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An RPO delivery team planning a hiring programme
Recruitment Solutions

Recruitment Process Outsourcing for UK Employers

We run all or part of your hiring function — cutting time-to-hire by 40–70% and hiring costs by up to 60%, at any volume. Tell us what you’re scaling and talk to our team.

Reviewing a recruitment process outsourcing agreement
Definition

What is recruitment process outsourcing (RPO)?

Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) means Alliance runs all or part of your hiring function on an ongoing basis — not filling one role at a time. It’s built for employers scaling hiring volume, launching a new market, or wanting a dedicated recruitment team without building one in-house.

  • End-to-end or modular — run your whole hiring function through us, or just the parts that need it
  • Cuts time-to-hire by 40–70% and hiring costs by up to 60%, at any volume
  • Need one role filled, not an ongoing programme? Our Permanent Recruitment service covers that
An RPO delivery team planning a hiring programme
Benefits

Benefits of RPO with Alliance

An RPO partnership should flex with your hiring volume, not force your team to flex around it. Alliance scales up or down with your needs, sourcing and screening every candidate to the same standard whatever the volume.

  • Scales with you — from a single hiring spike to an ongoing, multi-site programme
  • Cuts time-to-hire by 40–70% and hiring costs by up to 60%
  • One point of accountability instead of juggling multiple agencies
Alliance consultant screening a candidate against an RPO programme brief
Compare

RPO vs. other ways to scale hiring

Scaling your hiring function doesn’t only mean growing an in-house recruitment team or juggling multiple agencies. Here’s how those routes compare to an RPO partnership with Alliance.

  • In-house recruitment team — full control, but a fixed headcount cost that doesn’t flex with hiring volume
  • Multiple agencies — more reach, but a fragmented process and inconsistent screening standards
  • Alliance RPO — one partner, one screening standard, scaled to your volume, cutting time-to-hire by 40–70% and hiring costs by up to 60%
Alliance recruitment consultant
Why Alliance

Why UK employers choose Alliance for recruitment process outsourcing

12,000+ UK businesses have hired through Alliance, including ongoing RPO partnerships that cut time-to-hire by 40–70% and hiring costs by up to 60%. Every candidate is sourced, screened and referenced to the same standard, backed by a 98% offer-acceptance rate.

12,000+businesses supported with permanent, temp and RPO hiring
16 Yearsserving clients globally
98%offer acceptance rate once a candidate is put forward
70%interview-to-offer rate — fewer, better-matched interviews
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10 Most Reliable HR Solution Providers 2020
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HR Asia Readers’ Choice 2022
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ISO 9001 Certified
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16 Years Serving Clients Globally
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GoodFirms Top Staffing Firm Verified
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Recruiter Awards — Highly Commended 2023
Hiring manager and new hire shaking hands on an offer
How It Works

How our recruitment process outsourcing process works

Four steps, start to finish — scaled to your volume: you brief us on the programme, we search and screen against it, you interview a tightly matched shortlist, and you hire.

Brief us

Tell us the roles, the volume and what “right” looks like.

We search

Our consultants source and screen against the skills that matter, at any scale.

You interview a shortlist

Fewer, better-matched candidates, not a stack of CVs.

You hire

We handle as much of the process as you want us to.

Every Sector

Industries we run RPO programmes in

Eight sectors, one screening standard: Alliance runs RPO partnerships UK-wide across the industries below.

Retail

Store management, buying, merchandising and customer service roles as online and in-store retail both keep hiring.

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Manufacturing

Production managers, quality and automation specialists as UK factories modernise.

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Construction

Site managers, project managers and tradespeople for residential, commercial and infrastructure builds.

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IT & Technology

Software development, cybersecurity, cloud and data — tech remains one of the UK’s most active hiring markets.

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Real Estate

Property managers, surveyors and sales and lettings talent for agencies, developers and landlords.

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Engineering

Mechanical, electrical and civil engineers for manufacturers, contractors and infrastructure projects.

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Healthcare & Life Sciences

Hospitals, clinics and care providers that need properly certified, reference-checked specialists.

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Banking & Finance

Analysts, compliance and relationship managers for banks, lenders and financial services firms.

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Case Studies

Real results for recruitment process outsourcing

A look at how we’ve helped other UK businesses run their hiring as a single RPO programme instead of piecing it together themselves.

A UK retail store manager reviewing a staffing schedule in a modern retail stockroom
RPO

Scaling a multi-site seasonal hiring programme for a growing UK retailer

How we ran a multi-site RPO programme for a UK retailer's seasonal peak, keeping one screening standard across every store.

Read more
A UK manufacturing site manager in a hard hat looking out over a new factory production floor
RPO

Launching a new UK manufacturing site's hiring function from scratch

How we ran end-to-end recruitment for a manufacturer's new site, so they never had to build their own in-house team.

Read more
Three UK financial-services professionals reviewing reports in a modern glass-walled meeting room
RPO

Replacing five recruitment agencies with one RPO partner for a UK financial-services firm

How we consolidated a financial-services firm's hiring from five separate agencies into one accountable RPO partnership.

Read more
Talk to Our Team

Ready to scale your hiring with RPO?

Tell us what you’re scaling and we’ll come back with a plan — no obligation, just a straight answer on how we can help. 12,000+ UK businesses already trust Alliance with their hiring.


FAQ

Recruitment Process Outsourcing FAQs

What is RPO?

RPO means Alliance runs all or part of your hiring function on an ongoing basis, rather than filling one role at a time — RPO partnerships cut time-to-hire by 40–70% and hiring costs by up to 60%.

What’s the difference between end-to-end and project RPO?

End-to-end RPO means Alliance runs your entire hiring function on an ongoing basis; project RPO is scoped to a single hiring programme, like a seasonal spike or a new site launch. Tell us what you’re scaling and we’ll recommend the right model.

How is RPO different from a standard recruitment agency?

A standard agency fills individual roles as they come up; RPO embeds Alliance as an ongoing extension of your hiring function, with one screening standard across every role in the programme.

Can RPO scale up or down with our hiring volume?

Yes — RPO is built to flex with demand, from a single hiring spike to an ongoing, multi-site programme.

How much does RPO cost?

Cost depends on the scope and volume of the programme. Talk to our team for a quote specific to what you’re scaling.

Let's Talk

Ready to scale your hiring with RPO?

Tell us what you’re scaling and we’ll come back with a plan — no obligation, just a straight answer on how we can help.