In my years working across the talent solutions landscape, I’ve seen first-hand how misconceptions can hold organisations back from adopting models that could genuinely transform their workforce strategy. RPO models are often misunderstood and as a result, underutilised.  

Let’s clear up some of the most common myths I encounter and explore what these models really offer.   

 

Myth 1: RPO is only for huge hiring volumes  

Reality: You don’t need thousands or even hundreds of hires to benefit from an RPO. In fact, I’ve worked with clients who had as few as 30-40 hires see significant value.  

An RPO brings strategy, structure, accountability and efficiency to how permanent talent is sourced, engaged, assessed and on-boarded. An RPO will deliver many benefits including: 

Brand and Sourcing  

• Amplifying your employer brand to attract top talent  

• Improving the supply and diversity of talent, as well as accessing and building talent pools to get ahead of your vacancies 

• Improving hiring manager recruitment skills, making them brand ambassadors and discerning interviewers. 

Elevating the experience  

• Elevating the candidate and hiring manager experience, by embedding professional recruiters inside your business who understand your business and culture and operate with clear performance KPIs. 

Financial Benefits  

• Reducing direct and in-direct recruitment costs, such as spend of agencies, advertising costs, on-boarding time and turnover costs 

• Reducing time to hire, ensuring vacancy rates are reduced and revenue opportunities are maximised 

• Ensuring consistent, rigorous assessment processes are used to improve new hire quality  

• Helping to understand reasons for turnover by conducting exit interviews and surveys and consulting with HR about the findings  

Insights and Continuous Improvement  

• Improving reporting and insights about recruitment to drive continuous improvement efforts and ensuring we bring new ideas and technologies to the table. 

Implications: If you are hiring 30 or more permanent or fixed term contract heads a year, an RPO can help you manage it smarter.  

 

Myth 2: You need expensive tech to make it work  

Reality:
Technology is important, but it doesn’t have to be expensive or even yours. 

At Hudson, we bring our own tech stack, which is purpose-built for the end-to-end permanent recruitment process, and optimised through years of use. We can also use your existing systems or implement third-party platforms, if preferred. The goal is always the same: to deliver ROI and improve outcomes. 

Implication:
Tech should support your strategy, not drive your costs. The right partner brings the right tools.  

 

Myth 3:  An RPO will cost a lot of money in year 1 and savings won’t be realised until years 2 or 3. 

In my experience, an RPO will absolutely deliver savings to you in year 1. These savings can be significant, in the range of 20-40% of your total spend.  These savings are delivered by implementing improved governance around recruitment costs and ensuring:  

• The RPO directly fills the majority of permanent and fixed term contract roles, reducing the cost of using third party agencies to a fraction of what it is today  

• Pay rate bands are documented, understood and complied with for all roles 

• 100% compliance to the panel and removing “off panel” spend 

• Margins are competitive and consistent across the panel 

 

Myth 4: Choosing Hudson means Hudson gets all the work 

Reality:
This is a common concern and a misconception. 

In RPO models, the RPO partner is typically engaged to fill the majority of roles, normally anywhere from 60% to 100% of roles. Their work is complimented by a small panel which is selected in partnership with the client. We work with clients to build a supplier panel that reflects their current and future needs, industry, and diversity goals. Governance frameworks ensure fair distribution of roles and performance accountability across the panel. 

Hudson doesn’t “take over” we partner. And we’re committed to transparency, fairness, and results. 

Implication:
A well-governed panel delivers better outcomes and protects client choice. 

Final thought: Strategy starts with clarity 

An RPO isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. They’re flexible, scalable, and designed to address an organisation’s key pain points. Whether you need to reduce costs or time to hire, improve candidate and hiring manager experience or achieve greater flexibility and scalability in your model, an RPO can deliver a range of benefits from year 1. 

Understanding what an RPO model can really offer is the first step toward smarter, more strategic governance of your talent acquisition program. If you’re navigating growth, complexity, or change, it might be time to rethink your approach. 

Let’s Talk Talent 

If you’d like to explore how an RPO model could benefit your organisation or simply want to understand what’s possible contact me today. I’d be happy to help you unpack the options and build a solution that fits. 

Kimberley Hubble – Head of Talent Solutions
kimberley.hubble@hudson.com
0416 270 642