What is contingent recruitment?
Contingent recruitment is the standard agency model: you engage a recruiter to fill a role, and you only pay if they place a candidate who starts. The fee is contingent on the outcome, which is where the name comes from. You'll also see it called success-only recruitment, pay on placement, or no win, no fee recruitment — they all describe the same arrangement.
It's the right model when you have a defined role, a real start date, and a decision-making process ready to move. It shifts the delivery risk onto the recruiter — but that only produces a good result if the recruiter is being selective about the work they take on, rather than firing CVs at every brief that lands.
The difference between contingent search done well and done badly is almost entirely in the front end. Proper market mapping, an honest conversation about whether the role is sellable at the level and package you've set, and a shortlist you can genuinely act on — versus a volume of loosely matched profiles and the hope that one sticks.
We work a smaller number of contingent roles at a time, and we'll tell you if we don't think we're the right people for a brief. That's a commercial choice, and it's the reason the shortlists are short.
Contingent vs retained search
Both are ways of buying a single hire. The difference is when money changes hands, who carries the risk, and how much of the market gets covered as a result.
| Comparison point | Contingent | Retained |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay, and when | Nothing upfront — a fee on successful placement only | A commitment upfront, usually paid in stages through the search |
| Exclusivity | Optional — standard is non-exclusive, exclusive is available | Always exclusive for the duration of the search |
| Who carries the risk | The recruiter — no placement means no fee | Shared — you commit before anyone has been placed |
| Market coverage | Focused on the candidates most likely to move for this role | Exhaustive mapping of the market, including passive candidates |
| Typical use case | A defined role with a live start date | Leadership, confidential or genuinely scarce hires |
| Pace | Shortlist first, then depth as the search runs | Slower start, longlist before shortlist |
What you pay, and when
Contingent
Nothing upfront — a fee on successful placement only
Retained
A commitment upfront, usually paid in stages through the search
Exclusivity
Contingent
Optional — standard is non-exclusive, exclusive is available
Retained
Always exclusive for the duration of the search
Who carries the risk
Contingent
The recruiter — no placement means no fee
Retained
Shared — you commit before anyone has been placed
Market coverage
Contingent
Focused on the candidates most likely to move for this role
Retained
Exhaustive mapping of the market, including passive candidates
Typical use case
Contingent
A defined role with a live start date
Retained
Leadership, confidential or genuinely scarce hires
Pace
Contingent
Shortlist first, then depth as the search runs
Retained
Slower start, longlist before shortlist
If the real problem is a rolling hiring plan rather than one vacancy, neither model is the cheapest route — an embedded team usually is. Compare with RPO and embedded hiring
How we engage
Two ways to run a contingent search with us. Both are success-only — the difference is how much of the market we can realistically cover.
Standard contingent
Success-only and non-exclusive. You can run other routes to market alongside us, and you pay nothing unless our candidate starts. It's the right default when the role is well understood and you want several angles on it at once.
Exclusive contingent
Still success-only, but we're the sole agency on the role. Because we aren't racing other agencies through the same shortlist, we can map the market properly, commit to a timeline, and give you one point of accountability. Worth considering when the talent pool is small enough that several agencies would only be contacting the same people.
Which one to choose
Exclusivity is a trade you make for depth, not something we'd push you into. If you're unsure, start standard — we'll tell you honestly if we think the role needs an exclusive approach to land.
Terms
Fees, rebate arrangements and timelines are agreed in writing before we start work, and they depend on the role and the market. We'd rather scope it with you than publish a number that doesn't fit your hire.
Talk through a roleHow it works
What an engagement actually looks like
Brief
A proper intake session: the role, the team, the realistic candidate profile, the package, and what will actually make someone say yes.
Map
We map the relevant market rather than working from a database, and come back with a view on where the talent sits and how competitive your offer is.
Shortlist
A tight, structured shortlist with written assessment against the criteria we agreed — not a list of forwarded CVs.
Manage
Interview coordination, candidate prep, honest feedback in both directions, and offer negotiation through to signed contract.
Land
We stay in contact through notice period and the first weeks so offers don't get lost between signature and start date.
What's included
- No upfront fees — payment on successful placement
- Dedicated consultant on your role
- Bespoke market mapping
- Structured screening against agreed criteria
- Written candidate assessments
- Interview coordination and candidate prep
- Salary benchmarking and offer negotiation
- Pre-start contact through notice period
A good fit if
- You have a live, signed-off role with a real start date
- You need specialist or hard-to-source skills
- Your internal team is at capacity on this one hire
- You want market intelligence alongside candidates
Probably not if
- You have continuous, high-volume hiring — RPO will cost less per hire
- The role isn't signed off yet
- You want a process rebuild rather than a placement
FAQs
Common questions
Contingent recruitment means the recruitment fee is contingent on a successful outcome — you pay only when a candidate the agency introduced accepts an offer and starts. There is no upfront charge and no retainer.
It's another name for the same contingent model. If no candidate we introduce is hired, there is no invoice — the recruiter absorbs the cost of the work. You may also see it described as success-only or pay-on-placement recruitment.
Retained search involves an upfront commitment, usually paid in stages, in exchange for exclusivity and dedicated resource — typically used for leadership or highly confidential roles. Contingent search carries no upfront cost and no exclusivity, so the recruiter is working at risk.
Both are success-only. Standard is non-exclusive, so you can use other agencies at the same time. Exclusive means we're the only agency on the role, which lets us map the market properly and commit to a timeline rather than prioritising speed over coverage.
No. Standard contingent is non-exclusive and is the usual starting point. We'll suggest exclusivity only where the candidate pool is small enough that multiple agencies would be approaching the same people, and it's your call either way.
Contingent fees are conventionally calculated as a percentage of the candidate's first-year salary, payable once they start. The exact percentage depends on the role, the market and the volume of work. We'll confirm terms in writing before we begin.
It depends on the scarcity of the skill set, how competitive the package is, and how quickly your interview process can move. The part within our control is the shortlist; the part that most often sets the overall timeline is interview scheduling and decision-making on your side. We'll give you a realistic view at the briefing stage rather than a generic promise.
Rebate and replacement arrangements are set out in the terms we agree with you in writing before the search begins, so you know where you stand before anyone is introduced. They vary by role and engagement, which is why we confirm them per engagement rather than publishing a blanket policy.
As a rule of thumb: contingent suits occasional, individual hires, while RPO or embedded recruitment suits continuous hiring. Once you're consistently hiring across multiple roles, per-placement fees tend to become the more expensive route.
Yes, and it's a common path. Companies often engage us on a single contingent role, then move to an embedded arrangement once the hiring plan grows past what one-off placements handle economically. There's nothing to unwind — the two are separate engagements.
We work across technology, hospitality, events and catering, retail, and charity and non-profit — with deep networks in the roles that growing businesses in those sectors hire repeatedly.
Not sure this is the right model?
Tell us what you're hiring for and we'll tell you honestly which approach fits — even when the answer isn't us.