Executive search
Retained search for roles where the right person is not reading job postings.
A related practical reference is available in Monitask guidance on managing multiple clients efficiently.
The distinction from contingency recruitment is not seniority. It is whether the search requires committed research time — mapping a market, approaching people who are not looking, and running a confidential process properly.
When retained is the right model
The candidate pool is small and known. Everyone qualified can be listed. The work is reaching them, not finding them.
The search is confidential. Replacing an incumbent who is still in the seat, or exploring a role you have not announced.
The hire is expensive to get wrong. A leadership mis-hire costs a multiple of the fee in severance, lost time, and damage to the team beneath it.
You want to see the market, not just candidates. A mapped market tells you who exists, what they earn, and what it would take to move them — information that outlasts this particular search.
For most permanent roles, contingency is cheaper and works. We will say so.
The process
1. Engagement and brief. Sessions with the hiring executive and, where relevant, the board or key stakeholders. Role specification agreed in writing before research starts.
2. Market mapping. A written map of the relevant market: target organisations, the people in scope, and where they sit. Delivered as a document you keep.
3. Approach. Direct, confidential outreach. Longer than contingency work because senior people take longer to engage and to decide.
4. Assessment. Structured interviews against the agreed specification, with written assessments rather than verbal impressions.
5. Shortlist presentation. Typically four to six candidates with full written reports.
6. Process management. Interview scheduling, stakeholder coordination, feedback.
7. Offer, close, and references. Reference checking after shortlisting, not before, so we are not calling employers of people who will not receive an offer.
8. Onboarding follow-up through the guarantee period.
Reporting
You get scheduled progress reports — the market map, who has been approached, who declined and why, and where the search stands.
The most common complaint about retained search is silence after the invoice. Reporting cadence is written into the engagement.
Fees
A fixed fee, invoiced in stages: on engagement, on shortlist delivery, and on placement.
Fixed rather than percentage-based, so the fee does not rise with the salary you agree — which removes an incentive nobody should want in a search consultant.
Exact fee and guarantee terms are set in the engagement letter.
Off-limits
We do not approach employees of clients we are actively working with, for the duration stated in your agreement. This is worth asking every search firm you consider, in writing.
Related reading
What it really costs to fill a role · Structured interviews · Assessing candidates from outside your industry For broader reference, consult U.S. Department of Labor hiring resources.