Nearly seven in 10 employers report a positive ROI from their recruitment process outsourcing partnership, and 61% say their hiring metrics have improved overall, according to the 2026 RPO Buyer Trends Study from RPOA and Lighthouse Research and Advisory. Yet as AI reshapes recruiting workflows, talent leaders are asking RPO partners for more than speed and cost efficiency. They want strategic guidance on workforce planning and transferable skills, and clarity on where technology fits without displacing the human judgment hiring decisions still require.

What should talent leaders expect from an RPO partnership as it matures from transactional to transformational? On this episode of Time to Hire, host Lamees Abourahma talks with Greg Summers, CEO of Orion Talent, about redefining ROI beyond time to fill, solving business challenges beyond open requisitions, and why AI augments recruiters rather than replacing them in the life-changing career decisions talent acquisition leaders are asked to guide.

Connect with Greg Summers

Follow Orion Talent on LinkedIn

About the Podcast

Time to Hire is produced by the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association (RPOA), the leading authority on recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) foresight and innovation, and the trusted convener for the global RPO community. Through conversations with industry leaders, the podcast explores the trends, insights, and innovations shaping the future of talent acquisition.

Learn more about RPOA and join the community at: https://www.rpoassociation.org.

Follow the host, Lamees Abourahma, on LinkedIn.

Applicant fraud has evolved from resume embellishment into a sophisticated, AI-enabled threat — and the hiring process is now a primary attack vector. According to Gartner, by 2028, 25% of all job applicants could be fake, and a Get Real Security study found that 41% of enterprises have already unknowingly hired a physical imposter. Nation states, criminal organizations, and coordinated fraud rings are using AI to infiltrate organizations through the front door — exploiting the very digital hiring processes that enable modern talent acquisition at scale.

How can talent acquisition and RPO leaders protect the integrity of the hiring process without disrupting the candidate experience — and what role should technology play? In this episode of Time to Hire, host Lamees Abourahma talks with Matt Moynahan, CEO of Get Real Security and RPOA Silver Partner, about what applicant fraud actually looks like today, how to layer human and technology-based defenses across the talent funnel, and why this moment is a strategic opportunity for TA leaders to partner with cybersecurity and redefine the function.

Connect with Matt Moynahan

Follow GetReal Security on LinkedIn

About the Podcast

Time to Hire is produced by the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association (RPOA), the leading authority on recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) foresight and innovation, and the trusted convener for the global RPO community. Through conversations with industry leaders, the podcast explores the trends, insights, and innovations shaping the future of talent acquisition.

Learn more about RPOA and join the community at: https://www.rpoassociation.org.

Follow the host, Lamees Abourahma, on LinkedIn.

Recruitment Process Outsourcing (also known as RPO) is often misunderstood as a transactional staffing solution. But for talent acquisition leaders navigating today's market pressures, that framing leaves significant value on the table.

According to the 2026 RPOA RPO Buyer Trends Study, 29% of employers cite balancing AI investments with ROI as a top hiring challenge, while 22% flag applicant fraud as a growing concern. These are not operational headaches — they are strategic signals that demand more from every RPO relationship.

How can TA leaders move beyond a transactional RPO model to unlock the full strategic value of their partnership, and what does true integration actually look like in practice?

In this episode of Time to Hire, host Lamees Abourahma welcomes Ryan Henning, Associate Vice President of Talent Acquisition at OU Health, for a candid buyer-side conversation on what makes RPO partnerships succeed or fail. Drawing on 20+ years in healthcare talent acquisition, Ryan shares how RPO has evolved from a high-volume staffing tool to a source of real-time market intelligence, strategic guidance, and transformational talent capability.

Connect with Ryan Henning on LinkedIn

Access research data on RPO buyer trends on the RPOA website.

About the Podcast

Time to Hire is produced by the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association (RPOA), the leading authority on recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) foresight and innovation, and the trusted convener for the global RPO community. Through conversations with industry leaders, the podcast explores the trends, insights, and innovations shaping the future of talent acquisition.

Learn more about RPOA and join the community at: https://www.rpoassociation.org.

Follow the host, Lamees Abourahma, on LinkedIn.