We run both models, plus RPO. So here is the version we'd give you on a call.
The short answer
| Retained | Contingency | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Director, VP and C-suite. Confidential replacements. Roles where the wrong hire costs a year. | Commercial and technical roles where a strong active market exists and speed matters. |
| Fee | 25–30% of first-year total package | 25% of base salary |
| You pay | A fixed engagement fee up front, the balance on placement | Only on a successful placement |
| Replacement guarantee | 12 months, free replacement | 6 months, free replacement |
| Market covered | The whole market, including people who aren't looking | The active market plus the recruiter's existing network |
| Exclusivity | Yes | Usually not |
| Fails when | You use it for a role that didn't need it | You use it for a role that did |
What it actually costs
Most firms won't put this in writing. We will.
Retained search: 25–30% of the first-year total package. Structured as a fixed engagement fee up front, with the balance payable on placement. The engagement fee buys the market mapping: the systematic identification and approach of the entire qualified population, including the people who aren't looking. That work happens whether or not it produces a hire you like, which is why it's funded up front.
Contingent search: 25% of base salary. Note base, not total package. Most contingent recruiters charge a percentage of the full package including bonus, car allowance and benefits, which on a senior commercial role can be a materially larger number for identical work. Payable only on a successful placement.
Our replacement guarantees
Twelve months on retained search. Six months on contingent. If a placement doesn't work out inside that window, we run the search again at no fee.
For context, the common market standard is a rebate on a sliding scale that expires at around twelve weeks. We think twelve weeks tells you what a firm actually believes about its own shortlists.
A twelve-month guarantee only makes commercial sense if you reference properly, assess for the job rather than the CV, and tell clients when a candidate isn't right. That's the point of offering it.
When retained is genuinely worth it
The best candidates aren't applying
A plant director running a profitable site, or a commercial VP midway through a good year, is not on a job board. Reaching them takes a systematic approach to the entire market, which takes real hours, and that is what a retainer buys.
The search has to be confidential
Replacing someone still in post, or building a capability you don't want signalled to competitors. Contingency recruiters working non-exclusively can't guarantee discretion, because their economics don't reward it.
The market is genuinely small
In several specialty chemical sub-sectors the qualified population is a few dozen people. When the answer is a mapping exercise rather than a search of who happens to be available, contingency's model doesn't fit the problem.
The cost of getting it wrong is large
A mis-hired site leader in chemicals isn't a recruitment cost. It's a safety, retention and customer cost that runs for years.
When contingency is the better commercial decision
The role is well populated
Regional sales, technical service, product management, where there's a real active market and a specialist already holds a mapped pool.
Speed matters more than exhaustiveness
A specialist with existing pools can produce a qualified shortlist quickly, because the mapping already happened.
You want to test the market before committing
A legitimate use, provided you accept you're seeing the active market rather than all of it.
Budget is genuinely constrained
Paying only on success is a real advantage. Just don't apply it to a confidential C-suite replacement and expect the retained outcome.
The mistake we see most
Using contingency for a role that needed retained, then briefing three agencies to compensate.
It feels like more coverage. It produces less. Three firms all chase the fastest, most visible candidates, none invests in mapping, and all of them race. Your brand goes to market three times with three different stories, and the passive candidates you actually wanted never hear from anyone at all.
If a role warrants three agencies, it warranted one retained search.
What a retainer should buy you
If you're paying one, hold the firm to it:
- A written market map: the full competitor set and the qualified population, not just the people they got hold of
- Agreed shortlist dates, with progress visible weekly
- Direct approaches to passive candidates, with evidence
- Honest negative feedback, including when your package or proposition is the problem
- Referencing before shortlist, not after offer
- A named consultant who works your sector, not an account manager
If a retained proposal doesn't include those, you're funding a contingency search with a deposit attached.
What about RPO?
The third option, and the one most people forget: when you have a volume of hires rather than a critical one. Standing up a site, entering a region, building a function. Neither retained nor contingency is designed for fifteen hires against a fixed date. More on how RPO works →
Questions we get asked
How much does retained search cost in the chemical industry?
Our retained search fee is 25–30% of the successful candidate's first-year total package, split into a fixed engagement fee up front and the balance on placement. Contingent search is 25% of base salary, payable only on placement.
What happens if the hire doesn't work out?
We run the search again at no fee: within twelve months on a retained assignment, within six months on a contingent placement.
Can I run retained and contingency at the same time for different roles?
Yes, and most clients do. The model should follow the role, not the relationship.
What's the difference between retained and contingency search?
Retained search is an exclusive, staged-fee engagement in which the firm systematically maps and approaches the entire qualified market, including candidates who are not actively looking. Contingency search is paid only on a successful placement, is usually non-exclusive, and covers the active market plus the recruiter's existing network.
Is retained search worth it for a mid-level role?
Usually not. If the qualified population is large and genuinely active, contingency reaches it faster and costs less. Retained earns its fee where the market is small, passive, or the search must stay confidential.
Why do recruiters advise against briefing multiple agencies?
Non-exclusive briefs push every firm toward speed over depth, because only the fastest gets paid. The result is duplicated coverage of the most visible candidates, no investment in market mapping, and a fragmented employer message reaching the market several times over.
Not sure which model fits your role?
Tell us about the hire and we'll tell you which we'd use, including when the answer is the cheaper one.
Book a Confidential Briefing →