The Benefits of Engaging a Recruiter on a Retained Basis

Hiring is competitive, challenging and time consuming. ?Companies often turn to recruitment agencies to help identify and attract the best candidates but don't often consider the best way to engage with a recruiter.? ?There definitely comes a time, especially with critical hires, when companies should consider engaging a recruiter on a retained basis. ?It's always a contentious and much-debated topic among recruiters themselves, so I wanted to explore and highlight some of the benefits of engaging a recruiter on a retained basis.

Commitment & Mutual Accountability

When you engage a recruiter on a retained basis, you ensure the recruiter's commitment to meeting your hiring needs while demonstrating your commitment to the process and seeing an outcome.? Beyond a contingent engagement, this commitment ensures that both the recruiter and client will dedicate their time, resources, and expertise to the fulfilling assignment.? I find access to key stakeholders becomes easier, communication and consultation increases, and the process leads to better results, faster, when clients have 'skin in the game'.? With both parties engaged in an exclusive partnership, with mutual accountability, there is typically a more tailored and effective hiring process. ?

Tailored Search Process

When retained, recruiters are certainly more open to collaborating with you on providing a customised and strategic approach to meeting your hiring needs. ?They will work closely with you to develop a tailored recruitment strategy that aligns with your business goals and the specific demands of the role you are looking to fill. ?They will also work with you to develop the communication strategy for potential candidates. ?Despite what rhetoric you may hear, most recruiters will dictate the go-to-market and communication strategy when engaged on a contingent basis in isolation.? When retained, the nature of the partnership encourages a recruiter to truly provide a tailored strategy that ensures the recruitment process aligns with your organisation's requirements, values and culture.

In-Depth Market Understanding

Retained recruiters invest significant time and effort in understanding your organisation, its values and culture, but also what your competitors are doing.? You are more likely to be presented with a market map outlining who in your competitive landscape could be a contender, an understanding of their remit, remuneration and potential pathways in their current employer and what opportunities they may consider externally.? This information can be invaluable in shaping a vacancy and its scope further to secure the right candidate at the right level. ?Effectively, it's like presenting a "long list" to discuss and mutually narrow down in consultation to an agreed-upon shortlist. ?This is a level of consultation often overlooked in a contingent process.

Reduced Time-to-Hire

Engaging a recruiter on a retained basis often leads to a faster and more efficient hiring process. ?With an upfront engagement fee, recruiters will dedicate their resources and efforts to quickly identifying and presenting the most suitable candidates. ?This streamlined approach can significantly reduce the time it takes to fill open positions, ultimately saving you time and money.? My experience has shown that clients are far more willing to move at pace and are more 'cooperative' in ensuring key stakeholders are available at the right times (for briefs, interviews, feedback sessions, etc).

More candidates. ?Better Quality

Contentious, but I'm going to throw it out there as a broad generalisation that if a recruiter is retained, they will damn sure work to make sure you have the best candidates to consider, and they won't stop the search once an initial shortlist is presented. ?They have been paid to dedicate the time and resources to identify, approach, and engage with highly qualified individuals, providing your organisation access to a broader and often superior talent pool. ?Also, don't underestimate the effectiveness of highlighting that the role is retained as a selling point, demonstrating the company's commitment to securing the right person.

Long-Term Partnerships

Engaging a recruiter on a retained basis fosters great long-term relationships. ?A retainer sends the recruiter a simple message: "we value your service".? Your goal in engaging with any recruiter should be to develop them into a valued, trusted partner who understands your organisation inside and out. ?This ongoing relationship can prove invaluable as your hiring needs evolve and change over time, allowing for a seamless and efficient recruitment process with each new opening.

Every recruiter will empathise with this, and I think it's an insight worth sharing with clients; imagine you receive two calls:?

The first: we would like to exclusively engage your services on a retained basis to fill this vacancy.?

The second: we would like you to work on this vacancy on a contingent basis while we concurrently search ourselves, and we have also engaged Firm X, Y and Z.? ?

Where is the recruiter's energy & effort going? ?Who is likely to see better results?

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Engaging a recruiter on a retained basis offers a range of benefits, but I personally believe the value, trust and commitment you demonstrate in retaining a recruiter pays long-term dividends in the relationship you build. ?While this approach may require a higher upfront investment, the return on investment in quality hires and time saved can make it a highly effective and valuable choice for organisations seeking top talent in a competitive job market.? And if your genuine intention is to ultimately pay a recruitment fee, there is no financial difference in the final outcome.? In fact, most retained processes will offer a lower fee structure for exclusivity and commitment.