One of the areas of focus for us at Lighthouse this year is recruitment process outsourcing, or RPO. This service component of HR outsourcing has become a staple for many large employers in recent years, and though our primary research focus has been disrupted by the current pandemic, we have adjusted course to look at what happens to the RPO industry in an economic downturn and what that means.
This analysis sheds light on the overall economy, unemployment trends (see data below), job posting volume by industry, and more, providing insights that HR and talent leaders need as they consider the challenging times ahead. Read the full piece on the RPO Association blog.
Check out our latest research on employer perceptions of RPO value
The data below shows unemployment searches on Google Trends. At the time of publication, searches for unemployment information were 20x that of normal volume, and the trend has continued to set new records for search volume each day. While we have to wait for traditional economic indicators to catch up, these kinds of insights (and others exposed in this article) offer a preview of what employers can expect in the coming weeks and months.
Ben Eubanks is the Chief Research Officer at Lighthouse Research & Advisory. He is an author, speaker, and researcher with a passion for telling stories and making complex topics easy to understand.
His latest book Artificial Intelligence for HR (3rd Ed) showcases how employers can balance AI adoption with a people-first approach. It is the world’s most-cited research on AI applications for HR.
His other books include Talent Scarcity, which answers the question every business leader has asked in recent years: “Where have the high-quality workers gone, and how do we hire and keep them?” It shares practical and strategic recruiting and retention ideas and case studies for every employer.
Ben has more than 15 years of experience both as an HR/recruiting executive as well as a researcher on workplace topics. His work is practical, relevant, and valued by practitioners from F100 firms to SMB organizations across the globe.
He has spoken to tens of thousands of HR professionals across the globe and enjoys sharing about technology, talent practices, and more. His speaking credits include the SHRM Annual Conference, Seminarium International, PeopleMatters Dubai and India, and over 100 other notable events.
