Robert Leggett, managing director of Omni Resource Management Solutions, said that recruitment had changed considerably during the past two years “from simply sourcing candidates to sourcing the best candidates”.

Philip Clarke, director of HR services provider Independent, suggested outsourcing allowed employers to access people with those skills and talent quicker than by building it themselves. “That can be a good reason to outsource,” he said.

Clarke added that recruitment strategy should be kept in-house, but that “recruitment delivery” was best outsourced.