Is Contingent Recruitment an Outdated Format?
In today’s recruitment environment where there is a great scarcity of suitable candidates, is a ‘no result, no fee’ an appropriate way for your company to source the quality of people your business needs to prosper?
The last few years have seen the skills shortage in many markets increase dramatically. A recent survey by the British Chambers of Commerce Insights Unit of more than 4,700 UK firms of all sectors and sizes shows that of the firms who tried to hire in Q2 of 2024, 74% reported recruitment difficulties. Today the Institute of Employment Studies (IES) reported that people in work or actively seeking employment account for just 62.6% of the adult population. The size of the UK workforce has shrunk by 800,000 in the last 4½ years.
So why are some companies so reticent about working with highly specialist recruiters who will provide them with a much, much greater percentage chance of sourcing their ideal candidate.
The world of work and, consequently, recruitment has shifted in the last few years, and the strategic importance of a recruitment process to ensure the right person is in the right role at the right time is vital for any organisation that wants to grow.
The hiring process can no longer be left to chance or knee-jerk hiring when a vacancy occurs, and this is why a retained search process is now becoming the preferred hiring option for many leadership teams.
What are the advantages for you of working on a retained basis with a specific recruitment partner, and is this service right for you?
We share the different recruitment services and dissect and discuss the distinctive attributes that set a retained search instruction apart from other recruitment offers while underlining the benefits it brings to your company’s bottom line.
We explore below how a more personalised approach can uncover passive candidates and the unique advantages of partnering with an industry-specialist executive search company such as Glencourt Associates.
We also examine how a retained search can bolster diversity and inclusion in your candidate pool and assist in navigating common recruitment challenges.
What is The Difference Between a Retained Search Instruction and Other Recruiting Services?
The most common recruiting options in the current permanent recruiting market are retained search and contingency-based recruitment with or without exclusivity.
Let’s share more details about each.
Contingency Recruitment
Contingency recruitment, sometimes called non-retained recruitment, is a common method companies use to hire employees across many different sectors and roles.
As the name implies, contingency is a possible future event or circumstance that cannot be predicted with certainty.
In the context of recruitment, contingency recruitment refers to a situation where a recruitment agency only gets paid if they successfully fill a position.
The fee is contingent, or dependent, upon the successful placement of a candidate. This can either be a set fee, or more usually a percentage of the role’s salary.
The fee varies depending on the individual recruiter and sector and can be anywhere from 10-25% of the salary for the role in question.
Contingency recruiters typically work on multiple job vacancies at a time. It is logical when you consider that a recruiter puts in significant time and effort to source candidates who may or may not be hired; consequently, they may not be paid for the work involved in sourcing candidates.
In addition, recruiters often compete with other recruitment agencies to find the right candidate for the role.
While contingency recruitment can be quicker than other methods, it may not always deliver the highest quality candidates since the process tends to prioritise speed and competition between companies, which in the case of recruiting rarely ends well.
Contingency With Exclusivity
Contingent recruitment can also be delivered on an exclusive basis. This refers to the fact that the recruiting process is still contingent on paying the fee; however, the recruitment company will work the role exclusively, not competing with other recruitment agencies.
Many recruitment companies with experience and expertise in a specialist market will only work a role contingent if they have exclusivity on working the role.
Retained Search
A retained search, also known as executive search or headhunting, relates to the fact that the recruitment company works exclusively with your company and has much more involvement and responsibility throughout the recruiting process.
I’ll share more detail about the fee structure later in the report, and as the name retained implies, the recruitment company is always paid a percentage of the fee on engagement.
In a retained search, the recruiting company is exclusively contracted to complete the recruitment process from start to finish. This typically includes defining and consulting around the job role, market mapping, and sourcing, with exclusive access to candidates the recruiter has access to that others don’t.
A retained search involves a different level of ongoing marketing of the role to passive candidate, more in-depth interviewing, and the provision of behavioural profiling.
