Is retained executive search better than contingency recruitment?

A positive candidate experience is essential to the recruitment process and should be a key consideration, especially for senior-level positions. But as an employer, if you outsource your recruitment, how do you know that your organization and the prospective job role are being best represented and that your organization can secure the best talent in the most time-efficient manner?

Therein lies one of the most significant differences between retained executive and contingency search.

I spent several years in high-end contingency recruitment before coming to Hanover and working on a retained basis, so I have a unique perspective when I say that retained executive search has the upper hand over contingency recruitment when it comes to finding top-level talent. But first…

What’s the difference between retained executive and contingency search?

Retained Executive Search

With retained executive search, you’ll enter into an exclusive partnership with a recruiter who will map the market for you. They’ll either know or be able to find a pool of top-level talent that fits your profile, before filtering it down to those with a strong cultural fit and the specialist experience and knowledge you need.

Here’s a breakdown of how the process works:

• Briefing: Defines client requirements, candidate profiles, desired outcomes, what the search process will look like, and the timeline
• Research: The firm maps the full talent pool and identifies competitors across your target markets
• Review of the Long List: Once the full talent pool is identified, a review can take place where off-limit candidates can be removed.
• Approach: Each suitable candidate is professionally engaged to stir as much interest as possible
• Initial screening: Where we conduct quantitative talent screening, interviews and assessment
• Shortlist: A refined selection of the top candidates for interview (typically three to seven candidates)
• Further assessment: Based on interviews, we can conduct qualitative assessments to confirm the strongest candidates
• Hire: Where you make a confident decision based on the best available talent

Non-Exclusive Contingency Recruitment

Non-exclusive contingency recruitment means that you have a number of different recruiting firms looking for the right talent for your organization. This can result in a diffusion of responsibility, a lack of accountability, and access only to a handful of candidates who are seeking a new role, rather than a pool of talent who could be right for your position.

With regards to costs and billing, simply put, in retained search, an upfront fee (the retainer) is paid to the executive search firm. This retainer also sets forth mutually-expected goals and milestones on how the search will be conducted. The initial retainer is credited towards the final placement or completion fee. In contingency search, parties agree to terms, but no initial payment is made. Fees are only incurred once a successful placement has been made.

So why pay now when you could just pay later? Because you’re guaranteed the best partnership between your search firm and your company.

6 reasons to use retained executive search

1. They are committed and accountable to you

Contingency recruiters chase the most lucrative deals and the quickest placements. If you have a challenging role, it’s not uncommon for them to cut their losses and move on. There’s no visibility of the process, no updates and no accountability.

A retained executive search firm delivers a comprehensive, dedicated and tailored approach with clear reporting and regular recommendations throughout the process. This commitment stems from the fact that you pay a retainer, which allows for a much more thorough process. It also locks in their services and drives accountability to you, and often, the end price is the same or only marginally higher than the contingent search.

2. It’s a genuine, trusted partnership

Retained executive search is a bespoke partnership. More than just posting jobs and collecting resumés, it’s about understanding your culture, current initiatives, and industry dynamics, then working together to identify a candidate’s difference-making characteristics that will drive success.

Part of that trust lies in being transparent. With a retained partner, you gain clear visibility into how the search is progressing, with regular updates and insights along the way – rather than waiting unpredictably for a resume to land in your inbox.

Because retained search is built on trust, you get more than a transactional service. You gain access to the firm’s global network, sector expertise and insights. This produces diverse, high-caliber shortlists shaped precisely around your needs. Contingent relationships, spread across multiple firms, rarely build the depth needed for that level of commitment.

3. You’ll get a true picture of the market

While contingency recruiters focus on candidates who are actively applying, limiting you to a narrow slice of the market, retained searches take a more comprehensive approach in order to produce better candidates. The process itself begins with a full market mapping exercise, identifying a minimum of 50-70 excellent individuals who are then contacted, screened and interviewed. This does two things:

1. Uncovers the full scope of talent available to you, not just the small fraction of people who happen to be actively job seeking.
2. Narrows the pool down to a top-tier selection of five-to- seven candidates, all of whom you’ll want to hire.

That level of research also delivers insights into brand perception, current salary benchmarks, and emerging talent trends. This intelligence can be customized specifically to your business, informing your immediate and broader talent strategy.

4. You’ll know any candidate submitted will be of high quality

The incentive for the contingent recruiter is to get as many interviews as possible, as quickly as possible. This means the process very rarely contains a face-to-face interview, creating a substantial risk of ending up with lower quality candidates – so a massive waste of time and resources.

With retained searches, the recruiter will speak to every candidate a number of times, including face-to-face. By investing time to understand your needs and organization, a retained firm is far more likely to deliver the right fit, saving you time and money in the long run.

5. Executive recruiters can conduct unique and specialized searches

Retained firms are equipped to handle highly specialized and confidential searches. Clients often trust us with sensitive information before it’s shared internally, which is crucial when approaching candidates in niche, close-knit markets.

How executive recruiters go to market and find candidates is very different, and can be entirely tailored to suit what you’re looking for. If your search requires the handling of sensitive information, the deep partnership that a retained search firm provides is paramount.

6. Executive search has more caché with top level talent

For sought-after candidates – especially those not actively job seeking – being approached for a role handled by a retained search firm carries weight. It signals that the position is strategic, high-impact, and one the company is deeply committed to filling. That assurance makes passive candidates more willing to engage, ultimately expanding the pool and raising its overall quality.

Common questions about retained search

Isn’t retained search more expensive than contingency?

Not really. There’s a perception that retained search costs more than contingency recruitment. But the total costs are usually comparable, they’re just invoiced differently. Instead of paying everything at the end, the cost is spread across clear stages, typically: commencement of project, agreed shortlist, and completion. That structure means you get a fully committed partner from day one, with the resources and time invested to ensure the best result.

Why should I commit to one firm when I can use several at once and get better coverage of the market?

Using multiple agencies actually fragments coverage. Contingent recruiters, juggling multiple roles and multiple clients, have limited time to spend on each brief, so they all tend to target the same visible 30% of active candidates. Retained partners commit fully to your search, drawing on deeper networks and mapping the entire market, not just those candidates actively looking. They also protect your brand by preventing multiple agencies approaching the same candidates – which, especially when you’re recruiting senior executives, can look very unprofessional.

What if I already have internal candidates?

A retained partner can assess your internal applicants alongside external talent, using the same process and criteria. This gives you an objective comparison and confidence that you’re choosing the best person available, whether they come from within your business or outside it.

What happens if you don’t fill a position?

A retained search is built on mutual commitment. You’re investing in the process, and in return, we’re fully invested in delivering the right outcome. If challenges are experienced, we work to identify the causes, and when appropriate, will adjust the parameters. Speaking for Hanover, our track record speaks for itself. In our thirty years as an executive search partner, we have yet to leave a retained search incomplete in the eyes of our clients, and we treat each mandate with the determination to keep it that way.

How Hanover carries out retained executive search

In my prior role working in contingency search, I would often hear from clients about how strong a service we provided. They would even go on to share some of the horror stories of other firms that they had worked with. I considered us a high-end contingency firm. Despite being in the top echelon of contingent firms, having now worked at Hanover and seeing the level of service and execution at a retained firm, trust me when I say there’s a significant difference.

It’s common for a client to approach us for retained executive search services after trying to recruit through a contingency search firm, only to be unable to find the right candidate. This loss of time (and extra cost) can be avoided by partnering with a retained executive search firm in the first place.

If you might benefit from a retained executive search partnership, get in touch with me or let’s connect on LinkedIn!