elsaid, 2013; Laumer et al.,
2012). HR managers are more likely to outsource recruitment activities when they trust the agency with
which they are dealing. Legislation and industry practices also influence the outsourcing of recruitment to
external agencies (Dasborough and Sue-Chan, 2002). Typical reasons include seeking specialist services
and expertise, cost reduction, and enabling HR specialists to take on a more strategic role. In general,
most researchers are convinced that not only cost cutting factor motivate the decision of RPO but also
strategic factor also motivate that (Cooke, 2005).The factors considered at the outsourcing decision-
making stage can broadly be categorized into contextual and organizational factors (Siew-Chen and
Vinayan, 2016). Contextual analysis aims to provide the HR manager with a high level of awareness of
the surrounding environment. Organizational analysis, on the other hand, allows the HR manager to
identify internal drivers such as operational needs, resource limitations, urgency and internal capabilities,
prior to a decision to outsource. (Ordanini and Silvestri, 2008) reveal how efficiency motivations are
more important for the decisions to outsource administrative R&S practices while competitive issues
matter more for the strategic side of R&S activity. (Heikkonen, 2012) found that besides the strategic-
level benefits, there are also certain process- and efficiency-related rationales for RPO. If the ultimate
reasoning for recruitment outsourcing is the desire to enhance the processes in question, the rationale is
either to seek cost-advantages or outside expertise.
Benefits and risks of RPO

Ten empirical papers, one review paper can be assigned to this topic (Table 3). (Cocuľová*,
2011) brings the views of several authors on the advantages and potential risks of RPO. Benefits are
following:- reduce costs, improve quality ,time management and effort savings, increased focus on core
competencies, service through professional experts and increasing employee morale, Quality pool of
candidate engagement, Better support for hiring managers, Clear accountability for recruitment activities
and Proactive, creative, well planned and structured approach, Brand awareness, Improve resource
planning, Develop Hiring Manager Skills and Employee engagement, lack of internal staff, increased
capacity, manpower availability, easy replacements, and pool of applicants and competence of applicants,
It frees the internal HR staff to focus on strategic activities that add more values than administrative tasks;
Increase flexibility to meet changing business conditions, demand for products, services and technology
(Cocuľová*, 2011; Tank, 2013; Cole, 2017; Ume-aman,2010; Ainapur et al., 2016) and Risks are
following:-the increase in direct costs, incompatibility with an external provider, loss of control, vaguely
defined responsibilities, the decline of employee morale and fear of leakage of confidential
information(Cocuľová*, 2011;Cole, 2017; Ainapur et al., 2016).(Tank and Chaturvedi, 2013) highlights
the recruitment challenges faced by HR professionals especially in pharmaceutical industry and shows
that how Recruitment Process Outsourcing Model is an effective solution for the recruitment challenges
in the said industry. (Croy and Dugan, 2005) reviewed the papers and gave conclusion of pros and cons of
RPO.Beyond cost reduction, recruitment is a strategic function which is handled by professionals. The
cost of hiring the wrong person is often huge, and the chances of that are diminished if companies use
experienced agency. There are also some risks of RPO. From a cost point of view, a recruitment company
cannot guarantee an effective recruitment. Anyone who is recruiting on a company’s behalf has to be
totally aware not just of the wider industry as a whole but the individual nature of that company’s culture
and its subtle modifications.

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Effects of RPO on different stakeholders