This recruitment method is typically used for the more senior, or hard to fill roles requiring specialist skills, and focuses on delivering highly qualified candidates. A retained search is a high touch point, high-level service, and an exclusive partnership between the hiring company and its recruiting partner. You also benefit from a much longer candidate guarantee period.
This is a strategic partnership about the desire to significantly increase the probability of finding the right person who stays with your company, and continually contributes to your bottom line.
In the current skill-short shopfitting and POS/POP market, where business-critical roles must be filled promptly with quality managers, this recruiting process is becoming the preferred option for many companies.
Within Glencourt Associates, retained search work is undertaken by a highly experienced Senior Consultant or Director. Just some of the additional benefits for retained clients include ‘first refusal’ on sourced candidates, intensive and objective candidate interviews, advanced psychometric assessment without further charge, and extended candidate guarantees.
What Are The Upsides of Using a Retained Search Process?
There are several benefits of using a retained process. As in many walks of life, you get what you pay for when purchasing a specialist consulting service.
Working with the best specialist recruiters in the Shopfitting and POS/POP market and having access to their time is priceless.
A retained search instruction has another benefit many companies don’t appreciate: it’s impact on candidates. It demonstrates to the candidate that the client is serious about hiring and is not a company ‘CV shuffling’ to see if anyone is worth hiring.
Candidates understand that the client has already invested in the process, which elevates the entire candidate, client, and recruiter relationship.
Access to a Skilled and Passive Talent Pool
The current hiring market is challenging. Navigating a tight labour market, skill shortages, hard-to-reach candidates, and happy employees who aren’t actively looking, though they are listening, are all in the day-to-day work and skill set of experienced recruiters that offer retained search.
The fact is; experienced recruitment and search firms have extensive networks and resources to identify and attract high-quality candidates into their personal talent pools that they are constantly building for their specialist sector clients.
Certain specialisms have highly developed skills in key areas vital to their success. When it comes to recruiters, they are exceptional networkers who are talking to key players in a market daily. An experienced Shopfitting and POS/POP specialist recruiter Glencourt have mapped the market and roles identifying candidates’ skills, wants, and needs for when their ideal position become available.
This means we have established relationships with potential candidates that are both passive and active (not a skill every recruiter has) that will fit your expectations for the role and are also an ideal cultural fit.
This benefit alone is worth weeks and months of your or your internal recruitment team’s time.
Deep Sector and Subject Matter Expertise and Market Insight
A recruitment company will deliver retained search through a team of experienced professionals with deep industry subject knowledge and expertise.
They have a finger on the pulse of specialist sector job market, including salary trends, talent availability, and industry-specific challenges.
An additional plus point here is that certain recruitment companies, such as Glencourt Associates are known for their sector knowledge and expertise, and by default, that will attract a certain level of candidates.
This insight enables them to provide valuable guidance to the hiring organisation throughout the recruitment process, giving you the confidence to attract and engage the talent you need.
Targeted and Customised Approach
Retained search companies work closely with the hiring organisation to understand its specific vision and values and its hiring goals and requirements.
The process is extremely detailed and delivers the creation of a unique approach and tailored strategy for each company.
This often involves using the latest technology, sourcing tools, and marketing campaigns designed specifically for each role.
Depending on the role and skill set required, a recruitment company that offers retained search will often be able to identify an ideal candidate from another sector with transferable skills that would be a great hire that other recruiters wouldn’t have the knowledge or connections to deliver.
Time and Resource Efficiency and Support for an Inhouse Team
Hiring for executive-level positions is both time-consuming and resource-intensive. Engaging a retained search company transfers the burden of sourcing, screening, and shortlisting candidates to the recruiting company you work with, which naturally frees up often stretched internal resources.
A retained search is delivered so comprehensively that no stone is left unturned.
In-house teams, of course, have a place. However, when considering a confidential and senior role, an internal team won’t have the networks, connections, or capacity to deliver a shortlist of candidates in the time frames needed.
Confidentiality and Discretion
Hiring will always have a level of confidentiality required during the process, and a retained search instruction will take this to another level.
Your recruiting partner understands the importance of maintaining confidentiality, particularly when recruiting for sensitive or high-level positions.
