RPO vs In-House Recruiting (Part 1): Which Is Better for Your Correctional Facility?
- jennifercfleming88
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Vacancy rates are climbing. Overtime budgets are bleeding out. And your HR team? They're stretched so thin they're practically transparent.
If you're a correctional facility leader wrestling with staffing shortages, you've probably asked yourself: Should we keep recruiting in-house, or is it time to bring in an RPO partner?
It's a fair question: and the wrong answer could cost you months of wasted effort, hundreds of thousands in turnover expenses, and a facility that's perpetually running on fumes.
Let's break it down. No fluff. Just the facts you need to make the right call for your facility.
What's the Difference? RPO vs. In-House Recruiting Explained
In-house recruiting means your internal HR staff handles everything: sourcing candidates, screening applications, scheduling interviews, running background checks, and onboarding new hires. You own the process from start to finish.
Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) means you partner with an external recruiting firm that takes over part: or all: of your hiring function. A true RPO partner embeds into your operations, learns your culture, and delivers candidates who actually fit.
Here's the key distinction: RPO isn't just "outsourcing." It's a strategic partnership designed to solve your specific hiring challenges at scale.
The Real Costs of In-House Recruiting (That Nobody Talks About)
On paper, keeping recruitment in-house looks cheaper. No vendor fees. No contracts. Just your team doing what they've always done.
But let's look at what you're actually paying for:
Salaries, benefits, and overhead for dedicated recruiters
Job board fees and advertising spend that add up fast
Background check processing (and the compliance headaches that come with it)
Time-to-hire delays that force overtime and burn out your current staff
Turnover costs when bad hires slip through an overstretched vetting process
For correctional facilities: especially those in rural areas where the candidate pool is already shallow: these hidden costs can snowball quickly.
The average cost-per-hire in law enforcement and corrections runs $15,000 to $20,000 when you factor in advertising, background investigations, training, and early turnover. If your in-house team is understaffed (and let's be honest, they probably are), that number climbs even higher.
When In-House Recruiting Still Makes Sense
Let's be fair: in-house recruiting isn't always the wrong choice.
In-house may work for your facility if:
You have stable, predictable hiring needs with low volume (a few positions per year)
Your HR team has dedicated recruiting capacity: not just "recruiting added to their other 47 responsibilities"
You're filling roles where cultural fit and institutional knowledge matter more than speed
Your facility is in a metro area with a healthy candidate pipeline
If that sounds like your situation, keeping recruitment internal can maintain tighter control over candidate relationships and preserve your facility's unique culture.
But here's the catch: most correctional facilities don't fit that profile anymore. Vacancies are surging nationwide, competition for qualified candidates is brutal, and HR teams are drowning.
When RPO Is the Clear Winner
RPO becomes the smarter play when:
You're facing high-volume hiring needs or a sudden surge in vacancies
Time-to-hire is dragging out and costing you in overtime, morale, and safety
You need access to specialized talent pools: especially for corrections and law enforcement roles
Compliance is a minefield and you need a partner who knows the rules cold
Your facility is in a rural or underserved area where local candidates are scarce
You're hiring for leadership or hard-to-fill positions that require a targeted search
RPO providers bring scalability, speed, and expertise that most internal HR teams simply can't match: especially in a labor market this tight.
The Whalls Group Difference: RPO Built for Corrections
Not all RPO providers understand the corrections industry. Most don't.
Whalls Group is the ONLY recruitment firm dedicated exclusively to correctional facilities and law enforcement agencies nationwide. We don't dabble in healthcare recruiting on the side. We don't fill IT roles when things get slow. Corrections and law enforcement staffing is ALL we do.
Here's what that means for your facility:
End-to-End Direct-Hire Recruitment
We handle everything: from sourcing and screening to background checks and onboarding coordination. You get qualified candidates. We handle the grind.
Rapid Deployment + Streamlined Vetting
Our process is built for speed without cutting corners. We know the compliance requirements inside and out, so candidates move through the pipeline faster: and cleaner.
Custom Solutions for Your Facility
Rural facility with a thin candidate pool? Metro jail competing with a dozen other agencies? Leadership vacancy that's been open for six months? We build a recruitment strategy around YOUR specific challenges.
People-Oriented Direct Conversations
We don't hide behind automated emails. Our team holds direct conversations and virtual meetings with candidates to deliver realistic job previews: so new hires know exactly what they're walking into. That means better retention and fewer "I didn't sign up for this" resignations.
GSA Approved
Whalls Group is GSA approved, making procurement simple for government agencies. Less red tape. Faster engagement.
Decision Framework: Which Approach Is Right for You?
Still not sure? Run through this quick checklist:
Factor | In-House May Work | RPO Is Likely Better |
Hiring volume | Low (1-5/year) | Moderate to high |
Time-to-hire pressure | Low | High |
HR team capacity | Dedicated recruiters | Stretched thin |
Location | Metro with strong pipeline | Rural or underserved |
Compliance complexity | Manageable internally | Need expert support |
Leadership/hard-to-fill roles | Rare | Frequent |
Budget for recruitment infrastructure | Available | Limited |
If you checked more boxes on the right side, it's time to have a serious conversation about RPO.
The Hidden Cost of Waiting
Here's what nobody wants to say out loud: every month you delay solving your staffing problem, you're losing money, burning out your best officers, and putting your facility at risk.
Overtime budgets don't lie. Incident reports don't lie. Exit interviews don't lie.
The question isn't whether you can afford RPO. The question is whether you can afford to keep doing what isn't working.
Let's Talk
Whalls Group partners with correctional facilities and law enforcement agencies across the country to solve staffing challenges: fast.
Whether you need to fill five positions or fifty, stabilize a chronically understaffed unit, or finally land that leadership hire you've been chasing for months, we've got you.
Ready to see what end-to-end, corrections-focused recruitment looks like?
👉 Contact Whalls Group today for a no-pressure conversation about your facility's hiring needs.
We're solving the staffing crisis one facility at a time. Let's make yours next.