10 Best RPO Companies for 2026 (Ranked and Compared)

Key takeaway: The 10 best RPO companies for 2026 are: Cielo, Randstad Enterprise, AMS, Korn Ferry RPO, Hudson Talent Solutions, Sevenstep, PeopleScout, Wilson (formerly WilsonHCG), Allegis Global Solutions, and ManpowerGroup Talent Solutions. Cielo, AMS, and Randstad Enterprise lead the enterprise end-to-end market; Korn Ferry adds assessment and consulting; Hudson, Sevenstep, Wilson, and PeopleScout are strong for mid-market and project RPO; Allegis and ManpowerGroup bring total-talent programs that combine permanent and contingent hiring. Most buyers should start with a project or hybrid RPO before committing to enterprise scope.

Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) means handing some or all of your recruiting function to a provider that runs it with its own recruiters, technology, and process, usually under a multi-year agreement billed as a monthly management fee plus a per-hire fee. It differs from a staffing agency in that the RPO team works as an extension of your talent acquisition function, uses your employer brand, and is measured on volume, time to fill, quality, and cost rather than per-placement margin.

The market is substantial and growing. Everest Group has sized the global RPO market well above $10 billion in annual revenue, and Staffing Industry Analysts' RPO market reports show enterprise buyers increasingly pairing RPO with contingent workforce (MSP) programs under "total talent" agreements. The drivers are familiar: recruiting demand that spikes and falls, recruiter turnover, and the cost of running an in-house team through downturns.

This list ranks the providers that handle enterprise and mid-market RPO in the US and globally. For firms that place individual hires on a fee basis, see our best recruiting firms ranking; for contract labor, see temp staffing agencies.

How did we evaluate RPO companies?

The 10 providers at a glance

The 10 best RPO companies

1. Cielo

Type: Global RPO and talent acquisition partner Headquarters: Brookfield, WI Best for: Enterprise and mid-market RPO with a strong healthcare, life sciences, and financial services track record

Cielo is one of the largest RPO providers in the world and is consistently placed in the leader quadrant of Everest Group's RPO PEAK Matrix and HRO Today's Baker's Dozen. It runs end-to-end, project, and hybrid programs for clients across healthcare, life sciences, financial services, technology, and consumer sectors, with delivery centers in North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Cielo has invested heavily in its own technology layer (Cielo Digital Accelerator) to speed sourcing and screening.

Strengths:

• Consistent analyst-leader rankings for enterprise RPO
• Strong healthcare and life sciences delivery
• Flexible program models and global delivery centers

Limitations:

• Enterprise orientation means higher minimums for small programs
• Large client roster can stretch account teams

2. Randstad Enterprise

Type: Enterprise talent solutions (RPO, MSP, total talent) Headquarters: Atlanta, GA (global) Best for: Global enterprises that want RPO and contingent workforce programs under one provider

Randstad Enterprise (formerly Randstad Sourceright) is the enterprise solutions arm of Randstad, offering RPO, MSP, and integrated total-talent programs across more than 70 countries. It is the natural choice for a multinational that wants one provider to recruit permanent employees and manage contractors, with shared technology and reporting. Its talent advisory and employer branding services round out the offer.

Strengths:

• Largest combined RPO and MSP footprint globally
• Total-talent programs with unified reporting
• Backed by Randstad's scale and compliance infrastructure

Limitations:

• Best suited to very large programs
• Complex contracting for smaller buyers

3. AMS

Type: Global talent outsourcing and advisory Headquarters: London, UK (major US presence) Best for: Large-scale enterprise RPO, particularly in financial services, pharma, and technology, with strong advisory capability

AMS (formerly Alexander Mann Solutions) pioneered the RPO model in the UK and now runs some of the largest RPO programs in the world, with a client list heavy in banking, pharmaceuticals, and technology. Its advisory practice helps clients redesign talent acquisition operating models before outsourcing, and its contingent workforce and early-careers practices extend the offer. In the US, AMS has grown through enterprise wins and acquisitions.