Ten empirical papers can be assigned to this topic (Table 4). RPO affects stakeholder in different
manner. Employee perception and employee morale are affected by RPO positively, motivation was not
affected at all by RPO, effective orientation was affected by the most of the companies studied and the
performance orientation was affected by circum one third of the companies by RPO while employee’s
commitment and loyalty does not affected by RPO (Oktafien and Suryati, 2013; Jamil and Naeem, 2013;
Masinovic , 2010) showed that. When level of RPO becomes higher (i.e., outsourcing of the telephone
and/or one-to-one interview), then RPO affect graduates’ reactions more negatively than lower levels of
RPO (i.e., advertising and/or pre selection) and (Wehner, C.M. et. al., 2012) in 2014 extend that study by
incorporating a brand equity and found negative mediating effects of RPO on job acceptance intention.
Thus, a strong employer image and service provider image partially compensate for the negative effects
of RPO on applicant reactions. (Giardini and Kabst, 2008) indicated that the satisfaction of participants
with the process, the attractiveness of the organization, and the intention to accept a job offer decreased
with increasing levels of RPO Outsourcing recruiting is positively related to line managers’ perceived
human resource function effectiveness, because managers may employ more recruiting HRO to enhance
the HR function’s effectiveness (Shih and Chiang, 2011; Johnson, et. al., 2014). (Henkens, K. et. al.,
2005) analyze that the use of modern media such as the internet constitutes a separate recruitment
strategy, alongside traditional recruitment methods and active methods.
RPO in India
Five empirical papers and four conceptual papers can be assigned to this topic (Table 5). RPO
concept has taken a healthy shape in the Western countries, in India is currently at its infant stage.
Keeping in view the booming job scenario, IT, finance, banking, pharmacy, life sciences, retailing are
identified as some of the areas where there is a sudden surge of demand for candidates. The balance of the
world economy is shifting towards emerging markets like India and china. In India as more and more
firms are looking at reducing the cost of recruitment process and enhancing the quality and speed of the
process, recruitment process outsourcing is gaining ground (Tadamarla and Anumula, 2011). (Khadria,
2007) describes the practice of international recruitment of Indian nurses in the model of a ‘‘business
process outsourcing’’ of comprehensive training cum-recruitment-cum-placement for popular destinations
like the United Kingdom and United States through an agency system that has acquired growing intensity
in India. (Nadda et. al., 2017) identifying factors influencing the rationale for outsourcing the recruitment
processes in Indian hotel sector. Key findings indicated that the culture was positive influence on the
usage of RPO in the organizations Also, the organizational structure was the major challenge in adopting
these practices along with monitoring the outsourcing activities, lack of communication and inefficient
HR practices. There are several benefits which RPO offers to its clients and their employees like Lowered
cost & shared risk, Reduced time to fill, Compliance, Elite talent and Quality (Bansal, 2014; Tiwari,
2016). (David, R.et al., 2017) identify few unfair practices followed by the RPO vendors like Desecration
of the initial contact, Plausibility of contract violation, Unfair practices by the vendor, Reduced Quality
and Vendor’s lack of understanding of client’s organizational culture etc . (Tank and Chaturvedi, 2013)
found the recruitment challenges faced by HR professionals especially in Indian pharmaceutical industry,
IT and ITES sector. Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) Model is one such effective recruitment
model which reduces employers' recruitment costs or when an organization wants to control attrition and
retain talent in cost effective manner. (Tank, 2015) examines the need of selecting a right RPO partner
with global economic recovery increasing pressure on talent markets. Then it proceeds to explore how an

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organization can select a true strategic RPO partner which can have insider knowledge of market needs,
talent flows, new recruiting technologies and new ways of leveraging data to inform decision-making.
Table 1 Articles on outsourcing of recruitment processes
Author(s) Research Theoretical Method Main findings Journal
(year) aims/objectiv perspective/framewo (empirical/theoretic
es rk al)
Cole, 2007 Provides Literature related to Give a review on the Provides Human
valuable concept of RPO concept of RPO concept of Resource
insight in to including phases of (RPO).Factor Manageme
the growing decision, s that drive nt
popularity of implementation and the decision Internation
recruitment outcomes to outsource al Digest
process are identified
outsourcing and the
(RPO). experience of
the case study
firm offers
important
implications
for
practitioners
considering
RPO.
Cooke et Provide a Literature related to Review on the Provides the Human
al., 2005 critical the the concept of HRO concept of HRO process of Resource
processes HRO Manageme
involved in, including nt
and the different
perceived phases and
services
offered by
HRO
Siew-Chen Analyses the Literature related to real-life case study RPO Personnel
and company’s company’s process of one company in decisions and Review
Vinayan , process of of recruitment Malaysia through implementati
2016 recruitment outsourcing from semi-structured on cannot be
outsourcing beginning to end Interviews with fully or
from relevant properly
beginning to respondents, explained by
end, in three including the one theory,
sections: RPO country HR but are better
decision, manager, the HR explained by
RPO staff and operation integrating
implementati managers in the transaction

