Building a workplace where people feel welcome, respected, and valued starts with how companies hire. Today, many organizations are turning to Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) to help create more inclusive recruitment strategies focused on fostering a sense of belonging from the very first interaction.
A good RPO partner doesn’t just manage hiring logistics. They help companies design thoughtful, values-aligned recruitment strategies that make candidates feel seen, supported, and confident in their decision to join your team.
Here’s how RPO programs help companies embed inclusion and belonging into their talent acquisition strategy.
RPO’s Role in Advancing Inclusion and Belonging
Strengthening Employer Brand and EVP
The messages you send to job seekers—on your career site, in job descriptions, and through recruiter outreach—shape how candidates view your company. An RPO partner helps refine your employer brand and Employee Value Proposition (EVP) to reflect inclusive values in a real and consistent way.
This includes reviewing the tone and content of job ads, career page copy, and candidate communications to ensure they feel open and welcoming to a wide range of people—not just a select few.
Using Market Research to Understand Candidate Experience
To make hiring more inclusive, it’s important to understand how candidates experience your process. RPO providers gather insights on what job seekers are looking for, how your recruitment process compares to others in your industry, and where you might unintentionally be creating barriers.
By bringing in this research, RPO teams help you make thoughtful changes, from interview structure to communication style, that lead to a stronger, more consistent experience for every candidate.
Leveraging Technology to Reduce Bias and Expand Access
Technology can be a valuable tool for creating a fairer hiring process. Many RPO partners use tools that help remove bias from resume reviews, standardize interview questions, and assess candidates based on skills and potential.
They also help broaden your reach by using platforms and channels that connect with a wider range of job seekers.
Sourcing Talent from Underrepresented Groups
Traditional sourcing methods tend to bring in the same types of candidates. RPO teams can expand your talent pool by proactively reaching out to people who may be overlooked in a standard search, whether that’s career changers, people returning to the workforce, or candidates from underrepresented backgrounds.
This kind of intentional outreach helps bring fresh perspectives to your teams and ensures that opportunity isn’t limited by background or circumstance.
Building Pathways Through Partnerships and Programs
Inclusive hiring is also about building long-term pathways, not just filling immediate roles. Many RPO partners work with local organizations, workforce programs, and community groups to connect employers with talent that might not have a direct line into their industry.
These partnerships can lead to internships, mentorships, and entry-level roles that help people build careers while helping companies tap into new sources of talent.
Why Inclusion and Belonging Matter in Recruitment
Candidates remember how they were treated during the hiring process. A sense of inclusion—feeling welcomed, heard, and valued—often starts well before day one on the job.
When organizations invest in inclusive recruitment practices, they create stronger candidate relationships, improve hiring outcomes, and build more resilient teams. RPO helps bring structure and strategy to that effort, ensuring every step of the process is aligned with the goal of fostering belonging.
RPO is more than a hiring solution. It’s about building better hiring practices. With the right partner, organizations can shape recruitment processes that reflect who they are and the kind of workplace they want to create.
At LevelUP, we help companies do exactly that. Through branding, research, technology, sourcing, and strategic partnerships, we build inclusive recruitment programs that support lasting impact—not just for today’s hires, but for the long term.