Strengths:

• Pioneer of RPO with some of the largest programs globally
• Strong financial services and pharma expertise
• Advisory practice for TA transformation

Limitations:

• UK heritage; US mid-market presence is smaller
• Premium pricing for its advisory-led approach

4. Korn Ferry RPO

Type: RPO within a global organizational consulting firm Headquarters: Los Angeles, CA Best for: Enterprises that want RPO integrated with assessment, leadership development, and executive search

Korn Ferry's RPO business sits alongside the firm's executive search, professional search, and consulting practices, which lets it offer assessment science and compensation data inside its recruiting programs. It is a frequent leader in analyst rankings and runs programs across industrials, technology, consumer, and financial services. For a company that already uses Korn Ferry for executive hiring, extending to RPO gives a single talent partner across levels.

Strengths:

• Assessment and compensation data embedded in recruiting
• Single provider from executive search to volume hiring
• Global delivery and analyst-leader recognition

Limitations:

• Consulting-firm cost structure
• RPO is one of many business lines rather than the sole focus

5. Hudson Talent Solutions

Type: RPO and total talent solutions (formerly Hudson RPO) Headquarters: Old Greenwich, CT (global) Best for: Mid-market and enterprise RPO with strong Asia Pacific and life sciences coverage

Hudson Talent Solutions, which rebranded from Hudson RPO in 2025, is a publicly traded RPO specialist with delivery across the Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe. It is strong in life sciences, technology, and professional services and offers RPO, project RPO, and contingent workforce solutions. Its scale is smaller than Cielo or Randstad, which often means more senior attention for mid-sized programs.

Strengths:

• RPO-focused public company with global delivery
• Strong Asia Pacific coverage and life sciences clients
• Right-sized for mid-market programs

Limitations:

• Smaller delivery scale than the largest providers
• Recent rebrand reduces name recognition

6. Sevenstep

Type: RPO and total talent solutions (part of Motion Recruitment Partners) Headquarters: Boston, MA Best for: Mid-market and enterprise RPO with strong technology and analytics, plus contingent workforce programs

Sevenstep (now Sevenstep Talent) is an RPO and total talent provider known for its data and analytics layer (Sevayo Insights) and for flexible program design across enterprise, project, and hybrid models. It has been a repeat leader in HRO Today's Baker's Dozen rankings and serves technology, financial services, healthcare, and manufacturing clients in the US and internationally.

Strengths:

• Strong analytics and reporting platform
• Flexible enterprise, project, and hybrid models
• Consistent HRO Today recognition

Limitations:

• Smaller global footprint than Cielo or AMS
• Less brand recognition outside the RPO buyer community

7. PeopleScout

Type: RPO, MSP, and total workforce solutions (TrueBlue) Headquarters: Chicago, IL Best for: High-volume and hourly RPO programs, including retail, logistics, and customer service, plus professional RPO

PeopleScout, part of TrueBlue, is one of the largest RPO providers globally and is especially strong in high-volume hourly recruiting for retail, hospitality, logistics, and contact centers, where its Affinix technology platform automates sourcing, screening, and scheduling. It also runs professional and executive RPO programs and MSP services, and has significant delivery capacity in the UK and Australia.

Strengths:

• High-volume hourly RPO expertise with automation (Affinix)
• Global delivery in the US, UK, and Australia
• MSP and total workforce options

Limitations:

• Professional-level RPO is less differentiated than its volume practice
• TrueBlue restructuring has affected parts of the business

8. Wilson (formerly WilsonHCG)

Type: Global talent solutions (RPO, executive search, talent consulting) Headquarters: Tampa, FL Best for: Mid-market and enterprise RPO with strong employer branding and talent intelligence services

Wilson, which dropped the HCG from its name in 2025, is a global RPO and talent solutions provider that has grown rapidly through client wins and acquisitions in Europe and Latin America. It is known for its talent intelligence and employer branding work and for a culture-focused delivery model. It offers RPO, executive search, and talent consulting across the Americas, EMEA, and Asia Pacific.