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on and RPO organization, plus cost

outcome. with the RPO economics,
provider. the resource-
based view
and the
Agency
Theory. The
study also
highlights the
importance of
involving end
users in the
RPO process.
Savino,201 Attempt to Literature related to Conceptual paper on The American
6 determine if RPO relationships true partnership partnership Journal of
outsourcing between internal HR between internal- relationship in Manageme
of HR manager and external expertise RPO may nt
recruiting external recruiter then best
functions is determine
actually recruiting
achieving the responsibilitie
initial s based on
expectations respective
developed structures,
when the abilities and
partnership market
was first awareness
proposed.
Fox, 2015 Examine why Literature related to Qualitative Found some Project
recruitment importance of approach with minor issues report
and selection recruitment and Internal interviews with the submitted
is so selection and with current, to the
important for whether it is Members of the traditional National
a business outsourced or not HR team, members recruitment College of
and whether it of the methods used Ireland
should be Recruitment team by the
dealt with And some general organization;
solely by the Staff members. however if
internal HR the future
and plans for
Recruitment changes in
teams or recruitment
whether it processes
should be continue to

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outsourced to take place

a specialist. within the
organization
they will
continue
to remain
competitive
within the
market and
rates of staff
turnover
will remain
low.
Gilani and Explains the Literature related to Exploratory findings Strategic
Jamshed, linkages and interconnections research was carried include Outsourcin
2016 interconnectio between concept of out using case study talented g: An
n between the RPO and employer analysis and employees’ Internation
concepts of branding conducted by using role in al
RPO and its the semi-structured improving the Journal
contribution interviews with the brand image
towards the HR and marketing of any
employer managers using the organization;
branding qualitative method. the
process development
of customers’
perceptions
through their
attitude and
behaviors; the
reduction in
the HR costs
through RPO
Services, the
responsibility
of the
organization
taken by RPO
which
provides the
chance for
HR
professionals
and top
management

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to focus on
core
activities; and
the
organizational
care in
selection of
the RPO
service
provider as
per their
criteria.
Table 2 Articles on key motivators of RPO

(year) aims/objectiv perspective/framew (empirical/theoretic
es ork al)
Cooke et Provide a Literature related to Review paper on
Found the Human
al., 2005 critical HRO and reasons of HRO as a
implications Resource
review of the outsourcing competitive strategy
of HR Management
reasons for outsourcing
the RPO for the
various
groups of
people
affected by
this strategy
and
organizations
should apply
both the
resource-
based view
and
institutional
theory when
making
outsourcing
decisions.
Dasboroug Investigated Literature related to Semi-structured It is found Asia Pacific
h and Sue- reasons for reasons of RPO interviews that not only Journal of
Chan, the with fourteen HR economic Human
2002 outsourcing managers and six factor Resources
of a core recruitment influence the

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HRM consultants and decision of

function, survey of 117 HR RPO, but
recruitment. professionals from main factor is
Australia using institutional
factor analysis, environment
correlation and in which
regression organizations
technique. are located.
Elsaid, Address the Literature related to Survey conducted Contrary to International

2013 reasons reasons behind on a sample of 36 logic result Journal of
behind outsourcing the top managers from found that the Business
organizations recruitment Egyptian and Non- cost reduction Management
refrain from function. Egyptian companies factor was and
outsourcing operating in various not perceived Administrati
its fields using by Egyptian on
recruitment convenience managers as a
function. sampling method valuable
reason to
outsource
their
recruitment
function.
Heikkonen Purpose of Literature related to Mixed-method and Key findings International
, 2012 this thesis is rationale of RPO survey with a pool were that Business
to evaluate of respondents issues Master's
the rationale consisting of including thesis
and Finnish human international
effectiveness resources recruitment
of professionals from and technical
recruitment different recruitment
process organizations. might both
outsourcing. Consequently, the provide a
sample size was rationale and
significant enough affect the
to be used for a effectiveness
cross-industry of
analysis. recruitment
outsourcing
activities.
Laumer et Investigates Literature related to Longitudinal case The results 45th Hawaii
al., 2012 the outsourcing of study with one indicate International
motivations KIBP company since outsourcing Conference
for 2003 KIBP can on System

