The 2026 shift: recruitment as an operating model
Many companies still run recruitment like a sequence of mini-emergencies.
A role opens. Someone asks for “candidates ASAP”. A few people do their bit. A mix of good and sub-par candidates are interviewed (sometimes on lengthy interview processes). Weeks pass. Everyone wonders why it’s taking so long.
In 2026, the organisations that hire well won’t be the ones working harder. They’ll be the ones working cleaner: fewer handovers, fewer delays, fewer “who owns this?” moments.
A strong hiring engine comes down to three things: control, capability and conversion.
1) Control: know what’s happening (and fix it when bottlenecks occur)
Control just means you can see the whole process clearly — and you can do something about it.
You can answer basic questions without guesswork:
Where is each role right now?
What’s causing the delays?
Where do candidates drop out?
Which hiring managers are stuck and need help?
Are time-to-hire and cost-per-hire improving or getting worse?
When you’ve got this visibility, recruitment stops being a black box. You can spot problems early and fix them before they become “we’ve lost the candidate”.
Control works best when it has clear ownership (someone is accountable for moving roles forward) and a simple weekly rhythm.
A good weekly review is usually just:
roles that are stuck (and why)
interview delays and scheduling blockers
candidates at risk of dropping out
offers out, offers pending, and decisions needed
what’s coming next (so you’re not surprised again next week)
That’s how recruitment becomes repeatable and not a constant firefighting exercise.
2) Capability: match the hiring support to the job
Not all hiring needs the same setup. Some roles need speed and reach. Others need deep market knowledge, careful targeting, and a more considered process.
A few examples where the “usual approach” often falls apart:
a sudden growth spurt where you need volume fast
specialist senior hires where the market is small and picky
transformation work where you need change, data, product, delivery, or engineering talent
contractors and temps where compliance and supplier control matter
The point isn’t to pick one model and force everything through it.
The point is to have options you can switch on when needed. That might mean:
adding a recruiter into your team for a fixed period (Embedded Talent - RaaS). Extra capacity, embedded in your team, working under your brand
running the whole recruitment process end-to-end (Recruitment Process Outsourcing - RPO). A consistent process with someone accountable from brief to offer plus reporting and continuous improvement.
putting proper structure around contractor hiring so it’s controlled and consistent (Managed Service Provider - MSP). Better supplier control, clearer compliance, and visibility of contingent spend without admin chaos.
3) Conversion: the bit that quietly makes or breaks everything
Conversion is simple: how good you are at turning interested candidates into accepted offers.
This is where a lot of companies lose time without realising it. They focus on “getting a shortlist”… then the process gets messy and people drift away.
The fixes are usually small, but they add up fast:
make the role sound clear and real (not vague or overloaded)
keep interviews moving (speed matters)
communicate properly (silence makes people assume the worst)
reduce repeated steps and unnecessary handovers
agree decisions quickly — know who decides what, and by when
use simple scorecards so you’re assessing the same things (not just gut feel)
If you improve conversion, you don’t just fill roles faster — you stop wasting effort across the whole funnel.
Flexibility is part of the decision now
Love hybrid working or hate it — flexibility is still a big factor in where people apply and whether they accept an offer.
This doesn’t mean every job must be fully remote or even hybrid. It means you’ll do better when you’re:
clear about what you offer
consistent across teams
realistic about what “hybrid” and “flexible” look like day to day
able to explain the “why” behind your approach
People don’t only want flexibility. They want trust.
What makes Vermelo’s approach different
Most businesses don’t come to a partner because they want more activity. They come because they want better outcomes — faster hiring, fewer drop-outs, and less time wasted in the process.
In plain terms, Vermelo typically helps by:
working under your brand, like part of your team
putting a cleaner process in place (so things don’t get lost)
using data to spot where time is being wasted
improving candidate experience so fewer people drop out
bringing more control to permanent and/or contractor hiring
And yes, industry recognition matters when you’re choosing a partner. Vermelo was listed as the Winner: Best Recruitment Process Outsourcing Business at the Global Recruiter Awards 2025.
Which hiring model is right for you?
Here is a simple guide:
Choose Embedded Talent (RaaS) if you need
immediate recruitment capacity
delivery inside your team for a defined period
specialist recruiters without agency mark-ups
Choose Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) if you need
a consistent end-to-end recruitment process
improved time-to-hire and quality at scale
better reporting, governance and candidate experience
Choose Managed Service Provider (MSP) if you need
stronger control over contractors and temporary hiring
supplier governance and improved visibility of contingent spend
a more consistent compliance approach
If you are unsure, Vermelo’s Talent Solutions Finder is designed to help you compare options quickly.
Reality check: many high-performing organisations run a blended model (e.g., embedded recruiters for surge + RPO governance; MSP for contingent + common reporting). That’s not “complexity”. That’s capability.
FAQs for hiring leaders
What does an RPO partner actually do?
An RPO partner can manage permanent hiring end-to-end, from sourcing and screening through to onboarding, supported by process design, reporting and continuous improvement.
What’s the difference between RaaS (Embedded Talent) and RPO?
RaaS gives you extra recruitment capacity embedded in your team — ideal for a surge, a gap, or a specific project. RPO is end-to-end ownership of the process, usually with stronger governance, reporting, and consistency at scale.
Can MSP cover both contractors and permanent hiring?
MSP is typically best for contractors and temporary hiring — supplier management, compliance, onboarding processes, and spend visibility. Many organisations combine MSP for contingent hiring with RPO or embedded recruiters for permanent roles.
Do you only deliver hiring, or can you improve the process too?
Both. Delivery works best when the process is clean. Vermelo can help tighten role intake, interview flow, scorecards, stakeholder communication, and reporting so hiring gets easier, not just busier.
What kind of reporting will we actually get?
The useful stuff: where roles are getting stuck, where candidates drop out, time spent in each stage, offer acceptance rates, hiring manager responsiveness, source performance, and trends over time so you can fix problems, not just track them.
Can you help with role messaging and employer story (so conversion improves)?
Yes. Small changes to how roles are positioned, what success looks like, what’s attractive and realistic can make a big difference to shortlist quality and offer acceptance.
What about onboarding? Do you stop at offer stage?
We can support through to onboarding, so accepted candidates don’t disappear in the gap between “yes” and day one; especially important when notice periods are long.
Can we combine solutions (RaaS + RPO + MSP)?
Yes and it’s often the smartest setup. A Total Talent Solution lets you scale up and down while keeping governance, data, and candidate experience consistent.
What is the Talent Solutions Finder and who is it for?
It’s a quick way to compare options based on what you need (speed, volume, specialist hiring, contractor control, reporting). It’s useful if you know something needs to change, but you’re not sure which model fits best.
Ready to build a recruitment operating model for 2026?
If hiring still depends on individual heroics, it will break under pressure. If hiring runs like an operating model - clear, managed, and measurable - you can scale without the chaos.
Book a discovery call | santa.benga@VermeloRPO.com | 07304 094171