Contingent search is derived from the term ‘contingent’, defined by Oxford Dictionary as occurring or existing only if (certain circumstances) are the case; dependent on. This is exactly what the search means as well. In a contingent search, the payment is due from the organization to the recruitment firm only if they fulfil the conditions of the contract.
In retained executive search, a recruitment firm is paid based on a retainer to hire for executives in a company. In retained executive search, the recruiter must be paid even if they are unable to complete the search. Some executive search firms that are on a retainer are paid for each phase of the search. Generally, retained search firms are paid a lot more than contingent firms, and are bigger companies with several clients and thousands of employees at least.
In retained search, the recruiting firm is paid no matter whether they succeed in their search or not. In contingent search, they are paid only when they succeed and the last designated step in the executive search process is complete, that of onboarding the executive.
In contingent search, it is up to the organisation to decide on the roles and responsibilities of the candidate, to offer compensation, and then successfully onboard the candidate once the interview is over. In a retainer search, all these responsibilities fall on the shoulders of the recruitment firm, and they will keep searching for the right candidate until one is found.
People are often vexed which one to pick when the set them against each other: Retained executive search vs contingency recruitment. People tend to use a contingent search firm at times when it is for non-critical roles. It takes a lot less time than a retained search. A contingent search is also costs a lot less than a retainer search. This mean that companies have to take less of a risk when using it. The fact that you need not pay a contingent search firm if they are not successful further brings down the risks involved.
As we saw earlier, a contingent search process is designed to answer a certain problem, that of lower budgets, lesser time, and a not so critical role. Now let us look at the exact process of contingent recruitment right from the organization coming up with the job descriptions to the candidate being onboarded.
As a company, you must decide your priorities. Are you hiring for a critical role and are you willing to spend more money? Then you must go for a retainer search. But then you should be willing to spend more time collaborating with a recruiting firm going over deciding what to do at each step and how it will pan out. On the other hand, if you are not willing to spend so much, are looking for a quicker hire, and it is for a not so critical role, then contingent search can be a better option.
Fewer HR consulting companies actually offer both contingent search and retainer search, and such companies would also advise you which road to go down on so that you get the best talent for any position you are looking for while balancing costs and time taken.
An example of such an HR consulting company is Alp Consulting. But in addition to just recruitment, Alp also offers staffing solutions, payroll outsourcing and HR compliance. This means that all your HR needs are met with a single partner on your journey to hiring greater talent.
Enagaged search is really a hybrid of contingent search and retainer search. In engaged search, the client pays a fee upfront (this makes it different from contingent search), but then pays the remaining amount only when the terms of the contract are fulfilled (this makes it different from retainer search). This gets the organisation the attention of the recruiting firm without requiring them to have to pay the whole amount at one go.
Retainer placement involves the use of retained search to place a candidate in a company. Retainer placement is an alternative term for retainer search.
Executive search is an HR function to recruit top-level talent for a company. This generally involves those in the C-Suite such as CMO, CFO, CHRO, CEO and CTO.
Typically, the fees for a recruitment retainer are between 15-25% of the new hire’s annual salary. This can be paid at one go or in parts. In case the candidate leaves within a time frame, some retainers offer a free replacement to the client immediately.