Vol. 29, No.02, (2020), pp. 2943-2973
organizations results in Sciences

for better process
outsourcing determinants
knowledge in terms of
intensive cost, time and
business quality.
processes and
what are
important
lessons learnt
while
outsourcing
KIBPs?
Ordanini Investigates Literature related to Stratified random Results reveal The
and the reasons drivers of RPO sample of medium that International
Silvestri, for and large-sized efficiency Journal of
2008 outsourcing 1,500 Italian firms motivations Human
decisions of with more than 250 are more Resource
recruiting and employees important for Management
selection using correlation the decisions
(R&S). and regression to outsource
technique administrativ
e R&S
practices
while
competitive
issues matter
more for the
strategic side
of R&S
activity.
Siew- Analyses the Literature related to Real-life case study This case Personnel
Chen and company’s reasons of one company in study Review
Vinayan, process of ,implementation and Malaysia and it was supports the
2016 recruitment outcome of RPO carried out through need to
outsourcing semi-structured utilize
from interviews with multiple
beginning to relevant theories –
end, in three respondents, TCE, RBV
sections: including the and the
RPO country HR Agency
decision, manager, the HR Theory – in
RPO staff and operation order to fully
implementati managers in the understand

Vol. 29, No.02, (2020), pp. 2943-2973
on and RPO organization, plus the reasons

outcome. with the RPO for an RPO
provider. decision, its
implementati
on and its
outcomes.
Table 3 Articles on benefits and risks of RPO

Author(s) Research Theoretical Method Main Journal
(year) aims/objecti perspective/frame (empirical/theoreti findings
ves work cal)
Cocuľová*,20 Deals with Literature related Review paper on Found that Acta
11 the topic of to benefits and benefits and risks benefits are:- Technologica
human risks of RPO of RPO Reduction of Dubnicae
resources costs, time
outsourcing, and efforts;
especially focus on
the core
recruitment competencie
process s and service
outsourcing through
and it brings professional
the views of experts and
several risks are:-
authors on increase in
the direct costs;
advantages Loss of
and potential control and
risks of its Incompatibil
use. ity with an
external
provider
Tank and Highlights Literature related Descriptive RPO process Journal of
Chaturvedi, that how to effectiveness of research using generates a IMS Group
2013 Recruitment RPO for the Convenience large, better
Process solution of sampling. 30 and related
outsourcing challenges faced pharmaceutical HR pool of
Model is an by industry professionals were candidate
effective Interviewed. The database in
solution for subjects were short span of
the General Managers, time, which
recruitment Heads, and Senior ultimately
challenges in Manager with results in
the said minimum ten years stronger

Vol. 29, No.02, (2020), pp. 2943-2973
industry. of relevant hires and

experience. The improved
secondary data is productivity.
collected from
various business
reports and
magazines.
Croy and Presents Literature related Review paper on It is found Human
Dugan, 2005 both sides of to pros and cons of both sides of that cost Resource
the debate RPO debate on RPO reduction, Management
on expertisation International
outsourcing and Digest
recruitment innovation
within are favoring
purchasing points of
RPO while
control
,culture
mismatch
and cost
increased if
not managed
properly are
the arguing
points of
RPO
Tank , 2013 To analyze Literature related Structured RPO is the American
how to the benefits of questionnaire and next level International
Recruitment RPO Interviews of solution for Journal of
Process Senior HR all Research in
outsourcing managers and HR recruitment Humanities,
Model is an Heads were taken challenges Arts and
effective specifically Social
solution for for IT Sciences
the industry
recruitment where pool
challenges in of talent with
the IT and no time gap
ITES is readily
industry. available
with quality
hiring and
improved
productivity.

Vol. 29, No.02, (2020), pp. 2943-2973
Cole, 2017 Provides Literature related Review paper on Benefits are Human
valuable to advantages and concept of RPO following: - Resource
insight in to disadvantages of specialist Management
the RPO knowledge; International
growing gain access Digest
popularity of to larger
recruitment talent pools;
process increase
outsourcing operational
(RPO) and flexibility
its benefits and free up
an risks of it valuable
time for
internal
recruitment
managers to
focus on
other key
responsibiliti
es. Against
this, firms
must
consider the
potential for
negatives
such as: loss
of
capabilities
currently
residing in
the firm;
lengthy
contracts that
make it
costly to
switch
external
providers;
scope for
providers to
exploit
contracts
instead of
acting in the

Vol. 29, No.02, (2020), pp. 2943-2973
best interests
of the
principal
firm; and
less control
over HR
activities that
are
outsourced.
Ume-Amen, To identify Literature related Closed-ended These factors Interdisciplin
2010 the factors to the factors questionnaire filled were cost ary Journal of
which which benefits to by ten banks. The savings; Contemporar
benefits the organization by populations for the improve y Research in
organization the RPO subject study were quality, time Business
s in local and pressure,
outsourcing multinational lack of
their banks in Karachi internal staff,
recruitment including 3 increased
and multinational and 7 capacity,
selection local banks were manpower
process selected for the availability,
study. easy
replacements
, and pool of
applicants
and
competence
of
applicants.
Ainapur et Focuses on Literature related The study was It was found International
al., 2016 understandin to challenges conducted at 50 that the main Journal of
g the pertaining to respondents from challenges Social
challenges staffing and HR consultancy and issues Science and
and issues selection firms using faced for Humanities
pertaining to convenient staffing were Research
staffing and sampling convincing
selection. the
candidates,
increasing
the database
and
competition
from local
contractors.

