Your company has an open position that needs to be filled. You need help finding qualified candidates for the job. You’ve decided to work with a recruiter to help expedite the process, access their pre-screened network of qualified job candidates, and find the best candidate out there. Now to decide whether to engage in a contingent search or a retained search. Ultimately, it will come down to what your company’s needs are at the time, but here’s how we explain the options to our clients at Building Careers.
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In Fifteen Words or Less…
- A contingent search is a no risk/obligation search process under a limited-scope agreement
- A retained search is a priority search process under a full-scale hiring resource agreement
The Hiring Process
Contingent:
- Recruiting firm complements a search process your company already has underway
- Search is conducted under a limited scope of work, which means the recruiting firm is only involved in select aspects of the recruiting process
- The process is a volume-based search approach; The recruiting firm works on many job openings for multiple clients concurrently
- Your company takes a more hands-on approach to reviewing and evaluating the candidates
- Does not require that recruiters meet set accountability milestones
Retained:
- Recruiting firm/ retained search firm acts as an extension of your company’s internal hiring team and takes on all of the hiring process responsibilities
- Scope of work starts from defining a tailor-made search strategy and culminates with successful candidate integration into your company
- Search firm prioritizes a limited number of searches at a time to ensure quality candidates are presented; Recruiter has access to the full spectrum of active and passive candidates available and apply targeted search tactics
- Recruiter is more heavily involved in assessing and vetting how candidate attributes will contribute to your company culture and ultimate success
- Accountability milestones are predetermined in the initial scope to require executive search firms to meet and exceed your company’s expectations
Fee Structure
Contingent:
- The fee is due when the executive search firm finds your company a qualified candidate who you ultimately hire
- The fee may cost less than a retained search fee depending on the level of service a recruiter provides
Retained:
- There are multiple types of retained searches, which determine the fee structure. They also allow for more accountability and transparency in managing investment and fee expectations. Retained searches can be;
- Fully-engaged
- Performance-based
- By an engagement fee
- The fee may cost more than a contingent search fee based on accountability hurdles, search practices, and greater scope of service
In the commercial real estate industry, companies tend to go with a retained search process for hiring senior level positions – the larger the role in the company the larger the search investment – and a contingent search for hiring entry-level or non-specialized positions. Contact us if you have any other questions or want to brainstorm on how to make your search for the right candidate a success!