That, coupled with the impending retirement of a tsunami of high-skilled, Baby-Boom workhorses, is changing the very nature of Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO). Formerly known for their efficient, high-speed recruiting of mainly lower-tier staffers, RPOs are now finding themselves in demand to help firms recruit for hard-to-fill positions amid a global talent shortage – including, ironically, for recruiters.

A recent industry survey found that nearly 75% of businesses polled plan to hire full-timers this year, but nearly two-thirds are having trouble finding the “right” candidates. So RPOs are being brought in as strategic partners across a broad brush of industries, to help companies grow their social-media presence and gain access to a wider talent pool.

To position themselves more competitively, RPO firms are merging with international partners and taking advantage of the hot trend toward big data and analytics. They’re also adjusting to the explosive growth in contingency and contract workers, which will further evolve their mission.

Read the full article from WorkForce.com.