Vol. 29, No.02, (2020), pp. 2943-2973
David et To identify Literature related semi-structured Risks are Journal of

al.,2017 few risks to risks of RPO with qualitative following:- Global
followed in research technique Desecration Operations
the RPO thematic analysis of the initial and Strategic
contact, Sourcing
Plausibility
of contract
violation,
Unfair
practices by
the vendor,
Reduced
Quality and
Vendor’s
lack of
understandin
g of client’s
organization
al culture
etc.
Table 4 Articles on effects of RPO on different stakeholders

(year) aims/objectiv perspective/framew (empirical/theoretic
es ork al)
Susy and Determined Literature related to quantitative Results show Internation
Suryati the relations effects of RPO on approach with
that there is a al Journal
,2013 between employee sample of 174 significant and of Science
outsourcing perception and people working at
positive and
employee morale Kopegtel PT
relationship Research
perception to Telkom using
between (IJSR)
recruitment cluster sampling.
outsourcing
process and employee
status with perception to
employee recruitment
work spirit at process and
outsourcing status with
Kopegtel PT Kopegtel
Telkom employee work
spirit.
Jamil and To find out Literature related to Two private The empirical IOSR
Naeem, the impact of effects of RPO on telecommunication evidence Journal of
2013 outsourcing employee companies: Huawei indicated that Business

Vol. 29, No.02, (2020), pp. 2943-2973
recruitment commitment and and Zhongxing outsourcing and

process on loyalty Telecom Pakistan recruitment Manageme
employee situated in process has no nt (IOSR-
commitment Islamabad impact on JBM)
and loyalty. employee
commitment
and loyalty.
Masinovic, Examined Literature related to Five international Results showed Bachelor
2010 how RPO effects of RPO on banks in Sweden that motivation Thesis,
affects organizational were investigated was not affected Internation
organization culture at all by RPO, al Business
al culture, effective and
more orientation was Economics
precisely affected by the Program
three factors most of the
were companies
examined, studied and the
motivation, performance
performance orientation was
orientation affected by
and effective circum one third
orientation. of the
companies by
RPO.
Henkens et Analyze the Literature related to Survey among Analyses show Internation
al.,2005 instruments effects of more than 1,000 that there are al Journal
employers recruitment on employers in The three of
use to employer behavior Netherlands. recruitment Manpower
contact with strategies. The
potential first strategy
workers. To was described
what extent as active and
do employers informal
still rely on recruitment. The
traditional second strategy
means or do was called
they behave recruiting via
more the internet and
actively the third is
characterized by
formal
recruitment.
Fish and To examine Literature related to 109 Australian It was found Personnel
Robert the perception of human resource that Review

Vol. 29, No.02, (2020), pp. 2943-2973
Macklin, perceptions professionals professionals using “understanding

2004 of regarding factor analysis the
professionals recruitment technique organization”
regarding the was seen as one
attributes of the more
required of important
and the attributes, it
quality of ranked well
service down the list in
provided by terms of ESF
executive quality of
search firms service.
(ESFs) and Same attribute
advertised was also ranked
recruitment as a very
agencies important
(ARAs). attribute for
ARAs. It was
ranked number
2 in terms of
importance/serv
ice discrepancy.
Shih and To examine Literature related to Collecting data Fond that The
Chiang, the line perception of Line with time lag from outsourcing Internation
2011 managers’ manager regarding multiple recruiting is al Journal
perception RPO respondents in 125 positively of Human
regarding to representative related to line Resource
outsourcing Taiwanese firms managers’ Manageme
recruiting perceived nt
and training human resource
activities function
effectiveness
and no
relationship
between
outsourcing
training and
human resource
effectiveness.
Johnson, G. To determine Literature related to Study is based on a Line-manager Personnel

et al., 2014 whether an effects of RPO on single, large satisfaction as Review
outsourced Line manager’s organization customers and

