Evolving from traditional RPO to In-house Talent Acquisition
In the rapidly evolving talent acquisition landscape, companies are increasingly looking for more value-driven and strategic solutions. Traditional Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) has long been the go-to model for companies looking to expand their recruitment capabilities. However, this model has its challenges. Common issues such as low cost, low-value perception services and the temporary placement of junior recruiters have tarnished the positioning of RPO in the market. Damia Group has decided to stop providing RPO services because, in truth, we never really did RPO. We have evolved into what we call In-House Talent Acquisition.
Let’s start with the (traditional) problems associated with Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO):
1. It’s a low-cost, low-value outsourcing service
Traditional RPOs often position themselves as cost-effective solutions. However, this focus on cost-cutting mostly leads to compromised quality. Organizations receive a service that prioritizes quantity over quality, resulting in subpar recruitment outcomes.
2. It’s Temporary Work with a Junior Recruiter
Related to cost-effectiveness, most RPO providers hire junior recruiters and send them to the Client on a temporary basis. These recruiters, while potentially enthusiastic, often lack the experience and strategic insight needed to navigate complex hiring landscapes. But, most importantly, their contracts will be terminated as soon as the project is over. This results in a transactional rather than a transformational recruitment process, where the recruiter is merely an extra pair of hands rather than a strategic partner.
3. Lack of Integration and Understanding
RPOs typically operate as external entities, leading to a lack of deep integration with the client’s internal processes, culture, and strategic goals. In some cases, the external entity is not even felt or visible, with the recruiter acting as an assistant to the client’s team, which adds even less value. This disconnect can hinder the ability to attract and retain top-tier talent that aligns with the organization’s long-term vision. Because first impressions matter, many RPOs rely on junior recruiters who lack the experience to make a real quality impact on the Client, which does not help continued collaboration.
Evolving into In-House Talent Acquisition
As you may now understand, RPO is not what Damia Group provides, at all. In-House Talent Acquisition is a strategically different service and must be communicated accordingly:
• IHTA is a High-Value Proposition: Our approach focuses on quality over quantity, ensuring that we deliver experienced recruiters who can tap into the Client’s culture and business needs and contribute strategically to the organization.
• IHTA Relies on Experienced Recruiters Working Along with a Project Manager: Unlike traditional RPOs that rely heavily on junior staff, our model ensures that clients work with seasoned recruitment professionals. We don’t believe in temporary work and our Recruiters move between services, such as Permanent Tech Recruitment and Outsourcing Tech Recruitment, which brings a wealth of experience and industry knowledge that we want to keep and nurture. Also, our In-House Recruiters never work alone. We dedicate an experienced Project Manager to all In-House Clients, adding know-how and coordination to the In-House Recruiter’s work and aligning the service with our highest quality standards and benchmarks.
• IHTA is an Integrated Approach: In-House Talent Acquisition underscores our philosophy of becoming an integral part of the client’s team and working as a trusted partner. It is synonymous with a complete fusion with a client. We believe in a personal approach, working together, striving for continuous improvement, listening to your needs, and really understanding your culture, your vision, and your challenges.
This integration helps in attracting and securing talent that not only meets the technical requirements but also fits well with the organizational culture and long-term goals.
• IHTA is a Strategic Partnership: In-House Talent Acquisition moves beyond the transactional nature of traditional RPOs to offer a strategic partnership. In a candidate-driven market you don’t pick talent, talent picks you. This means that today’s candidate experience is decisive for your employer’s branding and recruitment strategy success. And this is where Damia excels. Not as a service provider, but as a strategic partner for long-term success.
Why is In-House Talent Acquisition probably great for your business?
1️⃣ Expertise & Experience: Our team is made of experienced tech recruiters who value great candidate experiences while always striving to be on the edge of the wave.
2️⃣ Efficiency & Timeliness: We keep an eye on the goal: Hiring! In all of Damia’s projects, we have been able to continuously hire more than the pre-existing hiring teams.
