RPO vs. multiple placements
When a client hands you 6 roles at once, the temptation is to treat them as 6 independent placements. That is the most common mistake. A real RPO has central coordination, unified visibility and a reporting rhythm the client anticipates.
Week 0: the kickoff that matters
An RPO kickoff should produce four concrete deliverables before the recruiter opens LinkedIn:
- Intake per role: 30 minutes with the direct hiring manager, not central HR, for each role.
- Unified scorecard: consistent evaluation criteria across all 6 roles.
- Agreed timeline: shortlist, interview and offer dates per role. Without this, the RPO is always "almost ready."
- Communication protocol: one channel, one point of contact per role. No more.
The pipeline chain
Categorise the 6 roles into three groups: Critical (60% of sourcing time), Important (30% of the time) and Planned (10% of the time). Review this prioritisation weekly.
The weekly report
An effective RPO report fits on one screen with no scroll: role, current stage, active candidates, next action and date. The client should be able to read it in 3 minutes. Detailed profiles live in the portal, the executive report is for the sponsor to make decisions, not to demonstrate work.
When something gets stuck
On a 6-role RPO, at least one will get stuck. The protocol: immediate notification to the sponsor (do not wait for the weekly report), a concrete proposed adjustment (not just the problem), and documentation of the change. RPOs die from a lack of proactive communication, not from the problems themselves.