Vol. 29, No.02, (2020), pp. 2943-2973
recruitment satisfaction involving satisfaction with

service can dissemination of an the recruiter are
provide a on-line survey explained by
satisfactory targeting line- various
organization managers with a experiences of
al solution recent record of both service and
from the hiring new recruiter, while
perspective employees using willingness to
of its line- quantitative recommend is
managers. analysis including explained in
correlation, terms of
multiple regression customer
and binary logistic satisfaction,
regression satisfaction with
the recruiter and
recognition that
the service
provides added
value
Wehner,M. To examines Literature related to Using an Results provide Human
C. et al., how effects of RPO on experimental support for Resource
2012 successive graduates’ reactions scenario technique, negative effects Manageme
outsourcing a total of 158 of the extent of nt
of graduates RPO on
recruitment participated in four graduates’
activities hypothetical satisfaction with
to an scenarios that have the recruitment
external been developed as process and
provider an experimental company
affects between-subject attractiveness
graduates’ design.
reactions.
Wehner,M. To examine Literature related to Using an Results shows Human
C. et al., whether effects of RPO on experimental that the extent Resource
2014 employer graduates’ reactions scenario technique, of RPO Manageme
image and including employer a total of 464 negatively nt
service and service graduates that have influences
provider provider image been developed as applicant
image an experimental reactions
counterbalan between-subject regardless of the
ce negative design. employer’s or
reactions service
among provider’s
graduates image. Thus, a

Vol. 29, No.02, (2020), pp. 2943-2973
strong employer
image and
service provider
image partially
compensate for
the negative
effects of RPO
on applicant
reactions.
Giardini To examines Literature related to Experimental Results German
and Kabst, the effects of effects of RPO on study, 160 students indicated that Journal of
2008 RPO on job job applicants were asked to the satisfaction Research
applicant assume the role of a of participants in Human
job applicant and to with the Resource
evaluate the process, the Manageme
recruitment process attractiveness of nt
and the the
Organization organization,
and the
intention to
accept a job
offer decreased
with increasing
levels of RPO.
Table 5 Articles on RPO in India

Author(s) Research Theoretical Method Main Journal
(year) aims/objecti perspective/framew (empirical/theoreti findings
ves ork cal)
Tiwari, 2016 To identify Literature related The source of data When International
general to concept of RPO was secondary. organizatio Journal of
practices and benefits of This paper covers ns Multidisciplin
that RPO its benefits, & outsource ary Research
organization reports based on their Review
s use to news paper, recruitment
recruit and internet & process,
select Business news. they save
employees their
and to recruitment
determine costs. The
how the experience,
recruitment expertise
Process and

Vol. 29, No.02, (2020), pp. 2943-2973
Outsourcing economies
affect the of scale of a
Indian partner can
Companies. help
companies
improve the
quality of
recruitment.
Anupama and To analyze Literature related Secondary sources India is the International
Krishna the concept to concept of RPO of data collection second Journal of
Murthy, 2011 of RPO in India fastest Research in
works in growing Computer
Indian country in Application &
context and the world Management
what are the after china
key with lot of
challenges skilled
and confident
opportunities professional
for Indian s, capable
talent and of doing
for RPO, complex
growth jobs; they
potential of are good
RPO with
business in customers,
India. are able to
mingle with
diverse
cultures.
Bansal, 2014 To Literature related Secondary sources paper will International
communicat to the concept of of data collection enable us to Journal of
e Human RPO in India get answers Scientific and
Resource to questions Research
Management like, what it Publications
needs to is, how it
industries functions, is
across the it useful,
globe so that how
the companies
organization are
s which are currently
not aware using it,
get what is the

Vol. 29, No.02, (2020), pp. 2943-2973
awareness future scope

about latest of
trends in Recruitmen
recruitment t agencies,
outsourcing how it is
and avail linked to
benefit with both
its services. individual
and
organizatio
nal goals.
David,R. et To find out Literature related list of 100 potential Result Journal of
al. ,2017 the risks to risks perceived participants who shows that Global
perceived by by the stakeholders were job Operations
the in India stakeholders of insecurity, and Strategic
stakeholders RPO industry in Quality of Sourcing
in India various capacities candidates,
employees
morale and
unfair
practices
etc. are
perceived
by Indian
stakeholder
s
Nadda,2017 To evaluate Literature related Mixed method It was Munich
the to effects of RPO approach found that Personal
effectiveness culture was RePEc
and positive Archive
challenges influence
faced by on the
adopting usage of
RPO RPO and
practice in organizatio
the India nal
Hotel sector. structure
was the
major
challenge in
adopting
these
practices
Tank and Highlights Literature related Descriptive In India, Journal of

