Recruiting as a Service (RaaS) is a model where an outside recruiting team runs your hiring process for you, from sourcing and screening to candidate outreach and interview scheduling, while you interview and hire the candidates directly. It’s one form of managed recruiting services, and it sits between two options most employers already know: staffing agencies, which supply workers, and recruiting software, which gives your own team tools.
If you hire frontline staff in volume, that leaves four realistic ways to fill roles: recruiting software, a staffing agency, recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) or managed recruiting services. This guide compares them on the questions that actually separate them: who employs the worker, who does the recruiting work, how each one is priced and when each one fits.
Managed recruiting services vs staffing, RPO and software at a glance
| Recruiting software | Staffing agency | RPO | Managed recruiting services (RaaS) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who employs the worker | You | The agency, at least at first | You | You |
| Who handles sourcing and screening | Your team, using the tool | The agency | The RPO provider, often as part of your recruiting function | The service’s recruiting team |
| How it’s priced | Subscription or license, plus your team’s time | A markup on the worker’s hourly pay, and often a fee to hire them permanently | Usually a management fee, per hire fees or a mix of both | Per hire or a monthly fee |
| Time to start | Quick to set up, but your team still does the work | Often the fastest way to get someone on site short term | Longer, since the provider takes over part of your process | Starts once the role profile is defined |
| Control over hiring | Full control | Limited, since the agency selects and employs the worker | Shared, under the terms of the program | You set the requirements and make every hiring decision |
| Best for | Teams with recruiting capacity | Temporary or seasonal coverage | Large companies outsourcing most of their recruiting | Recurring volume hiring without internal capacity |
The four options explained
Recruiting software
Recruiting software includes applicant tracking systems, recruiting CRMs and screening tools. These products organize and automate parts of the process, such as posting jobs, tracking applicants and sending messages. However, someone on your team still has to review applicants, contact candidates and book interviews. Software works best when you already have recruiters with time to use it.
Staffing agencies
A staffing agency recruits workers and, in most arrangements, employs them while they work at your site. You pay the agency, and the agency pays the worker. That makes staffing a strong fit for temporary or seasonal coverage, because you can add or remove people without hiring them yourself. If you want to keep someone permanently, many agencies charge a conversion fee. Before you sign with one, it’s worth reviewing these questions to ask a staffing agency.
Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO)
With RPO, a provider takes over part or all of your recruiting function. That can include sourcing, screening, employer branding, recruiting technology and reporting. RPO programs are usually built for larger organizations and tend to involve a longer setup and a broader scope than a single hiring need. You stay the employer, but the provider effectively becomes your recruiting department for the roles it covers.
Managed recruiting services and RaaS
Managed recruiting services are outside teams that run the recruiting work for specific roles while you keep the hiring decision. Recruiting as a Service is one model within this category. Some companies use the term RaaS for senior recruiters embedded in a team to fill technical roles. In frontline hiring, it usually means something more focused: a team that sources, screens and contacts candidates for the same roles you hire for over and over, then books qualified people into your interview calendar. Candidates join your payroll, not the provider’s.
How to choose between them
The right option depends less on the provider and more on your situation. Start with how often you hire, for which roles and who on your side has time to run the process.
You need temporary or seasonal coverage
A staffing agency is usually the better fit. The agency employs the workers, so you can scale up for a peak and scale down afterwards without adding people to your own payroll.
You want to outsource most of your recruiting function
RPO makes sense for large organizations that want a provider to run recruiting across many roles, often with its own technology and reporting. It’s a bigger commitment, so it fits companies planning for the long term.
You have recruiters with time to run the process
Recruiting software is enough. If your team can review applicants and schedule interviews without falling behind, a good tool will make that work faster and easier to track.
You hire the same frontline roles again and again
This is where managed recruiting services fit best. When your managers are screening applicants late at night or roles stay open for weeks, the problem is usually capacity rather than tools. A RaaS team takes on the recruiting work, while your managers only meet candidates who already fit the role. For a closer look at what it takes to build that capacity yourself, see our comparison of outsourced recruiting vs in house.
