Retained Recruitment vs Contingent: When to Make the Switch

When hiring managers talk about recruitment challenges, the conversation often centres on speed. How quickly can CVs land? How fast can interviews be booked? How soon can someone start?

But speed alone is rarely the issue. The real challenge is choosing the right recruitment model for the role you're facing.

In today’s market, many organisations default to contingent recruitment out of habit. It feels flexible, familiar, and low-commitment. Yet as roles become more specialist, regulated, and business-critical, that model increasingly breaks down. This is where retained recruitment comes into its own.

At Orion, we work with manufacturing, energy, engineering, life science, and biotech organisations facing exactly this decision. This guide is designed to help hiring managers understand when contingent recruitment works, when retained recruitment delivers better ROI, and how to make the switch with confidence.

What’s the Real Difference Between Retained and Contingent?

At a high level, the difference between retained recruitment and contingent recruitment is simple: one prioritises commitment and depth, the other prioritises speed and volume.

Contingent recruitment is success-based. Multiple agencies may compete for the same role, and the agency is paid only if their candidate is hired. This model encourages rapid CV submission and broad outreach, making it effective for roles where skills are widely available and hiring risk is low.

Retained recruitment, by contrast, is a partnership model. The client appoints a single recruitment partner and commits to the search upfront. In return, the recruiter commits dedicated time, research, and a senior resource, to delivering the hire. Retained search focuses on accuracy, fit, and predictability, rather than being first to submit a CV.

Neither model is “better” by default. The mistake many organisations make is using the wrong recruitment model, which could, in turn, increase costs, vacancy duration, and hiring risk. 

This is why retained recruitment is gaining traction across leadership, specialist engineering, energy transition, and regulated life sciences roles. At Orion, our retained search offering, PartnerPlus, is built around research-led delivery, talent mapping, and access to the hidden candidate market.

When Contingent Recruitment Stops Working

Contingent Recruitment Challenges

Contingent recruitment performs well when the talent pool is broad and competition for skills is limited. However, it struggles in predictable ways when the role requires deep market knowledge or targeted search. In specialist sectors such as energy, manufacturing, engineering, and biotech, hiring managers often experience the same issues:

Niche Technical Roles

When skills are scarce, contingent recruitment becomes a race to the same small group of active candidates. Recruiters compete to submit identical profiles, leading to duplication rather than discovery.

Leadership and Strategic Hires

Senior roles require discretion, credibility, and deep assessment. Contingent models rarely allow enough time to evaluate leadership style, cultural fit, or long-term impact.

Regulated or High-Risk Positions

Roles tied to compliance, safety, validation, or regulatory reporting, leave little room for error. Shallow screening increases the risk of a costly mis-hire.

Time-Critical Onboarding

Ironically, contingent recruitment often slows down when time pressure increases. Counteroffers, dropouts, and misalignment lead to vacancy drift rather than fast delivery.

Because contingent recruiters compete with one another, behaviour naturally shifts towards speed. CVs are sent early, screening is lighter, and passive candidates are rarely approached. The result is a short-term pipeline that looks busy but lacks depth.

For hiring managers, this creates frustration: long vacancies, inconsistent candidate quality, repeated interviews, and a sense that recruitment is happening to them rather than with them.

Where Retained Recruitment Creates Better Outcomes

Retained Recruitment Benefits

Retained recruitment addresses these challenges by providing clients with a strategic search partner rather than competing agencies sending the same candidates. Instead of competition, it introduces accountability. Instead of volume, it introduces focus. A retained search typically follows a structured methodology:

In-Depth Briefing and Role Alignment

The process starts with a deep dive into the role, business objectives, culture, and stakeholder expectations.

Detailed Research and Talent Mapping

Rather than relying on job boards, retained recruitment maps the market, identifying target organisations and relevant talent pools.

Longlist and Shortlisting

Candidates are approached discreetly, assessed thoroughly, and presented with a clear rationale, not just CVs.

