How winning companies are supercharging their TA teams

Even the strongest talent acquisition (TA) teams hit a ceiling. Whether it’s a hiring spike, a new market or the sudden need for niche skills, the same question arises: do we have the tools and structure to keep up?

From our experience, the best-performing companies don’t just add headcount—they rethink the model. They move from a reactive, vacancy-by-vacancy approach to one that’s built for speed, visibility and scale.

Not sure where your team stands? Our Guide for First-Time RPO Buyers outlines the signs that it’s time to try a new approach — and how to make the business case.

Seven signs it’s time to rethink your model

You don’t need all seven of these to justify a change. One or two is often enough to start seeing real value from a recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) partner:

• Agency costs are creeping higher. If 20% or more of your hiring budget is allocated to agency fees, RPO can help significantly reduce your spend.
• Time-to-hire is holding the business back. A hiring delay of just a few weeks can stall product launches or expansion plans.
• Managers are juggling too many suppliers. Working with 10+ agencies means inconsistent service, limited accountability and duplicated effort.
• Your TA team is overextended. Great recruiters spend their time building relationships, not chasing approvals or managing admin.
• Data is hard to access—or impossible to trust. Without reliable data on cost per hire, time to hire and source effectiveness, decisions stay reactive.
• Your employer brand feels inconsistent. When candidates hear different messages depending on who they speak to, your brand suffers.
• You’re entering new markets or scaling fast. Without an embedded recruitment partner, expansion can outpace your ability to hire and onboard the right people.

Case study: How Unilever supercharged global hiring — without increasing TA headcount

When Unilever set out to become a data-intelligent organisation, it wasn’t just a tech investment; it was a talent one. The goal was to hire over 300 professionals across Data and Analytics, Technology Applications and Procurement functions. 

Roles were spread across 12 countries, from the UK and India to Mexico and Vietnam. And the ask went beyond scale: Unilever wanted to achieve its gender balance targets in fields that have traditionally been male-dominated.

Rather than adding recruiters internally, Unilever turned to us for a tailored Project RPO solution. We embedded a global team, comprising an Account Director, Account Manager, Talent Acquisition Partners and a Shared Service Centre, to manage the campaign from end to end.

The result? A supercharged hiring engine that delivered consistent, data-driven recruitment at scale. We reworked job descriptions for gender neutrality, ran a targeted LinkedIn campaign featuring female leaders at Unilever and built a talent pipeline programme to train high-potential candidates for future roles.

Read the full case study here.

Take the first step to supercharge your TA team

An RPO partner doesn’t replace your internal team—it provides them with the tools and support they need to thrive. From reducing admin and sourcing time to unlocking visibility and planning ahead, RPO helps TA teams do what they do best: hire brilliant people, fast.