Vol. 29, No.02, (2020), pp. 2943-2973
Chaturvedi,20 the to the benefits of Research and since the IMS Group
13 recruitment RPO in Indian Convenience country has
challenges pharmaceutical Sampling. 30 the
faced by HR industry pharmaceutical HR availability
professionals professionals were of large
especially in Interviewed. The pool of
pharmaceuti subjects were talent that
cal industry General too at a
and how Managers, Heads, very low
Recruitment and Senior cost, it
process Manager with makes the
outsourcing minimum ten years country as
model is an of relevant one of the
effective experience. most
solution for promising
the hub for
recruitment RPO
challenges in
the said
industry.
Tank, 2013 Highlights Literature related Structured RPO is the American
the to the benefits of questionnaire was next level International
recruitment RPO in Indian designed to collect solution for Journal of
challenges IT/ITES industry the data. all Research in
faced by HR Interviews of recruitment Humanities,
professionals Senior HR challenges Arts and
especially in managers and HR specifically Social
IT/ITES Heads were also for IT Sciences
industry and conducted to industry
how understand the where pool
Recruitment recruitment of talent
process challenges and the with no
outsourcing benefits of RPO time gap is
model is an Model. readily
effective available
solution for with quality
the hiring and
recruitment improved
challenges in productivity
the said .
industry.
Khadria, 2007 Describes Literature related Secondary data Despite the HSR: Health
the practice to international extremely Services
of recruitment of low nurse Research

Vol. 29, No.02, (2020), pp. 2943-2973
international Indian nurses to

recruitment population
of Indian ratio in
nurses in the India,
model of a hospital
‘‘business managers
process in India are
outsourcing’ not
’. concerned
about the
growing
exodus of
nurses to
other
countries.
Most of this
activity is
concentrate
d in Delhi,
Bangalore,
and Kochi.
Tank, 2015 Examines Literature related Semi-structured Performanc Apeejay-
the need of to criteria of interview e Journal of
selecting a selecting RPO technique was used consistency, Management
right RPO partner to collect the data cost and a Sciences and
partner with using exploratory result Technology
global analysis. driven
economic process is
recovery an
increasing important
pressure on aspect
talent which
markets. companies
look
exclusively
while
identifying
a right and
suitable
RPO
partner.

Vol. 29, No.02, (2020), pp. 2943-2973
Conclusions
In view of the increasing significance of outsourcing of recruitment processes, a better understanding of
this topic is essential and can contribute to a better management of the upsides and downsides regarding
this specific type of outsourcing. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper was to review research on RPO
to establish the current body of knowledge regarding this topic. To do so a systematic literature review
was conducted to identify suitable articles. The 36 articles, which formed the basis of the analysis, were
classified into five themes: recruitment process outsourcing (RPO), key motivators of recruitment process
outsourcing (RPO), benefits and risks of RPO, effects of RPO on different stakeholders and RPO in India.
Based on the studies reviewed, it can argued that there is some initial body of knowledge
regarding outsourcing of recruitment processes such as sourcing; screening; testing; interviewing;
background checks and drug testing; hiring; coordinating the offer letter; on-boarding; maintaining
applicant tracking logs, requisition, and candidate files; reporting; and training etc.As regards the motives
for outsourcing recruitment processes it seems that they are mainly of an intangible (non-financial)
nature, e.g. gaining access to expert knowledge, which can later result in financial benefits. Thus
recruitment outsourcing seems to address the future of a firm, i.e. maintaining the firm’s competitive
standing.The reviewed studies were conducted in most regions of the world. Given the relevance of
outsourcing in general and the increase of outsourcing of recruitment processes, it is argued that research
would undoubtedly benefit from contributions from these parts of the world. Contract value is an integral
part of this issue. Managers should ideally design a cost-effective contract that simultaneously provides
the agent with appropriate incentives for the level of services provided. Achieving this balance helps
avoid potential conflict of interests between principal firm and external provider.The research identified
poses some implications for researchers and practitioners. The first implication is related to the effect of
RPO on different stakeholders. It has been shown that there is a significant and positive relationship
between outsourcing employee perception with employee morale to recruitment process (Oktafien and
Suryati, 2013) and outsourcing recruiting is positively related to line managers’ perceived human resource
function effectiveness, because managers may employ more recruiting HRO to enhance the HR function’s
effectiveness (Shih and Chiang, 2011). Yet the studies have made clear that RPO also encompasses risks.
This study also shows that making an RPO decision requires considering a range of factors,
including fit and potential impact, which goes well beyond the simple question of “buying or making”.
Practitioners who are thinking of outsourcing would be well advised to analyze thoroughly their needs
and the benefits and implications of outsourcing, rather than simply jumping on the RPO bandwagon
(Siew-Chen and Vinayan, 2015).The second implication relates to factors contributing to the success of
RPO. These success factors are cost savings; improve quality, time pressure, lack of internal staff,
increased capacity, manpower availability, easy replacements, and pool of applicants and competence of
applicants (Ume-aman,2010).The outsourcing of recruitment functions as several potential benefits like it
frees the internal HR staff to focus on strategic activities that add more values than administrative tasks;
Increase flexibility to meet changing business conditions, demand for products, services and technology;
Increase customer satisfaction and shareholder value; Obtain expertise, skills and technologies which
would not otherwise be available and to gain access to vendor talent / expertise (Ainapur et. al.,
2016).The research conducted on RPO is of high value for managers of organizations and other
practitioners. In particular, the findings regarding the success factors of RPO as well as the enhancing
potentials of such outsourcing could be of special interest.
The fact that only 36 papers were identified is already an indication that this field is in its infancy
and more research is to be asked for. It can be said that the studies presented in this paper have a great

