Laying a strong foundation from the beginning is crucial for a successful implementation. Without a solid beginning, even the best-laid plans will turn to dust. So, how do you start to build and set a foundation for a successful external recruitment implementation? Effective communication, planning, and understanding of the partner's needs are crucial for setting the foundation of successful implementation.
Zack Coffey, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships. and Kris Fox, Vice President of implementation at Hueman, shared valuable tips on ensuring a successful external recruitment implementation (RPO implementation) during a recent RPO Leadership Forum webinar. They emphasized the importance of setting clear goals, building a strong team, and establishing a solid project plan. These tips help create a foundation to support your new implementation.
Fox shared that transferring knowledge between the parties involved is crucial when implementing a new RPO solution. During the knowledge transfer phase, the RPO team spends time with the new partner to understand their situation. They ask questions to gain insight into the new partner's pain points, expectations, and goals. They also review the agreement and identify key performance indicators (KPIs) and service level agreements (SLAs). This awareness will help the RPO team remain flexible throughout the process and ensure alignment with external individuals.
This knowledge also helps the team configure a project plan that meets the organization's needs and priorities. The team should take a structured approach to building project plans. Making the necessary configurations ensures the plan meets the employer's expectations. Additionally, the team should plan the kickoff meeting and bring together all the relevant people for the project.
The kickoff meeting, a pivotal moment in the RPO implementation, is carefully planned with the attendees' knowledge of the organization and their roles in mind. This step is not just about starting the project but about educating and ensuring all parties feel valued and confident about the partnership before diving into the work.
Fox emphasized that a successful implementation requires careful planning, effective communication, and continuous monitoring. The five critical areas of success she highlighted and discussed in detail are the following:
Building a solid relationship with the new partner before signing the contract.
Clearly define the objectives and expectations for the project.
Documenting and planning to ensure everyone is on the same page.
Communicating effectively throughout the project to keep everyone informed.
Monitoring and evaluating progress to ensure that everything is on track.
Building a strong relationship before the contract is signed helps to ensure that the new partner feels confident with their decision. This factor is critical because the worst thing that can happen is for the new partner to say, "That's what sales said, but we'll see what happens." To prevent this, the solutions team presents the new partner with a detailed timeline that is specific to them and a project plan that the team references throughout the process. This timeline helps to build trust and confidence in the new partnership.
Clearly defining the project objectives and expectations helps ensure that everyone is on the same page. This is critical to avoid spending valuable team resources on something the new partner does not need or want. By clearly defining the objectives and expectations, the solutions team can ensure alignment with the new partner's needs and priorities.
Documentation and planning are critical in the implementation process because they help ensure everyone is on the same page. This process involves documenting everything, including the project plan, objectives, expectations, and progress. By planning together, the solutions team and the new partner can ensure that everything is moving in the right direction.
Clear and effective communication is crucial in the implementation process, as it helps keep all stakeholders well-informed. This kind of communication involves scheduling regular meetings, being available to answer questions, and addressing concerns. Effective communication also ensures everyone is on the same page and aligned with the project goals and objectives.
Monitoring and evaluating progress during implementation helps ensure everything is on track. This situation involves regularly reviewing the project plan, objectives, and expectations to ensure everything moves in the right direction. If something is not working, the solutions team can make adjustments to get the project back on track.
Project managers must balance being structured and focused. This involves ensuring deadlines are met and reminding team members of their responsibilities, even if it means being a bit annoying at times, but ultimately for the good of the project. At the same time, Fox said, it's necessary to be empathetic towards the team's experience of change.
She observed that managing change and the project are crucial to a successful implementation. Fox said the most important thing a project manager can do in such situations is ensure the project plan is clear and concise. During weekly meetings, she avoids overwhelming team members by focusing on their specific responsibilities and highlighting key areas of focus for the team. She said she provides bite-sized information on the tasks everyone needs to complete in the coming week.
She also provides a high-level status document with an executive summary and a simple red-yellow-green approach to indicate progress. "If we are off track or in red status, we discuss how to get back on track and develop an action plan collaboratively. We keep an eye on things at risk of going into red status and take action to bring them back to green. This stage may involve changing expectations, prioritizing tasks, or bringing in different team members. Overall, treating the implementation as a project while collaborating with the team is critical. Reading the room and picking up on the team's energy is important, too. I always try to lighten the mood with a good joke or story about my seven-year-old son," she said.
Establishing key implementation roles early–on the RPO and organization sides–helps everyone understand where their responsibilities depend on other tasks or can be roadblocks." We present some important roles that we believe are necessary for a successful implementation, such as the project sponsor role, which is a crucial decision-maker, and the implementation lead, who is my primary point of contact, helping me with anything I need to keep things moving in the right direction," she said.
Displaying visuals of when and how things need to be done and how not completing one task can affect other items is also extremely helpful. Seeing the bigger picture in a visual format benefits the employer.
Fox shares key time requirements for talent acquisition leaders to implement an RPO solution successfully.
Fox suggests having the project sponsor on weekly calls, which she said typically last around an hour. She noted that RPO providers can usually complete a typical implementation with a standard scope and no technology implementations in around six weeks. Ideally, committing to one to two hours per week during that period would be ideal. Planning for two to three hours per week for the implementation lead, especially in the first three weeks, would be beneficial. During this stage, there's a need to gather a lot of information about the business, culture, and market and how to communicate with candidates. After the first three weeks, the time commitment will decrease slightly. The subject matter experts' time commitment will depend on the number of experts, but plan for at least an hour per week. She pointed out that her team tries to take on as much work as possible and minimize anything they cannot do, and they provide a plan and resources when they require their partners' assistance. For instance, if training is needed, they provide a list of topics to help them understand the company's core values, culture, tenure, etc.
Fox shared that many people may have been part of an unsuccessful implementation that could have been better. She said that RPO providers are constantly improving and learning, and being nimble is a significant factor in ensuring a successful implementation. Implementations may differ, but engagement from critical players, realistic timelines, and recurring meetings are essential for success. A formal handoff to the delivery team after implementation is vital, and recruiting should start as soon as the RPO solution goes live. She said her team conducts a readiness assessment to ensure they're ready to go live and provide support throughout the transition. Sometimes, partners may pressure the RPO team to skip steps, but the RPO must convince the partner to trust them and explain why these steps are essential. After each implementation, she said that her team conducts a retrospective to identify what went well, what didn't, and areas for improvement. "Having one passionate decision-maker involved throughout the process is critical, and we avoid overwhelming our partners with unnecessary details. Instead, we provide them with a visual timeline and key focus areas over the next several weeks," Fox said.
Strong relationships, objectives, communication, progress monitoring, and an empathetic project lead are essential for RPO success. These elements of success are indispensable not just for a fruitful RPO implementation but for any thriving business collaboration. They underscore the significance of fostering robust relationships, promoting transparent communication, aligning goals and expectations, constantly monitoring and evaluating progress, and employing an empathetic yet structured approach to project management. These critical factors can determine the success or failure of any business endeavor, making them imperative for achieving desired outcomes.
We encourage you to dive into our insightful RPO Leadership Forum blog posts to elevate your recruitment strategies today!