Strengths:

• Employer branding and talent intelligence alongside RPO
• Global delivery with a strong Americas base
• Cultural fit emphasis that mid-market clients value

Limitations:

• Rebrand reduces recognition of the WilsonHCG name
• Smaller scale than the top three enterprise providers

9. Allegis Global Solutions

Type: Workforce solutions (RPO, MSP, services procurement) within Allegis Group Headquarters: Hanover, MD Best for: Total-talent programs combining RPO with large contingent workforce management

Allegis Global Solutions (AGS) is the workforce solutions arm of Allegis Group, the parent of Aerotek and TEKsystems. Its roots are in MSP and services procurement, and it has built RPO programs that integrate with contingent labor management for clients that want a single view of permanent and contract hiring. Its technology (including the QuantumWork platform) supports that integrated model.

Strengths:

• Leading MSP capability paired with RPO
• Integrated permanent and contingent reporting
• Backed by the largest privately held staffing group in the US

Limitations:

• RPO practice is smaller than its MSP business
• Best suited to large programs

10. ManpowerGroup Talent Solutions

Type: RPO, MSP, and career transition (ManpowerGroup) Headquarters: Milwaukee, WI Best for: Global RPO programs with broad geographic coverage, especially for manufacturing, industrial, and multinational clients

ManpowerGroup Talent Solutions combines the group's RPO, MSP (TAPFIN), and Right Management career transition businesses. Its RPO practice runs programs in dozens of countries and is a consistent leader in Everest Group's RPO assessments, with particular depth in manufacturing, industrial, and multinational enterprise programs where ManpowerGroup's country presence matters.

Strengths:

• Among the broadest country coverage of any RPO provider
• Strong manufacturing and industrial client base
• MSP and career transition services under one group

Limitations:

• Enterprise-scale programs only
• Brand is better known for staffing than RPO

How much does RPO cost?

RPO pricing typically combines a monthly management fee for the dedicated team and technology with a per-hire fee, sometimes with volume tiers. Fully loaded, enterprise RPO often lands between $3,000 and $8,000 per hire depending on role mix and volume, which compares favorably to agency fees of 20-25% of salary but requires commitment to a minimum volume and contract term, usually two to three years. Project RPO for a defined hiring surge is priced per hire or as a fixed fee for the project. Our cost-per-hire benchmarks show how in-house costs compare.

RPO or AI sourcing?

RPO makes sense when you need an entire recruiting function delivered, including coordination, employer branding, and hiring manager management, at a scale your team cannot reach. It is less compelling when the actual constraint is sourcing: finding and engaging qualified candidates for professional roles. That part of the work is where AI has advanced the furthest, and it is a large share of what an RPO team's recruiters spend their time on.

Noon runs autonomous sourcing agents that find candidates across the open web, evaluate them against each role's requirements, and run personalized email and SMS outreach, on one flat plan with unlimited roles and seats (see pricing). A lean in-house team with AI sourcing can often deliver the output of a mid-sized RPO program at a fraction of the fixed cost, while keeping recruiting knowledge in house. Several of the RPO providers above also use AI sourcing inside their programs. Our AI agent versus recruiting agency comparison, recruitment statistics, and AI recruiting guide go deeper on the trade-offs.

FAQ

What is RPO in recruiting? Recruitment process outsourcing is a model in which a provider takes over some or all of a company's recruiting function, supplying recruiters, technology, and process under a multi-year agreement. The RPO team works under the client's brand and is measured on volume, time to fill, quality, and cost.

What is the difference between RPO and a staffing agency? A staffing agency fills individual roles for a per-placement fee or hourly markup and employs the contractors it places. An RPO provider runs the recruiting process itself, hires into the client's payroll, and charges a management fee plus per-hire fees. RPO is a partnership; staffing is a transaction.

How much does RPO cost per hire? Fully loaded enterprise RPO commonly runs $3,000 to $8,000 per hire depending on volume and role mix, plus a monthly management fee. Project RPO is priced per hire or as a fixed project fee.

What are the types of RPO? Enterprise (end-to-end) RPO covers all hiring for a business or region. Project RPO covers a defined hiring surge or location opening. Hybrid or selective RPO covers specific functions such as sourcing or scheduling. On-demand RPO provides recruiters on a short-term basis.

Which RPO companies are the largest? Cielo, Randstad Enterprise, AMS, Korn Ferry, PeopleScout, and ManpowerGroup Talent Solutions are among the largest by hires delivered and global reach, and they appear regularly as leaders in Everest Group and HRO Today rankings.