What are the best talent solutions for small businesses in the UK
Small businesses win when hiring is simple, fast and repeatable. But UK SMEs often face the same hiring pressures as large employers, without the time, tooling or dedicated recruitment team.
The best talent solutions solve three problems at once:
Capacity: you need hands-on support without long-term headcount
Quality: you need candidates who actually fit the role (and your culture)
Control: you need predictability around cost, process and compliance
Below are the the best talent solutions for UK small businesses.
1) Embedded Talent: Recruiters inside your business (without the permanent headcount)
Embedded talent (Recruiter-as-a-Service) means a talent specialist (or a small team) joins your business for a defined period, working as part of your team, using your systems, your brand voice and working to your hiring priorities.
Best for UK SMEs who:
Need consistent hiring support for 1–6+ months
Want a recruiter to partner directly with founders/heads of department
Are building a team and need process + delivery, not just CVs
What embedded talent typically improves
Faster role kickoff (tight role briefs and realistic hiring plans)
Better candidate experience (a big differentiator for SMEs)
Stronger collaboration with hiring managers
Cleaner pipelines and clearer weekly reporting
Why it’s a great SME solution: you get the impact of in-house talent capability without committing to permanent headcount before you’re ready.
2) RPO for Small Businesses: Full or project-based recruitment process outsourcing
RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing) is when you outsource all or part of recruitment to a specialist provider. For SMEs, RPO works best in two formats:
Full RPO (end-to-end)
A specialist RPO provider (like Vermelo) can manage your full end-to-end hiring lifecycle:
Role intake and market mapping
Attraction strategy and job advertising
Sourcing and screening
Interview management
Offer support and onboarding coordination
Best for: growing SMEs hiring across multiple roles/teams, or businesses needing a repeatable hiring engine.
Project RPO (a defined hiring burst)
A focused programme to deliver specific outcomes (like “hire 5 customer support roles in 6 weeks” or “build a sales team this quarter”).
Best for: seasonal hiring, funding-triggered growth, team launches, urgent backfills or “we need help right now” moments.
Why RPO is one of the best talent solutions for SMEs
Predictable delivery with a defined process
Fewer hiring mistakes through structured screening
Reduced time-to-hire (especially with proactive sourcing)
Less admin for founders and managers
3) Managed Service Provider (MSP): Control and optimise non-permanent (contingent) hiring
If your small business uses contractors, temps, or multiple staffing suppliers, an MSP (Managed Service Provider) brings order, visibility and cost control together in one place.
Think of MSP as the operating system for your contingent workforce:
Vendor management (one process, consistent standards)
Rate benchmarking and cost visibility
Compliance (IR35) and onboarding coordination
Performance and service-level tracking
Workforce planning and forecasting support
Best for UK SMEs who:
Use contractors/temps regularly
Want to reduce supplier sprawl and inconsistent quality
Need better oversight on contractor spend and speed
SME advantage: MSP stops contingent hiring from becoming a messy, expensive “side mission” and turns it into a controlled, scalable capability.
4) Talent Advisory & Consultancy: Make hiring easier before you even post a role
Sometimes the biggest wins come from improving the strategy before delivery even begins. Talent advisory and consultancy solutions help you hire smarter, not just faster.
Common advisory areas for UK small businesses
Role design (what you actually need vs. what you wish you could hire)
Salary and market benchmarking
Hiring process design (interview stages, scorecards, decision rules)
Employer branding and job ad optimisation
Workforce planning (what to hire now vs. later)
Retention and onboarding improvements
Best for: SMEs struggling with low applicant quality, inconsistent interview decisions, high drop-off rates, or repeat vacancies.
5) Total Talent Solution: One joined-up model for permanent and contingent hiring
A total talent solution unifies how you plan, attract, hire and manage all talent types - permanent employees, contractors, temporary staff and project-based specialists - under one strategy and operating model.
Instead of running permanent hiring in one corner and contingent hiring in another, total talent brings everything together so your small business can scale with control.
Best for UK SMEs who:
Hire a mix of permanent and non-permanent talent
Want a single view of hiring priorities, pipelines, and spend
Need a scalable model ahead of growth, new contracts, or investment
Want fewer suppliers, fewer processes and clearer accountability
What a total talent solution can include:
Demand planning: what you need now vs. next quarter
The right mix of models: embedded talent + RPO + MSP as required
Consistent assessment, onboarding and compliance steps
Consolidated reporting: hiring performance, cost, and time-to-hire
Supplier and stakeholder alignment (so hiring doesn’t bottleneck)
Why it’s powerful for SMEs: it reduces complexity and makes growth predictable without overbuilding internal headcount.