Candidate and Client Management

Feedback loops are tight, candidate experience is controlled, and employer brand is protected.

Because retained recruiters are not racing competitors, they can engage with passive candidates, professionals who are not actively looking but are open to the right opportunity. This hidden candidate market is where many of the best hires are found.

Despite the perception that retained recruitment takes longer, it often reduces overall time-to-hire. Fewer false starts, fewer dropouts, and better alignment mean decisions are made with confidence.

At Orion, retained recruitment is commonly used for leadership appointments, specialist engineering roles, energy transition projects, and senior life sciences hires, where accuracy matters more than volume.

Cost, Time, and Risk: The Trade-Offs Clients Should Understand

One of the biggest barriers to retained recruitment is the perception of cost.

Retained recruitment does involve an upfront commitment. Contingent recruitment appears cheaper because fees are only paid on success. However, this comparison rarely accounts for the costs of vacancy or mis-hire.

Extended vacancies can delay projects, increase overtime costs, and place pressure on existing teams. Industry research consistently shows that the cost of a vacant role, particularly at senior or specialist level, can exceed the recruitment fee many times over.

Retained recruitment mitigates this risk by reducing uncertainty. Deeper vetting, passive candidate access, and structured delivery, lower the likelihood of hiring the wrong person.

Contingent recruitment still has a place, but when used for complex roles, it often results in hidden costs: prolonged vacancies, repeated searches, and compromised outcomes.

The real question for hiring managers is not “which model is cheaper?” but “which model gives me the most predictable outcome?”

How to Decide: Which Model Fits Which Role

Recruitment Strategies

As recruitment market trends continue to evolve, organisations are becoming more selective about how they hire. Recruitment strategies for 2026 increasingly favour models that reduce risk and improve predictability. Here are practical criteria to guide the decision:

Role Complexity

The more specialised the skill set, the more retained recruitment adds value.

Seniority and Influence

Leadership and decision-making roles benefit from retained search discipline.

Risk of Vacancy

If delays would impact delivery, compliance, or revenue, retained recruitment is often the safer choice.

Scarcity of Skills

Where demand outstrips supply, contingent recruitment rarely reaches the best candidates.

Stakeholder Involvement

Multiple decision-makers require structure, not speed.

• When contingent recruitment works: High-volume roles, broad skill sets, and non-critical positions where speed is genuinely the priority.
• When retained recruitment is essential: Executive search, regulated functions, niche engineering roles, biotech leadership, and confidential replacements.

Orion’s PartnerPlus retained search model is designed to deliver ROI through market intelligence, aligned shortlists, and predictable hiring outcomes, particularly in complex environments.

Learn more about how the market is shifting in our blog: Retained Recruitment vs Contingent: Why the Market is Shifting

Speak to Orion About Retained Recruitment

Retained recruitment gives organisations the depth, structure, and market access that contingent recruitment cannot deliver for critical roles. For leadership, specialist engineering, energy, and life sciences hiring, this approach reduces risk and improves outcomes.

Orion’s PartnerPlus retained search service combines research-led methodology with our broad sector expertise across energy, engineering, biotech, and life sciences. If you are reassessing your recruitment strategy and want a more predictable, risk-managed approach, contact Orion Group today.

FAQs

What is the difference between retained recruitment and contingent recruitment?

Retained recruitment involves a dedicated partnership with upfront commitment, while contingent recruitment is success-based and often involves multiple agencies.

When should companies choose retained search?

Retained search is best for senior, specialist, confidential, or high-risk roles.

Does contingent recruitment work for specialist roles?

In limited cases, but it often struggles where skills are scarce or competition is high.

Is retained recruitment more cost-effective for leadership hiring?

Yes, when total cost, time-to-hire, and risk reduction are considered.

How does retained recruitment reduce hiring risk?

Through deeper assessment, market mapping, and access to passive candidates.

Does Orion offer both retained and contingent recruitment solutions?

Yes. Orion advises clients on the best model for each role, including retained search via PartnerPlus.