In the world of talent acquisition and contingent workforce management, choosing to go to market for an outsourced provider is one of the biggest decisions you can make for your organisation.

Following a popular roundtable session I ran at this year’s SIA CWS Summit Europe, I wanted to share some simple but essential tips to give you the best chance of selecting the most appropriate Managed Service Provider (MSP) or Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) Partner through the Request for Proposal (RFP) process. Let’s dive into some RFP specific tips, followed by general best practices when going to market.

1.      Clearly Define Objectives & Scope

Carefully consider what your key objectives are before drafting your RFP and clearly articulate what your business aims to achieve through an MSP or RPO solution.

Defining your objectives helps potential providers understand your needs and the outcomes you are looking to achieve. This allows potential providers to tailor proposed solutions accordingly in line with your requirements, but also allows relevant / irrelevant suppliers to self-select in or out of the tender process.

2.      Include Detailed Requirements

When releasing your RFP, please include detailed requirements and data for your current landscape. This ensures that the proposals you receive are pertinent to your aims and will save you plenty of time when responding to clarification questions as part of the process. A good starting point is to provide estimated hiring volumes over the period of the contract, broken down by role titles, average salary / rate and locations; in addition to the number of roles the supplier will be inheriting on day one.

When outlining your specific requirements, think about including:

  • Scope of service (e.g. roles / functions, geographic locations, volume of hires / workers, average salaries / day rates).
  • Proposed Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and metrics for success, in addition to current KPI performance.
  • Technology requirements (e.g. current ATS / VMS/HRIS, associated technology such as assessment tools or CRM, required integrations with existing systems).
  • Particular challenges and pain points you are experiencing and would like to solve.
  • Strategic goals and how the MSP or RPO will align with them, for example, ED&I goals.

It is standard to allow bidders a period of time to submit questions for clarification based on the RFP document, and customary to ask for these as a written response. You will then be expected to share all questions and answers with all bidders.

3.       Evaluating Potential Partners

Letting providers know how they will be scored as part of the RFP process can be extremely helpful for potential partners to learn where your priorities lie. An essential piece of information to include for providers is both the dates associated with RFP submission and following stages (presentation, best, and final offer).

As a rule of thumb, consider sharing the below dates and milestones to potential providers:

  • Deadline for clarification questions 
  • Responses to clarification questions
  • RFP submission due date
  • Timescales for feedback
  • Anticipated date of appointing preferred bidder
  • Ideal service go-live date

To evaluate potential partners effectively, ask targeted questions that will best meet your aims. You should be looking to ask questions that will enable you to assess each bidders’ strengths, for example:

  • If successful, how would you view our organisation within your current portfolio of clients?
  • Describe your experience in our industry.
  • What differentiates your programme from your competitors' MSP or RPO programmes?
  • Please describe the resources and team structure proposed to support the model you are proposing.
  • How would you pursue positions that are challenging to recruit for?
  • What technology platforms do you use, and how do they integrate with other systems?
  • Please provide examples of innovation or continuous improvement that you have implemented in another programmes.
  • Please provide details of how you would support our diversity and inclusion objectives.
  • What do you see as the priorities following completion of the implementation plan? 
  • How do you ensure compliance with local and international labour laws?

4. Evaluate Cultural Fit

You cannot downplay the importance of cultural fit between your organisation and your potential partner. From general working practices to values, I truly believe that to succeed in any MSP or RPO programme you must at the very least enjoy working with your provider and work as one team. Some ways of assessing cultural fit within an RFP process include:

  • Comparing the provider’s mission and core values with those of your organisation to ensure they align and support your organisational culture.
  • Meeting the proposed Account Team and in particular the proposed Service Lead to ensure they are someone you can see yourself working with.
  • Assess the leaders and leadership approach of potential providers to determine if they complement your leadership style and practices.
  • Review testimonials, case studies and speak to referees to hear others’ opinions of the provider.

5.      Pricing

The most critical part of an RFP for some organisations is pricing. The biggest tip I can provide is to ensure that you create a template that enables you to compare each potential partner fairly and equally side by side. This will require some work from your organisation to consider the pricing breakdown that you would like to apply to the solution.

While pricing is an important factor, you should also give some focus on the overall value proposition. Request a breakdown of costs for added value services and ask providers to highlight the return on investment (ROI), in addition to ensuring that there are no hidden costs on top of the main services.

Best Practices for Managing the RFP Process

Alongside the RFP document itself, there are some best practices for how you should approach the management of the process of selecting an MSP / RPO partner. Below, I have listed these, alongside some common pitfalls.

1. Establish a Cross-Functional Programme Team

Involve stakeholders from various departments to ensure the RFP addresses all relevant aspects and requirements of the business. Perhaps the most vital step to take before scoping a potential MSP & RPO is ensuring you have stakeholder buy-in and that you have sponsorship for the programme. Without this, you can go through a full selection process before finding out that you do not have a mandate to proceed with your solution.

2. Conduct Thorough Evaluations

Before sending out your RFP to providers, develop a structured evaluation framework to assess proposals against predefined criteria. This can include scoring systems, evaluation matrices, and cross-functional programme review panels. This gives you the best chance of not just making a fair and transparent decision, but also the best decision for your business.

3. Check References and Perform Due Diligence

Conduct thorough reference checks and due diligence to validate shortlisted provider’s claims and ensure they have a solid track record of delivering similar services successfully. Typically, organisations would only do this once they are down to the final 2 suppliers in a process.

4. Contract Terms and Conditions

As part of your RFP process, send out a copy of your standard contract for potential partners to review and send back as part of the process. This enables you to start working on potential contractual pitfalls well in advance of making a selection and proceeding to contract negotiation.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

1. Lack of Clarity in Requirements

Ambiguity in your RFP can lead to misunderstandings and misaligned expectations. Be as specific and detailed as possible to avoid confusion.

2. Focusing Solely on Cost

Choosing the lowest-cost provider can be tempting, but it’s essential to consider the overall value and long-term benefits. Focus on quality, reliability, and alignment with your strategic goals.

3. Ignoring Internal Stakeholders

Ensure all relevant internal stakeholders are involved and their concerns and requirements are addressed. Ignoring their input can lead to resistance and implementation challenges.

5. Overlooking Scalability

Consider the future growth and scalability of your organisation. Choose a provider that can scale their services in line with your evolving needs.

For further support, or if you are looking for specific help to ensure best practice ahead of progressing to RFP, please contact solutions@lorienglobal.com.