Convergence of RPO & SaaS

Chris Hoyt: What you got going on, Jerry?

Gerry Crispin: Oh, we were just talking about little vacations. So, next week, I’m taking my 15-year-old grandson to England. I promised all my grandkids a trip to any country they want to visit when they turn 15. This one picked England—we’re going to Cornwall and London. But the real reason is he’s a soccer aficionado. He wants to see Liverpool play Manchester City. It’s on March 10th—they moved the match, so we got box tickets. Cost me a mortgage extension!

Marissa Geist: I remember you saying that about the 15-year-old trip. Our family adopted that. When my son turned 15, we took him to Paris. We decided age nine would be domestic, anywhere in the U.S., and 15 would be international.

Gerry Crispin: I like that.

Marissa Geist: I’ve got one more grandchild—and she wants to go to Japan when she turns 15.

Gerry Crispin: She’s into anime.

Marissa Geist: Oh yes! I’ve got one of those too. My 11-year-old is obsessed.

Gerry Crispin: I’m getting an education in anime from my granddaughter. Didn’t realize how big it is with this generation.

Marissa Geist: It’s huge! We’re in the Midwest, and if it’s here, it’s everywhere. My son even asked for katanas for his birthday. He now has a set—safe ones! That’s the kind of parenting we’re sponsoring here.

Chris Hoyt: Be careful with the katana, Jerry. Alright, we’ve got a fun topic today: RPO and SaaS convergence. Are we ready to jump in?

Gerry Crispin: Let’s do it.

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Chris Hoyt: Welcome to the Recruiting Community Podcast, where we do weekly insights and updates in the form of a simple conversation. Today’s topic is the ongoing convergence between RPOs and SaaS. My friends call me Rosencrantz—and here’s my co-host, Guildenstern. How are you, Guildy?

Gerry Crispin: Wonderful, Rosencrantz. We’re completely interchangeable today. Bringing some class to the podcast.

Chris Hoyt: If you’re joining us live, we’re streaming on YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Use the chat on LinkedIn to say hello, drop questions—we’ll try to address them live or follow up afterward.

And a reminder: this podcast is ad-free. Our guests are here because they’re doing exciting work or have strong perspectives—not because they paid to be here.

We’ve got a current research panel talking about balancing tech and touch in TA. About 50 professionals are in that panel, and we’ve got co-facilitators from Cielo and Appcast. We’re publishing the final paper in April.

Gerry Crispin: And we’re also launching a discussion around disclosure and conflict of interest in our industry—how we build transparency.

Chris Hoyt: All right. Let’s bring in our guest. Marissa, welcome back!

Marissa Geist: Hi, nice to see you. Thanks for having me. I could talk for an hour just about Jerry’s glamping stories. But yes, we do have a topic to cover.

Chris Hoyt: Before we dig into the convergence topic, give us your elevator pitch. Who is Marissa, and why should people be paying attention?

Marissa Geist: I’m a 20-year veteran in HR. My career has spanned talent acquisition, talent management, and currently I serve as the CEO of Cielo, the world’s leading talent acquisition partner. We help companies attract their unfair share of talent globally—through technology, great teams, and effective programs.

Today’s topic—TA and tech—is important. I think saying “tech-enabled TA” is redundant. TA will just be TA, and tech has to be integral. Historically, we’ve split services and technology into separate silos, but they’re organically merging. That convergence is changing everything.

Chris Hoyt: Can you unpack this convergence a bit for those newer to the space? Why is the RPO and SaaS blend so significant right now?

Marissa Geist: Sure. Traditionally, we had two forces: service providers—like staffing or executive search firms—and tech providers. Neither fully addressed the strategic need for permanent hiring.

RPOs evolved from service providers and added some tech. SaaS companies came from the tech side and added light services. But both approaches had limits. RPOs were seen as giving up control, and SaaS often didn’t drive outcomes.

Over the last five years, both have improved. RPOs are creating their own tech. SaaS companies are questioning whether they should get into services. The result? Closer alignment. Now, leaders don’t care what you call yourself—they just want capabilities that work together.

Chris Hoyt: So what does that mean for businesses today? What can they gain from this convergence?

