Hiring models

Contingency vs retained recruitment: which is right for you?

Last updated: 11 July 2026 · 5 min read

If you engage a recruitment agency, you'll usually be offered one of two models: contingency or retained. They're priced and structured very differently, and choosing the wrong one can mean paying too much — or not giving a hard role the focus it needs. Here's how they compare and how to decide.

Contingency recruitment

In a contingency (or 'success-based') model you pay nothing upfront. The agency earns a fee only if and when you actually hire one of their candidates — usually a percentage of first-year salary. Because there's no cost to start and no risk if it doesn't work out, it's the right fit for the majority of roles.

Best for: most permanent roles, positions with a reasonable talent pool, and teams that want to de-risk cost.
Upside: no upfront fee; you pay only for a result; you can run more than one channel at once.
Watch for: agencies juggling many roles may prioritise the easiest to fill, so a pre-vetted pipeline matters.

Retained recruitment

In a retained model you pay part of the fee upfront to engage the agency exclusively, with the balance due at later milestones. That commitment buys dedicated focus and a deeper, more proactive search — which is why it's typically reserved for senior, niche or confidential roles.

Best for: executive, highly specialised or hard-to-fill roles that need a thorough headhunt.
Upside: exclusive focus, deeper market mapping, a managed process for business-critical hires.
Watch for: you pay regardless of outcome, so it only makes sense when the role genuinely warrants it.

How to choose

Seniority & scarcity: common role with a healthy pool → contingency. Senior, niche or confidential → retained.
Risk appetite: want to pay only for a result → contingency.
Urgency: for time-sensitive roles, a fast success-based shortlist usually beats a long exclusive search.

SkillSphere's model

SkillSphere runs a success-based (contingency) model: no upfront fee, and you pay only when you successfully hire — with a 90-day replacement guarantee on every placement. You get the no-risk economics of contingency plus a pre-vetted pipeline that delivers a verified shortlist in 48 hours. See our pricing or how it works.

Hire faster, without cutting corners

Vetted, interview-ready candidates in 48 hours — no fee until you hire.

Request a shortlist