What is recruitment process outsourcing (RPO)?

RPO means handing your recruitment - some of it or all of it - to a specialist provider who runs it as an extension of your business. At Vermelo that covers sourcing, screening, assessment, offer management and onboarding, delivered under your brand. You keep strategic control; we run the engine. It's built for businesses hiring at volume who want quality and speed without an ever-growing agency bill.

What's the difference between RPO and MSP?

RPO manages your permanent hiring; MSP (managed service provider) manages your contractor and contingent workforce - the suppliers, the rates, the onboarding and the IR35 compliance. Plenty of businesses need both, which is where a total talent programme comes in: one partner, one data set, both sides of your hiring covered.

What is embedded recruitment (RaaS)?

Embedded recruitment - sometimes called Recruiter-as-a-Service - places experienced recruiters directly inside your team. They use your systems, carry your brand and represent you to candidates, but you switch the capacity on and off as hiring demand changes. It's the answer to hiring spikes that don't justify permanent headcount but do outgrow your current team.

How much does RPO cost compared to using recruitment agencies?

There's no single number, and anyone who gives you one without asking questions is guessing. What we can say: RPO replaces unpredictable per-placement agency fees with a model you can budget - typically a management fee, a cost-per-hire arrangement or a blend, shaped around your volumes. For most businesses hiring at scale, that means a meaningfully lower cost-per-hire and a number the CFO can actually forecast. Book a discovery call and we'll model it against what you're spending now.

Do you handle IR35 and FCA compliance?

Yes - it's designed into the model rather than added afterwards. Our MSP solution manages IR35 status determinations, right-to-work checks and supplier standards across your contractor workforce, and our screening services cover FCA pre-employment and annual maintenance checks for regulated businesses. We're not lawyers and don't replace your own legal advice, but compliance is the reason many regulated firms come to us in the first place.

How quickly can you get started?

Faster than you'd think. Embedded recruiters can usually be turned round in a matter of days; a full RPO or MSP programme takes longer to stand up properly, because doing it properly matters. Tell us what's urgent and we'll tell you honestly what's achievable - that conversation costs nothing.

VERMELO | EXECUTIVE & LEADERSHIP RECRUITMENT SOLUTIONS

SENIOR HIRING CARRIES THE HIGHEST RISKS AND IT DESERVES THE MOST RIGOUR

Leadership hiring carries the highest stakes in recruitment and, too often, the least transparency. Vermelo brings the same discipline to senior appointments that runs through everything we do: structured assessment, honest market advice, and a process that stands up to the scrutiny a board appointment deserves.

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Who we recruit

C-suite and ExCo appointments
Directors and heads of function
Senior managers leading strategy, transformation and growth
In regulated businesses, that includes the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR) dimension: appointments where fitness, propriety and regulatory references are part of the process, not an afterthought.

How we deliver it

Senior hiring reaches us by two routes, and the honest answer is that they suit different situations:

Within a talent programme

Leadership roles arise inside our RPO and embedded engagements constantly, and handling them within the programme keeps one partner, one process and one data set. Structured assessment, market mapping and referencing are part of the delivery, and for regulated appointments the screening rigour is already in place.

As a retained search mandate

For confidential, standalone or board-level appointments, our sister brand Gerrard White Consulting runs retained executive search up to and including CEO and C-suite appointments within its specialist markets: insurance, technology and change, and legal. Deep sector networks, built over more than 20 years.

Supporting either route, our Talent Advisory team designs assessment centres, psychometrics and succession mapping, so the decision rests on evidence rather than interview charisma.

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Frequently asked questions

Senior hiring comes with questions people often prefer to ask quietly. Here are the ones we hear most; for anything more specific, a confidential call costs nothing and commits you to less.

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Honest answer: it depends on confidentiality and scarcity. A senior role that can be hired openly, inside an existing programme, rarely justifies a separate retainer. A confidential replacement, a scarce specialism or a board appointment usually does. We will tell you which yours is, and route it accordingly, because both options live within our group.
Yes. For regulated businesses, senior appointments carry fit-and-proper requirements, regulatory referencing and documentation obligations. Our processes are designed for that environment, which is why regulated firms are our home territory.
Yes, and it is one of the most valuable things a search can do. Market mapping, structured assessment and succession work through our advisory team give you an evidence-based comparison rather than a hunch, whichever way the appointment goes.