3️⃣ Quality & Delivery: We agree on ambitious but realistic SLAs that you can count on. We are performance-driven.
4️⃣ Scalability & Cost Efficiency: Stop wasting time and money on endless hiring processes. When the need to grow comes, you can count on us for scalability in a cost-effective way.
5️⃣ Continuous Improvement: Behind the scenes, we are a team that strives to be better, and each project implementation is carefully monitored to ensure success.
6️⃣ Peace of Mind: We have developed the Recruitment Cockpit, a Customer Portal designed to give you peace of mind. We want you in control by easily keeping track of your recruitment processes, anytime & anywhere. More than making your recruitment journey feel like a walk in the park, we’re set to revolutionize your hiring experience.
Read it from an IHTA Recruiter
“Well, this is all very nice, but are these tech recruiters even real?” — you might ask.
There’s nothing better than hearing about a first-person experience. Get to know a few of our in-house Talent Acquisition recruiters and their latest experiences with some amazing clients. 👇
When I joined Damia in 2021, the IHTA team was very different. As one of the longest-serving members, I’ve witnessed its growth and the hard work we’ve put into Damia’s and our client’s success. Over the last 2.5 years since moving to the IHTA team, I’ve worked with three diverse clients in fraud prevention, money laundering, cybersecurity, and e-commerce, all global SaaS companies.
At Feedzai, I transitioned smoothly from agency recruiting to in-house, finding top backend Java developers for their customer success teams. At Malwarebytes, a US-based company expanding its tech hub in Portugal, I built their team from 3 employees and provided insights on the tech recruitment market, benefits, and compensation in Portugal. I also promoted brand awareness and worked in demanding positions like iOS and Application Security engineers.
Beatriz Faísca, Tech Talent Acquisition Specialist
I was thrilled to join Damia and the IHTA team in March 2022. The trust they placed in me from day one has been truly appreciated. My journey as a talent acquisition specialist began in June 2021 at a competitor company, where I focused on recruiting for various IT roles.
After 9 months, Damia reached out to me on LinkedIn with a unique and promising offer, which I accepted wholeheartedly. During my time at Damia, I’ve had the opportunity to work on four different projects with various clients, currently with Dashlane. In my initial project, I assisted PagerDuty, a US software company, in hiring their first software engineers in Portugal. For my second project, I established recruitment processes from the ground up for Pixie, a start-up, and contributed to the expansion of their team in Lisbon. My third project involved working with ComplyAdvantage, where I led a comprehensive recruitment cycle to grow their Lisbon team, with a focus on software engineering profiles. In my current project with Dashlane, I am continuing to handle full-cycle recruitment for various roles, including software engineering, data, and operational positions.
Being part of these projects has exposed me to different working methodologies, business strategies, and corporate objectives. These experiences have been instrumental in my professional growth and have equipped me with valuable skills and knowledge as a talent acquisition specialist.
Joana Duque, Talent Acquisition Specialist
I joined Damia and IHTA in March 2021 as the third team member, starting with our first project: OLX Group. There, I was treated as an internal employee with full benefits and responsibilities. I recruited globally, worked with different stakeholders, and helped build teams from scratch. The trust between OLX-and-Damia led to a year-and-a-half contract.
The IHTA department grew significantly due to Damia’s strong reputation in the IT market, attracting high demand from international technology companies. In the last year and a half, I’ve been involved in two other projects focused on building tech hubs from the ground up:
Sitewerk: is a Swiss start-up and software agency where I recruited developers, QA, and leads.
7.1 Tech Hub: A German company is setting up a tech hub in Porto. We established processes, integrated them into Porto’s tech market, and grew to 20 employees in 6 months, focusing on data, AI, and engineering.
Seeing the evolution of IHTA has been a pleasure and has enriched me as a professional.
Débora Lopes, Global Tech Talent Acquisition 🌍
