Understanding the differences between Contingent Recruitment and Retained Search will help you decide which is best for attracting talent for your property business.
When making an investment to attract leaders to your business, knowing the different approaches of talent attraction in the Property and Real Estate sector is crucial. Understanding the upsides and drawbacks, will help decision-makers and HR leaders across the business select which option fits best. Before we compare the two main approaches of Contingent Recruitment and Retained Search, it’s important to understand what they both mean.
What does Contingent Recruitment mean?
Contingent Recruitment involves payment on success. In other words, your Recruitment Partner will only get paid for their time and efforts, if a candidate they put forward joins your property business.
What does Retained Search mean?
Retained Search is an exclusive partnership between you, the client and an Executive Search Partner. The client pays a percentage of the fee upfront, to secure the Search Firm’s exclusivity and commitment to identifying the best talent.
So, what are the benefits of working Contingently when attracting talent in the property sector?
- The Fee is Paid on Successful Placement of Candidate
The key benefit to property businesses of working with a Contingent Recruiter, is that there’s no requirement to pay at the start of the process. No upfront payment means you’re only paying for your recruitment partner’s time and services once the successful candidate has been found and selected. There’s less financial exposure and risk for the client. - Quick access to candidates
Contingent Recruitment can identify and put forward talented candidates for easier to fill roles. However, this can be impacted by timing and property market conditions. If there’s a ready supply of high-performing property talent available for the position, who are looking for a career move, then contingent can be a good option. As such this tends to be an approach that works well for lower level, easier to fill roles.
And what about the negatives?
- There’s no guarantee
Unlike a Retained Search, there’s no guarantee with Contingent that any candidates will be found. And if they are, their skills and experience might not quite match your property business needs. If the property market is challenging and the supply of high-performers is limited, the quality of candidates may not meet your expectations. In reality only about 20% of contingent vacancies are completed. The other 80% sit open costing a business each day. - It can take more time
Filling the position may take time. Or, you might have to make compromises on the candidate you’re looking for. As such your recruitment process is likely to take longer, adding to internal pressures and the challenges of having a vacant position left unfilled. If a Contingent Property Recruiter is struggling to find suitable candidates that match the job role, you are likely to slip down their list of priorities, or off it completely. - A contingent recruiter won’t be working exclusively for you.
If you’re working on a Contingent basis with a Property Recruitment firm, it’s highly likely that the recruiter will be sending the same candidates and CVs to other Property businesses, looking to hire for similar positions. The Property talent you’re looking for, may well be landing on the desks of your nearest competitors too. - It’s not as rigorous
With Contingent, the recruiter has to apply a ‘fastest finger first approach’, to beat any other recruitment companies in submitting profiles for the position. This means they are more likely to submit the candidates who are readily available and actively searching. Like the age-old iceberg analogy, active candidates represent the talent above the surface. These candidates might not always be the best fit for the role. The very best property talent will be passive and lie beneath the surface, requiring a much more rigorous approach to find them, brief them on the opportunity and take them through the process. - The impact on your Employer Brand
If several recruitment agencies are working a role simultaneously, and reaching out to the same talent pool at the same time, it can give the impression of a house for sale with multiple sale signs. It weakens the strength of your brand in the market and can put talent off from applying.
What are the advantages of Retained Search?
- Reliability and guaranteed completion
Property businesses working with a Search Partner on a Retained basis are far more likely to find the talent that matches their requirements. Why? Because the search consultancy is unlikely to take on the assignment unless they are fully confident, they can successfully deliver the assignment. They are also able to allocate the time and energy required, even for difficult or niche searches as they have committed their time to you as part of the arrangement. You will also benefit from the Search firm having a much more thorough understanding and knowledge of your business through the process, developed through frequent steering calls. This will all aid the success of the search. - Working exclusively for you
A Retained Search Consultant will also be working solely for you. So, you’ll have peace of mind that all their effort and energy will be spent on securing the very best property talent for your business. And not being passed to your nearest competitors as well. - Retained search goes beneath the surface.
Back to the iceberg. The very best property professionals won’t actively be looking for a new role or fresh challenge. They are passive and are likely to be content in their current role, but will consider a change if the employment opportunity is right and aligns with their property career ambitions. A Retained Search Consultant will map the entire market – both above and deep below the surface, to ensure the very best candidates are found. Given that only 43% of hiring is successful, it’s imperative you take steps to increase the chances of success, by thoroughly scouring the entire market and carrying out a robust interview process. - Decreasing the time to fill the role
With a Retained Search focussed on identifying property talent with the specific skills, capabilities and experience that match what you’re looking for, this will help reduce your time to hire and minimise any risks of mis-hires. Property executives who only partially match the job requirements won’t be sent over and don’t need to be, as the Search firm has the time to work with you and provide candidates that are an exact match. Thorough research, forensic market mapping and comprehensive candidate screening will mean that candidates presented at the shortlist stage, are the ones with a genuine interest and ambition to add value to your property business.
Are there drawbacks to Retained?
Some businesses may consider the upfront fee as a risk. However, with the cost of a mis-hire estimated at between 5 – 27 times the basic salary of the position in question, the risk is mitigated through the robustness of the search process. There may be questions such as, “What if you don’t find us anyone?” or “How do we know we’ll hear from you again? The financial investment at the outset, however, gives security to both sides. It’s a partnership, showing both sides are committed to sharing the perceived risk. The client can know that the property search consultants are fully invested in hiring the very best property leaders for their business. And the property search consultant will be confident of the client’s commitment to finding the most capable candidates. It allows the search consultants to focus and commit the time, energy, and resources into finding the most capable candidates. A win-win, giving security to both sides.
If you would like to know more about how we go about finding the highest calibre property professionals for our clients, please contact us or subscribe for updates.
