Monster’s Move in RPO

Earlier this year, Monster quietly purchased Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) provider TalentFusion.  TalentFusion’s 14 years of RPO experience augments Monster’s technology, global footprint and large customer base, and the new combination gives Monster/TalentFusion a number of powerful synergies to exploit.

Monster began dipping its toe in RPO (focusing more on the front-end sourcing) and recruitment services emerged as a viable growth opportunity. TalentFusion recruits around 5,000 hires per year on behalf of its clients, focusing on the hard-to-fill niche roles, mid-management level and higher. The combined organization will look to leverage Monster’s infrastructure and platform to expand into large volume opportunities as well.

From a technology standpoint, Monster’s own light Applicant Tracking System (ATS) and proprietary sourcing technology can be used independently or bolted on to the client’s ATS.  Last week, Monster announced two acquisitions of social recruiting technology players – TalentBin, a social profile talent search engine, and Gozaik, a social jobs aggregation and distribution company – that will add additional technology capability.

TalentFusions’s RPO services are currently US-focused, though they are looking to expand services globally, and are performing small projects in the UK as proof of concept. Monster’s infrastructure and global footprint will accelerate service expansion  to new geographies.

In addition to Monster’s proprietary technology and geographic footprint, the Monster client base represents a big opportunity for upselling RPO services. TalentFusion has around 20 clients – Monster  has 100,000+ customers. The new combined entity will aim to capitalize on Monster’s current client relationships and customer knowledge, and incorporate services as part of ongoing account management and renewals.

Facing competitive challenges in its core business from the smaller niche job boards, job aggregators, social networks and now people aggregators, Monster seeks new ways to accelerate growth. To successfully offer RPO for all types of positions, to all clients, all around the world, Monster/TalentFusion will need to demonstrate a thoughtful growth plan. We will be interested to see if this new entity can effectively make the transition to a leading RPO provider.

This latest deal also begs the question . . . will others, such as Careerbuilder, be next?

To learn more, contact ISG Principal Consultant Stacey Cadigan.

About the author

Stacey is a director and a key contributor to ISG’s human resources and talent-related technology and services. She advises clients on all aspects of human resources engagements, including recruitment process outsourcing and talent management. Stacey is a prolific blogger, and is frequently interviewed by industry publications. With nearly 20 years of experience in solutions strategy, product development, corporate HR, operations delivery, transitions and HR consulting, Stacey has deep operational knowledge of the talent space and her clients’ challenges, as well as a unique ability to ask the right questions to help organizations align their sourcing initiatives with their vision.