Vol. 29, No.02, (2020), pp. 2943-2973
merit for the current understanding of RPO and can be used as basis for future research. However, given
the early stage of development, there is a need to verify the findings of previous studies and to fill the
gaps that have been identified. So far, there is only a limited understanding as to how RPO affects
different stakeholders. In that respect, the long tradition of RPO research has much to contribute to further
research.The understanding of RPO regarding activities which are outsourced is quite limited. Given the
complexity of these recruitment processes, future research may address them as well and study their
feasibility for outsourcing. Moreover, it can be asked whether RPO enhances innovation in organizations
when more than one partner is involved in the search of talent.Future research could also look into
concept of RPO, benefits and risks of RPO and effects of RPO.An understanding of the motives behind
RPO would be useful as well. Research has demonstrated the contribution of RPO to improve strategy.
More systematic studies are welcome, as this would provide a means to improve the competitive standing
of firms.In addition, further development of the topic of RPO would benefit from more comparative
studies. This would enable researchers to discuss and understand how national and corporate cultures, as
well as other contextual issues, influence RPO in more depth.Finally, RPO calls for a new focus of
activities outsourced by the organizations. The authors are aware that the present study is not without
limitations. Because of the chosen research procedures, this study may not have enabled complete
coverage of all empirical articles in the field of RPO. Yet, it seems reasonable to assume that the review
process covered a large share of studies available. Finally, this paper proposes some research directions,
which are not exhaustive but represent initial stages.
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International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology

Vol. 29, No.02, (2020), pp. 2943-2973

Recruitment process outsourcing: a literature review

Dr. Suresh Kumar Bhakhar

Introduction and background

ISSN: 2005-4238 IJAST

Methodology of literature review

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Presentation and discussion of findings

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Body of knowledge regarding the outsourcing of recruitment processes

Outsourcing of recruitment processes

Key motivators of recruitment process outsourcing (RPO)

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Benefits and risks of RPO

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Effects of RPO on different stakeholders

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on and RPO organization, plus cost

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outsourced to take place

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Table 2 Articles on key motivators of RPO

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HRM consultants and decision of

Elsaid, Address the Literature related to Survey conducted Contrary to International

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organizations results in Sciences

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on and RPO organization, plus the reasons

Table 3 Articles on benefits and risks of RPO

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industry. of relevant hires and

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David et To identify Literature related semi-structured Risks are Journal of

Table 4 Articles on effects of RPO on different stakeholders

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recruitment commitment and and Zhongxing outsourcing and

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Macklin, perceptions professionals professionals using “understanding

Johnson, G. To determine Literature related to Study is based on a Line-manager Personnel

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recruitment satisfaction involving satisfaction with

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Table 5 Articles on RPO in India

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awareness future scope

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international Indian nurses to

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ISSN: 2005-4238 IJAST

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