Growing Oppurtunities for RPO Industry – Nelson Hall Research

We have good news for RPO players. Nelson Hall, who is a leading independent BPO analyst firm has found it its latest research project that RPO is currently the fastest growing service that is emerging in support of organizations and talent management requirements. The firm has predicted that the RPO industry will see an annual growth rate of approximately 37 percent and become a $7 Billion market by the year 2010. The research has also shown that the growth is broad based and not simply restricted to the United States. Emerging markets such as those in India are also notably growing.
The key findings that are revealed in Nelson Hall includes topics such as vendors needing to be able to perform an integral role in development, the implementation and execution of clients, talent management and of course workforce planning strategies.
Standalone RPO currently represents a much higher share of the market than RPO as part of a multi process offering. It is also showing the most improved growth rate I the industry. Clients are constantly looking for a variable cost structure to pay for services based on usage. Vendors will need to have the capabilities to scale their workforce to meet demand. Most current activities are in serving larger companies, but the market is beginning to mature and more demand is currently being seen from those smaller and mid sized companies.
Service providers should be able to provide a service that will include an onsite presence. Currently only 31 percent of service providers work onsite however, this is expected to dramatically increase with talent acquisition demand. Most RPO services are provided from onshore multiple client delivery centers, although offshore delivery is experiencing some major growth issues.
Acquisitions are common as service providers strive to increase their geographical expansion as well as to improve their recruiting capabilities. While service providers are currently partnering for access to technology and for support services, they are also partnering with other recruitment providers particularly where there is not geographic presence.