Why companies are reconsidering their RPO provider in 2026?

More than half of employers using recruitment process outsourcing are reconsidering the relationship.

According to the 2026 RPO Buyer Trends Report from the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association (RPOA) and Lighthouse Research & Advisory, 58% of employers currently working with an RPO provider are considering switching providers or bringing talent acquisition back in-house.

The obvious assumption is cost. The data points somewhere else.

Employers are scrutinizing whether their RPO provider has kept pace with new expectations around technology, AI, service quality, candidate risk and strategic partnership.

Why are companies switching RPO providers in 2026?

The leading reasons employers are reconsidering their RPO provider are technology and automation gaps (39%), quality of support (38%), and provider knowledge and reputation (33%), according to the RPOA and Lighthouse Research findings.

That changes the conversation around RPO provider selection.

The question is no longer simply whether an organization is getting a competitive rate. Talent acquisition leaders increasingly need to ask whether their provider has the technology, expertise and operating model to support what recruitment requires now.

For organizations evaluating an RPO partnership, that means looking beyond delivery against requisitions to the provider’s ability to improve the wider hiring operation.

Can your RPO provider prove the ROI of AI in recruitment?

AI adoption is one example of where expectations have moved quickly.

The research found that more than 75% of employers report reduced recruiter workload from AI, yet only around 30% can confidently measure the return on their AI investment.

That creates an important distinction between implementing AI in recruitment and demonstrating that it improves outcomes.

Speed alone is not ROI.

Organizations need to understand what AI changed: recruiter capacity, time-to-hire, candidate conversion, cost, quality or another agreed measure of performance.

This is one area where an RPO provider can add measurable value. The report found that employers working with an RPO partner are 50% to 60% more likely to be able to articulate the ROI of their AI investments than employers managing recruitment independently.

A useful question for any provider, then, is simple: Can you show what AI changed in our hiring program, using our numbers?

How should an RPO provider address candidate fraud?

Candidate fraud has also moved rapidly up the talent acquisition agenda.

According to the same research, 64% of employers encounter candidate misrepresentation at least occasionally, while only 15% believe they can correctly identify all the ways candidates are using AI during hiring.

And employers increasingly expect their RPO partners to help. 58% want their provider to support candidate fraud prevention and risk mitigation.

This matters because AI-assisted candidate misrepresentation can appear at multiple points in the recruitment process, from applications and resumes to assessments and interviews.

An effective response therefore, requires more than another screening tool. Organizations need defined processes for identifying unusual signals, verifying candidate information and deciding when technology should escalate a case for human review.

Candidate risk is becoming part of RPO provider evaluation, not an optional extra.

What should you ask before switching RPO providers?

Changing providers is disruptive. Before making that decision, organizations should establish whether the existing relationship can meet their future requirements — and use the same questions to evaluate potential alternatives.

Ask:

• Can you demonstrate the ROI of AI in our recruitment program using our performance data?
• How do you identify and respond to AI-assisted candidate misrepresentation?
• Which hiring decisions remain human-led, and why?
• How are you improving our recruitment technology and processes over time?
• Are you operating as an embedded workforce partner or primarily delivering against a fixed scope?

The answers reveal more than a provider’s technology stack. They show how that provider thinks about accountability, continuous improvement and the changing role of RPO.

What should companies expect from an RPO provider in 2026?

The role of an RPO provider is expanding.

Organizations still need recruiting capability and delivery at scale. But they increasingly expect providers to bring technology expertise, measurable AI outcomes, market intelligence, candidate-risk controls and strategic guidance alongside it.

That helps explain why so many existing relationships are under review.

The 58% considering a change does not suggest that organizations have stopped seeing value in RPO. It suggests the standard for what constitutes a valuable RPO partnership is moving.

For talent acquisition leaders, the question is therefore not simply: “ Should we switch RPO providers?”

It is: Can our current provider demonstrate that it is equipped for what hiring requires next?

If you’re asking those questions of your current RPO relationship, explore how AMS combines technology, human expertise and recruitment intelligence to build RPO programs around evolving business needs. Talk to AMS about your RPO program.