Engaged search · contingent · staffing·17 years of placement expertise·Backed by ProHireHQ AI ↗
Solutions · Pillar

RPO.

Embedded recruiting capacity for sustained, high-volume hiring. Same staffing partners. Same standards. Scaled by AI.

Pricing
Retainer + small per-hire
Best for
10+ hires in 90 days
Capacity
Dedicated cohort
Adjusts
Monthly, on 30-day notice
Definition

What is RPO?

Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) is a hiring model in which the firm becomes your embedded talent-acquisition function for a defined scope of roles or a defined hiring period. Sourcing, screening, scheduling, candidate experience, ATS hygiene, intake calls, reporting, all run through a dedicated recruiter cohort operating as if they were on your team.

Unlike search, RPO is sized to volume. Instead of paying a percentage per placement, you pay for capacity, and that capacity runs your hiring funnel end-to-end. Most engagements add a small per-hire fee to align incentives on outcome.

RPO is the right model when you need to hire ten or more people inside ninety days, the in-house TA team is at capacity (or doesn't exist), and the roles repeat. If you are hiring one CFO, choose retained or engaged. If you are hiring thirty nurses, choose RPO.

How it works

The engagement, in five steps.

Two to three weeks from contract to first interview. Cohorts size to your hiring plan and adjust on 30 days notice.

  1. Plan & cohort sizing

    We map your 90-to-180-day hiring plan, calibrate role libraries and intake protocols, and size the recruiter cohort to volume. Retainer and per-hire fee quoted to scope.

  2. Embed & ATS handshake

    Cohort onboards into your ATS, your hiring-manager calendar cadence, and your candidate-experience standards. ProHireHQ AI sourcing layer goes live underneath.

  3. Run the funnel

    Sourcing, screening, scheduling, intake calls, candidate communications, ATS hygiene, hiring-manager debriefs, weekly pipeline reporting. Run as if they were your team.

  4. Hires & replacement window

    Each placement carries a replacement guarantee window scoped to role tier. Per-hire fee billed at start. Reporting cadence keeps the numbers visible.

  5. Adjust monthly

    Cohort grows or shrinks against your actual hiring volume on 30 days notice. Most engagements adjust at least once across the year as priorities shift.

Compare

RPO vs. Contingent.

Two ways to handle hiring volume. RPO embeds capacity; contingent pays per placement. The right answer depends on the cadence and scale of your hiring.

RPO

  • Retainer + small per-hire fee
  • Dedicated recruiter cohort, embedded
  • Sized to volume, adjusts monthly
  • Best for 10+ hires in 90 days
  • Owns the full funnel end-to-end

Contingent

  • Fee owed only on placement
  • One-off senior or niche roles
  • No funnel ownership
  • Best when volume is low or one-off
  • Run alongside other channels
FAQ

RPO,
specifically.

The questions hiring leaders ask in the first call. Answered the way we answer them in the call.

How is RPO priced?
Most engagements are priced as a monthly retainer for embedded recruiter capacity plus a small per-hire fee that adjusts to volume. The retainer covers the recruiter's time; the per-hire fee covers the placement-related back-office and replacement guarantee. Final structure is quoted to your hiring plan at scoping.
Are these recruiters dedicated to my company?
Yes. Project RPO recruiters are dedicated to your hiring plan for the duration of the engagement. They run your intake calls, your ATS, and your candidate communications. They are not split across competing client books.
Can RPO cover senior search at the same time?
Yes, and most do. RPO covers the volume layer (manager-and-below), and a senior staffing partner runs any concurrent VP-or-above search on the same engagement. You get one firm, one POC, two hiring layers.
How fast can an RPO engagement start?
Two to three weeks from contract to first interview, depending on ATS access, intake-call cadence, and how much of the role library you have written. We can also deliver the role library if you don't have it.
What if hiring volume changes mid-engagement?
RPO retainers are sized in cohorts: each cohort is a small block of monthly capacity. Add cohorts when volume rises, drop cohorts when volume falls, on 30 days notice. Most engagements adjust at least once across the year.
Who runs my RPO engagement?
An engagement lead from the firm plus the dedicated recruiter cohort. The lead is your single POC for scope, escalation, and reporting. The recruiter cohort is on the network and runs the day-to-day. ProHireHQ scales the AI sourcing layer underneath.
Scope an RPO engagement

Tell us the hiring plan, the volume, the timeline.

We come back inside one business day with a cohort sizing, a retainer quote, and a market read on the roles.

Scope RPO →See staffing →
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