Marissa Geist: We’re in what I call the “Great Hesitation.” Companies aren’t hiring or firing aggressively. People are staying put. But this creates space to experiment. Break some things, rebuild, test new partnerships.

This is a great time for TA leaders to rethink their models—ask new questions, get creative with tech and partnerships. The next economic upswing is going to showcase some really cool innovation.

Gerry Crispin: You’ve brought up “permanent hiring” a few times. But workforce planning now includes fractional work, part-time, contingent—it’s a whole mix. Are you seeing RPOs help companies navigate this more fluid, less binary workforce?

Marissa Geist: Absolutely. The employer-employee relationship has changed. My 21-year-old son doesn’t see work the way we did—it’s not his identity.

And with tech advancements—like Workday’s moves—organizations are waking up to the fact that talent is fluid. Who’s in your ecosystem? How do you tap into that talent, regardless of classification?

Most tech is still built around old rules. Progressive TA leaders are breaking those molds. They’re focused on capability and contribution—not job codes.

Gerry Crispin: And the providers—staffing, RPO, consulting—they’re converging too. The lines are blurring.

Marissa Geist: Right. We’ve worked to simplify how companies engage with us. If we could’ve bought a tech stack that truly enabled what we do, we would’ve. But we had to build it ourselves.

The pace of change, the complexity of integrations, AI—all of it means leaders need partners who can help them move quickly and safely.

Chris Hoyt: We’re hearing from leaders who never would’ve considered RPO in the past. But after getting burned during the overhiring periods, they’re rethinking everything. It’s no longer just about hybrid work—it’s flexibility at every level.

Marissa Geist: Totally agree. Culture is a factor—companies are still figuring out where flexibility fits. Remote roles get twice as many applications, but people still want community and connection.

Indeed data shows fully remote jobs are declining, hybrid is growing. Companies are revisiting real estate decisions, EVP, inclusion strategies—it’s all tied together.

This shouldn’t be an HR policy decision by default. It should be a consciously crafted strategy. And yes, your partners need to align with that.

Chris Hoyt: Flexibility is the new normal—not just in work location, but in strategy, infrastructure, everything. That’s got to be a big shift for RPOs too, right?

Marissa Geist: Yes. We’re seeing two types of TA leaders: buyers and builders.

Buyers are traditional RPO clients—comfortable outsourcing. Builders weren’t. They want control. But post-pandemic, many see the value in flexibility.

They still want to drive strategy, but they’re more open to modular partnerships—“Give me what I need, when I need it.” That’s what we’re focused on now.

Chris Hoyt: And you’re reducing the burden. Especially around tech. Staying current with HR tech is a full-time job.

Marissa Geist: Exactly. We work closely with SaaS providers. We’re on their advisory boards, beta testing features. We know what’s real and what’s just shiny marketing.

We invest millions in tech annually. Most in-house teams can’t match that. So we help clients stay current without constant reimplementation. We do the heavy lifting—and stay plugged into their strategy.

Chris Hoyt: A little bit of a glamping experience—luxury support instead of DIY chaos.

Marissa Geist: I’ll take that. High-end glamping, for sure.

Chris Hoyt: For folks who want to dig into this more—where should they go?

Marissa Geist: Josh Bersin’s content is always great. And on our Cielo Talent website, we’ve got resources, capability breakdowns, and blogs from folks like Elaine Orler, who’s incredibly generous with her expertise.

Chris Hoyt: Love it. Okay, final question—we ask this of all our guests. If you were writing a book about this topic, what would the title be?

Marissa Geist: So There Aren’t Flying Cars…
We all made bold predictions—like Back to the Future—but here we are, no flying cars. Just navigating evolving work models.

Chris Hoyt: Who gets the first signed copy of So There Aren’t Flying Cars—present company excluded?

Marissa Geist: I’d give it to Sue Marks, our founder and former CEO. She challenged me to think outside the box—and she drives like a bat outta hell, so if anyone needs a flying car, it’s her.

Chris Hoyt: Love it. Marissa, thank you so much for making time for us today. Let’s do this again soon.

Marissa Geist: Absolutely. Thanks, everyone.

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