RPO or Traditional Staffing Agency: Which Is Better?

Managing the recruitment process can be one of the most challenging responsibilities for employers and HR professionals. As of 2026, the median time-to-fill is about 39 calendar days for non-executive roles, according to research from SHRM. When balancing day-to-day operations, time dedicated to recruitment can add up significantly, causing businesses to lose productivity while positions remain empty.

When a business is in need of a hire but may not have the resources to recruit talent in-house, employers may turn to a partnership for recruiting. While recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) and traditional staffing services are common solutions, they each take a different approach to recruitment.

What Is Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)?

Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) is an HR partnership between a business and a third party where the third party performs a majority or all the recruitment responsibilities on behalf of the business. RPO recruitment is typically a long-term solution for a business looking to relieve its in-house talent efforts beyond single vacant jobs. Essentially, an RPO is an extension of the HR team that helps take over the core tasks in the recruitment process aside from the approval process.

RPOs go beyond standard recruitment and hiring tasks, as many RPOs will offer to perform the following:

Workforce planning/forecasting
Background check and screening
Conduct interviews
Establish a compensation strategy
Sending formal job offers
General onboarding compliance tasks

Of course, every partnership is different, so the services provided can be tailored to an employer’s needs. In some cases, an RPO may manage the entire recruitment process from workforce planning to a 30-60-90 day onboarding plan, while other partnerships may only provide their services for specific tasks. A complete HR outsourcing service can offer additional tasks beyond standard RPO services, including on-demand support and compliance guidance.

What Does a Traditional Staffing
Agency Do?

Traditional staffing, generally performed by staffing agencies or headhunting firms, is usually focused on filling specific positions on a vacant-role basis. This means the business communicates with a traditional staffing agency about which role or roles it needs filled, and once complete, the partnership ends until the business requests an additional role.

Because traditional staffing agencies operate with a more transactional approach, this solution is usually seen as a short-term option for businesses that need roles filled sooner rather than outsourcing their entire recruitment process. This also means that recruiters providing traditional staffing services operate under their own business, not as an extension of the HR team, as an RPO would offer.

Generally, employers will not see an optimized recruiting process of their own when choosing a traditional staffing service.

RPO vs Staffing Agency

While both approaches can provide recruiting support, their scope and structure can differ significantly.

RPO Services	Traditional Staffing Services
Works as an extension of the HR team	Works under their own brand and company
Long-term, ongoing recruitment solution based on hiring needs	Short-term solution for more urgent vacancies or specific job openings
Evaluates skill requirements and cultural fit	Exclusively evaluates skill requirements
Can develop talent pools for the business	Takes ownership of talent pool
Measures and provides recruitment & HR analytics	Focuses on candidate sourcing
Typically hires for permanent roles	Commonly hires for temp or seasonal roles
Fixed cost structure for services	Per-hire cost structure with added contingency fees
Works with the existing payroll and HR platform directly	Uses their own platform to perform recruiting processes

Choosing Between RPO and Traditional Staffing Services

While both solutions are more effective than managing the hassle that in-house recruiting can have, employers should carefully consider their objectives if they need additional recruiting support.

Employers should consider the following:

Number of vacant roles to fill
Time needed to fill a role
Budget for recruitment
Recruitment and onboarding tasks that need to be streamlined

Ultimately, based on business needs, an employer should choose either solution in the following scenarios:

Traditional Staffing Agency: If the business has limited to no time to search for a candidate to fill a vacant role, but has an internal recruiting and onboarding process in place already
RPO Services: If the business has limited to no time and/or resources to initiate any part of the recruiting process, from posting jobs to providing an employment offer

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)?

Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) is a hiring solution in which an employer outsources all or part of its recruitment process to an external provider. An RPO provider can handle tasks such as candidate sourcing, screening, interview coordination, and other aspects of talent acquisition while working as an extension of the employer’s team.

When Should an Employer Consider an RPO?

RPO may be a good fit for employers with recurring or high-volume hiring needs, limited internal recruiting resources, seasonal hiring demands, rapid growth, or inefficient recruitment processes. It can also help employers that need additional recruiting expertise without expanding their internal team.

Is RPO Better Than Traditional Staffing?

Neither option is universally better. RPO may be more appropriate for employers seeking ongoing recruitment support and process improvements, while traditional staffing may be a better fit for occasional or specific hiring needs.

How Does RPO Help With High-Volume Hiring?

An RPO provider can scale recruiting resources to match an employer’s hiring needs while building candidate pipelines and managing recruitment activities across multiple openings. This can provide more consistency than handling each position individually.

Can an Employer Use RPO and Traditional Staffing at the Same Time?

Yes, an employer can use RPO for its broader recruitment process while working with staffing agencies for particular positions or specialized hiring needs. The two approaches can complement each other depending on the employer’s recruitment strategy.

See How You Can Improve Your Recruitment Process

Handling the recruitment process alone may not be an easy task. For some businesses, the time and budget may not allow for a comprehensive in-house recruiting solution. However, the benefits of outsourcing HR tasks can make the difference, with companies reporting a 50% reduction in total hiring costs when they use an RPO service to help with the process end-to-end, according to SHRM.

When a business needs a quick hire, traditional staffing might be best, but for a long-term solution to recruitment bottlenecks, an RPO provides ongoing support that helps develop a formal recruiting and onboarding process end-to-end. To make things easier, an RPO will work directly with the existing recruiting and onboarding solution to help streamline processes and reduce unnecessary administrative overhead.

If your business is interested in learning more about RPO services, contact us today and speak to an expert who understands HR outsourcing services, including RPO.