Optimizing the recruitment model and building Talent Acquisition capabilities

This example shows what a strategic HR consulting project delivered by Infolet may look like. This service is designed for organisations that want to streamline their recruitment processes, reduce agency-related recruitment costs, and build internal Talent Acquisition capabilities.

The goal is to design an operating model that fits the organisation’s hiring needs, cost structure, and internal capabilities, where agency support still adds measurable value, and how to relieve managers from the operational part of recruitment.

An organisation with around 3,000 employees runs several hundred recruitment processes each year. With annual employee turnover at the level of 10–15%, this translates into around 300–450 hiring processes per year.

The current model relies mainly on recruitment agencies and heavy involvement from line managers. In such a model, annual costs of working with agencies may reach around EUR 1.5 million. A less visible cost is the time managers spend on operational recruitment tasks: screening applications, coordinating interviews, communicating with vendors, or managing day-to-day communication with candidates.

Key challenges:

• high agency-related recruitment costs,
• heavy manager involvement in operational recruitment tasks,
• limited control over the process and candidate pipeline,
• lack of a consistent operating model for HR, managers, and external partners,
• the need for better recruitment planning over a 12–24 month perspective.

The goal is to design a more effective recruitment model that helps the organisation:

• reduce the costs of working with agencies,
• build internal Talent Acquisition capabilities,
• organise the process from recruitment request to onboarding,
• free up managers’ time by reducing their operational workload,
• improve control over the candidate pipeline,
• make informed decisions about which processes should be managed internally and which should involve external partners.

In the new model, recurring recruitment processes that can be handled internally are taken over by the Talent Acquisition team. Agencies remain part of the model for difficult, niche, urgent roles or those requiring additional reach.

We help organisations move from a costly, fragmented recruitment setup to a structured, measurable, and more effective talent acquisition model.

The scope of support includes diagnosing the current model, recommending the target structure, designing processes, and preparing managers and the team to work in the new model.

Our support covers:

• Analysing the costs of cooperation with recruitment agencies,
• assessing recruitment volume and process types,
• analysing managers’ involvement in recruitment activities,
• comparing the costs of the current model with the cost of building an internal team,
• recommending the structure of the Talent Acquisition team,
• defining the TA Partner competency profile and supporting the selection and onboarding of the right consultants into the client’s organisation,
• designing the new recruitment process,
• mapping roles and responsibilities,
• preparing an SOP for the hiring process,
• training managers in the new cooperation model,
• selecting tools that support the recruitment process,
• defining the rules of cooperation with agencies,
• identifying KPIs to monitor process effectiveness.

The project starts with a diagnosis of the current recruitment model. Infolet analyses the costs of cooperation with agencies, recruitment volume, the types of roles most often handed over to external partners, and managers’ involvement in operational activities.

In the analysis, we take into account not only invoices for recruitment services, but also the internal time spent on recruitment. As a result, the client receives a fuller picture of costs and can assess where budget, time, and process control are being lost.

Based on the diagnosis, we prepare a recommendation for the target Talent Acquisition model. In a sample implementation, this means building a small, experienced TA team that takes over recurring recruitment processes and works directly with hiring managers.

The recommendation is not about eliminating agencies from the model. Its goal is to create a clear allocation of recruitment work. Recurring hiring processes that can be handled internally are transferred to the Talent Acquisition team. Recruitment agencies remain a source of support for difficult, niche, urgent roles or those requiring additional reach.

The key competencies of TA Partners include strategic recruitment planning, stakeholder management, knowledge of candidate sourcing channels, direct sourcing, working with hiring managers, and candidate pipeline management. As a result, the team becomes a true operational partner to the business.

Once the recommendation is approved, Infolet supports the organisation in turning the new model into clear processes, roles, and responsibilities.

The implementation includes mapping the current recruitment process and designing a new collaboration model for Talent Acquisition, HR, hiring managers, and agencies. The goal is to structure the process from the initial hiring request through to onboarding.

As a result of the mapping, an SOP is created to define the operational standard for recruitment. The document defines who is responsible for individual stages, when the manager is involved, when agency support should be engaged, and which data should be monitored to assess the effectiveness of the new model.

Preparing managers to work in the new process is a key part of the implementation. Infolet supports the organisation in training managers on how to work with the TA team, defining recruitment needs, their role in hiring decisions, and providing feedback.

As a result, managers remain involved in candidate assessment and final hiring decisions, while operational coordination is handled by the TA team. Their role focuses on assessing competencies, team fit, and business decisions.

The new model organises the way recruitment agencies are used. Agencies are no longer the default channel for most vacancies and become partners used in situations where their involvement has a clear business rationale.

This applies primarily to difficult, niche, or urgent roles, or where hiring demand temporarily exceeds internal capacity.

As a result, the organisation reduces costs while maintaining flexibility and access to external know-how where it is genuinely needed.

Savings result from reducing the number of processes handed over to agencies, using the internal Talent Acquisition team more effectively, and reducing the number of manager hours spent on operational recruitment tasks.

In this sample scenario, reducing agency usage by around 80% can reduce external recruitment support costs from EUR 1.5 million to around EUR 300,000 per year. Even after accounting for the cost of two experienced TA Partners and the implementation of the new process, the organisation may generate more than EUR 1 million in net savings annually.

The financial impact is only part of the value. Equally important are greater control over the process, better recruitment planning, clearer ownership across the recruitment process, and relieving managers from activities that previously pulled managers away from business priorities.

The implementation allows the organisation to develop its own Talent Acquisition capabilities, build talent pools, and consciously decide which processes to manage internally and where to use specialised external partners.

Lower recruitment costs

The Talent Acquisition team takes over recurring processes that can be handled internally, which reduces agency spend. Agencies are used selectively, where their support brings the greatest value.

Greater control over the process

The organisation gains clearer visibility into the candidate pipeline, application sources, process statuses, the effectiveness of talent acquisition channels, and the quality of cooperation with agencies.

Reduced operational workload for managers

Managers no longer handle the operational coordination of recruitment. Their role focuses on assessing competencies, team fit, and making business decisions.

A more consistent recruitment process

The new SOP organises how hiring needs are submitted, processes are run, candidate communication is managed, and Talent Acquisition, HR, managers, and external partners work together.

Stronger internal Talent Acquisition capabilities

The organisation develops its own Talent Acquisition capabilities, builds talent pools, and reduces dependence on external vendors for processes it can handle effectively in-house.

More strategic use of Agencies

Agencies remain part of the model, but they are engaged more selectively and strategically: for difficult, urgent, niche roles or those requiring additional reach.

Recruitment optimisation and building a Talent Acquisition team should be treated as a broader operating model decision, not simply as a way to replace recruitment agencies.

Cost diagnosis, process analysis, the right division of responsibilities, manager enablement, and a clear definition of which recruitment activities should be handled in-house and when they should be used with external partners are all critical.

Infolet supports companies in designing this type of model: from diagnosis and recommendation, through process mapping and SOP preparation, to change implementation and building effective Talent Acquisition teams.

As a result, the organisation can reduce recruitment costs, free up managers’ time, gain greater control over the process, and use agencies where their support genuinely improves hiring effectiveness.