Executive Search vs. Contingency: The Model Decides Which Candidates You Can Reach.
Both models work. Each fits different seats. For CHRO, VP HR, and executive HR hires, the model you choose determines the candidate pool you access. Here’s exactly how each works, and which one fits your search.
Retained Search
A proactive, dedicated process. Committed to the right person, never just the available person.
How It Works
The firm is engaged exclusively and commits full resources to your search. On Classic Retained Premium, payment runs in three stages across the engagement; on hybrid-retained, it splits into an engagement fee plus a placement fee. Either way: the market gets mapped, passive candidates get approached confidentially, and every finalist is evaluated against a structured framework.
The Candidate Pool
The Numbers
30% to 35% of first-year base salary, with replacement guarantees of 6 months to a full 365 days.
Best For
CHRO, VP HR, confidential replacements, and specialized leadership roles where the ideal candidate is applying nowhere.
Contingency Recruiting
Success-only. You pay when your person starts, and only then.
How It Works
The recruiter works their network and the active market, screens candidates, and submits a shortlist. Zero cost to review candidates and interview; the 25% fee is due 30 days after your hire starts.
The Candidate Pool
The Numbers
25% of first-year base salary, with a 60-day replacement guarantee.
Best For
HR Director, HR Manager, and defined roles where the active market is sufficient and speed matters. We run these searches too, with the same evaluation standard.
Why Executive Seats Demand the Retained Model.
The CHRO who will transform your business is leading HR at a company that depends on them: never updating LinkedIn, never on Indeed, never taking cold recruiter calls. A success-only model can’t justify six months of patient outreach to reach that person; the incentive is to fill fast with whoever is available. The retained model aligns incentives: the firm is paid to conduct a thorough search regardless of timeline. The result is a better shortlist, better evaluation, and better outcomes.
A retained CHRO search runs $90,000 to $140,000. A failed CHRO hire runs $1,500,000 to $6,000,000.
“The search model is never a cost decision. It’s a risk decision.”
The 10-Second Test for Any Recruiter You’re Evaluating.
If the first question they ask is “what’s the job description?” – you’re hearing a contingency mindset, whatever the contract says.
If the first question is “what does success look like in 12 months?” – you’re hearing a search. That question is where every Crucial Hire engagement begins, at every level.
Decide With the Full Picture.
All Five Engagement Models
Contingency, hybrid, Premium, multi-placement, and interim: every fee on one page.
See PricingThe Complete Pricing Guide
The long-form version: worked examples, what fees include, and how to evaluate any firm’s quote.
Read the GuideThe Access Problem
The three barriers between you and your next HR leader, with the way through each.
Read the BarriersWhich Model Fits Your Seat? Ask Us. We’ll Answer Honestly.
Sometimes the honest answer is the cheaper model. Fifteen confidential minutes, and you leave with clarity either way.