They follow strict protocols and N.D.A.s when required to ensure the privacy of both the hiring organisation and the candidates. This can be particularly crucial when filling positions where internal promotion may not be an option or during transitional periods in your organisation.
D.E.I Compliance
Recruitment companies that provide a retained search process operate at an elevated level in all parts of the process.
They will often be fully trained in the D.E.I process aligned to recruitment, with many operating a de-biased approach.
They will have cultivated a diverse candidate pool you can access as a client.
Succession Planning and Building Your Talent Pipeline
Depending on the department, roles, and growth plans, many recruitment companies offering retained services will also offer a consultancy package, including helping you develop your employee value proposition and the ongoing steps to build your talent pipeline, including succession planning.
Salary Negotiations and Counter-Offer Management
The retained search process is detailed and often at a deeper level than a contingency search. As such, the salary expectations are benchmarked ahead of time with both the candidate and the client.
Selling the role and opportunity to a candidate is a superpower of a skilled and experienced retained search consultant. On the flip side, they also can analyse, within reason, if a candidate might be unpredictable when negotiating an offer or accepting a counteroffer from their current employer.
Bringing the offer and acceptance across the line is the role of a retained search consultant and is part of their process and guarantee.
Successful Placements and an Improved Bottomline
The retained search process is designed to deliver successful placements by presenting the hiring organisation with a shortlist of highly qualified and well-vetted candidates.
Hiring is not an easy business process; however, using a retained search process reduces your company’s risk.
Retained recruitment might have a higher upfront investment, but in the long run, it’s more cost-effective because the shortlist will comprise highly qualified candidates for the role.
Several costs, such as advertising, screening and psychometric profiling will be included in the retained fee.
By leveraging their expertise, resources, and network, retained search firms increase the probability of securing top talent for critical roles. This ultimately contributes to your organisation’s long-term success.
Glencourt Associates recently completed a Retained Search for a UK Business Development Manager within 29 days on behalf of an International company based thousands of miles away . Glencourt’s “Talent Aquisition Process” for this business critical role included four rounds of client interviews, and the delivery of a comprehensive psychometric assessment on the client’s preferred candidate, who accepted, all within 29 days.
The Investment For a Retained Search
Using a retained search for business-critical roles is a worthwhile investment in the current skill-short-hiring landscape.
It is a well-known phrase in leadership circles that people grow organisations and consistently deliver results to the bottom line.
Therefore, reducing your risk by finding the right people to stay is a sensible use of your time and resources.
The total investment is generally based on the role’s seniority, timeframes, and any other consultancy requested during the process, for example, creating an E.V.P.
The percentage fee can be anything from 20-40% and will be based on the final remuneration package.
Different recruitment companies use other payment structures, and many offer a guarantee.
Most companies will require a third of the fee upfront and the remainder in two further stage payments split across different parts of the recruiting process, such as initiating the first search or delivery of a shortlist, and accepted offer.
Utilising a retained search process offers significant benefits regarding access to talent in your specialist sector, customised approaches, market mapping, efficiency, confidentiality, expertise, and successful placement.
These advantages make it an attractive option for organisations looking to fill key positions with exceptional candidates.
About Us
Over the last 34 years, Glencourt Associates have successfully sourced high calibre talent for hundreds of companies servicing the Retail Display market. We have filled more than 1,500 vacancies globally with experienced professional talent, in this specialist market, where we are recognised as the leader, of which we are immensely proud.
Glencourt are deeply passionate delivering exceptionally positive experiences through every interaction. We do this through continual connection with passive candidates within our market. We truly live up to maintaining relationships and life-long values.
We provide connections to the best available talent in the Retail Display market. Our goal is to improve the turnover and profitability of our clients through the provision of “Best in Class” talent solutions.
Our “Talent Acquisition Process” can deliver consistent results in the hiring of quality managers and senior executives for businesses like yours.
Contact Us: +44 (0)1342 712253, email jobs@glencourtassociates.com
www.glencourtassociates.com
