Why Retained/exclusive vs. Contingency/non-exclusive Search

Even when unemployment is high, finding quality talent is a challenge, especially in the advertising sales industry. Finding and hiring new people is becoming more time and labor intensive. Companies need to find and use the right resources to locate skilled candidates who are interested in their open positions. For an efficient search, recruiters must take the time to properly understand client needs and benefits.

 Retained/exclusive   Contingency/non-exclusive
Engaged recruiters take the time to research and focus their search as they usually have a limited number of searches at one time Contingency recruiters work multiple, often 15+, orders at a time so they focus and concentrate on jobs that are the easiest to fill 
Limited number of people involved in the search can keep the key message intact, shows that the company cares enough to be on top of their search for new talent With multiple recruiters in the process, the key message of the company often gets lost, creating confusion and the allusion that the company doesn't have their act together
Engaged recruiters partner with the hiring company with a commitment to find the right candidate
Contingency recruiters compete with hiring company
Companies pay for process, kept in loop through the entire process Companies pay for product, only when candidate is hired
Engaged recruiters research who and where they want to focus search, do not use job boards but find candidates through active cold calling, usually find people happy in their positions and not actively looking Contingency recruiters rely primarily on their personal database or use job boards - present more 'job hoppers'
Engaged recruiters work with company to build appropriate job profiles in addition to key company information, market information, etc. By working with an engaged search consultant, the company gains a more professional search process; less turnover as more details are brought out in pre-hiring communications Contingency recruiters often work without job profiles or key company information, this can be a total turn off to potential hires and wastes time as correct information is not communicated; often causes more turnover due to improper qualifying of candidates
Working with a retained recruiter tells candidates that a company is serious about hiring and the future of their company and cares enough to invest in finding the right match; usually have a stronger, more trusted reputation Candidates often don’t care to work with contingency recruiters as they are unsure if they really have an order; often concerned about confidentiality
An engaged recruiter is committed to finding the right candidate and strategizes with the client on developing the right job profile, a plan on where to find those candidates and does thorough screening and reference checking. As they have a retainer they can commit the time to do the job correctly A contingency recruiter is more concerned with getting quantity vs. quality in front of their clients
When a company deals with one engaged recruitment firm, there is no duplication of candidates A company doing contingency searches often works with multiple recruiters; in a specialized niche this often results in duplication of candidates which causes more work for the hiring company to sort through
Focused search, concentration on getting right candidates in a more time efficient manner No strategizing, less focus, more time consuming