Retained search is more expensive upfront, but in many cases can cost the same overall. In essence, a client pays 25% of the fee upfront to a MTR agency to source the best talent, thereby demonstrating their commitment to hire and they work in close partnership through to the placement. Working on a contingency basis sometimes can be immediately cheaper as there is no upfront fee however the opportunity cost of time taken to complete the search and the level of resource is worth considering. recruitment, confidentiality and discretion are critical. Your recruiter is the ambassador of your brand, so it's advisable to use one agency as you can control what image they portray of you. When working with multiple agencies, they may not focus so much on selling your brand because they are not working exclusively. On retained search projects, we put a dedicated team on the brief and they can work rapidly – often turning a role round in as little as a week. And it’s not only senior roles, retained can work well on a project basis and we have a 96% fill ratio, so success with us is guaranteed. In contingency recruitment, you’ll probably find a good candidate. With retained search, you definitely will. Retained search is more exclusive in every sense of the word. It shows candidates that the company is serious about the hire and the importance that the business is putting on it. In a tight candidate market then all these factors do come into play. It is also worth considering how much time your team has to dedicate to the recruitment process, company budgets and the type of candidate you would like to attract. While you may opt for contingency to keep your costs low, it could end up taking you a whole lot longer to find that perfect candidate.
Contingency recruitment
Working with us and other recruiters on a contingency basis can sometimes allow you to tap into a wider talent pool and bring several different perspectives to a brief. However, this “many hands make light work” approach can have unintended consequences. For example, it leads to a diffusion of responsibility. No one recruiter is responsible for finding the right candidate and recruiters are free to walk away if the brief becomes too tricky, or if they have something more lucrative on their books. In today’s market, where there is a high demand for talent and therefore recruiters time – if a client doesn’t show commitment to the recruitment agency, then your role my fall lower down the lists of priorities. Lastly, in contingency recruitment, the client may find themselves briefing and managing several recruiters, often over a long time-period. This is not ideal when the whole point of working with a recruitment expert is to take the stress out of a time-consuming process. Contingency can also get messy as a candidate could be approached by several recruiters for the same role, thus making the employer look desperate and not focused.
