Retained VS Contingency Search VS Shortlisting

What’s the difference?

Recruiting in the general sense can be time-consuming. To be sure that the process a HR practitioner implements procures the top candidates within a practical window period, we must be cognizant of the various types of recruitment searches, and which are best suited to the roles being filled. If you are the hiring manager, the task can be inundating to fill a niche job in Trinidad and Tobago that requires a unique skillset or even a combination of skills and accreditations. It is at this stage; you begin to wonder which recruitment service will be your best option. A rule of thumb to understand is that in recruitment, confidentiality and discretion are at the very core of our business model. Your recruiter is the ambassador of your brand, so it’s advisable to use one agency as you can control what image they portray of you, regardless of the type of search you engage.

Retained Search

Progressive specializes in retained executive search, which has consistently proven to be the most effective recruitment solution for specialized executive hires. The appropriate candidate in specialized hires will often already be a part of a successful working environment and a strong emphasis is therefore placed on ‘headhunting’ and ‘mapping out the market’, whilst ensuring that confidentiality and discretion are not compromised. We appreciate that upon approaching a candidate, our contact and behaviour are a direct reflection of our client. Jobs in Trinidad & Tobago and the wider region after frequently posted and headhunted for by the Progressive brand. Partnering with our client to intimately understand their requirements is therefore crucial in representing it most accurately and favourably. This impresses candidates with current and detailed knowledge of the client and in turn, enhances our client’s ‘employer brand’.

Retained search requires a more thorough search, often at a regional/international level. In-depth bio sketches are provided on each shortlisted candidate, confirming the skills and experience the client has asked for. A detailed report of the candidates approached and the ‘market map’ for the required profile, as well as compensation data on each candidate, can also be provided to educate the client on what the market currently pays.

We have a 100% success rate in conducting Retained Executive Searches over the last 15 years and our client will know what deliverables to expect, and when – as a retained search and its deliverables are always set to a definitive timeline upfront. Additionally, a retained search creates a stress-free recruitment process for the hiring manager and their team.

Brunel (March 2020) in its article of Benefits of using Retained Search lists the following:

1. Higher priority level

The upfront structure of retained search ensures that the placement takes higher priority than commission-based placements.

2. Lower risk of bad hires

The focus of a retained search is quality. You’ll often be working with the best of the best recruiters with a high success rate. When it’s crucial to get the right candidate for a high-stakes role, retained search offers a lower risk of a bad hire, and thus a higher certainty and comfort level.

3. The best, not the fastest

When there’s not a race to complete the search, more time can be taken to ensure the very best and most qualified candidate is found — greatly benefiting the company in the long-run.

4. Finding rare skill sets

A retained search opens up potential candidates who are already employed, meaning they’re able to expand their search to a wider range of individuals — increasing the chances of finding the person with the exact, unique skill sets needed for the niche role.

5. More proactivity

As mentioned above, retained search takes a more proactive approach, considering those who aren’t actively seeking a new role. This enables a much wider selection than just those who are in a database, answered ads or shown interest themselves.

6. Access to resources you don’t have otherwise

Simply put, most companies don’t have the time and resources needed to find the best high-level candidate themselves. Utilizing a retained search firm can actually save them time and money because the process will probably take less time than trying to do it internally.

7. More customized

Retained search enables a more customized search for roles that are often very unique. It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach, but rather the recruiter takes more time to gain a thorough understanding of what the ideal candidate possesses.

8. Most vetted candidates

With retained search, you can have confidence knowing your candidates have been fully vetted — from more strenuous background checks, reference checks and so on, you can know only the most genuinely-qualified candidates, both skill-wise and culturally, will be presented.

9. More feedback and real-time updates

Retained search recruiters will provide you with more helpful information throughout the process, including market intelligence, competition, timelines and so on.

10. Multiple options so the best can be chosen

Versus providing only one potential candidate to fill the role, most retained search agencies will present a handful of highly-qualified candidates who fit skill, culture and salary requirements, so that truly the best fit can be chosen.

Quality over quantity

A retained search offers a single point of contact for the entire recruitment process. You are kept informed at every phase so you can keep track of the activity, enabling complete control of the process. Instead of being overwhelmed by multiple candidates from multiple sources, you now have a streamlined and time-effective process. With an upfront financial investment, retained search enables you to focus on other tasks while the recruitment process is handled for you.

Cons of Retained Search

Where the pros outweigh cons, retained service requires the agency to be paid upfront or via a scheduled payment method with 100% exclusivity for the executive hire.

Contingency Search

Contingency Search is a recruitment service where the recruitment agency assumes all the risk under a “No Win, No Fee” method. In essence, Progressive Recruitment Specialists performs the contingency search with no upfront cost until the day the proposed talent accepts the position with our client.

This is a focused service that combines urgency with professionalism to provide our clients with a more flexible recruitment solution. It enables us to build relationships from the ground up, as well as take a longer-term view of the market, thereby contributing to developing a long-term relationship with our client. Our contingency search service offers the client a quicker solution for more generic recruitment needs.

BambooHR underscores the advantages and disadvantages of utilizing the contingency search service:

Advantages

Contingency recruiting can be an advantageous recruiting strategy for these reasons:

1. Reduced fees

With contingency recruiting, you only have to pay your recruiters if you hire a qualified candidate they have found for you.

2. Quick turnaround

If your company needs to fill a position quickly, contingency recruiters are motivated to deliver within your timeframe.

3. No need for in-house recruiters

Outsourcing your recruiting efforts means you don’t need to upscale your office to accommodate recruitment specialists.

4. No long-term commitment

Contingency recruiting agencies operate on a project-to-project basis, so you don’t have to commit to any single agency if you have a bad experience with their process.

Disadvantages

1. May waste time

There is no guarantee that the recruiting agency or contractor will find a suitable candidate.

2. No quality guarantee

Because contingency recruiting is based on a “no hire, no pay” fee structure, they’re incentivized to source large quantities of candidates.

3. Can be inefficient

Contingency recruiting doesn’t mean outsourcing the entire hiring process. Organizations still must do the time-consuming work of reviewing resumes, determining who to interview, and performing the interviews.

Shortlisting

With our shortlisting service, we will present you with up to 5 of the top candidates that we have in our database of over 113,000+ jobseekers. We will do their reference checks and provide you with all their details so that you can go straight into Interviewing. All you need to do is give us the Job Description and any other information that you want us to consider when choosing the candidates and we will handle the rest. Our turnaround is usually within a quick timeframe.

The cost of the shortlisting will depend on the salary and level of the role and can range between TTD$5,000.00 – TTD$15,000.00. This will include us advertising the role on the JobsTT site dedicated to jobs in Trinidad & Tobago, marketing the position on all our social media platforms, full database search, shortlisting, screening, and reference checks.

Search Option Comparisons (View Table Below)