When RaaS isn’t the right choice
RaaS is built for recurring volume, so it’s not always the best option. Consider something else when:
- You only make a few hires a year. At low volume, an internal hire process or a single agency search is usually simpler.
- You’re hiring executives or highly specialized profiles. Senior and niche searches depend on deep networks in a specific field, which is what executive search firms are built for.
- You need someone else to be the employer. If you don’t want workers on your own payroll, for example during a short seasonal peak, a staffing agency is the better fit.
How each option charges
Pricing models matter as much as the price itself, because each model puts the cost in a different place.
- Recruiting software: a subscription or license, often by seat or by number of open jobs. The biggest cost is usually your team’s time, since they still do the recruiting.
- Staffing agencies: a markup on the worker’s hourly pay for as long as they work through the agency. Many agencies also charge a fee if you hire the worker permanently.
- RPO: usually a monthly management fee, a fee per hire or a combination of both, depending on the scope of the program.
- Managed recruiting services (RaaS): generally a fee per hire or a monthly fee. Because you hire candidates directly, there’s no temp to perm conversion and no ongoing markup on their wages.
When you compare options, look at the total cost of each hire, including the hours your managers spend screening and scheduling. Our breakdown of in house recruiter cost shows how quickly that time adds up.
Can you combine them?
Yes, and many employers do. For example, a company might use recruiting software for everyday hiring, a staffing agency for seasonal peaks and a managed recruiting service for the frontline roles it fills every month. The options solve different problems, so using more than one is often the most practical setup.
How Workwolf® runs managed recruiting services
Workwolf® is a Recruiting as a Service company for businesses that hire frontline staff in volume, in field sales, call centers, retail, event marketing, property management and the trades, including HVAC, electrical and plumbing. We handle sourcing, screening, candidate outreach and interview scheduling, and you interview and hire directly.
Built on its own technology
Workwolf® runs on its own AI engine, Packfinder. It screens and ranks every applicant against the profile of each client’s top performers, and it gets more precise with every placement. Clients share the results of each hire, so screening for their roles keeps improving over time.
What to expect on timelines
Timelines depend on the role, the location and the screening each position needs. What changes is where your managers spend their time: candidates arrive already screened and booked into interviews.
Frequently asked questions
What is recruiting as a service?
Recruiting as a Service (RaaS) is a model where an outside team runs recruiting for your open roles, including sourcing, screening, candidate outreach and interview scheduling, while you interview and hire candidates directly. It’s a form of managed recruiting services. For a deeper explanation, read our guide to what recruiting as a service is.
What’s the difference between RaaS and RPO?
Both are outsourced recruiting, but the scope is different. RPO typically takes over part or all of a company’s recruiting function, often with a longer setup and a broader remit. RaaS focuses on filling specific roles, usually the same ones over and over, without replacing your recruiting function.
Is RaaS cheaper than a staffing agency?
It depends on what you’re hiring for. With a staffing agency, you pay a markup on the worker’s wages for as long as they work through the agency. With RaaS, you hire the person directly and pay either per hire or a monthly fee. For permanent roles you fill again and again, that difference can add up. For short term coverage, however, a staffing agency is often the simpler choice.
Does a managed recruiting service replace my HR team?
No. Your team still makes the hiring decisions and handles onboarding, policies and everything after the hire. The service takes on the recruiting work that comes before the interview.
Can I use RaaS for seasonal hiring?
RaaS works best for roles you hire for on a recurring basis. For short seasonal peaks where you don’t want workers on your own payroll, a staffing agency is usually the better fit.
Find the right fit for your hiring volume
Start with your open roles: how many you fill each month, how often they repeat and how much time your team has to run the process. If you hire the same frontline roles again and again, book a call with our team to see whether managed recruiting services fit your hiring.
