What RPO and embedded recruiting each mean
Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) means a provider takes over all or part of your recruiting function. The provider often brings its own process, team structure, technology and service levels, and runs hiring as a managed program.
Embedded recruiting adds experienced recruiters to your team. An embedded recruiter - a Maverick - works in your applicant tracking system, follows your interview process and partners directly with your hiring managers. You keep ownership of the function. We add the people.
Both models can cover sourcing, screening, scheduling and offers. The real difference is control. With RPO, you outsource a process. With embedded recruiting, you add capacity to a process you run.
Neither model is better in every case. The right choice depends on your hiring volume, how standard your roles are and how much you want to own.
When RPO makes sense
RPO is built for scale and consistency. It is often a good fit when:
- You hire in high volume for similar roles, year after year.
- You want to hand the whole recruiting function to a provider, including process design and reporting.
- You run hiring across many locations or countries and want one program to manage it.
- Your procurement team prefers a long-term contract with fixed service levels.
For a large organization with a stable hiring plan, those are real advantages. A provider that runs the same process across hundreds of hires can make it efficient and predictable.
RPO can also help when your company lacks the internal staff to manage several agencies and wants one accountable partner for the whole program.
The trade-offs are commitment and flexibility. RPO programs often take time to set up and are usually agreed for longer terms. Changing scope mid-contract can be slow, and the process may follow the provider’s standard more than your own.
When embedded recruiting is the better RPO alternative
High-growth tech companies often need something different from a managed program. Embedded recruiting fits when:
- Your hiring plan changes from quarter to quarter.
- Roles vary widely, from engineering and AI/ML to GTM, finance and leadership.
- You want named recruiters who learn your business, not a rotating service team.
- You already have, or plan to build, your own recruiting function and want to keep it.
Because embedded recruiters work inside your tools and process, the search history and candidate data stay with you. You can add a recruiter for a hiring push, add embedded sourcing for hard-to-fill roles, or add embedded coordination when interview volume grows, then scale back when the plan slows.
Mavericks has supported 150+ companies and 1,600+ hires this way, from seed-stage startups to public companies.
Control, visibility and the day-to-day
The daily experience is where the two models feel most different.
- Process. In RPO, the provider often runs its own process. Embedded recruiters follow yours, and help improve it where it slows hiring down.
- Systems. RPO may bring its own technology. Embedded recruiters work in your applicant tracking system and communication channels.
- Hiring managers. Embedded recruiters join intake meetings, debriefs and weekly or bi-weekly syncs as part of the team.
- Reporting. You get a weekly recruiting update on every search. Behind it is MavsHQ, our recruiting operations and analytics platform, which your recruiter uses on your behalf.
If you want a provider to own the outcome end to end, RPO gives you that. If you want to stay in charge of hiring and add experienced people to do the work, embedded is the closer fit.
How to choose
Start with three questions.
- How predictable is the plan? Steady, high volume points toward RPO. A plan that moves with funding, product launches or new markets points toward embedded recruiting.
- How varied are the roles? Many similar roles suit a standard program. A mix of technical, commercial and leadership roles suits recruiters who learn each team.
- Who should own recruiting? If you want to outsource the function, consider RPO. If you want to own it and add capacity, consider embedded.
Some companies use both models at once. A provider runs high-volume hiring for one part of the business, while embedded recruiters handle specialized technical, commercial or leadership roles that need closer partnership with hiring managers. If that split matches your plan, talk to us about the embedded side and keep the program that already works.
You may also be comparing other options. Read the recruiting agency alternative for the per-hire fee model, and embedded vs in-house recruiting for the headcount decision.