There are two types of companies that handle human resources outsourcing: professional employer organizations (PEOs) and hybrid outsourcing firms.
A PEO not only recruits all of your employees, but also hires and employs them on your behalf. It manages all HR functions for them, and is actually their employer of record (you are effectually leasing the employees' services from the PEO). This comprehensive service will cost you between $90 and $150 per employee per month.
Firms that specialize in recruiting, and do not provide other human resources services, are hybrid outsourcing firms. Since recruiting is one of the most labor-intensive and time-consuming human resources tasks, many companies both large and small find that outsourcing recruitment makes sense, and ends up saving them both time and money.
If your company chooses to take advantage of recruitment outsourcing, you will select a company that specializes in the recruitment process. That company will work with you to determine exactly what it is needed for an applicant to fill the position you have available.
The recruitment representative will then take advantage of various channels of recruitment -- from online recruiting to personal connections to job-ready talented individuals already connected to the recruitment company -- to find several people with the qualifications and experience you are looking for.
In most cases, the recruitment company will conduct a preliminary round of interviews to further narrow down the field of potential candidates for the job. Finally, your company will have the opportunity to interview the resulting short list of candidates.
The recruitment representative will stay in touch with your company throughout the process. Some companies allow their clients instant online access to all of the files that indicate how the recruitment process is going. For example, you might be able to review all the resumes that have been submitted, or later on review all of the resumes of the candidates who are still in the running. In most cases you will be able to choose the level of involvement that you wish to have once you have outsourced the recruitment process.