India, a recruitment outsourcing hotspot

In a bid to cut costs, corporate giants based in the United States and the UK are looking to leverage their recruitment process outsourcing services from emerging market locations like India, a survey says.

According to global consulting and research firm Everest Group, increasing cost pressures in the current economic environment has led North American and UK buyers to start receiving the back-office RPO services from offshore location such as India.

"The value proposition of RPO is still resonating with buyers that are looking for a cost-effective option to withstand the current turmoil and at the same time create an efficient talent acquisition process that can be scaled up quickly when business environment improves," Everest Group Principal and Country Head Gaurav Gupta said.

Indian suppliers such as Infosys, Wipro and Caliber Point have already entered this space in the past two years, while Western suppliers such as Momentum and PeopleScout are also leveraging India for delivering RPO services.

The survey further highlighted that a significant number of North American-headquartered large, MNCs adopt RPO for their European and Asia-Pacific operations.

The study, Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) -- Moving Beyond the Pioneer Stage pointed out that there was a marginal increase in deal signings this year compared to 2008, but decreased hiring volume is resulting in more selective, smaller-sized deals.

Elaborating on the IPO market, Rajesh Ranjan, Research Director and co-author of the report said, "The RPO market is intensely competitive, and we've witnessed a lot of M&A activity as suppliers seek to enter the RPO market, strengthen capability and gain access to technology."

As many as 16 suppliers participated in the study -- Adecco, Aon, Alexander Mann Solutions, Caliber Point, Futurestep, Hays, Infosys, Momentum, Ochre House, PeopleScout, Pinstripe, SourceRight Solutions, Spring Group, Talent2, The Right Thing and Wipro.