Quick match guide: Which talent solution should you choose?
If you want a fast way to decide, use this:
“We’re hiring steadily and need ongoing support” = Embedded Talent (recruiter-as-a-service)
“We need end-to-end hiring handled properly” = Full RPO (long term outsourced recruitment)
“We have a burst of roles to fill quickly” = Project RPO (shorter outsourced recruitment)
“We use contractors/temps and need control + visibility” = Managed Service Provider (MSP)
“Our hiring feels chaotic or unclear” = Talent Advisory & Consultancy
“We need one joined-up approach across all hiring” = Total Talent Solution
Many SMEs combine these (for example: advisory to redesign the process, then project RPO to deliver the hires). Use our handy Talent Solutions Finder for more information on what this could look like for your business.
What “Good” Looks Like: Outcomes Small Businesses Should Expect
The best talent solutions don’t just provide candidates, they produce measurable outcomes.
For UK SMEs, that usually means:
Shorter time-to-hire (without sacrificing quality)
Higher quality shortlists (better screening, clearer role profiles)
More consistent hiring decisions (structured interviews and scorecards)
Improved candidate experience (clear comms, fewer delays)
Better cost control (less wasted ad spend, fewer mis-hires)
Cleaner compliance and onboarding (right-to-work and documentation processes aligned)
Why SMEs in the UK are choosing Vermelo
Vermelo is built for businesses that need hiring to work, without having to build a big internal function first.
What you get with Vermelo
Flexible delivery models: embedded talent, full or project RPO, MSP, talent advisory and total talent
SME-friendly practicality: clear scope, clear timelines and minimal fuss
A joined-up approach: strategy + delivery + optimisation (not siloed services)
Scalable support: start with one role, expand to a programme as you grow
Bottom line: we help UK small businesses hire with confidence; faster, smarter and with a process that won’t fall apart at the next growth step.
FAQs
What is the best talent solution for a small business in the UK?
The best solution depends on your hiring volume and urgency. Embedded talent is ideal for steady hiring, project RPO works for urgent bursts, full RPO suits end-to-end outsourcing, MSP fits contractor-heavy teams, talent advisory improves hiring strategy and process, total talent brings everything together under one roof for simplicity and full visibility.
What’s the difference between embedded talent and RPO?
Embedded talent places a recruiter inside your business as part of your team. RPO is a structured outsourcing model where a provider manages all or part of the recruitment process either fully or for a specific project.
When should a small business use a Managed Service Provider (MSP)?
Use an MSP if you hire contractors/temps regularly, use multiple suppliers, or want more control over spend, rates, compliance steps and vendor performance.
Is project RPO suitable for SMEs?
Yes. Project RPO is often the most SME-friendly option because it’s focused, time-bound and designed to deliver specific hires quickly without long-term commitments.
Can talent advisory help if we’re not hiring yet?
Absolutely. Talent advisory and consultancy services are useful for SMEs at any stage in their hiring journet, from role design, salary benchmarking, employer branding and building a process that will make future hiring faster and more successful.journey
What is a total talent solution for a small business?
A total talent solution is a single, joined-up approach to managing permanent and contingent hiring - covering planning, recruitment delivery, supplier management, onboarding, and reporting - so a business can scale without complexity.
What’s the difference between MSP and total talent?
An MSP focuses on managing contingent workers (temps/contractors) and suppliers. A total talent solution combines MSP + permanent hiring (often via RPO/embedded talent) under one strategy, process, and reporting model.
Which talent solution is best for UK SMEs hiring in growth spurts?
Embedded talent is ideal for hiring bursts, switch on when you need it, switch off when you don’t. Project RPO is also a good option for short, time-bound hiring periods. If you’re also using contractors/temps during growth, a total talent solution can provide the joined-up control to scale smoothly.
Build your team without the hiring headache
If you’re a UK SME looking to hire without the chaos, Vermelo can help you choose the model that’s right for you and get results fast.
Book a discovery call | santa.benga@VermeloRPO.com | 07304 094171