Sevenstep Blog

Hiring Challenges in EMEA? Outsourced Talent Solutions Can Help

By Becky Käppeler, RPO Operations Leader, EMEA, KellyOCG + Sevenstep

Mixed economic signals put more pressure than ever on HR, talent acquisition and procurement to become agile in securing workers. Consider recent findings among UK and EMEA businesses:

• Pay, competition and hiring pressure remain high: The February 2025 Labour Market Overview reported a UK employment rate that remains high at 74.9% from October through December 2024, above estimates from the previous year. Average regular pay in the UK increased by 5.9% during the same period, sustaining upward wage pressures. Meanwhile, the EU employment rate remained at 75.9% in Q4 2024, one of the highest levels recorded.
• Hiring confidence is low: UK employers sharply reduced recruitment efforts toward the end of 2024, with job vacancies falling at the fastest pace since the pandemic. Similarly, the Business Confidence Index in the Euro Area stood at -0.91 points in December, reflecting persistent caution among employers.  
• Uncertainty creates issues: Despite higher applications per job due to falling vacancies, both UK and EU businesses report issues finding skilled staff. Conflicting trends create a need for agile workforce strategies.

Ignoring today's workforce realities can result in extended vacancies, poor-quality talent and unmet business goals. That is why companies look to outsourced workforce solutions for much more than basic talent acquisition. Beyond filling permanent roles and managing assignments and suppliers for contingent workers, an effective partner – whether providing recruitment process outsourcing (RPO), managed service provider (MSP) solutions or total talent management – enables companies to achieve both near- and long-term talent success. Based on decades of experience addressing skills challenges for companies worldwide, here are three empowering functions an outsourced workforce solutions partner should bring to the relationship, and the expectations that bring those functions to life.

#1: Forecasting and Adjusting Strategies

Steering a workforce strategy requires a talent function that sees the path forward. Data on current workforce supply and programme performance is just a starting point. True visibility means pinpointing issues, gaining actionable intelligence and making informed decisions. Next-level visibility goes even further, integrating and analysing all internal and external data and revealing how each decision will shape future outcomes – a capability now within reach.

The Expectations

Merely reporting against key performance indicators (KPIs) will not tell you where to recruit, how much to pay, or how to improve hiring speed and talent quality. The true value of workforce data lies in combining detailed intelligence, human expertise and predictive analytics to link actions with future outcomes.

• Turn data into guidance. An effective provider steers clients with precision based on hard data. A data and analytics platform is needed to achieve that steering capability by integrating talent from all sources, applying predictive analytics, and delivering intelligence with accuracy and detail.
• Look beyond orders and transactions. Often, the answer to a talent challenge is not to hire faster or cheaper but to adjust strategies to solve problems. For example, a partner may provide a way to address turnover in a specific role to reduce the demands and costs of continually refilling the position. Ultimately, workers' quality increases and TA costs decrease when partners think beyond filling orders.

#2: Accelerating Action

A full 69% of decision-makers believe their TA function focuses on short-term projects, and only 7% are confident they can adapt to changing demands. As companies scale to meet demand, target new skills and locations, or map out new markets, they must achieve goals more quickly, compressing initiatives that once took multiple quarters or years into months or weeks.

The Expectations

An agile workforce function requires more than a bench of recruiters or contingent workforce management staff; it requires a solutions partner capable of quickly delivering against desired business outcomes. This may include expanding tech support, enhancing employer branding, shifting focus between contractors and permanent hires, or addressing new demands.

• Provide access to a broad range of capabilities. A provider’s available resources should extend across various types of recruiting, including different skill sets, fields, employment types (permanent hires or contingent workers) and regions or industries. The same partner should also bring on-demand support for challenges ranging from talent market research to employer brand, training and other needs.
• Apply a process that delivers support on demand. When workforce challenges or changes arise, there is little time to shop for niche support. Training, infrastructure, culture and experience contribute to an agile permanent hiring or contingent workforce management solution. Simply referring a client to a channel partner does not make the provider a valuable enabler of new services. Always consider the solution provider's readiness to transition and adjust.

#3: Connecting TA to the Business

Many valuable opportunities are missed when a workforce partner fails to link performance with business impact. Whether staffing a new location or department, launching a project, or expanding capabilities, focusing on the impact makes the difference in building support.

Recruiting performance metrics alone do not define a successful TA function. A talent solutions provider can find quality talent to fit a job description quickly and inexpensively. However, if that job description does not fit the work to be done, or if the hires experience high turnover, then the business impact will be negative.

Providers today have the means to assess and measure the connect TA to business outcomes, whether in supporting an innovation initiative, product launch, new location or other organisational goal. Adjust your expectations to ensure your provider brings the capabilities to the relationship.

The Expectations

A talent partner equips clients with data that delivers meaningful results to organisational leaders. That information should highlight successes, identify challenges and uncover opportunities, while providing an actionable path to improved outcomes for critical TA and workforce demands.

• Elevate goals to include both HR and business outcomes. Traditionally, many solutions providers focused solely on metrics like time-to-fill, number of interviews, ageing requisitions, quit rates, supplier performance and other engagement indicators. A trusted solutions partner raises those objectives. On-time/on-budget business initiatives, improved services delivery or successful expansions are a few examples of outcomes that stem from TA performance.
• Promote TA successes. A TA provider can provide the data and expertise to support a compelling story to internal stakeholders, conveying the progress and highlighting challenges with the organisation's workforce strategy. Achieving milestones on time and meeting goals are essential, but addressing the negatives is equally important. Are there gaps in the workforce strategy or obstacles limiting talent access? A trusted partner will raise the concern and offer a solution. A candid, problem-solving approach lies at the heart of a lasting relationship that delivers increasing value over time.

Position for TA Flexibility and Long-Term Success

If your workforce function does not realise its full potential, now may be the time to revisit your strategy for engaging a solutions provider. The market is highly fluid, and the provider landscape offers many choices.

An enterprise talent solutions partner will prove valuable over time if it can meet the expectations that drive a flexible, business-focused TA function. Consider these empowering capabilities and expectations when evaluating options with your current partner or with potential future solutions. Whether you need to raise your overall permanent hire capability or open doors to total talent functionality, including the extended workforce, a future-ready provider creates a path for your success.